This topic is an interesting one when it comes to the NFL. How strong are the 32 franchises that make up the league? If there was one that was going to L.A., who would it be? I have those answers. Today I will look at the AFC. The NFC will be tomorrow.
Based on 5 things, I'm going to grade each franchise. If they are strong in one area, they will get a point. If they are so-so, they will get a half point, and if they are weak, they get no points. The categories are:
1) History
2) Winning % last 10 years
3) Championships (includes division, conference, and Super Bowl)
4) Stadium/Deal with stadium/Ownership
5) Attendance/Fan Base
Here is my grading scale:
F 0-1 points
D 1.5-2 points
C 2.5-3 points
B 3.5-4 points
A 4.5-5 points
AFC EAST
New England-A. Despite Spygate, they are solid in all categories.
N.Y. Jets-B. Their winning percentage lately and lack of championships hurt them. New stadium opening up takes care of their other weakness.
Miami-C. They have the history going for them and titles came early, but they haven't won a Super Bowl in 36 years. They haven't been to the Super Bowl in 24. They are on the decline.
Buffalo-D. This franchise may be the one to move to L.A. Buffalo fans are awesome, but their love of the team may not make up for the lack of a money making stadium.
AFC NORTH
Pittsburgh-A. They have it all. One of the model franchises in the league.
Cleveland-B. They have the history, nice new stadium, loyal fan base, but they haven't put up a championship since the 60's and their winning % lately brought them down.
Baltimore-C. The Ravens have the stadium, attendance, and titles taken care of-they just don't have a history and their recent lack of winning dragged them from a B to a C.
Cincinnati-D. It's a good thing that the Bengals have a new stadium or else they would already be the Los Angeles Bengals. Other than the stadium, what have the Bengals had to be happy about? Now their uniforms are even the ugliest in the league. Someone needs to go in there and clean house.
AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis-A. Thanks to Peyton Manning. Before Peyton, they probably would have a C or D. Now they are about to open a new park, they've won a Super Bowl, and people don't seem to slip up and call them the Baltimore Colts much anymore.
Jacksonville-C. Let me say as a Jaguar fan that I think I may be a little rough on the Jaguars. They don't have a history yet, and the attendance at the games scares me. They have a great stadium, and have put a winning product on the field-but no championships.
Tennessee-B. Their history includes that of the Houston Oilers, so they saved some points there. They always seem to be competitive even if they haven't won a championship.
Houston-D. Houston has a beautiful stadium. Not much else.
AFC WEST
San Diego-B. The lack of a championship and their stadium issues are the only things you can say negatively affect the Bolts.
Denver-A. Another one of the league's model franchises. They can't afford this team to not stay competitive.
Kansas City-B. The Chiefs haven't won a title since Super Bowl IV, and their recent history are the only things you can say bad about this franchise.
Oakland-C. They definitely have history and titles. They need a new stadium, their record lately stinks. Through all this, they have a solid fan base.
jj...hate to see the Jags rated lower than the Titans, but it's true. Don't know how the Browns rate a B while Miami gets a C. I would say since their first year in the NFL that Miami has been in the playoffs 3 times as much as the Browns.
I ranked Cleveland higher than Miami because the Dolphins have had blackouts recently, their stadium is now over 20 years old and Cleveland overall has more championships. The Browns have sold out every home game since coming back in 1999 and their stadium is fabulous. Believe me, it hurt me to rate the Titans higher than my Jaguars-but I try to be objective.
Harsh on Miami - they are beginning to move in the right direction - not decline. Recent years have been the only time they have ever been down. Up until about 2000, they were probably one of the winningest franchises in NFL history They may not have won a SB in a long time, but there are many teams have never won one. When was the last time the Jests were there?
if, according to your grading scale you are counting Championships (includes division, conference, and Super Bowl)then the titans have indeed met the requirements - multiple division titles and the AFC Championship. as a jag fan you should know better than anyone since they came at your expense!!!
Here we go again. Anyone outside of Buffalo is always the first one to put Buffalo at the bottom of their list. You are giving way too much weight to these new stadiums. What good is a new stadium if nobody goes to the games. Sure the Jets are getting a new stadium but as soon as they start to lose there will be nobody at their games. Same for the Dolphins. Miami has a hard enough time filling the stadium when they are winning.
We sold 50,000 season tickets this year. Our season ticket sales have gone up steadily throughout the last 5 years.
Nobody gives credit to the history of this team and Ralph Wilson. The many things he has done to help improve the NFl over the years get overshadowed by his age.
Everybody laughed at him when he said the cba deal was a bad one and look who is getting the last laugh.
Turns out crazy old Ralph still knows what he is talking about.
How about Our AFL title and 4 straight superbowl appearances. Talk about history, thats something we may never see again.
Next to GreenBay Buffalo is the best small market franchise. Its easy to support your team when you are on top (New England Fan) and 95% of the NFL.
Buffalo fan continues to support his team through, bad weather, poor play, recession. Why because we love our Football team. We are a drinking town with a football problem.
Dolphins only sell out when the Jets or Pats visit. I nominate them or the Bills because Buffalo is not big enough to support a team. Buffalo should play one game in Buffalo and the rest in Toronto. The Bengals could go also because they need new uniforms and Chad Johnson will like LA.
My response to the last 2-I gave the Titans a B-I gave them .5 for history, 1 for winning %, .5 for championships-they can't get a full point without at least one Super Bowl title, and 1 point each in the other categories. That equals 4 points which gives them a B. They are ranked higher than MY team-how much fairer can I be here?
As far as Buffalo-I mentioned that Bills' fans are great. They sit through terrible weather, but the problem is that many of the games aren't on local TV because they don't sell out. The fact that they are playing some of their games in Toronto goes to show that they aren't as solid as they want to be. This isn't a knock on the city or their fans-but as fans in St. Louis, Baltimore, Cleveland, and L.A. know-these teams will pack up and leave town in a heartbeat for a buck.
Good article. I thought your grades were fair. I would submit that Tennessee / Houston Oliers does have championships having won back to back AFL Championships in 1960 and 1961. Probably, doesn't mean much for marketing today's team with a different logo in a different city, so your point is well taken.
The Bills are actually near the top of the list in terms of profit in the NFL. Their revenues are lower, but they have no debt. As for the Toronto games, name one team in the league that wouldn't have done a similiar deal--78 million for 5 regular season games!!
buffalo has so much history. now if they do not move to toronto but to la this can soon be a premier team. you said about fans, the buffalo fans are in a leval with green bay. loyalty means a lot to this fan base. shame it means so little to the team
before buffalo fans get to angery at me. i went to my first bills game at war memorial stadium. buffalo as a city is one of the best in the league. ralph wilson gave his heart and soul to the team, but never lived in buffalo. his kids say no way to the team. we can love our bills even if they are in la or cannada. actualy the sooner he sells out the better for us. you will know what is going on in how they treat peters at left tackle. sorry about the spelling riverside was not that good a school
