The Bengals were lead in the 1980′s and early 1990′s by left-handed quarterback Boomer Esiason. Boomer was one of the most prolific left-handed passers of all-time being elected four times to the Pro Bowl, named the leagues Most Valuable Player in 1988, and has over 37,000 career passing yards. Another Bengal great was offensive tackle Anthony Munoz. Munuz was elected to eleven straight ro Bowl from 1982 to 1992 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

The 1990′s were a low point in Bengals history. They only appeared in two playoff games, winning one, in the entire decade posting four different 3-13 seasons. From 1991-2004 the Bengals made the playoffs zero times, never having a winning season and even had a league worst 2-14 record in 2002.

The 2000′s have produced not much more success then the 1990′s did. The Bengals since 2000 have only made the playoffs one time in 2005 winning the AFC North with a 11-5 record. The Bengals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who eventually would go on to win Super Bowl XL, in the first round 31-17. There are positives within the Bengals organization, with quarterback Carson Palmer the Bengals have someone to build a team around.

After a long period without a Super Bowl appearance the raider were in Super Bowl XXXVII against the Tampa bay Buccaneers. The game didn’t go as the Raiders planned losing in a noncompetitive game 48-21. It was a bitter sweet season with Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon winning the Most Valuable Player award throwing for nearly 5,000 yards and twenty-six touchdown passes Since there Super Bowl appearance the Raiders have been technically the worst team in the NFL with the most losses since 2003.

The Raiders have had numerous great players put on the silver and black which include running back Marcus Allen, quarterback George Blanda, defensive end Howie Long, guard Gene Upshaw, center Jim Otto, and head coach Jon Madden, all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Owner Al Davis has been apart of the Raiders organization since 1963 as either a coach, managing general partner, and now owner. Davis emphasized “Commitment to Excellence” to bring out the best in all his players at all times. The Super Bowl wins seem like a distance memory the Raiders have a mountain of work to do before they are one of the elite teams.

Despite the failures of the Oakland Raiders the last few seasons the fans, or better known as “Raider Nation” with the “Black Hole” still support the team and hope one day they can turn the page and start their winning ways again.

Tarkenton was a nine time Pro Bowl selection, won the 1975 Most Valuable Player award, and has 342 career touchdown passes. During a thirteen year period the Vikings won eleven NCC Central titles and NFC Championships in 1973, 1974,a dn 1976. The Vikings would go on and win the NFL Championship in 1969 defeating the Cleveland Browns 27-7, only 8 years after its inception.The Vikings would play in three Super Bowls in the 1970′s, Super Bowl VII losing to the Miami Dolphins 24-7, Super Bowl IX losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-6, and Super Bowl XI losing to the Oakland Raiders 32-14. The Vikings never won a championship in the Super Bowl era but that doesn’t take away from their very successful beginnings.

In 1982, the Vikings moved from the Metropolitan Stadium to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome which held Super Bowl XXVI. The stadium was named after the former mayor of Minneapolis Hubert Humphrey.

In the 1990′s the Vikings continued to be a threat in the NFC Central, now the NFC North, year after year. Another Hall of fame player had his most successful season with the Vikings, wide receiver Cris Carter. Carter is one of the greatest statistical WR’s of all-time being elected to the Pro Bowl nine times, and a member of the 1990′s All-Decade Team.

In 1998, the Vikings had high hopes for their team going 15-1 in the regular season and was the clear favorites to win the Super Bowl. Th Vikings set the then all-time scoring record in a season with 556 points. The Vikings would lose to the Atlanta Falcons on a thirty-eight yard field goal miss by Gary Anderson, who didn’t miss a field goal the entire season. The Falcons would win the game in overtime 30-27 Another wide receiver, Randy Moss, was in his rookie year and made a huge impact on that Vikings team. Moss would set NFL rookie receiving records such as seventeen touchdowns in a rookie season.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are one of the oldest franchises in the NFL being established in 1934 when George A. Richards bought the Ohio Spartans and moved them to Detroit. Before they became the Lions the Spartans played a very important game with the Chicago Bears in an indoor stadium, both teams were tied at the end of the regular season, thus, creating the NFL Championship game. The Lions quickly won the NFL Championship in 1935 defeating the New York Giants 26-7, which proved that Detroit football was to be taken seriously. One of the main players for Detroit in those days was Dutch Clark who was the NFL last drop kicker, six time Pro Bowl selection, named to the 1930′s All-Decade team, and inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. It is also a tradition for the Lions to play a football game on Thanksgiving Day which started in 1934 and they continue to play on turkey day to this very day.In the 1950′s the Lions had their most successful years winning four division titles and three league championships in 1952 defeating the Cleveland Browns 17-1, 1953 defeating the Cleveland Browns once again 17-16, and 1957 defeating Cleveland Brows a third time 59-14. Key players on those championship teams were quarterback Bobby Layne, safety Jack Christiansen, and running back Doak Walker. Bobby Layne was a five time Pro Bowl selection and named to the 1950′s All Decade team and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame as well.

Since winning their last championship in 1957, the Detroit Lions have had very little to be proud of with only a couple positives of on-field success. Twenty-six seasons after winning the title the Lions could only manage three wild card playoff appearances. In 1983 the Lions finally won the division again, the NFC Central now known as the NFC North since 2002.

Excitement came back to the Lions and their fans when a running back named Barry Sanders was drafted third overall in 1989. Sanders immediately became a star in the NFL and one of the most productive running backs of all-time. Sanders while small in stature made a career out of evading tackles with quick moves. Sanders would lead the Lions to two division titles in 1991 but losing to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game and 1993 losing to the Green Bay Packers 28-24. Sanders holds multiple NFL rushing records which include rushing for over 1,500 yards five times, rushing for over a 100 yards in fourteen straight games , and fifteen career touchdowns of over fifty yards. Sanders was a ten time Pro Bowl selection, the 1997 Co- Most Valuable Player with Brett Favre, and ended his career with 15,269 running yards which ranks him third all-time. Sanders retired in 1999 at the age of thirty and was inducted in the Pro Football hall of fame in 2004.

Since Barry Sanders retirement, the Detroit Lions have been one of the worst teams in the NFL and in the top five with the most losses since 2001. The Lions play in a tough NFC North Division with the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and the Green Bay Packers. The Lions over the last decade have had a losing tradition and significant changes need to made to change the loser mentality.

There have been a few good players for the Jaguars in the very brief history including quarterback Mark Brunell. Brunell was a three time Pro Bowl selection and was the teams first quarterback in their inaugural season. Brunell was an efficient quarterback who threw for a good percentage but also was a very good runner scrambling away from defenders. In the Jaguars first four seasons they made the playoffs three times making them the first NFL franchise to accomplish that. Also wide receiver Jimmy Smith and Mark Brunell would frequently make connections in the end zone and made of the more formidable tandems in the league.

With perennial power in the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South, the Jaguars have a difficult task overtaking the Colts. Not making the playoffs for five consecutive years from 2000-2004, the Jaguars are looking to rebound and become contenders once again as they were in the first few years in the league. The AFC is a difficult league to come out of, young talented players such as quarterback David Garrard, full back Fred Taylor, and running back Maurice Jones-Drew have a terrific upside and should only improve threatening other AFC opponents for supremacy. The Jacksonville Jaguars have accomplished many things but the Super Bowl championship still is something left for them to grab.

Vince Lombardi was the architect behind the Packers success, no matter how great Lombardi was he still needed the players to execute the game plan. Bart Starr was the Packers quarterback during the Lombardi years. Bart Starr was successful in his own right winning the Most Valuable Player award in the first to Super Bowls, four Pro Bowls, and was elected to the Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

The Packers would return to their winning way in the early 1990s with quarterback Bret Favre leading the way. Favre was the quearterback of the Green Bay Packers from 1992-2007 and never missed a start setting which continues until this day. The Packers made their way to back to back Super Bowls XXXI & XXXII and winning XXI over the New England Patriots 35-21. Bret Favre set numerous records while he was a Packer which include most career touchdown passes, passing yards, and pass attempts. He continues to add to these totals now playing with the New York Jets.

The Green Packers are a big team in a small city. The Packers are the only community owned team in the NFL. The fans passion for their team is second to none in all of team sports. Also know as the “cheese heads” the fans have supported the Packers through the bad and good times because they know winning is never that far off in the future. While small markets may struggle to support a NFL franchise and relocating to a larger market would be a possibility, the Packers will certainly remain in Green Bay for many more years.