The NFL is supposed to be the league where every fan harbors hopes (no matter how faint) that his/her team will make the playoffs well into winter. That was the vision of former commissioner Pete Rozelle, who persuaded  owners to follow a revenue-sharing model used successfully by the rival AFL in order to enhance competitive balance and keep every seat filled (or eyes glued to the set) through the weather-challenged holidays.

His successor, Paul Tagliabue, nurtured the model by persuading players – led by his buddy, the late Gene Upshaw – that a hard salary cap was for their own good, allowing parity to thrive even as the New England Patriots established a new-era dynasty by winning three of four Super Bowls right after the turn of the century.

But now, at the onset of the league's annual fall meetings in Boston, Roger Goodell has a mess on his hands. Teams stink. Lots of them. More than I can ever recall. More teams are all but out of the running for the playoffs before Halloween than have been since the NFL claimed parity like it was a registered trademark.

Sure there's always been top-tier teams and, well, on the flip side, the Oakland Raiders. But in 2009, miserable more than has company – it's having a convention in the NFL.

Four teams are 0-5. That's 20 games played by the Kan't City Chiefs, the St. Limbaugh Rams, Tampa Buc Wild and Forget the Titans, and nary a W between them. Would never have happened in Rozelle World. And one of them's not even the Raiders.

Oaklnd is among five other teams with just one win each. (Carolina, Cleveland, Buffalo and Detroit join the Raiders) And in some cases just barely.

Jacksonville, Houston and Washington each have two wins, but no one would argue against tossing them into the stinky pile, as well. (By contrast, the other two-win teams – Seattle, Arizona, Green Bay and San Diego – can all talk playoffs without prompting a flood of LOLs.)

There's thus far been so much pitiful football, in fact, it's almost overshadowed the top-tier storylines unfolding in Cincinnati, Denver, Minnesota, New York (twice) and New Orleans.

Parity has given way to Paltry, and in this new economic age, when a fan's passion may no longer trump pocketbook practicality, it'll begin to touch the bottom line sooner than you can say "Raiders win!" three times with a straight face.

Each team may have arrived at its miserable state via different paths. Some (like Tampa Bay, Detroit and St. Limbaugh) are trying to dig out of years failed leadership with fresh, new coaches and/or talent.

Some (J'ville, Tennessee, Carolina) are holding on with veteran coaches and may be struggling due to the loss of key talent.

A few (Cleveland, Carolina, Washington) are in some kind of going-nowhere limbo.

And some just stink. (I will refrain from naming names …)

Whatever the reasons, Goodell must be hoping '09 is just a one-season malady, that it's not a trend that would upset the NFL's status as the model sport in terms of popularity and profitability.

So far viewership has not been affected. The league is averaging 17.4 million sets of eyeballs each week, thanks in part to high-profile matchups – like Brett Favre v. Green Bay – on Sunday and Monday nights. That's the highest level since 1989.

But there are concerns. There is no long runway here. The current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of next season, unless the league can strike a deal with the players and their new leader, executive director DeMaurice Smith.

Talks have been progressing, both sides say. And I'm sure neither side wants to play chicken with their Bentley's when so many fans are worried about their jobs.

At that juncture, they'd all be losers.

AP photos

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