4 Teams, Lots of Losses, and 1 Championship - History and Tradition of the NFC South

Let's be honest. No one is going to confuse the history and tradition of the NFC South with the NFC East or the NFC North. With a total of 1 NFL title between the four teams, I don't expect this category to be the division's strong suit. Luckily for the division, this is just one of the categories the teams are scored on:

NFC South:

Atlanta Falcons - There's really not a lot you can say about the early years of the Atlanta Falcons, but I'll give it a shot. They traded Brett Favre to the Packers, they introduced us to Neon Deion, and they appeared in M.C. Hammer's 2 Legit 2 Quit Video.

The Dirty Birds did have a nice run in 1998, posting a record of 14-2 on their way to a Super Bowl appearance against the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, their most memorable moment from the weekend involved Eugene Robinson and an undercover police officer.

Things looked bright again in 2002 as the electrifying Michael Vick led the Falcons back to the playoffs. Unfortunately, we all know how the Michael Vick Experience ends.

3/20

Carolina Panthers - The baby of the division, the Panthers joined the NFL in 1995 but have had some decent success in their short existence. In just their second year as a franchise they advanced to the NFC championship game, but wouldn't make the playoffs again until 2003.

In the most successful season in their short history, the Panthers finished with an 11-5 record and returned to the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, advancing all the way to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the game came down to an Adam Vinatieri kick and we all know how those go in the Super Bowl.

It's difficult to fairly rate the history and tradition of a team formed in 1995. A couple of good years, a couple of bad ones, but mostly about average.

8/20

New Orleans Saints - When your stamp on football lore is that your fans were first to wear paper bags over their heads, history and tradition isn't going to be something you want to spend a lot of time discussing. The "Aints" didn't make the playoffs in their first 20 years and failed to win a playoff game until 2000.

Despite all their failures, the Saints did have one of the more inspirational seasons in history. After New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in the previous year and despite rumors of relocation, the Saints returned to New Orleans in 2006 and surprised all year long, winning the division and advancing to the NFC Championship Game.

It's true that the Saints now have one of the more promising young teams in the NFL. Unfortunately, they aren't considered in this category. 5 playoff appearances in 41 years? Who Dat?

2/20

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The Bucs are the only team in the division with a Super Bowl title, so that's something. Unfortunately, they are also the only NFL team to ever lose 26 games in a row. In their defense, they were their first 26 games as franchise, but it's still not a record a team wants to own.

Between 1979-1982, the Bucs showed improvement, making the playoffs three of four years. They quickly returned to their "Yuckaneer" ways, failing to make the playoffs over the next 14 years. Tony Dungy started to turn things around in 1997, instituting a tough defense and becoming a playoff regular until his dismissal in 2001. The next year, Jon Gruden stepped in and led the team to their only Super Bowl title.

With a franchise record of 183-284-1 through 2008, it's tough to argue the Bucs have been anything but bad. Still, they have developed into a competitive team over the last ten years (current year notwithstanding) and they have won one more Super Bowl than a lot of teams.

6/20


Next up:  We continue the history/tradition breakdown with the AFC South