Panthers have NFC South's best history -- seriously
Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas
The Carolina Panthers may be the newest of the NFC South's four teams, but they've got the richest history. That's according to Page 2's Ultimate NFL Power Rankings.
Pretty interesting because Carolina's had a 1-15 season, Rae Carruth and Kerry Collins, but the Panthers also have been to three NFC Championship Games since starting play in 1995. After you think about it a bit and look at the complex formula that was used, it's not that surprising that the Panthers are ranked No. 22, ahead of three division foes that have been around a lot longer.
Tampa Bay, the only franchise in the division to win a Super Bowl, is No. 25. The Falcons are No. 26 and the Saints are No. 31. While the Bucs, Falcons and Saints have been pretty good in recent years, their histories are far from glamorous.
The Bucs struggled mightily from their beginning in 1976 until coach Tony Dungy arrived. Saints' fans once wore bags over their heads and folks around Atlanta have only the "glory year'' (1998) to talk about.
Lots of great stats throughout the story, but the most interesting might be that if you throw out the disastrous seasons of 1998 and 2001, the Panthers would have a .523 winning percentage.
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Pat Yasinskas
Yasinskas joined ESPN.com in January 2008 after covering the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer for nine seasons. He began his journalism career with The Tampa Tribune in 1990.