Which of the NFL's Four Winless Teams Will Run the Table in 2009?

Misery loves company and it took 32 years for the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get some. 

Last season the Detroit Lions finished 0-16, joining the '76 Bucs as the only teams to ever finish an NFL season entirely defeated.

After watching the 2007 Miami Dolphins avoid infamy by beating the Baltimore Ravens in overtime in Week 15, I assumed the football gods simply would not allow a group of professionals to finish a season winless.

Low and behold Matt Millen and the sorry bunch he put together managed to pull it off a year later.

It will not take another thiry years for an NFL team to go winless. In fact, the '08 Lions and '76 Buccaneers may have a new friend joining them by season's end.

Through five weeks of football in 2009, four teams- the St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and another Buccaneers squad- are winless. Each of them has what it takes to run the table, so maybe this is the year that not one, but two franchises get stamped with the ultimate black mark. 

While that is entirely possible, my gut says only one of the four will start the next decade as the NFL's biggest loser. Take a look at each situation and find out who. 

Tennessee Titans

L-Column: @Pittsburgh, 10-13/OT; vs. Houston, 31-34; @NY Jets, 17-24; @Jacksonville, 17-37; vs. Indianapolis, 9-31. 

Record of teams played: 15-10.

Record of remaining opponents: 24-29.

Best chances at a win: Nov. 15 vs. Buffalo, Dec. 13 vs. St. Louis, Nov. 1 vs. Jacksonville.

Reasons for optimism: Running back's Chris Johnson and LenDale White make up one of the NFL's best rushing tandems and Jeff Fisher is one of the league's best coaches. 

Defensive back Cortland Finnegan, who played like an all-pro in '08, is returning to the lineup this weekend which should help bolster the league's worst pass defense.

Reasons why 0-16 is a possibility: The Titans are 29th in points allowed (27.8), ahead of only also-winless Tampa Bay and St. Louis, and last year's winless team, Detroit.

Aside from not being able to stop anybody, Tennessee also has trouble scoring. It's putting up just 16.8 points per game, the same amount as the winless Chiefs.

Analysis: It's amazing that we're talking about the Titans finishing without a win just one season after winning the AFC South at 13-3, which is why I think Tennessee has the least chances of finishing '09 defeated.

They get the Rams, Jaguars and Bills (who are no better than any of these four defeated clubs) at home, so if they finish 0-16 then they sure earned it.

The fact is Fisher is too good of a coach and, when healthy, the defense has too many playmakers to stay as bad as it has been thus far. Also consider that the Titans were 0-5 in 2006 and rallied to finish 8-8. I don't see that happening here, but I still think they're good enough to win a few games.

Final Verdict: 4-12.

Kansas City Chiefs

L-Column: @Baltimore, 24-38; vs. Oakland, 10-13; @Philadelphia, 14-34; vs. NY Giants, 16-27; vs. Dallas, 20-26/OT.

Record of teams played: 15-9.

Record of remaining opponents: 28-25.

Best chances at a win: Oct. 18 @Washington, Nov. 15 @Oakland, Dec. 13 vs. Buffalo, Dec. 20 vs. Cleveland.

Reasons for optimism: A few decent playmakers on offense such as Matt Cassel, who has played better in recent weeks, Dwayne Bowe and, yes, running back Larry Johnson can still be considered a playmaker. That and they get another chance at Oakland, while also hosting cellar dwellers Buffalo and Cleveland at Arrowhead.

Reasons why 0-16 is a possibility: Because they have as many game-changers on defense as they currently have wins and the ones I threw out there on the offensive side aren't exactly lighting the world on fire, as evidenced by their 28th place standing in total offense. 

If they don't find a way to beat Buffalo, Cleveland or Oakland, you can basically pencil them in as an 0-fer because if you take away those club's combined win/loss of 3-12, the other eight teams left on Kansas City's schedule sport a ridiculous 25-13 record.

Analysis: Do you think head coach Todd Haley wishes he just stayed in Arizona to lead the scoring machine that is the Cardinals offense? I do. 

Do I think he'll be Rod Marinelli in his first season as a head coach? No.

As bad as the Chiefs are at many key positions, they have actually been competitive most of this season. They were tied with the Ravens in the fourth quarter of the season opener in Baltimore before succumbing, and they blew a 10-point lead in the second half of an overtime loss to Dallas this past weekend. 

What worries me is their Week 2 home loss to Oakland in the final seconds. If they can't beat them at home, can they really go to Oakland and beat the Raiders? I say yes, and I say they win at least one of the other games deemed winnable by yours truly.

Final Verdict: 2-14.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

L-Column: vs. Dallas, 21-34; @Buffalo, 20-33; vs. NY Giants, 0-24; @Washington, 13-16; @Philadelphia, 14-33.

Record of teams played: 14-10.

Record of remaining opponents: 28-20.

Best chances at a win: Oct. 18 vs. Carolina, Dec. 6 @Carolina.

Reasons for optimism: The Bucs have a backfield loaded with talent, featuring Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham.

This is a double edged sword because not only are they talented, but all three deserve a high volume of carries, which gives more reason to take the ball out of the hands of whichever quarterback is playing.

Defensively, Tampa Bay is a horrible unit, but it does have a few solid individuals in Ronde Barber, Aqib Talib and Barrett Ruud that could help the cause.

Reasons why 0-16 is a possibility: Because Josh Johnson is their quarterback, and behind him is a rookie who is ahead of Byron Leftwich, who started the season but was so bad the first couple weeks that he was demoted to third string.

And as good as that loaded backfield looks, it ranks 22nd in the NFL in yards and has produced just two touchdowns. I guess looks can be deceiving.

Remember all of those great Bucs defenses of the past decade? Well, this unit will quickly make you forget as they are 28th in yards allowed and the 30th ranked scoring defense. Yikes.

Analysis: The sudden fall of the Buccaneers is almost as surreal as the Titans. Going into a Monday Night showdown with the Panthers last Dec. 8, the Bucs were tied atop the NFC South at 9-3. They have lost nine straight since.

How different was the roster that night? Jeff Garcia was under center and Brian Griese was his backup. Compare that to the quarterback scramble they have going on now. Antonio Bryant came out of nowhere to have a breakout season and the defense was led by fading star Derrick Brooks, who is now an analyst for ESPN.

John Gruden was head coach and now he's in the Monday Night Football booth with Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski. My guess is Gruden likes that job much better than the one Raheem Morris has.

Morris will have exactly two chances to claim victory in '09 and both will come against Carolina. I seriously have trouble seeing them win either, but I just cannot imagine two teams going winless in one season after only two managed to do it in the past 90 years of NFL history. 

Final Verdict: 1-15.

St. Louis Rams

L-Column: @Seattle, 0-28; @Washington, 7-9; vs. Green Bay, 17-36; @San Francisco, 0-35; vs. Minnesota, 10-38.

Record of teams played: 14-10.

Record of remaining opponents: 26-25.

Best chance at a win: Nov. 1 @Detroit.

Reasons for optimism: Steven Jackson. Really, that's all.

Reasons why 0-16 is a possibility: For the Rams, 0-16 is a darn near reality. Where to start? Since this list could go on forever, let's start and finish with their one reason for optimism.

Through five weeks, Jackson has 451 yards rushing, which puts him on pace for 1,433. That is a total that most, if not all, of this year's Pro Bowl running backs won't reach. 

The point is, Jackson is playing very well and St. Louis has still been blasted in all but one game. I realize he hasn't found the end zone, but what in the world do you expect out of him?

Their quarterback is Kyle Boller. The starting wide receivers are Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton. Not exactly what I would call threats.

The only way Jackson scores is if he breaks one from 60 yards out because you know the five times the Rams get a goal-to-go situation the rest of this year, the defense will have all 11 players locked on No. 39. 

Analysis: St. Louis has been outscored 34-146 thus far and they have faced just one playoff lock in Minnesota. 

You know you are bad when someone looks at the schedule and sees another winless team on your slate, the Tennessee Titans, and says without hesitation that you have no shot of winning that game. 

I feel badly for a few players on the team, such as Jackson, Marc Bulger and Will Witherspoon. And who doesn't feel bad for Steve Spagnuola who left the Giants to become the head coach of this disaster?

By the way, the Lions are going to dismember the Rams on Nov. 1. I only picked that game because a) I had to pick one, and b) because it really is the easiest game left on St. Louis' schedule. 

But Detroit will prevail, assuring the Rams finish 2009 winless just as the Lions did in 2008.

Because, after all, misery loves company.

Final Verdict: 0-16.