kleese Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 I was thinking the other day about this, and I found it truly astounding. When pondering about the current state of our franchise as compared to the rest of the NFL, I was amazed at how many teams I would swith places with. I'm talking top to bottom, not just personell, not just the FO, not just the coach's. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, who is in better shape? Here was my criteria: 1. Recent history. Over the past few years, how has the team fared? If they had a down year in 2003, but were good before that, it gives more hope for a quick turnaround. 2. Where they are RIGHT NOW. How did 2003 go? What is the immediate future? 3. How do they shape up over the next 2-3 years? 4. Organizational plan: Is there a reason to believe that this franchise has a plan in place to either 1) get better or 2) stay good. Do they have a trustworthy FO/coaching staff? Stablity? 5. Culture: What is the "mood" surrounding this organization. Are they generally respected? Laughed at? What do you think of when you think of this team? That was the basic criteria: I counted 26 teams that I thought were ahead of us, 3 that were equal to us, and only 2 that I think are worse. I was a bit "mean" to us putting Buffalo and New Orleans ahead of us, but was "nice" to us by putting us equal with Oakland. Overall, I think it's an accurate (and scary assesment). I would rank us as the 27th-30th best franchise in the NFL, which would probably translate to the bottom 1/6 of all pro sports. It's been a slow, painful, ugly fall from near the top. Teams that are clearly in better shape: New England: Obvious. They've become a model franchise. Miami: Wandstedt will be gone, which automatically makes them better. They've been similar to us, just a slightly better version. NY Jets: More recent success, much more stable FO. Buffalo: If they bring back Gregg Williams, they could be worse than us, but I think he's gone. They destroyed us this year probably will have a little more hope than we do next year. Baltimore: Team isn't always pretty, but is tough as nails and wins more than they lose. Cincinnati: Who woulda thunk it? Painfully obvious and true. Pittsburgh: Not much better than us in 2003, but overall, a much more stable, steady fracnshise, with lots of reason to believe that can rebound. Tennessee: Not even worth talking about. Indianapolis: I still think they are chokers, but I'd rather choke the season away in mid-January, than mid-September. Jacksonville: Lots of good energy coming from them right now. Had a nice run, a couple of down years, but seem to have a clear plan to get back on track. Houston: Haven't been around long enough to develop any real organizational negativity. I do NOT Like Casserly at all, and I would be wary if I were a Texans fan, but right now they are about our equal, but with more "positivty." Kansas City: Easy. Denver: Easy. Dallas: Hearbreaking to say it, but they FLEW by us this year. Very, very jealous. Philadelphia: Fantastic organization top to bottom right now. They MUST get to the Super Bowl this year to validate their season, but they are so superior to us that it isn't even funny. NY Giants: Somehow, a tad worse than us this year, but MUCH more recent success. I trust them more than I trust us. Green Bay: Nothing special, but clearly better than us. Minnesota: An underrated organization. A lot of post-season heartbreak for their fans, but also lots to cheer about as well. Chicago: Better team this year, with lots of youth to look forward to in the future. Got better and better all year, ending on a high note. Tampa Bay: Miserable year, but a good chance they'll be back next year and beyond. New Orleans: Similar to us, very close actually, but they've waxed us two years in a row. This is the one team I wasn't sure where to rank in relation to us. Carolina: The anti-Redskins. Atlanta: Down year, but with Vick and a new coach, the future is still bright. St. Louis: Easy. Seattle: Not a big fan, but on a more steady track than we are. San Francisco: Playing better lately, still not a fan of Erickson and I do think they may be headed for some medicore years, but they've been a model for so long. Teams equal to us: Cleveland: Awful season, and not much to be excited about there. One saving grace is that Butch Davis has put together one playoff season. San Diego: Marty has done nothing good there. Not sure where they are headed. Oakland: A real mess, but a trend of some really good recent success could keep them on the right track. Raiders have experienced very few if any prolonged "bad" seasons. The TWO below us: Detroit: I actually think they have as much hope as we do for the future, but they've been SO bad recently, that I still think I'd rather have our situation. I do like Mariucci though. Arizona: Possibly the worst organization in all of sports. An absolute black hole; they give new meaning to "hopeless." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB81 Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 I'd say Detroit is a step ahead of us because they knew that they needed to hire a GM--they just hired the wrong guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatGuy Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Now Kleese as a counterpoint to your arguement. How many of those teams in your 'above us' list, soared up the charts this year. Carolina Cincinnati Seattle (didn't really even change anything, just developed) Now here's who I disagree with Chicago... I disagree with this one, we played them in Chicago, without our QB or top 2 RB, our top WR with a broken foot.. and they squeaked it out on a last minute field goal. Jacksonville, if we were as healthy as them, we'd blast them. Buffalo, is in more disarray then we are. When you're QB who you've signed for 100 million dollars, goes in the tank like he has. You're screwed. San Fran is another team in disarray. and declining. Atlanta I'd rank equal to us. Ramsey got hurt (played through a few games) and we suck, Atlanta loses Vick and they suck. I don't see the difference. NY Giants... somehow the Giants have become a shocking tank job team. They always tank after a good year. I'll give you the recent success thing though. I'll say this.. 3rd worst is the pessimistic way of looking at things. You can easily bump us up a few spots. And heck maybe i'm stupid, but I think a healthy Ramsey and a decent DL and we're playoff contenders again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kleese Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 That Guy, I would have liked to have Ramsey down the stretch, but let's face it, we started tanking when he was in there. And our inability to protect him is one reason he wound up not playing-- so in effect, our own defienicies helped cause us to lose our QB. I can maybe buy Buffalo as a team that isn't better than us, but I would gladly trade places with the other teams you mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 I think your assessment is pretty good. But I also agree that Detroit is probably ahead of us. Although they have the wrong guy in Millen, he will be replaced by somebody that...and I will go on a ledge with this guess...that will be more knowledgeable than Synder. With a proven coach at the helm and good core talent to work with, I can see them doing things in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Hog Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 It's funny how when the "laughingstock teams" of the NFL are brought to mind for most people, we usually aren't associated with that category. Maybe its got something to do with the fact that people around the league have tremendous respect for the amount of individual talent that exists on our roster. However, in my mind our "laughingstock" status is quickly becoming a reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kleese Posted December 23, 2003 Author Share Posted December 23, 2003 They're laughing all right. We BLASTED Dr. Z for his 5-11 prediction this year, don't we look stupid now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinmonger Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Originally posted by Demoralized Canadian Hog It's funny how when the "laughingstock teams" of the NFL are brought to mind for most people, we usually aren't associated with that category. Maybe its got something to do with the fact that people around the league have tremendous respect for the amount of individual talent that exists on our roster. However, in my mind our "laughingstock" status is quickly becoming a reality. I hate to disagree but I believe we are a "laughingstock team" already despite the obvious talent. We've endured 4 years of mediocrity at best, despite huge amounts of money & picks invested into players. Poor play, a stereotypical meddlesome owner & a revolving door in the coaches office has worn away the gold that used to cover this franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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