E-Mail This Article to a Friend Philly’s near-miss gives hope to the NFL’s other title-less towns BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Philadelphia fans would be loath to admit that seeing their beloved Eagles get to the Super Bowl was enough; the team, as is its custom lately, teased its fans into believing that unbridled glory was but a game or two away. This past season the Iggles shed one albatross — their failure to win the NFC title — and got to the big game for the first time since 1981. They even put up a pretty good fight before ultimately falling to the team of the decade, New England.

Still, reaching the Super Bowl is an accomplishment. Folks around here may have come to expect it as a matter of course, but it remains a big deal everywhere else — especially in NFL cities starving for a championship. Who are they, and how close are they to duplicating Philly’s feat?

• Arizona. The hiring of former Vikes coach Dennis Green was supposed to mark a turnaround, but the team’s 6-10 finish doomed it to its sixth-straight non-playoff year. Frankly, the organization as a whole is a disaster. Even its mediocre division likely won’t translate to any real hope anytime soon unless significant changes are made from top to bottom.

• Atlanta. Other than Philadelphia, perhaps no team on this list is as close to reaching post-season euphoria as the Falcons. The team’s history is unquestionably dubious: Atlanta has missed the playoffs in 30 of its 38 seasons, and its only sniff at a title was the 1998 loss to the Broncos. Nevertheless, Michael Vick & Co. have reached at least the conference semis in two of the last three seasons, and there’s certainly a lot more winnin’ in Dixie still to come.

• Buffalo. Optimism, but with a caveat. Bills fans know that the team’s defense and budding running game are solid building blocks, but until Ol’ Leadfoot, Drew Bledsoe, finds a permanent seat on the bench (or on a bus seat out of town), the Bills won’t ever win the division, much less the conference. Rookie J.P. Losman is the future of the Bills’ organization, and his emergence coupled with the elimination of Bledsoe’s contract from the books would bode well for the team’s hopes for its first return to the Super Bowl since those four straight losses in the early ’90s.

• Carolina. A big step forward in 2003 (a Super Bowl berth), a step back in 2004 (7-9), due in great part to a crippling tidal wave of injuries. Get everyone back, and get a little shrewder in the personnel decisions, and you’ve got a Patriots-esque foundation of a top coach (John Fox) coupled with a rising-star QB (Jake Delhomme). With a little luck, the Panthers will fight it out with Atlanta for divisional honors in 2005.

• Cincinnati. Two straight 8-8 seasons aren’t much of a cause for celebration in most cities, but they are in a town that hasn’t seen its team post a winning record since 1990. Cinci’s got a decent coach in Marvin Lewis, but the recent defections (Corey Dillon last season, Rudi Johnson next?) reflect the despondency pervading the organization — and owner Mike Brown is ultimately responsible for that. Since taking over, his franchise has been a laughingstock that is unlikely to contend anytime soon.

• Cleveland. Northern Ohioans, rejoice! After years in the wilderness of inept head coaches, you have a bona fide winner coming on board in former Pats defensive guru Romeo Crennel. Now all the Browns have to do is figure out their convoluted QB situation and rebuild nearly every other facet of the team’s structure. There’s a lot of work to do, but many New Englanders will quietly be rooting for RAC to turn around this once-proud organization. He may need all five of the years on his newly signed contract to succeed, though.

• Detroit. At least the sad-sack Bengals have been to a couple of Super Bowls; the Lions, like the Browns, are still waiting for their first visit. They’ll welcome the football world to Motown for the 2006 title game, but they’ll host in name only, because this team is still years away from being a factor. The Lions have not been to the post-season in five seasons, and have accumulated double-digit loss totals during each of the past four years. Maybe Steve Mariucci and Joey Harrington weren’t the answer, after all ...

• Houston. The three-year-old Texans have improved each season, and I have a feeling they’ll continue to do so. Houston played a pretty tough schedule and finished 7-9 this season, but QB David Carr and all-purpose back Dominick Davis should continue to bolster a team that already has a pretty decent defense. Unfortunately, the Texans share the division with Indy, Jacksonville, and Tennessee, so careful drafting and execution will be critical to any long-term hopes for success.

• Jacksonville. The 2004 Jags started off 3-0 and were 6-3 in mid-November before losing four of seven down the stretch and finishing out of the playoff hunt. Byron Leftwich is a singular talent, but the team — picked by many to represent the AFC on its home field in the Super Bowl — underachieved in too many key situations. Despite beating Denver, Indy, and Green Bay this season, the Jaguars gagged at home in week 15 and got shut out by the Texans when a win might have sealed a post-season berth. They too reside in a competitive division, so they can’t afford to blow the easy games. Perhaps the squad learned a good lesson this past season, because they undoubtedly have the talent to move to the next level.

• Minnesota. The Patriots’ success should spell out one thing clearly for this franchise: keeping the likes of bad boy Randy Moss will forever derail the team’s hopes for any kind of long-term success. The Vikings made the playoffs this year despite doing everything in their power to blow it in the late going, and getting to the conference semis shouldn’t disguise the fact that they were an 8-8 team masquerading as an NFC powerhouse. Luckily, the Packers are aging, and the Lions and Bears reek, so Vikings fans can be somewhat optimistic — even though the team has disappointed them for so many years that they are immune to hopes of real success on the horizon.

• New Orleans. Not even one NFC title game in 38 seasons, and just one playoff berth since 1992. Let’s move on to a city where there’s at least a semblance of hope.

• San Diego. An unexpected AFC West crown and two up-and-coming QBs on the roster (plus graybeard Doug Flutie). Say what you will about head coach Marty Schottenheimer and his penchant for questionable playoff strategy, but after missing the playoffs for eight straight seasons, the locals were delighted with the team’s turnaround this season. The Bolts won eight of nine to finish the season. Despite an unsightly OT loss to the Jets in the first round of the playoffs, things are looking up in San Diego. The building blocks are in place — solid defense, explosive offense — and excuses should be in short supply in upcoming seasons.

• Seattle. The team’s winning the West with a 9-7 record and losing three times to the runner-up Rams indicate that head coach Mike Holmgren hasn’t instilled enough heart into this roster. Losing Shaun Alexander to free agency could mark the death knell for the team’s recent resurgence, even though the Seahawks reside in the NFL’s worst division.

• Tennessee. Anybody else think that the Titans blew their best shot at a title when they lost the AFC title game at Oakland two years ago? Since then, Steve McNair has become incredibly injury-prone, the legendary Chris Brown emerged as the team’s top rusher (1067 yards) this year, and the Titans finished 5-11. "Rebuilding" is an understatement for a team that just a year ago fought the Patriots to nearly a draw in a frigid conference-semifinal tilt.

But now, my friends, after 10 columns in the past 11 focusing on football, the onset of spring means we must turn our attention to the bats and gloves, the ’pens and needles.

Baseball returns to the diamonds this weekend, and another set of champs awaits our attention.

"Sporting Eye" runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com