San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are an American football team playing in the NFC West division of the National Football League. The team is based in San Francisco, California and has played their home games in Candlestick Park since 1971. They played in Kezar Stadium from 1946 until 1970. The 49ers were the first NFL team to win 5 Super Bowls. They are tied at five, for second place, with the Dallas Cowboys behind the Pittsburgh Steelers who have won 6 Super Bowls. The team was named for the gold miners who arrived around 1849 in the midst of the California Gold Rush.

The five NFC Conference Championships and Super Bowl Championships occurred in 1981 (XVI), 1984 (XIX), 1988 (XXIII), 1989 (XXIV) and 1994 (XXIX). The 49ers won 17 NFC West Division Championships in 1970 – 1972, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986–1990, 1992–1995, 1997 and 2002. They made one AAFC playoff appearance in 1949. The team played in NFL playoffs in 1957, 1970 – 1972, 1981, 1983 – 1990, 1992 – 1998, 2001 and 2002.

Pro Football Hall of Fame players that were inducted as San Francisco 49ers include Leo Nomellini and Joe Perry (1969), Hugh McElhenny (1970), Bob St. Clair (1990), Jimmy Johnson (1994), Ronnie Lott, Joe Montana and Dave Wilcox (2000), Steve Young (2005), Fred Dean (2008) and Dmitri Palmer (2009). Coach Bill Walsh was inducted in 1993. Other San Francisco players who are in the Hall of Fame, but were inducted from other teams include Y. A. Tittle (1971), O. J. Simpson (1985), John Henry Johnson (1987), and Bob Hayes and Rod Woodson (2009).

Head Coach Mike Singletary came aboard half way through the 2008 season as the 16th head coach of history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. His NFL career includes 12 years with the Chicago Bears.

Passion, enthusiasm, honesty and loyalty are the self proclaimed traits that Singletary uses to describe himself and they are also what he expects from his team. Singletary’s hope is for a winning season that culminates in a Super Bowl win. His team is counting on him, as he is counting on his players including Isaac Bruce, Frank Gore, Shaun Hill, Josh Morgan, Joe Nedney, Allen Rossum and Patrick Willis to make this season all that it can be.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are an American football team playing in the NFC South division of the National Football League. The team is based in Atlanta, Georgia and their home games have been played in the Georgia Dome since 1992. Prior to 1992, they played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Falcons joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1965.

After the stadium was built 2 groups of individuals started the process to get a major league football team to play in it. One group was pushing for an AFL team while the other was looking to the NFL. When Pete Rozelle, the NFL Commissioner heard about this he quickly flew to Atlanta and forced an immediate decision by the city, which resulted in the franchise being awarded to the NFL. Ownership of the team was granted to Rankin Smith Sr., an American businessman and philanthropist who was a long time Atlanta resident. The first pick in the 1966 NFL Draft was awarded to the Falcons along with the final pick in each of the first five rounds. All-American Linebacker Tommy Nobis who had played for the University of Texas was the first pick of the draft, making him the first ever member of the falcons.

The Falcons won the NFC conference championship in 1998. They won the NFC West division championship in 1980 and again in 1998. They won the NFC South division championship in 2004. They made appearances in NFL playoff games in 1978, 1980, 1982, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2008. The Falcons only appearance in a Super Bowl ended in defeat, in 1999, to the Denver Broncos.

Although two Pro Football Hall of Fame members, Eric Dickerson and Tommy McDonald, played briefly for the Falcons, there have been no inductees based substantially on their time with the Falcons.

The current head coach of the Atlanta Falcons is Mike Smith. In 2008, his first season with the Falcons, he was awarded the NFL Coach of the Year Award by the Associated Press. Smith coached college football from 1982 thru 1988 advancing to the NFL in 1999. Under the guidance of Mike Smith, the Atlanta Falcons team including players Erik Coleman, Jason Elam, Jerious Norwood, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Roddy White, are working towards a winning season.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team playing in the NFC North division of the National Football League. Prior to 2002 they had been part of the Central Division but the divisional realignment moved them to their current spot. The team’s home is Minneapolis, Minnesota and their home games have been played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome since 1982, moving from the Metropolitan Stadium after the 1981 season ended. The Vikings have the dubious distinction of being the first team to play in and lose four Super Bowls. Among the teams currently playing in the NFL, the Vikings rank third for having won their division title 17 times.

The Vikings won the NFL league championship in 1969. They won 4 conference championships including, the NFL Western in 1969, and the NFC in 1973, 1974 and 1976. They won Division championships in 1968 and 1969 in the NFL Central; 1970, 1971, 1973 – 1978, 1980, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1998 and 2000 in the NFC Central; and 2008 in the NFC North.

The Vikings have seven Pro Football Hall of Fame members including Fran Tarkenton in 1986, Alan Page in 1988, Paul Krause in 1998, Ron Yary in 2001, Carl Eller in 2004, Gary Zimmerman in 2008 and Randall McDaniel in 2009. Bud Grant, past Head Coach became a member in 1994 and General Manager, Jim Finks was inducted in 1995 bringing the Vikings Hall of Fame team count to nine members.

The current head coach of the Vikings is Brad Childress. He joined the team at the beginning of the 2006 season. The Vikings have improved every year under Childress’ direction in spite of the fact that owner Zygi Wilf was criticized for having hired him. Childress is looking for a solid winning season with the Vikings team including players Bernard Berrian, Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin, Tarvaris Jackson, Ryan Longwell, Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor and Antoine Winfield.

New York Giants

The New York Giants are an American football team playing in the NFC East division of the National Football League. The team is based in East Rutherford, New Jersey and they play their home games at Giants Stadium. They joined the NFL in 1925 along with five other teams, of which the Giants are the only team still in existence. With seven NFL titles, the Giants rank third in the league behind the Chicago Bears with nine wins and the Green Bay Packers with twelve. Four of those titles were before the Super Bowl started. Those wins occurred 1927, 1934, 1938 and 1956. The Giants won Super Bowls XXI in 1986, XXV in 1990 and XLII in 2007.

The Giants won 10 conference championships. They won the NFL Eastern in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961 – 1963. In the NFC they won in 1986, 1990, 2000 and 2007. They have 15 division championship wins. In the NFL East they won in 1933 – 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1944 and 1946. In the NFC East they had wins in 1986, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2000, 2005 and 2008. They appeared in playoff games in 1933 – 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961 - 1963, 1981, 1984 – 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005 – 2008.

The Giants have a total of 23 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame including, Morris “Red” Badgro, Roosevelt “Rosey” Brown, Harry Carson, Larry Csonka, Benny Friedman, Frank Gifford, Joe Guyon, Mel Hein, Wilbur “Pete” Henry, Arnie Herber, Cal Hubbard, Sam Huff, Alphonse “Tuffy” Leemans, Don Maynard, Hugh McElhenny, Andy Robustelli, Ken Strong, Fran Tarkenton, Lawrence Taylor, Jim Thorpe, Y.A. Tittle, Emlen Tunnell and Arnie Weinmeister. Two coaches are also members, Ray Flaherty and Steve Owen. Owner and founder Tim Mara and co-owner Wellington Mara are members as well bringing the team total of Hall of Fame members to 27. There have been 5 Giants MVP winners including Mel Hein in 1938, Frank Gifford in 1956, Charlie Conerly in 1959, Y.A. Tittle in 1963 and Lawrence Taylor in 1986. The Giants have also had 3 Super Bowl MVP players including Phil Simms in XXI, Ottis Anderson in XXV and Eli Manning in XXII.

Tom Coughlin has been the Giants Head Coach since 2004. He is considered one of the premier head coaches of the NFL. Coughlin is hoping for another winning season ending with another Super Bowl win along with his team including players Ahmad Bradshaw, Domenik Hixon, Brandon Jacobs, Eli Manning, Kenny Phillips, Antonio Pierce and Justin Tuck.

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are an American football team playing in the AFC West division of the National Football League. The team is based in Oakland, California and their home games are played in Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. As the eighth charter member of the American Football League, the Raiders began playing in 1960. From 1982 through 1994 the team played in, and as, the Los Angeles Raiders. They returned to Oakland in 1995 and stayed. The Raiders joined the NFL in 1970 during the AFL-NFL merger.

The Raiders have made appearances in 21 playoff games; In the AFL they played in 1967 – 1969; In the NFL they played in 1970, 1972 – 1977, 1980, 1982 – 1985, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 2000 – 2002. They have won 15 division championships; In the AFL West they won in 1967 – 1969; In the AFC West they won in 1970, 1972 – 1976, 1983, 1985, 1990 and 2000 – 2002. They won 4 AFC conference championships in 1976, 1980, 1983 and 2002. They won the AFL League Championship in 1967. The Raiders have been Super Bowl Champions in 1976, at Super Bowl XI, in 1980, at Super Bowl XV and in 1983 at Super Bowl XVIII.

The Raiders Pro Football Hall of Fame members include Ron Mix, 1979, Jim Otto, 1980, George Blanda, 1981, Willie Brown, 1984, Gene Upshaw, 1987, Fred Biletnikoff, 1988, Art Shell, 1989, Ted Hendricks, 1990, Mike Haynes, 1997, Eric Dickerson, 1999, Howie Long, 2000, Ronnie Lott, 2000, Dave Casper, 2002, Marcus Allen, 2003, James Lofton, 2003, Bob Brown, 2004 and Rod Woodson, 2009. Owner and General Manager, Al Davis, was inducted in 1992. Head Coach (1969 – 1978) and Color Commentator, John Madden, was inducted in 2006.

Tom Cable was named Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders on February 3, 2009 after serving as interim head coach since September 30, 2008. He joined the Raiders team as an offensive line coach in 2007. Cable has 21 years of coaching experience including 4 years at the college level. Some of the Raiders hard working players include Michael Bush, Justin Fargas, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Thomas Howard, Chris Johnson, Darren McFadden, Zach Miller, Kirk Morrison and JaMarcus Russell.

September 11, 2001

It’s a day that no American will soon, if ever, forget. It started out as just another Tuesday, a school day, a work day. Several people were already at their desks working and many more were still on their way to the office, a few just running late. At 8:46 on that ordinary Tuesday morning, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Those on the street and in near by buildings standing in horrified awe at the sight they could make no sense of. First reports were of a tragic accident in Lower Manhattan. Traffic control reports advised motorists to find alternate routes around the accident site. The accident theory was short lived when just seventeen short minutes later United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. Some reporters speculated that it could still have been an accident, a malfunction in the equipment used by the air traffic controllers.

Surely, that was the only explanation, anything more dire was inconceivable. But even that slight possibility was dismissed immediately as reports of a third plane crash surfaced. American Airlines Flight 77 had crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., just 34 minutes after the South Tower was hit. America, land of the free, home of the brave, was under attack. A fourth plane, United Airlines flight 93, was heading towards our nation’s capital. No one will ever know what that intended target would have been, but speculation is probably right; the fourth target most likely would have been the United States Capitol, or the White House.

A total of 2,993 deaths were accounted for in the aftermath of that day. On the planes were 19 hijackers responsible for rocking the world. In addition, there were 24 people listed as missing. Those dead came from 90 countries around the world. There were 55 military personnel killed at the pentagon, the rest were civilians. Some of the dead were those who rushed to help with the rescue, fire fighters, policemen, civilians. There were no survivors from any of the four hijacked planes that had caused such destruction, not only in New York City, not only in the United States of America, but in the minds and hearts and souls of people around the world. It was an American tragedy no doubt, but it served as a warning to the rest of the world, no one country is immune to a terrorist attack. Even 8 years later, the effects of 9-11 can still be felt today.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are an American football team playing in the AFC South division of the National Football League. Houston, Texas is base to the team and they play their home games in Reliant Stadium. The Texans joined the NFL as an expansion team in 2002, replacing the Houston Oilers who had moved to Nashville, Tennessee as the Titans five years before. The Texans are still working towards a winning season which could result in a playoff game and their first chance for a Super Bowl slot.

Bob McNair, founder of Cogen Technologies, founded the Houston NFL Holdings and Steve Patterson was named head of the organization. Their primary concern was to get another NFL football team in Houston. The NFL owners voted 29 – 2 to award the 32nd expansion franchise to Los Angeles on March 16, 1999. The award was dependent on the city being able to put together an acceptable ownership team and a stadium deal by September 15. If they did not get that accomplished, the recommendation would swing to Houston. Michael Ovitz, an entertainment guru, Ed Roski, a real estate developer and Marvin Davis, an American industrialist and philanthropist, all tried to put together a winning deal but none materialized. Houston had promised a state of the art domed stadium since 1997. In the first week of October, Ovitz and his group let it be known that they were prepared to offer $540 million for the NFL franchise. Later that same week, McNair’s Houston NFL Holdings upped the ante to $700 million. October 6, 1999, the NFL owners were unanimous in their decision to accept McNair’s offer and the 32nd franchise was awarded to Houston.

The 2002 season ended with 4 wins and 12 losses; 2003, 5wins, 11 losses; 2004, 7 wins, 9 losses; 2005, 2 wins, 14 losses; 2006, 6 wins, 10 losses; 2007, 8 wins, 8 losses, 2008, 8 wins, 8 losses.

Gary Kubiak is the current head coach of the Houston Texans. Kubiak, the second head coach in the history of the team, is in his fourth season. Kubiak has high hopes for his 2009 Texans including Kris Brown, Andre Davis, Zac Diles, Andre Johnson, Jacques Reeves, DeMeco Ryans, Steve Slaton and Eugene Wilson.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are an American football team playing in the AFC North division of the National Football League. The Steelers are based in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and play their home games in Heinz Field on the north side of town. Heinz Field was built in 2001 and replaced Three Rivers Stadium which served as home to the Steelers for 31 seasons. The team began playing as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933 making it the fifth oldest franchise in the NFL. Before the 1940 season the Pirates became the Steelers. There were player shortages during WWII and the combined team played as the Phil-Pitt Steagles in 1943 and the Card-Pitt in 1944. By 1945 they were the Pittsburgh Steelers again and remain so today. Three generations of the Rooney family have owned the team.

Pittsburgh has won six Super Bowl titles, more than any other team. They have won 7 AFC Championship Games, and hosted 10 conference championship games, both records. They have also played in more AFC conference Championship games than any other team and they are tied with the Dallas Cowboys with 14 championship game appearances in either the NFC or the AFC. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the current NFL champions after winning Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.

Pittsburg Steelers players that were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame include Johnny “Blood” McNally, 1963, Robert “Cal” Hubbard, 1963, Bill Dudley, 1966, Walt Kiesling 1966, Bobby Layne, 1967, Marion Motley, 1968, Ernie Stautner, 1969, Joe Greene, 1987, Len Dawson, 1987, John Henry Johnson, 1987, Jack Ham, 1988, Mel Blount, 1989, Terry Bradshaw, 1989, Franco Harris, 1990, Jack Lambert, 1990, Mike Webster, 1997, Lynn Swann, 2001, John Stallworth, 2002, and Rod Woodson 2009.

Mike Tomlin was named the 16th head coach of the Steelers on January 22, 2007. He is only the third since 1969. He was the youngest to coach in and win a Super Bowl when the Steelers won 27 – 23 over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. His hope for the 2009 season is a repeat of last year with the help of his Steelers team including players James Farrior, James Harrison, Santonio Holmes, Mewelde Moore, Willie Parker, Troy Polamalu, Jeff Reed, and Ben Roethlisberger.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are an American football team playing in the AFC East division of the National Football League. The team’s home base is Miami, Florida. They play their home games at Land Shark Stadium in Miami Gardens, a suburb of Miami. The Dolphins began playing for the American Football League in 1966 as an expansion team. The Dolphins joined the National Football League as part of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. The Dolphins are the oldest major league professional sports franchise in Florida.

The Dolphins have played in five Super Bowls. In 1971, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI, 24 – 3. In 1972, the Dolphins had a perfect season with 14 regular season wins, two playoff wins and they won Super Bowl VII against the Washington Redskins, 14 – 7. That was the fourth perfect regular season in NFL history and the only perfect season ending with a Super Bowl win. In 1973, the Dolphins won Super Bowl VIII defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 24 – 7. With this trip to the Super Bowl, they became to first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls and only the second team to win back-to-back Super Bowls. In 1983, they lost Super Bowl XVII to the Washington Red Skins, 27 – 17. They also lost Super Bowl XIX in 1985 to the San Francisco 49’ers, 38 – 16.

Players elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame include Paul Warfield (1983), Larry Csonka (1987), Jim Langer (1987), Bob Griese (1990), Larry Little (1993), Dwight Stephenson (1998), Nick Buoniconti (2001), and Dan Marino (2005).

The head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Tony Sparano, is the eighth head coach of the Dolphin team and was named on January 17, 2008. He brings with him nine seasons with the NFL and 24 years of coaching experience. Sparano is hoping for another perfect season, or at least a good season that ends with another trip to the Super Bowl. He is expecting Yeremiah Bell, Davone Bess, Ronnie Brown, Dan Carpenter, Channing Crowder, Ted Ginn Jr., and Chad Pennington along with the rest of the 2009 Miami Dolphins to give their all and more to make this another winning season.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are an American football team playing in the AFC South division of the National Football League. The Nashville based team play their home games in LP Field, renamed from The Coliseum in 2006. LP Field sits on the east bank of the Cumberland River with a view of downtown Nashville across the Cumberland. The seating capacity is near 69,000. A preseason game between the Titans and the Atlanta Falcons on August 27, 1999 was the first event held in the coliseum.

The Titans began playing as the Houston Oilers in 1960. In 1997 the team moved to Tennessee and became the Tennessee Oilers. In 1999 the team adopted its current name, the Tennessee Titans. With the change of names the Titans also introduced a new logo which was a circle with three red stars in a triangular position around a white T within a dark blue circle with red and blue flames radiating out from the left top of the circle. The Titans team colors are blue, navy blue, white and scarlet.

The Tennessee Titans won the AFC conference championship in 1999, the AFC Central division championship in 2000 and the AFC South division championship in 2002 and 2008. They made playoff appearances in the NFL in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2008. In 1999 they won the Wild Card Playoffs against the Bills, 22 – 16, the Divisional Playoffs against the Colts, 19 – 16, and the Conference Championship against the Jaguars, 33 – 14. They lost Super Bowl XXXIV to the Rams 23 – 16. That has been their only Super Bowl appearance.

The NFL and Hall of Fame committee appointed the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills as the teams to kick off the 2009 NFL preseason. The game, which was played on August 9, 2009, took place at Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame field at Fawcett stadium. NBC televised the game nationally as the country watched the Titans defeat the Bills by a score of 21 – 18. During this game the Titans wore their Oilers uniform in honor of the AFL’s 50th anniversary. It was also at this time that the team added a small black disc on the back of their helmets with a white number nine inside. It was in honor of former Quarterback Steve McNair, who wore that number during his playing years with the Titans. Steve LaTreal McNair was killed on July 4, 2009, the victim of a tragic homicide.

The head coach of the Tennessee Titans is Jeff Fisher who is beginning his 15th full season with the team. Fisher holds the franchise record for wins by a head coach with 133 victories. He ranks 22nd on the NFL’s career head coaching wins list and 2nd among the active coaches behind Belichick who has 153 wins. Fisher hopes to lead the Tennessee Titans through another winning season with the help of Kerry Collins, Jared Cook, Justin Gage, Tuff Harris, Chris Henry, Chris Johnson, Mark Jones, Gerald McRath, Javon Ringer, A.J. Trapasso along with the rest of the team.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are an American football team playing in the AFC East division of the National Football League. One of their home games is played at the Roger’s Centre in Toronto, but the rest of the season’s home games are played at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, which is a suburb of Buffalo. The stadium is sometimes referred to as Rich Stadium or Bills Stadium. The Bills began playing in 1960 as an American Football League charter member. The joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. The Bills won 2 AFL titles in 1964 and 1965 but have not won a league championship since the merger. They are the only team to win four consecutive AFC Championships (1990 – 1993), only to lose all four Super Bowls.

Although there are 2 NFL teams billed as New York teams (New York Jets and New York Giants) the Buffalo Bills are the only team to play their home games within New York State. The other New York teams actually play in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Bills are also the only team to play any home games in Canada. They won 3 consecutive AFL East championships in 1964 thru 1966, and 7 AFC East championships in 1980, 1988 – 1991, 1993 and 1995. They made 17 playoff appearances: 4 consecutive AFL in 1963 – 1966, and 13 NFL in 1974, 1980, 1981, 1988 – 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999. In the last seven Pro Bowl games the Buffalo Bills have had at least one player and once as many as 4 players selected to play.

The founder, owner and president of the Buffalo Bills team is Ralph Wilson, Jr. At 90, he is the oldest owner of an NFL team. The Bills head coach is Dick Jauron who started his professional coaching career in 1985 as the Bills defensive assistant coach. Now, 21 years later he is the 14th head coach for the Bills, a position he has held since January 23, 2006. Jauron is looking to lead his team including Trent Edwards, Lee Evans, Marshawn Lynch, Terrence McGee, Leodis McKelvin and Paul Posluszny to a winning season.

Saint Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are an American football team playing in the NFC West division of the National Football League. The team is based in St. Louis, Missouri and Edward Jones Dome is the site of their home games. The Rams have won two NFL Championships in 1945 and 1951, and Super Bowl XXXIV, defeating the Tennessee Titans, in 1999.
The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1946 the team moved to Los Angeles, California and became the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams moved to St. Louis before the start of the 1995 season. Their home games were played at Busch Memorial Stadium until the Trans World Dome was completed. The multi-purpose stadium is now known as the Edward Jones Dome at America’s Center. The Dome provides multiple stadium configurations that can seat up to 70,000 people. There is a private luxury suite level, a private club seat and luxury suite level, a concourse level (lower bowl) and terrace level (upper bowl).

The Rams won 6 conference championships, 2 in the NFL National in 1950 and 1951, 1 in the NFL Western in 1955 and 3 in the NFC in 1979, 1999 and 2001. They won 15 division championships, 2 in the NFL West in 1945 and 1949, 2 in the NFL Coastal in 1967 and 1969 and 11 in the NFC West in 1973-1979, 1985, 1999, 2001 and 2003. They appeared in 27 NFL playoff games in 1945, 1949-1952, 1955, 1967, 1969, 1973-1980, 1983-1986, 1988, 1989, and 1999-2004. Pro Football Hall of Famer’s from the Rams include Joe Namath (12), Ollie Matson (33), Andy Robustelli (81), and Dick ‘Night Train’ Lane (also 81).

The 2009 St. Louis Rams Head Coach is Steve Spagnuolo. He is the 25th head coach in the 72 year history of the Rams and has 11 years of NFL experience. Since January he has assembled a staff of 19 assistants and charted a course for an offseason that would move nonstop through free agency, the draft and training camp. Spagnuolo credits his success on a formula built on Four Pillars: Faith, Character, Core Values and Team First. Among the players under his direction this year are Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson, Torry Holt, Donnie Avery, Josh Brown, Steven Jackson, Pisa Tinoisamoa, Oshiomogho Atogwe, Will Witherspoon and Dante Hall.

The Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are an American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They play in the AFC North division of the National Football League. Their home games are played in Cleveland Browns Stadium. They joined the NFL in 1950 after the All American Football Conference folded. They were charter members of the AAFC and had played in that conference since 1946 where they won all four AAFC titles. They won four additional championships after joining the NFL, prior to the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. The Browns were one of three teams which joined ten former AFL teams to form the American Football Conference. They have not played in a league championship game since the merger, despite the success they had before. Cleveland is one of five NFL teams that have not qualified for the Super Bowl.

Art Modell purchased the Cleveland Browns in 1961. After more than three rocky decades, in 1995, Modell announced that he was relocating the Browns to Baltimore for the 1996 season. Baltimore had been home to the Colts until they relocated to Indianapolis after the 1983 season. Modell had shrewdly placed an issue on the ballot which had Cleveland voters approving the issue that would provide $175 million tax dollars to update the Cleveland Municipal Stadium. His plan was later discarded and taxpayers ended up paying close to $300 million to demolish the old stadium and build a new one on that site. Modell was still planning to move the team. Lawsuits were filed by the city of Cleveland, angry fans and a host of others. Congress held hearings on the matter. The Browns sponsors pulled their support during the team’s final weeks leaving Municipal Stadium with no advertising.

The 1995 season was a disaster for the team as well. During the final home game some of the fans at the east end of the stadium became so out of control that their end zone action had to be moved to the other end of the field. Several fires were set in the stands and security officials and police who were trying to put out the fires were assaulted. In spite of everything, the Browns won that game.

After a series of talks between the NFL, the Browns, and officials from Cleveland and Baltimore, a settlement was reached. The players and personnel that comprised the Browns team would be moving with Modell to Baltimore as the Ravens. The Browns legacy would remain in Cleveland. The NFL announced that the Browns would be deactivated for three years while a new stadium would be built for the new Browns team, which would be either an expansion team or a team moved from another city. In 1999, before the season began, the Browns franchise was reactivated with a new team, but the team name, colors, history, records, awards and archives would remain in Cleveland.

The road of wins and losses has remained rocky. In 1999 it was 2–14; 2000 was 3–13; 2001 was 7-9; 2002 was 9-7; 2003 was 5-11; 2004 was 4-12; 2005 was 6-10; 2006 was 4-12; 2007 was 10-6; 2008 was 4-12. The 2009 season will begin under head coach Eric Mangini who comes with 14 years of NFL coaching experience. Among the players who could make this a winning year for the Browns include Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson, Jamal Lewis, James Davis, Mike Furrey, Kamerion Wimbley, D’Qwell Jackson and Eric Wright.

The Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are an American football team playing in the AFC West in the National Football League. Their home games are played at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado. Invesco Field was built in 2001 replacing Mile High Stadium. Its name comes from the fact that Denver is exactly one mile above sea level. The Broncos joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger. The team began play in 1960 as charter members of the AFL.

Bob Howsam, who owned a minor league baseball team, was awarded an AFL charter franchise and the Denver Broncos were named on August 14, 1959. The Broncos have the distinction of winning the first AFL game against the Boston Patriots with a score of 13-10, on September 9, 1960. Seven years later they became the first AFL team to defeat an NFL team when they beat the Detroit Lions in a preseason game, 13-7.

They were the only original AFL team that had never played in a title game during the first 10 years of the league’s existence. A local group took over ownership of the team when it looked like Denver might lose the franchise in 1965. They began to infuse the team with new blood. It took the Broncos thirteen long, angst filled years before they had their first winning season in 1973. In 1977 the Broncos made the playoffs and that resulted in their first Super Bowl game where the Dallas Cowboys defeated them 27-10. Their first Super Bowl victory was a 31-24 win over the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII in 1997, followed by another win in Super Bowl XXXIII in 1998. The Broncos have played in six Super Bowls. Their season finishes since then were 1999, 6-10; 2000, 11-5; 2001, 8-8; 2002, 9-7; 2003, 10-6; 2004, 10-6; 2005, 13-3; 2006, 9-7; 2007, 7-9; 2008, 8-8.

The 2009 Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels along with players Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, Darius Walker, Peyton Hillis, Eddie Royal, Kenny McKinley and D.J. Williams hope to be able to lead their team to another winning year and possibly another Super Bowl win.