The Sturm Formula Part 2

You may or may not remember the Sturm NFL Formula, but here is the latest edition. To recap, a few years ago, a good strong listener asked me to rank the franchises from #32 to #1 based on their accomplishments from Super Bowl I to present.

So I did. I wanted it to be objective, not subjective. I wanted it to be a formula and you would just enter the numbers and it would spit out the rankings with no favoritism or prejudice.

Here is how it works. Each Franchise gets 1 point for each season it makes the playoffs. Then, if it reaches the Conference Championship Game it gets a total of 3 points. If it makes the Super Bowl it gets 5, and if it wins the Super Bowl it wins the maximum total of points in a given year of 11. It used to be 10 for the Super Bowl, but I have adjusted it this year because I didn’t like the idea that 2 Super Bowl losses equaled a Super Bowl win. So, Now 11 points for a win and 5 for a loss in the Super Bowl.

I have been asked why no points are given for wins in the Wildcard round, but I decided that would not make sense with the idea that the playoffs have grown over the years and there is no way to equalize a smaller field to a larger one. Also, a Wildcard win is not that big a deal anymore with 6 teams in the playoffs, so unless you reach the Conference Title game, no additional points beyond the 1 for making the post-season.

Just add up the points for all the years, and that is the entire formula. Otherwise, I break ties based on the team with more Super Bowl wins, then Super Bowl losses, then Championship Game wins, etc. There are no ties. I will settle it somehow.

With that in mind, I am going to release the teams from worst to best over the course of the next 2 weeks. By next Thursday, I will be up to #1 all-time.

Part 1, Teams #29-#32



#25 – The Baltimore Ravens
Total Points: 14
Total Playoff Years: 00S, 01, 03, 06

The Ravens history is merely from the move to Baltimore on. Part of the settlement with the league is that they lose all of the history from Cleveland. So, technically, the Ravens have only existed since 1996. Anyway, with the aid of the winning of Super Bowl XXXV, they get the tie-breaker over the Atlanta Falcons and come in at #25.



#26 – The Atlanta Falcons
Total Points: 14
Total Playoff Years: 78, 80, 82, 91, 95, 98SL, 02, 04C

The Falcons have had a largely anonymous existence, but the last decade has been pretty decent by their standards. The Super Bowl Loss in SB33 and the Championship Game Loss in 2004 are the high water marks for them.



#27 - Carolina Panthers
Total Points: 11
Total Playoff Years: 96C, 03SL, 05C

Every time that the Panthers have made the playoffs, they have won at least one game. And, given that they are only a decade old and have somehow been to three NFC Championship games points to the horrid histories of Arizona and Detroit.




#28 - Detroit Lions
Total Points: 11
Total Playoff Years: 70, 82, 83, 91C, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99

Detroit has managed to make the playoffs a few times, especially in the Barry Sanders era. But, nearly each time, it was followed with a quick exit. Seldom has any franchise done less with more chances. They got killed in the 1991 NFC Championship Game, and besides that – nothing in 41 years.


Explanation of Years: Just the year means they made the playoffs (1 point). Year followed by “C” means they lost in the Conference Championship Game (3 points), Year followed by “SL” means they lost the Super Bowl (5 points), and Year followed by “S” means they won the Super Bowl (11 points).