What teams need a doctor?

Recently a friend of mine wrote a post, ARE THE CLEVELAND BROWNS THE WORST RUN FRANCHISE IN SPORTS?, so that got me thinking.  Are they?  From his results he listed the following:

1)      Dallas Cowboys

2)      Oakland Raiders

3)      Cleveland Browns

So I dove into the numbers limiting my research to the last decade to determine if his results hold water or if there were other franchises run worse.  I also limited my research to NFL teams only.  However, before I share my results on the negative, I also found some positive observations too.

In the past decade in the AFC, the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have reached the playoffs 90% of the time while the Patriots have had a winning percentage of 0.775 with one Championship in three tries and the Colts have eclipsed a winning percentage of 0.694 with one Championship in two attempts.  Both loses for the Patriots were to the New York Giants, who have won the most titles in the last decade.  On the other hand for the Colts the one season in the last decade when they didn’t reach the post season tournament the team finished 2-14, drafted Andrew Luck with the first overall pick, and cut ties with Peyton Manning, who is now playing in his second overall Championship game and first Championship game with Denver Broncos on February 2^nd.

In the NFC, both the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers have extended play beyond their regular season 70% of the time.  The Packers with one Championship ring have won at a 0.600 winning percentage; whereas, the Seattle Seahawks with the lowest winning percentage of the four have eclipsed a 0.550 mark.  The Seahawks have one Title loss in the last decade with a chance to even the slate on February 2^nd. 

Now for the negative.  The following teams; Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans; have reached the post-season tournament two times or less in the last decade with the Browns, Raiders, and Bills going home every year in the last after playing their 16 game season.  I also included the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins with my research.  Both of these teams have extended play on three separate occasions.  The Cowboys because the author who inspired my thoughts ranked them number one and the Redskins because many individuals bash RG3 and the Redskins.  

Here are the results of winning percentage for the last decade and five years for the teams listed below.

	last	decade	last	5 years
	Win %	Rank	Win %	Rank
Arizona Cardinals	0.444	10	0.475	12
Buffalo Bills	0.394	5	0.350	4
Carolina Panthers	0.500	13	0.438	9
Cleveland Browns	0.319	3	0.288	1
Dallas Cowboys	0.544	14	0.513	14
Detroit Lions	0.313	2	0.363	8
Houston Texans	0.438	9	0.488	13
Jacksonville Jaguars	0.444	11	0.325	3
Miami Dolphins	0.419	8	0.450	10
Oakland Raiders	0.306	1	0.363	7
St. Louis Rams	0.319	4	0.300	2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0.413	6	0.350	5
Tennessee Titans	0.475	12	0.450	11
Washington Redskins	0.413	7	0.350	6

Does anything jump out to you?  For me right away the Dallas Cowboys have the highest winning percentage, only team with a winning record, and although never reaching the final dance the winning percentage is 0.056 points behind the Seattle Seahawks.  Interesting?  I don’t think the Cowboys are the worse run franchise as stated by the other blogger, but I believe their fans hold their team to a much higher expectation.  Perhaps similar to the Seattle Seahawks or Green Bay Packers or even as high as the New England Patriots and their 90% clip.

The three teams who have yet to reach the playoffs in the last decade are ranked 1, 3, & 5 respectively with only the Raiders showing positive progress.  However, every season it seems the team is in search for a new franchise quarterback.

So after reviewing the numbers what are my rankings for the worse run franchises in the past decade?  I’ll give ya my top five.

1)      Cleveland Browns

2)      St. Louis Rams

3)      Buffalo Bills

4)      Oakland Raiders

5)      Detroit Lions

So if these teams are broke how can they be fixed?  I’m not expert but here are some observations:

Cleveland Browns:  The friend did a good job detailing the Browns problems.  No need to beat a dead horse.

St. Louis Rams:  Currently the Rams play in the toughest division in football with two members playing in the NFC championship game and a third member finishing with 10 wins and not qualifying for the post-season tournament.  With that said the Rams have been close to .500 hundred with 7 wins in three of the past four years.  With the second overall pick in the upcoming draft courtesy of their trade in 2012 with the Washington Redskins, the Rams need to determine if Sam Bradford is their franchise quarterback.   With two first-round draft picks this year if no, after passing over RG3 in 2012, select a new signal caller; otherwise, plug some other holes to compete in a tough division.

Buffalo Bills: Last season the Bills replaced their head coach and drafted a quarterback in the first round.  Now the QB needs to stay healthy on the field, and the team needs to push beyond the hump of six wins which they have been stuck on for the last three seasons.

Oakland Raiders:  Where do I start? Consistency?  Direction? Seems like every season the team is either looking for a quarterback or a head coach. The team hasn’t seen success since they were lead by Jon Gruden.  This year the Raiders select after the Browns at 5, and three of the four teams in front of them are in the quest for new signal callers too.  Someone may be calling the Rams who are sitting at number 2 to make a trade if there is a must-have franchise QB.   Draft day drama.

Detroit Lions: Of the teams in the top 5, the Lions may be the quickest to succeed.  The Lion play in a division where 9 wins may reach the post-season.  Interesting though heading into next season they will have a new head coach although many candidates migrated to other post first.  They need the fewest pieces, and the Lions currently have experienced personal at all of the key offensive positions.  The defense needs addressing, but this team could win quick.

Do you agree with me? Or have a different top three?  Please share.

Peace out have fun and remember to always save your fork.
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