The decade opened up spectacularly poor for the team from Charlotte, as the George Seifert experiment completely melted down in 2001 with a horrific 1-15 season, not only costing the former 49ers coach his job but perhaps a shot at the Hall of Fame. To add insult to injury, the expansion of the Texans didn’t even net the Panthers the #1 overall pick in next year’s draft (though fortunately ending up with Julius Peppers turned out well).
For the remainder of the decade, the Panthers were led by John Fox, and the results were slightly above average, though never spectacular. A solid 11-5 season turned into a Super Bowl berth in 2003 upon surprisingly inflicting a third straight NFC Championship loss upon Donovan McNabb and the Eagles. There were close calls in 2005 and 2008, but they faltered in the playoffs both times.
This team could very well be at a crossroads from here on out, as many of its key cogs of the past decade are past their prime (Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith, Muhsin Muhammad), and Peppers will almost certainly not return due to the exorbitant cost it would require. There is also concern that the Fox regime has grown too stale, leading to endless rumors that his successor could be a very prominent NFL face residing in the state of North Carolina…
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
#15: New York Jets Record: 80-80 (.500) (16th) Playoff Appearances: 5 (T8th) Playoff Wins: 4 (T8th or 9th) Consistency Rank: 30th*
*This one should be disregarded, because the negative multiplier was applied to all teams with non-winning records. If it was applied to non-losing records, the Jets would rank 6th in this statistic.
It may be surprising to see this team as high as it is in the rankings. Gang Green certainly hasn’t garnered a truly stellar performance in the last decade. However, aside from its three losing seasons, the Jets have been remarkably consistent, with either nine or ten wins in each of the remaining seven seasons. Five of those years included playoff berths, including some notable playoff wins (the infamous 41-0 whitewashing of the Colts, two upset wins at San Diego).
Credit has to be given due to Chad Pennington, on the team from 2000-2007. No one considers him an elite quarterback, and injuries marred his potential. However, he may be one of the most underrated. Of particular notice is his high completion percentage (66.1), TD to INT ratio (102/64), and rating (90.1). The Jets may have paid a price by cutting him loose in 2008, only to watch him kick them out of the playoffs as part of the hated Miami Dolphins.
Nonetheless, the Jets have a new quarterback in Mark Sanchez that may be able to beat what Pennington provided. Leading your team to the AFC Championship Game as a rookie is a great start. With other key young players on board, such as Darrelle Revis, Shonn Greene, and David Harris, the Jets could be a team on the rise.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
#14: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Record: 79-81 (.494) (T17th) Playoff Appearances: 5 (T8th) Playoff Wins: 3 (T13th) Super Bowl Appearances: 1 Super Bowl Wins: 1 Consistency Rank: 22nd
Here, at this merely slightly above average position, the first Super Bowl champion of the decade is revealed. Why? Surely the Bucs were known for more success than that magical year of 2002, correct? In truth, the opposite is closer. In order to win the Super Bowl, a team needs at least three playoff wins. As such, all of the playoff success in Tampa Bay came in that one year.
And what a year it was, as well, given the high stakes expectations of firing Tony Dungy and trading the farm for Jon Gruden. Upsetting the Eagles at Philadelphia and then getting revenge on Gruden’s old team in the Raiders was as good as it gets. However, Gruden simply couldn’t keep the success going after 2002. Veterans Warren Sapp and John Lynch left after 2003, as did Keyshawn Johnson after a notoriously bitter fight with Gruden. Futhermore, Gruden’s quest for a quarterback along the lines of Rich Gannon became quixotic.
Though the Bucs garnered a couple of playoff berths in 2005 and 2007, they also suffered some really bad seasons (5-11 in 2004 and 4-12 in 2006). The lack of success finally led the Glazer family to unexpectedly send Gruden packing after 2008, raising more suspicion that Gruden really won a Super Bowl with the team that Tony Dungy built. Early returns on the Raheem Morris era are not good, as the team is in full rebuild mode evident from their decade-worst 3-13 record to close it out.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
EllisEamos wrote:
the rams super bowl doesn't count as this decade?
ok.
One reason why I really like that the Super Bowl does Roman numerals is because it avoids the confusion of years. It royally pisses me off that the 2010 BCS bowls refer to the 2009 seasons.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:14 am Posts: 37778 Location: OmaGOD!!! Gender: Male
Green Habit wrote:
EllisEamos wrote:
the rams super bowl doesn't count as this decade?
ok.
One reason why I really like that the Super Bowl does Roman numerals is because it avoids the confusion of years. It royally pisses me off that the 2010 BCS bowls refer to the 2009 seasons.
Of course, that also makes it impossible to remember what year any given Super Bowl is associated with. Like, I know that the Giants won Super Bowls 21 and 25, but I have to think about it to remember what years those were. And I know they were in the Super Bowl against the Ravens in 2001, because I know I was living in Chicago at the time, but I don't know what number Super Bowl that was.
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
As the rankings get closer to the top we discover teams that were almost always contenders in the decade, but could never get over the hump. The Vikings clearly fall under that category. It began with another conference championship embarrassment, though a 41-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Giants was painful in a different way from 1998. The transition from Dennis Green to Mike Tice was a bit rough, and while Tice’s tenure was marked with pure mediocrity, it did feature one highlight: a 2004 playoff win over the hated Packers—at Lambeau Field nonetheless, made famous for the Randy Moss fake mooning incident.
Brad Childress is the current leader, and while many, including Vikings fans, have been somewhat critical, his tenure has been marked with his team getting progressively better. From 2006-2009, the Vikings increased their win total per season by two each year. Childress also solved the franchise’s long drought at running back by drafting Adrian Peterson, and then pulled off a good gamble for a year by grabbing Brett Favre. He led the Vikings once again to the conference championship, but hearts were broken once again in a game marred by horrible turnovers.
With Favre entering yet another year of “do I retire, do I not?”, the Vikings’ future will be inherently up in the air as a result. Regardless of what Favre does, Childress’s progressive success would be best insured by obtaining some sort of hedge plan at quarterback, while the rest of his team is running on all cylinders.
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