I totally understand the hate for where we have constantly been at in standings every year (Just good enough to make or almost make the playoffs, not bad enough for a high draft pick etc.) and I have been part of the camp that complains about it.
However… one thing I’ve realized is that it does keep me interested in games through the entire season. Could you imagine being a cardinals fan right now knowing you’re basically eliminated from the playoffs? Would you still be interested in tuning in weekly? I probably wouldn’t. Even last year after we started 2-6, I still had faith in the Steelers doing steeler things and sneaking into the playoffs (we needed a bunch of scenarios to play out the last 3 weeks and they all did, except for the Jets beating the dolphins which they actually almost did if not for a wack ass penalty) This kept every game interesting and watchable.
Anyways, what I’m trying to say is maybe we should be grateful that we’re always somewhat in contention. Yeah we may not look like a Super Bowl team, but at least we constantly have the chance to be and our games are meaningful down to the last week. Any team can get hot at the right time and make noise in the playoffs, they just have to get in them first.
Have yo understand the mindset and the mentality of the franchise. They don’t believe in being non competitive for the sake of “premium draft picks”. They believe that any team, no matter how mid, has a shot if they can sneak into the playoffs. And they aren’t entirely wrong, once you are in the single elimination games anything can happen just need the ball to bounce your way a time or two. They also believe good scouting and development can be on par to premium draft selections. Once again, not entirely wrong. We’ve seen it year in and year out, half of the top ten picks will bust and half will succeed. And pro bowlers can be found into the late first and later rounds. Lastly, I think the mindset of never sucking has in large part to do with the decades of being a poverty franchise pre 70s. They don’t ever want to be down bad like that again, it’s a mentality. Once you have that stink on your franchise it’s hard to wash up. You can see that with long long time downtrodden franchises like the cardinals, browns, and to a lesser extent Vikings. There’s a lot to be gained from being perceived as a “winning” or “competitive” franchise