The NFL does a pretty good job at fostering parity where bad teams can become good from one season to the next. But what happens to the teams that dwell in the middle for long periods of time? The Pittsburgh Steelers have more or less become a case study in that specific type of mediocrity over the last several years.
Most bad teams have at least one big reason for optimism. Maybe it’s a recent first-round quarterback that is developing, or a completely new coaching staff that has the potential to shake things up for the better. Those experiments don’t always succeed, but they at least provide some form of hope for the franchise.