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Sustained excellence


The Gipper

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DoucheNozzle proposes a theory that the Steelers down periods are better than the Browns up periods have been.

 

Lets see, lets test that theory: Now, the Steelers extended down period was from 1933 to 1971. Ignoring ties, they had a 173-284 mark...or a .378 win pct. The Browns in their up period from 1945 to 1973 were 250-96 for a .722 win pct.

 

The Browns had 27 winning seasons out of 28 in that stretch. In there they had a 17 year stretch of winning seasons. I defy you to find any team to have ever matched that. But we shall try. Here are some candidates:

 

The 49ers in the 80-mid 90s sustained 16 winning seasons, then had 3 losing seasons in a row.

 

Probably the closest are the Tom Landry Cowboys of the mid 60s to mid 80s. They had 20 winning seasons in a row, but then had a stretch of 5 losing seasons.

 

The Steelers had 13 winning or .500 seasons in a row from 1972 to 1984, but then had losing seasons in 3 of the next 4 years. In the last 14 years they have had one losing season, plus 3 .500 seasons...including the last 2.

 

The Raiders from 1965 to 1986 May come about as close as any: In 22 years they had 20 winning seasons, including 16 in a row. They had 1 .500 year and one losing year. After that they had a couple of losing and .500 seasons.

 

We have to look at the Dolphins during much of the Shula years. In 33 seasons from 1970 to 2003 (Shula may not have coached this entire time) the Dolphins had 27 winning seasons, 4 .500 seasons, and 2 losing seasons. The longest stretch of winning seasons during this time was, however, only 7 in a row.

 

The George Allen/Joe Gibbs Redskins had a good run. From 1971 to 1992 they had 18 winning seasons, 2 losing seasons and 2 .500 seasons. Longest streak though of winning seasons was just 6 years.

 

We now also have to look at the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick Patriots of current vintage. They have 17 winning seasons, 2 losing seasons and one .500 season. They are currently on a string of 13 consecutive winning seasons, and could keep it up for a bit.

 

The real challenger may be the George Halas Bears. From 1920 to 1951 the Bears had 30 winning seasons and just 2 losing seasons. They had no .500 years. If you take their first 28 years, they had 26 out of 28 winning years. Their longest winning stretch was 15 years. Just one notch below the Browns first 28 years.

 

Obviously the Packers have to be looked at, given they have the most titles. And they do compare.

In there first 28 years they had 26 winning seasons and two losing seasons, but their second losing season was in their 28th year (they had 3 losing seasons in a row) But they would have been 26 winning and 1 losing year in their first 27. Longest winning streak: 14 years.

 

Other teams: Rams from 1966-1981 had 14 winning seasons in 15 years. Ravens don't count for shit, in less than 20 years they have already had 6 losing seasons. Elway's Broncos? From 1983 to 1998 he had 11 winning seasons, 2 losing and 3 .500 years. The Giants have been up and down. They had a 10 year stretch of winning seasons from 1954-1963, but other than that no more than like 4 winning seasons in a row. The Vikings in the late 60s-70s had an 11 year stretch of 10 winning seasons plus one .500 year.

Finally, the Colts had a couple of good stretches, those naturally being the Johnny U stretch and the Peyton stretch. From 1957 to 1971 the Colts had 13 winning seasons and just 2 .500 seasons with no losing years. In the Peyton years from 1999 to 2010 they had 11 winning years to just one losing year.

 

That is about the best I can gather of teams that have had sustained success over a fairly long period of time. The Browns 27 winning years out of 28 is the best for that stretch of time, matched closely be the early Bears and Packers.

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Thought this was a Viagra thread.

 

 

Just kidding....good read!

If you are asking me if I can keep it up, certainly.....even without the little blue pill.

 

Example: The Cardinals and the Bears are the only two original franchises in the league going back to 1920. In all that time the Cardinals have never had more than 3 consecutive winning seasons.

The Falcons never had more than a single winning season in a row until they had 5 in a row from 2008 to 2012...then fell back again last year.

The Bills best period was the Jim Kelly years 1988 to 2000 11 winning years, 2 losing, 1 .500.

The Carolina Panthers have never had more than one winning season in a row. The best they did was 1 winning year followed up by a .500 season.

The current streak of 3 winning seasons in a row is the longest streak of the kind in the history of the Cincinnati Bengals.

For the Lions, the 50s were their hey day, But in that decade of 3 titles, they only had 6 winning seasons, 3 losing and one .500 year. Even during the Barry Sanders years of the 90s they only had 5 winning years, 4 losing and 1 .500. Actually the Lions best era was the 30s when they had 9 winning years in a row.

The Jaguars had a little better run than their expansion counterpart Panthers. They had a 4 year winning stretch from 1996 to 1999.

The Hank Stram Chiefs may be "the best of the rest" here. From 1960-1973 they had 11 winning years, 2 losing and 1 .500. Plus a stretch of 9 winning seasons in a row...plus 2 titles.

The Saints have never gone more than 5 years in a row without a losing season, and that 5 year stretch in the late 80s-90s had a couple of .500 years. Even in the current Drew Brees era since 2006 they have had some big winning years, But they have had 5 winning seasons, 2 losing years and one at .500.

Only twice have the Jets had as many as 3 winning seasons in a row 2000/01/02 and in the Joe Namath years he could only manage 3 winning years in a row.

The Eagles had 2 decent periods. From 1943 to 1954 they had 10 winning seasons, 1 losing season and 1 .500 season, plus 2 NFL titles. In the McNabb years 2000 to 2011 they had 9 winning years, 2 .500 years and 1 losing season.

The Chargers actual best run was at the beginning of their existance. They had 9 winning seasons out of their first 10 with Hadl/Lincoln/Lowe. They had 5 good years under Fouts, but that was it, until the Phillip Rivers years. Since 2004 they have had 7 winning years, one losing year and 2 .500 years.

For the Seahawks, actually their winningest era were with Mike Holmgren. They had 5 winning seasons in a row with him, longest stretch in history. Last year's SB year was only their second year in a row with a .500 or above record.

The Tampa Bay Bucs best era was that which ended in their Super Bowl win. They had 5 winning seasons, best in their history, culminating with their 2002 Championship.

The Oilers/Titans had several decent runs. At their onset they had 3 winning seasons plus 2 titles. The Bum Phillips years from 1977 to 1980 were good, but their longest sustained stretch was from 1987 to 1993 with 7 winning seasons in a row with Warren Moon at the control. Plus they have been mostly good during the Jeff Fisher years.

But none of these teams in this post had the kind of sustained success as those in the OP.

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Interesting stuff... did a little more math...

 

Now, the Steelers extended down period was from 1933 to 1971. Ignoring ties, they had a 173-284 mark...or a .378 win pct. The Browns in their up period from 1945 to 1973 were 250-96 for a .722 win pct.

 

The Steelers had 13 winning or .500 seasons in a row from 1972 to 1984, but then had losing seasons in 3 of the next 4 years. In the last 14 years they have had one losing season, plus 3 .500 seasons...including the last 2.

Steeler regular season win pct. from '72 thru '84 was 68.2%. They went 130-58-1. They also went 15-8 in playoffs during that period... a 65.2% clip.

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minus

 

Interesting stuff... did a little more math...


Steeler regular season win pct. from '72 thru '84 was 68.2%. They went 130-58-1. They also went 15-8 in playoffs during that period... a 65.2% clip.

 

*Heavy Steroid use, causing premature death at a young age.

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Here's hoping the Browns start a revival now. Beat these Ratbirds at home, steal one in Tennessee, then whip the Squealers Oct 12.

 

I can see it happening. This town is going to go nuts.

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