Because I am not sure where to put this:

I've been following the NFL since 1987, and in that time, the two most frequent playoff participants have been...

YOUR Philadelphia Eagles, and the Minnesota Vikings, at 14 times in those 23 seasons. If the Eagles make it this year and the Vikings don't, then the Eagles will be the most frequent participant since 1987 (my completely arbitrary cutoff point).

The point is, these two are the most frequent participants, and yet neither have won a Super Bowl in all that time. Hell, the Vikings haven't even been in one, and it's not looking good for them right now for this year, today's win notwithstanding. And the Eagles have been in just the one. It seems cruel and unfair.

The Steelers have the most wins in that time (223, up to the current moment), and have won 2 Super Bowls. The 49ers are second with 220, all having to do with their dominance that ended after 1998 (their last 12 win season). They won 3 Super Bowls in this period. Next is Denver, with 218. They won 2 Super Bowls.

The Eagles are fourth with 216, including today. Green Bay, at 213, is 5th in wins since 1987. The Packers won a Super Bowl.

So, since I've been a fan, the Eagles have been the fourth best regular season team in the NFL, its most frequent playoff participant, but yet they are the only team among the top 5 in victories over that span without a Super Bowl win, even though they have been in the playoffs more frequently than all those teams.

Yeah, I keep a spreadsheet.

It's too bad that 1998 Vikings team didn't make the Super Bowl. A Vikings-Broncos Super Bowl that year would have been an all timer

jerseyhoya wrote:It's too bad that 1998 Vikings team didn't make the Super Bowl. A Vikings-Broncos Super Bowl that year would have been an all timer

I'm still burned about that. I never cared more about a non-Eagles team than that one. With Randall as their QB, they were my surrogate Eagles (who went a lusty 3-13 that season). Their helmets even sort of resemble Eagles helmets, if you use a black and white television and squint.

jerseyhoya wrote:It's too bad that 1998 Vikings team didn't make the Super Bowl. A Vikings-Broncos Super Bowl that year would have been an all timer

In case you were wondering, jerz, your Giants 10th in regular season wins in my arbitrary cutoff point system, with 205, including today. They have made 10 playoff appearances over the past 23 seasons, and look to be headed for 11/24.

I think the most interesting thing about tracking wins as I do for an outsider may be this about how bad the Lions are: they have won 138 games, up through today, since 1987. The Jacksonville Jaguars have won 129 over that same span, 9 less - despite the notable disadvantage of having had the equivalent of eight 0 win seasons between 1987-1994. With an 8 year headstart, the Lions have 9 extra wins. Some day I am sure the Jags will pass them.

We're efficient. Four trips to NFC title games ever...four conference titles, three rings.

jerseyhoya wrote:We're efficient. Four trips to NFC title games ever...four conference titles, three rings.

Really? I didn't realize the Giants had never lost the NFCCG. Huh.

Well, good for you then.

The Cardinals and Bengals have never lost a CG either

mozartpc27 wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:We're efficient. Four trips to NFC title games ever...four conference titles, three rings.

Really? I didn't realize the Giants had never lost the NFCCG. Huh.

Well, good for you then.

Being basically awful for a 20 year stretch from 1964-1983 was helpful in that regard as opportunities for failing that late in the season didn't come up. But you'd think they would have gotten to more than 4 in the last 25 years. Our disasters happen earlier. See: 2002 or 1997 or 1989.

I don't feel like double checking but I thought the 49ers won a few in the early 80s before they got Rice

jerseyhoya wrote:

mozartpc27 wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:We're efficient. Four trips to NFC title games ever...four conference titles, three rings.

Really? I didn't realize the Giants had never lost the NFCCG. Huh.

Well, good for you then.

Being basically awful for a 20 year stretch from 1964-1983 was helpful in that regard as opportunities for failing that late in the season didn't come up. But you'd think they would have gotten to more than 4 in the last 25 years. Our disasters happen earlier. See: 2002 or 1997 or 1989.

Yeah, the reason I started the spreadsheet in the first place (like 6 years ago or more now) was because I was thinking one day how lucky I was that I grew up an Eagles fan when I did. From 1961-1986, the Eagles made exactly 4 postseason appearances, in a run from 1978-1981. It occured to me as I thought about it that, during my time as a fan, the Eagles had been pretty consistently a contender, in sharp contrast to the stretch of time that immediately preceded my becoming old enough to watch. So then I wondered how good the Eagles had been relative to the rest of the NFL since I started watching, and I made my spreadsheet. I've updated it and expanded it in different ways every year ever since.

philliesphhan wrote:I don't feel like double checking but I thought the 49ers won a few in the early 80s before they got Rice

Yeah, you're right. My bad. They won the Super Bowl following the 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, and 1994 seasons.

What is fun is to look at the Steelers' win totals from 1970 until today, just to get an idea about what a great organization that is. Look at this run of sustained excellence - they have basically never had a "total disaster year" since the merger (which I arbitrarily define as a .250 winning percentage or worse, which is 4 wins or less in the 16 game schedule):

1970: 5-9
1971: 6-8
1972: 11-3
1973: 10-4
1974: 10-3-1
1975: 12-2
1976: 10-4
1977: 9-5
1978: 14-2
1979: 12-4
1980: 9-7
1981: 8-8
1982: 6-3
1983: 10-6
1984: 9-7
1985: 7-9
1986: 6-10
1987: 8-7
1988: 5-11
1989: 9-7
1990: 9-7
1991: 7-9
1992: 11-5
1993: 9-7
1994: 12-4
1995: 11-5
1996: 10-6
1997: 11-5
1998: 7-9
1999: 6-10
2000: 9-7
2001: 13-3
2002: 10-5-1
2003: 6-10
2004: 15-1
2005: 11-5
2006: 8-8
2007: 10-6
2008: 12-4
2009: 9-7
2010: 5-2 (so far)

I mean, looking at that list, sure, they had some off years, but in 40 completed seasons since the merger, they never have really had a year that was just total, bottom out, disaster, and their little hiccups have never lasted all that long. The longest they have gone without making the playoffs is 4 seasons, from 1985-1988, and in those seasons they went 26-37, bad but hardly disastrous. Since the 16 game schedule was started, their worst record is 5-11, which they have done exactly once. They've finished 6-10 3 times, and in the other 28 seasons of the 16 game schedule, they've won at least 7 games.

The year-to-year consistency is really amazing. Then, of course, there are all those Super Bowl wins.

also kind of impressive because the lack of any complete bottom out years means they very rarely ever had a really early draft pick unless they traded for one. so they've maintained that level of excellence without getting lucky enough to have a top draft pick in a year where there happens to be some can't miss talent at the very top of the board.

Steelers 1974 draft class:
1.21 Lynn Swann
2.20 (46th) Jack Lambert
4.4 (82nd) John Stallworth
5.21 (125th) Mike Webster

Also signed undrafted Donnie Shell.

So what is up with all the head injuries? Do the same people who make major league baseball bats now make the NFL helmets???

Bucky wrote:So what is up with all the head injuries? Do the same people who make major league baseball bats now make the NFL helmets???

It's the damn maplewood padding!!

Mebbe they need those Gazoo helmets

Some dude on NFL Network just said the word "physical" like 18 times in one sentence.

I should PiP you and post an Olivia Newton-John video