A Tale of Three Teams - History and Tradition of the AFC North

As laid out in the points breakdown, one major category of the team ratings is History and Tradition. Some would argue the best way to predict a franchise's future is by looking at its past. This gets a lot tougher when comparing franchises who have been around for anywhere from 12 years to the NFL's inception, so keep in mind that we're not just looking at wins and losses (though it's definitely a big factor).  First, we'll take a look at a division with a historical juggernaut, a traditional punchline, and a team torn between two cities.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens - And we start with one of the more complicated cases in all of the NFL - the history of the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore football has a fairly rich history including three NFL Championships (pre-Super Bowl), 2 Super Bowl Championships, and Johnny Unitas. Unfortunately, all that history moved to Indianapolis in 1984. Another historic franchise, the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996. Unfortunately for Baltimore, the NFL ruled that the Browns name, history, and colors were to remain in Cleveland. In one of the more confusing decisions in Baltimore not involving Hamsterdam, the Ravens were effectively an expansion team despite bringing over the ownership, management, and player contracts from the Browns organization.

So, keeping with the NFL's ruling, the Ravens history starts in 1996. A short history for sure, but still a solid one. A franchise built around an aggressive, hard-hitting defense (and sometimes hard-to-stomach offense), the Ravens won a Super Bowl title in 2000, division championships in 03 and 06, and have 5 playoff appearances since 2000. Not bad for a 12 year old franchise.

Sure, they're technically lacking a long storied history, but what history they do have is impressive. It's tough to penalize them for the NFL's inconsistent treatment.

Score: 11/20

Cincinnati Bengals - Zero NFL Championships, a franchise record at 82 games below .500, a terrible draft history, and googling "Bengals" and "cursed" returns around 343,000 results. They were a drug relapse and dropped interception away from their first Super Bowl title in 1988. You'd be hard-pressed to find an "all time draft busts" list that doesn't include Akili Smith and Ki-Jana Carter. Their former head coach does run a steak house with his last name on it. Unfortunately, it has his Dad's picture on the logo.

More recent history hasn't been too kind to the Bengals, either. Their most promising season since the 80's ended with their franchise QB being carted off the field. When a Cincinnati police officer lets Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy know arresting a big name such as himself is no big deal because "We deal with the Bengals all the time," well, that's not a good sign, either. Their latest first round draft pick holds out a month into the preseason, shows up about 30 pounds overweight, and then breaks his foot in a non-contact drill the first day back. But hey, a franchise can't really be cursed can it?

However, as I've said, this category isn't all about wins and losses. While the on-field success of the Bengals is probably deserving of the "Bungles" moniker, they have made their mark in one aspect of the NFL: the touchdown celebration. The Ickey Shuffle was revolutionary, controversial, and paved the way for guys like Deion Sanders, Terrell Owens, and the Bengals' own Chad Ochocino to put on the real show after they cross the goal line. In a franchise where so much has gone wrong, this has to count for something.

Score:  5/20

Cleveland Browns - As mentioned earlier, the history of the Cleveland Browns includes an interruption in service from 1996-1999 after Art Modell fled town to form the Ravens. Prior to 1996, their history is somewhat confusing to score. They dominated the AAFC all four years of its existence, winning all four titles. After joining the NFL in 1950 they won 4 championships before the NFL-AFL merger. However, since that time, they have failed to even appear in a Super Bowl.

Their history does include arguably the greatest football player in NFL history in Jim Brown. It also includes legendary moments such as "The Drive" and "The Fumble". Unfortunately for the Browns, they were on the short end of these plays and both kept them out of Super Bowls. Still, the Browns were a playoff mainstay in the late 80's behind Bernie Kosar. Once the 90s rolled around, things took a turn for the worse, bottoming out in 1996 but with almost no signs of contention since.

An early football powerhouse, possibly the greatest player of all time, and some legendary (but heartbreaking) moments...but failing to appear in a Super Bowl hurts.

Score: 9/20

Pittsburgh Steelers - If the Ravens were one of the harder franchises to score, Pittsburgh is one of the easiest. Six Super Bowl Championships, only three coaches since 1969, and one family owning the franchise since 1933. They brought us the Steel Curtain, the Immaculate Reception, and most importantly, Slash. It's pretty rare to hear a description of Steelers football that doesn't involve "hard-nosed". They're the epitome of stability. I don't want to understate this so let me repeat myself from earlier - they have had a total of THREE coaches since 1969 including the current one. Keep in mind that 7 NFL coaches were fired during 2008 alone and marinate in how impressive this stat is.

In fairness, Pittsburgh hasn't been dominant since its inception. The franchise won zero championships prior to the Chuck Noll era. They went through two badly named mergers with the Eagles (The Steagles) and the Cardinals (Card-Pitts, or Carpets) during World War 2. As the Steel Curtain retired, the team struggled in the mid to late 80s, missing the playoffs every year except one from 1985-1991. But really, isn't this grasping at straws for the team with the most Super Bowl Rings?

If it weren't for the "Steagles", Pittsburgh might have a perfect score here. They're still pretty close.

Score: 19/20

Next up is the NFC North. In the meantime, if anyone from Cleveland asks, you haven't seen me.