NFL Predictions: 5 Teams with Potential Dynasty Written All over Them

After the conclusion of the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, the annual debate will begin. The team that wins will be immediately scrutinized and analyzed by a multitude of media types.

They all will undoubtedly want to know: Is this the next great NFL dynasty?

For weeks comparisons will be made to teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers of the 60's, San Francisco 49er's of the 80's and 90's, and Bill Belichick's New England Patriots.

These days the winners of all major sports championships barely have time to enjoy their victory before they are dissected and compared with the greatest teams of all time.

I am going to buck this trend a bit. I'm not going to wait until after the Super Bowl. I'm going to try and answer that question now.

I wanted to predict the next great NFL dynasties based on their performances during the regular season—and their prospects going forward. 

Neither the NFL playoffs nor the Super Bowl have any impact on these predictions.

The dictionary definition for a dynasty is: a powerful group or family that maintains its position for a considerable time.

To bring this into the realm of sports, I will add that a dynasty is able to maintain its power despite an ever changing group of players that make it up. They do so by keeping a core group intact.

New England is a perfect example. The Patriots had an ever changing roster yet still dominate. Why? They have a corps made of Belichick and Tom Brady that keep the dynasty rolling.

There are a handful of teams that have the potential to be the Steelers and 49er's of their respected era.

In my opinion these are the five teams with the best chance.

I Need to Clarify Something First

You won't find the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers on my list, and here's why.

Is it because I think they're really overrated and will never amount to much? No, of course not.  It is because it would be too easy to call them dynasties.

They are both as close as you can get to a modern day dynasty with only one championship apiece. In my opinion both teams will likely win more titles and thus will eventually be considered dynasties of this era.

Instead of going the easy route, I wanted to focus on teams that haven't won anything yet. Rather, teams that have a corps of players that put them on the best path to future dynasticism.

Yes, that is a word, I checked.

5. Carolina Panthers

At 6-10, the Carolina Panthers are a long way from being a dynasty. They aren't as far away as the St. Louis Rams—few teams are—but they have a ways to go.

What makes Carolina a potential dynasty is that they already have a huge piece to the puzzle in place. Some teams spend decades searching for this player. Just ask the Detroit Lions (although they've finally found their man).

With a young quarterback like Cam Newton the Panthers have heaps and heaps of dynasty potential. He is a cornerstone type of player. He is a franchise quarterback.

Even as a rookie it is safe to say that.

As a rookie, Newton put up some pretty ridiculous numbers. He accounted for 35 touchdowns, 21 passing and 14 rushing. He also completed 60 percent of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 84.5.

Those numbers were better than established veterans on better teams such as Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez and Kevin Kolb.

He's only going to get better. Especially when Carolina starts to build a team around him. Particularly a defense. That will be the next step.  Dynasties need great quarterbacks, but they also need great defenses.

If they are able to make upgrades to their defense, the offense will take care of itself.

Carolina can build the offense around their quarterback like New England does. He's the type of player that doesn't need major weapons around him. Just like Brady, Newton will elevate lesser players and make everyone around him better.

4. Cincinnati Bengals

I could barely bring myself to write this because of the absurd notion it suggests. I can already hear the comments about a certain place freezing over before this would ever happened.

Bare with me. It's actually not as far-fetched as you might think.

What factors turn an NFL team into a dynasty? A great quarterback is the biggest one and Andy Dalton appears to be the real deal.

His passing statistics during the regular season put him in the top 20 of the NFL, far in front of the more heralded rookies Christian Ponder and Blaine Gabbert and not far from Cam Newton.

As a rookie his numbers were nearly identical to Joe Flacco's. That's pretty impressive. The assumption is that he'll get even better with time.

With a trio of dynamic young receivers, Dalton could have the Bengals offense rolling year in and year out.

The only piece missing is a dynamic young running back. Cedric Benson is nice, but he's been in the league seven years already. The life span of a running back is short, and he's on his last legs.

The second biggest factor is a great defense. Well, Cincinnati's got one. Coach Marvin Lewis is a defensive wiz, and he's gotten the most out of this no-name bunch. They're equally adept at stopping the run or the pass. 

According to ESPN, they gave up the seventh fewest yards per game and the ninth fewest points per game during the regular season.

The knock on Cincinnati has always been that it have the worst owners in the league. Ownership that cares more about making a profit then winning football games. Well, this year proves that despite whatever ownership flaws exist, winning football is possible in Cincinnati.

With young talent like they have, winning football could be possible for a very long time.

3. Houston Texans

This was supposed to be the Houston Texans' year.  The stars and planets had aligned for them. Their path was clear.

Those pesky Indianapolis Colts and their all-world quarterback Peyton Manning were finally out of the way. This was going to be their year.

Then the injury bug came to town and bit their top four players. Each of them was lost for a significant amount of time.

Despite this obstacle, the Texans demonstrated why they belong on this list. Without their starting wide receiver, running back, quarterback and best defensive player, they continued to win. 

Not at their usual clip, but good enough to make the playoffs.  This is the stuff that dynasties are made of. 

Here's why.

Behind the franchise quarterbacks and superstars that are the face of dynasties, there have to be exceptional role players that know how to do their jobs. Regardless if their best players are on the field or not. 

Exceptional leadership and coaching makes this possible. When good players go down, there has to be quality leadership in place so all the other players don't jump ship and give up.

It is the responsibility of coaches to focus the remaining players on the field and put them in positions to win.

Not only does Houston have a bevy of superstar players, on offense and defense, but it has a coaching staff and a system in place that can make everyone successful.

This sets them up well to be championship contenders for many years to come. Especially when they get healthy.

2. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers have two pieces to the dynasty puzzle already cemented in place: an elite defense and a head coach that knows how to get the best out of his players.

Unlike his predecessor, Jim Harbaugh knows how to motivate the right way. He turned perennial underachiever and Bay Area doormat Alex Smith into a competent and efficient quarterback.

He also turned a good defense into a great one.

The core of that defense—Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman and Aldon Smith—are young and will be around for a long time. Taken alone, they have the making of a defensive dynasty.

The offense has some growing to do but with Harbaugh you have to believe he will make all the right moves. He has some great weapons on offense. Namely young and dynamic receivers Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis.

Unfortunately their biggest question mark comes from the position that truly makes a dynasty possible—the quarterback.

Unlike every other team on this list, the 49ers don't have one.

Despite what Harbaugh says Smith is not the answer. You can't be a dynasty by dumbing down your offense. The 49ers might be able to win a Super Bowl like Trent Dilfer and the Baltimore Ravens did, but they will never be a legitimate dynasty that way.

Presumably they drafted Colin Kaepernick to be the successor to Smith. But is he a franchise quarterback? Who knows. He hasn't set foot on the field yet. Only time will tell.

Regardless of their quarterback issues, with Harbaugh at the helm it's not hard to imagine the 49ers vying for Super Bowls for many years to come. 

1. Detroit Lions

I am about to utter what amounts to NFL blasphemy for the second time in this article. That's right, I think the Detroit Lions have the greatest potential to become the next dynasty in the NFL.

Full disclosure, I am a Detroit Lions fan, but hear me out. I'm looking at this scientifically.

When you look at the NFL's best dynasties, what do they have in common? As I've said, great franchise quarterbacks, MVP quarterbacks.

The Lions have one in Matthew Stafford. He hasn't won anything yet, but he is a legitimate MVP candidate this year, and he should have been selected to the Pro Bowl. His numbers were right up there with Brees, Brady and Rodgers.

He will get even better as long as he can stay healthy. It doesn't hurt that he has Calvin Johnson to throw to either.

Dynasties of the past also had great defenses. The Lions defense is not there yet, but it isn't terrible. They actually have a good young corps of players in place. Seven of their best players have three years or less of experience, including Ndamukong Suh, Louis Delmas and Nick Fairley.

These players will be the anchors of the defense for many years. In fact all they need to take them from good to great is more game time experience.

What's the last dynasty factor? Great coaching. In my opinion the Lions have this too.

Although Jim Schwartz has earned his fair share of criticism this year this fact remains, he turned the worst franchise in NFL history into winners in two years.

In the process, he delivered the Lions to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.

He and general manager Martin Mayhew have set the Lions up, via the draft, to have great success in the future. Something that prior administrations failed miserably at.

While it might be hard to believe, I think it is undeniable. The Lions have all the key attributes that make up an NFL dynasty. 

The only thing they need now is time. Time to get better and time to realize their potential as the next great dynasty in the NFL.