Ranking NFL Teams Since the Merger: The Bottom-Dwellers

There could be no team in the league that could wrestle this position away from the Detroit Lions.

Last year, the Lions did what no team in NFL history has ever done, 0-16.

It is not one year of horrible play that has landed the Lions in the 32 slot, but many.

William Clay Ford purchased the Lions on Novemeber 22, 1963 for $4.5 million dollars. Since that time, the Lions have won one playoff game. January 5, 1992 against the Dallas Cowboys, 38-6.

As important as it is to be consistent, the Lions are consistent in the worst way. The saddest part about this is that Barry Sanders, who is one of the best Running Backs in the history of the game, had to live his entire career on a team that was never successful.

The only bright spot in the history of the Detroit Lions is that Super Bowl XL was played at Ford Field. The closest Detroit has ever come to a Super Bowl.

One of the few teams that was actually considered for the number 32 slot, the Saints squeaked by the Lions.

The Saints first playoff win came in 2000, against the defending Super Bowl Champions St. Louis Rams. The Saints did make it to the NFC Championship game in 2006, losing to the Chicago Bears.

Expectations were high in 2007, but again, the Aints reared their head, missing the playoffs once again.

I know I just wrote an article declaring that the Texans would dominate the AFC South in the future, but this article is not about the future, it is about the past.

When the Texans first came to the league, they used their first pick in the expansion draft on Tackle Tony Boselli, a fantastic Tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars, that never played a down for the Texans.

In the rookie draft, David Carr was the first pick, and he wishes he never played a game.

Carr, now a back up for the New York Giants, never led his team to a winning record. As a matter of fact, the Texans have never had had a winning record. The two best seasons were both 8-8, and they have never been in a playoff game.

I think the Texans have had some great drafts, and are building a winner, they just aren't there yet.

What a nightmare the Cleveland Browns have become!

In the late 80's the Browns had a couple of nice playoff runs, both times being defeated by the Denver Broncos. Other than that, this has been a whipping post for most of the NFL.

The Browns are one of those teams that can boast of Championships prior to the Super Bowl, but, as I said, they don't count.

After former owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore to become the Ravens in 1996, Cleveland was left without a team. Many Browns fans, hating the fact that their team was still in the same division, rooted for the Steelers.

In 1999, new owner, Al Lerner brought the proud franchise back to Cleveland. The Browns have since then won as many playoff games as they did while they didn't have a team: zero.

The Browns had one playoff game, to the hated Steelers, and lost 36-33.

The coaches that the Browns have hired have all been failures. Now they start the season with Eric Mangini, who was fired by the New York Jets because he could not turn that franchise around.

Can he do it for the Browns?

The Cleveland fans deserve a lot more than the new owners are giving them. They are some of the most loyal fans in the NFL, and deserve to have a team that can win.

Interesting note, no team that has ever lost to the Browns during the regular season has gone on to win the Super Bowl. Maybe they should stop scrimmaging during the year.

Some people may ask why I am putting Jacksonville so low on the list. Simple, everyone above them has at least played in a Super Bowl.

Jacksonville came into the league in 1995. In their second year, they made it all the way to the AFC Championship game.

They have returned to that game only one time, losing to the New England Patriots.

My biggest knock on Jacksonville, is the fans. The Jaguars are one of the few teams in the league that do not regularly sell out home games.

There have been rumors over the last few years that they are going to be moving, and yet the people in Jacksonville still don't support their team.

Like the Texans, I have to say that what the Falcons are currently doing, could easily push them up the rankings in the years to come. They just aren't there yet.

This is a team that has had some talent, but has yet to do anything with it.

Mike Vick goes without saying. After being given the largest contract in the history of the NFL, Vick ruined his career by committing a felony crime.

In 43 years, the Falcons have gone to the playoffs nine times, making it to one Super Bowl, and losing to the Denver Broncos 34-19.

The start must have been is a perfect line for the Arizona Cardinals in 2008, making it to the first Super Bowl in franchise history.

The Cardinals have been to the playoffs a total of five times since the merger, not winning a playoff game until 1998 defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round, then losing to the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional game.

Last year, the Cardinals were 2:38 from winning the Super Bowl, only to have Santonio Holmes kill them with one of the best catches in the history of the Super Bowl.

Known affectionatly as the Bungles, Cincinnati was actually a good team in the 1980's.

Twice they reached the Super Bowl, in 1981 and 1988, both times losing to the San Francisco 49ers.

Cincinnati went on a 15 year playoff drought from 1990-2005, winning the division, then losing to the eventual Super Bowl Champs: the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Known more for their questionable draft selections, not caring about character and focusing more on talent, Cincinnati has had more arrests in the last 10 years than any team in sports.

Seattle joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team. They were a member of the AFC until realignment in 2002.

In their 33 year history, the Seahawks have made the playoffs 10 times, with a 7-8 post season record.

Seattle's only Super Bowl apperance was a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL.

The Chargers have made the playoffs 11 times since the merger, and have only one Super Bowl birth to show for it.

In 1994 the Chargers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game to advance to the Super Bowl to play the San Francisco 49ers, one of the worst beatings in Super Bowl history 46-29.

San Diego has done a decent job at making the playoffs, but have not been able to win a Lombardi Trophy along the way.

Jeff Fisher is the most tenured coach in the NFL today. Not knocking his ability to coach but the Oilers / Titans franchise has yet to win a Super Bowl.

Against the "Greatest Show on Turf" in 1999, the Titans literally came up one yard short of tying the game at the end of regulation.

The team that started in Houston in 1960 fielded quite a few decent teams, but in the 1970's, they could not overtake the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty to make it to the Super Bowl.

Moving the team in 1997, the Tennessee Oilers (which were called that for two years) has had some playoff success.

In 2008 they were the top seed in the AFC, hosting and losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.

Seventeen times the Oilers/Titans have made the playoffs, only to fall short of the Super Bowl.