<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Setting the odds for NFL teams without a Super Bowl title to finally win oneBy Todd WrightJune 28, 2006Last week, within a modest span of 25 hours, two franchises that had never won it all finally lifted the hardware.The NHL?s Carolina Hurricanes (who would have NEVER EVER sniffed the polish of a Stanley Cup had they stayed in Hartford) and the NBA?s Miami Heat are off the board of franchises in the four major North American professional sports leagues that have never won a championship.That leaves 54 others based on my count and my parameters, such as my rule that a relocated team basically starts over, in my opinion, until they?ve celebrated one with their current fanbase (San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Hawks, etc.)Also, we?re looking solely at the Super Bowl era for the National Football League. The Super Bowl has been around for four decades and is truly the measure of ultimate success in pro football. Ask any current fan of any franchise that has won an NFL title but not a Super Bowl and they?ll make the trade immediately along with a conditional draft pick.So, let?s analyze the football franchises that have no silver footballs in their lobbies and check the odds of them being ?Next to win their first? as it relates to the NFL (in alphabetical order):ArizonaThe Cardinals? new stadium will host four huge games the next two years: two Fiesta Bowls, the 2007 BCS championship game and Super Bowl XLII. As far as the regular tenant, the Cardinals have become the biggest tease in pro sports now that the Buccaneers, Bengals and the NBA?s Clippers are all winners. Local fans are overexcited again (even Janet Gretzky?s got money on the Cards), but the rest of us outside the desert know it?s simply another mirage. Odds: (Insert today?s high temperature in Glendale, Ariz.) to 1AtlantaIf the Panthers don?t do it next, then the Falcons probably will prevent them from doing it. The Falcons are playoff-ready provided Michael Vick believes in the offensive system, and the defense must be improved with John Abraham now coming off the edge. Last year may have just been an aberration considering Atlanta made the NFC championship game the previous year. GM Rich McKay knows what it takes to build a consistent winner in this league as well as anybody else. Odds: 9-2BuffaloThe fact that even Thurman Thomas is talking about this team moving out of Buffalo/Orchard Park in three to four years doesn?t bode well. Even if the Bills stay put, and here?s hoping they do, the short term seems bleak. The Bills were in the bottom five in both offense and defense last year, and even local fans are wondering why just about every guy with a say on this team goes for wings at the Anchor Bar at 4:15 p.m. looking for the early-bird special. Odds: 88-1CarolinaThis is the obvious choice, right? Three years running, the Panthers have lost the Super Bowl, made a late run to just miss the playoffs the following year and then lost the NFC championship game when they literally ran out of running backs. Defense is good, offense can be better if all the new parts fit the way John Fox is expecting. Odds: 8-5CincinnatiCarson Palmer seems more like Superman than Brandon Routh right now. While everything appears to be going well in Palmer?s return from the knee injury that ended the Bengals? run in the postseason and kick-started that of the Steelers, there are still other wounds from that game that need healing. Chad Johnson?s reported scuffle with a coach at halftime bears watching, and Marvin Lewis still hasn?t figured out how to get the most out of his defensive personnel when it comes to consistently stopping an opponent. Odds: 25-1ClevelandI?ve said it before in this space and I?ll say it again ? I like what could happen in Cleveland this year and potentially into next year. Charlie Weis won quicker than Romeo Crennel, but Crennel had less to work with from the beginning. Now the former Patriots defensive coordinator has much more on the defensive side, both with veterans and youth, to get the defense into the top 10, and QB Charlie Frye has the right attitude and tools to be everything that Tim Couch was not. Expect a big move in the right direction this year and then, maybe, just maybe, a real contender in 2007 for another AFC championship game against ? well, Denver would be fun. Odds: 41-1DetroitRod Marinelli could be the second coming of Tony Dungy, Jack Del Rio or Marvin Lewis. We mean that in a nice way ? then we realize all of those guys are also on this list. The Lions? defense will likely improve, but there are plenty of concerns on the other side of the ball. Ex-coach Steve Mariucci said in 2004 that he needed another year, but Marinelli really needs another year. Maybe with the Tigers' run atop the AL Central, nobody will care if he truly does. Odds: (Insert the Tigers' total wins in 2006) to 1HoustonThe Texans would like a second honeymoon with their fans, but they won?t get it. The road to success hit a major sinkhole last year, and this team is basically starting over even though David Carr is now an experienced quarterback. Fans and talking heads everywhere will spend most of their time this year talking about what the Texans did with the top pick rather than what they are doing as a team on the field. That conversation could roll right into next offseason, as it isn?t far-fetched to see Houston again picking first. Odds: 144-1IndianapolisYes, much like the Giants in baseball and the Hawks in the NBA, the Colts haven?t won in their current locale ? so they?re on the list. The Colts are considered the team to beat in the NFL by those working on the 31 other NFL teams. Need proof? Ask the Texans why they drafted Mario Williams over Reggie Bush, and you?ll hear that Williams can help stop Peyton Manning and Bush could not. Dungy and Manning are two of the best and most respected at their positions in the league, but neither has even gone to a Super Bowl, and their playoff records are surprisingly lacking, as well. The Colts may have missed their chance last year with the current makeup of the team, and just replacing ?the idiot kicker? may not change anything. So, until Jon Gruden replaces Dungy again or Manning calms down with the play-calling, they will continue to be the best team not to win in all of professional sports. Odds: 15-1 (which looks better as a regular season won-lost record)JacksonvilleOne has to remind themselves that the Jaguars actually made the playoffs last year. Really? Yes, they did, and then they were smacked around by a Patriots team that fell well short of previous years. The Jaguars have a lot of good things going for them right now, but just not enough to be a serious championship threat. Maybe when the NFL decides those tarps covering eight sections of sideline seats are no longer worth the embarrassment, the Jaguars will head for Los Angeles and leave the city to prepare year-round for one of the greatest events in college football, the world?s largest outdoor cocktail party. Odds: 54-1MinnesotaSpeaking of former Philly coaches, here?s one and he?ll probably get things back to respectability at some point. However, to put "Vikings" and "Super Bowl" in the same sentence right now is just not possible. This is the most unpredictable team in the league right now, which doesn?t give us much reason to think a run at the elusive title is imminent. Brad Johnson has won one, so that lowers the number just a tad. Odds: 59-1New OrleansThis was the only team hotter at the end of the 2004 regular season than the Panthers. Some still don?t understand the tiebreaker formula that kept them out of the postseason that year. Since then, a lot has happened to this franchise and the surrounding area it once again calls home. The Saints don?t have much of a winning history, and despite adding Brees and Bush in the offseason, it's a transitional year for the team, with a new coaching staff carrying the hopes of a rebuilding metropolitan area. Odds: 110-1PhiladelphiaSpeaking of Philly, the Eagles moonwalked right out of the NFC playoff picture last year. Terrell Owens was part of the problem, but he doesn?t get all the blame. The Eagles' defense seems in transition, assistant coaches have fled for other opportunities and Andy Reid wants to run the ball more with a tailback he never wanted to use that much in the first place. Donovan McNabb is now better than Brett Favre when it comes to making chicken salad out of chicken feathers, but the division is brutal. Odds: 30-1San DiegoThe guy who makes the delicious cheesesteaks at Geno?s in Philly prefers me to say it this way, only I?m talking about Drew Brees and not onions: ?Wit? 6-1, ?witout? 36-1. Even LaDainian Tomlinson?s numbers could take a hit with the change at quarterback, let alone the team?s win total. Odds now with Philip Rivers: 36-1SeattleThe Seahawks are coming off their best season ever, and much of that group is still in place. However, it's only logical to think that some things that went Seattle?s way in 2005 won?t do so in ?06. Namely, breaks and injuries. Besides, it has been 35 years since a team won it all the year after losing a Super Bowl. Odds: 6-1TennesseeWell, this franchise finally made the move with Steve McNair, but other than the addition of C Kevin Mawae, this is not a place where veteran players want to play anymore. There?s just an obvious lack of trust between those in the locker room and the front office. Head coach Jeff Fisher holds it together the best he can but now is looking at a real rebuilding project that may ultimately even cost him his job. Well, at least Fisher?s ads for EA Sports are good, but we won?t see the fake punt or the playoff beard any time in the near future. Odds: 81-1</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Johnny White Guy @ Jun 29 2006, 11:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I agree with all of those but they were a little harsh on the Cardinals odds, wouldn't you say?</div>On the todays high tempterature in Arizona? A little bit, but id say they are a bit of a longshot with a bad offensive line and a not great defense.
I know but still... you can't put like the Titans in front of Arizona right now... or the Browns or the Bills...
I think the Colts or Panthers will be the first team to win a Super Bowl -- I know a lot of people don't think Manning will win one before his career is over but i really think he'll have a ring soon
I don't see the Colts winning one soon, maybe when Manning shows that he can't CHOKE for once... he's gotta learn to be a warrior before he can do anything as miraculous as winning a Super Bowl. He's gonna have to do it soon I think, they do show a good young defense, but the offense lost Edge at RB, and Marvin Harrison is only getting older. Who knows, we'll have to see.I see the Panthers with higher odds than the Colts, they've only gotten better and from what Steve Smith did for them on offense last year, I think anything is possible. Even when hes got 2 or 3 guys on him he can still come up big.
