It is all about the QBs. Teams without great QBs lose a lot, get early draft picks and build, if they have good management, the rest of the team and hope they luck into a great QB.
There are no completely balanced teams unless one of the perennial losers finally gets lucky and hits on a QB.
Philly is maybe the most balanced team and they hit the above lottery after being not good for a long time, Seattle built a really good team by losing a lot until they hit on Russell, the Rams built a really good defense by losing a lot until they drafted, finally, a QB and then getting a coach this year that knows offense and can gear up the game plan around the QB. The Vikes built their defense around bad to mediocre teams until Teddy got hurt, then traded 2 firsts for a qb that was a high draft pick by a perennial loser, yep, Rams. Denver, losers for a long time, built a great defense, but until they got Manning, didn’t do dodo. After Manning, still can’t do dodo. KC has had a great D built upon losing and getting high draft picks. Got Alex and now wins, until playoff time. Cincy sucked until Dalton, got a lot of good players, finally started to win, except in playoffs, because like KC, QB is not great. Dallas built a great line, good team by going 20 years without playoff wins, added Dak and then lost to us in playoffs. San Fran had long run of losing, built a great defense, O and D lines and run game, all high draft picks, but without a great QB, hasn’t won a SB and now is known as Owen, like 0 and 8. Ravens are an outlier, twice have stunk, built great defenses. Once great enough to win with Dilfer, then had Flacco have the post season of his life. Then reverted to the mean. Chargers have Rivers, drafted because, yes, they and the Giants lived through losing years and traded top 5 picks. San Diego built up a terrific team around Rivers, won 14 games and fired the coach. Not doing so well ever since. Raiders suffered a decade of losing but had a decade of top draft picks to build a team before drafting Carr. Looked great until he got hurt just before the playoffs. But now, they are a losing team again.
Eli won 2 SBs with a great defense built on draft picks from losing. Now they are one of the worst teams in the NFC, with Eli. The Redskins sucked bad enough they were able to draft RGme and Cousins in the same draft. Still losers. Cards built a team by losing so long they got a great defense and a lot of offensive weapons, had to sign a free agent QB, still didn’t win anything, and now have no qb.
Falcons lost so much they built a great team, drafted Matt Ryan, lived with an above average QB until last year, and now he has reverted to the norm. They are not great.
Houston spent the last few years losing and drafting a great defense. Then drafted Watson. Looked good with a real QB. Then he got hurt. Even with Watson looking like the missing link, they went 3-4. With him being the AFC player of the month.
Buffalo, Jets, Miami, Tennessee,Jags, Detroit, Saints, Carolina... all teams that stunk for a long time, built up one side of the team but other than an odd year or two never were really relevant. And then there are the Bears and Browns. Stinkers forever it seems now. The only exception: the Pats. BB wins with whoever is QB. Brady, Cassell, no matter who, they win. They are the template. But us and the Steelers are the only other teams that seem to be perennial winners besides New England.
I know, I covered pretty much the whole league, but who are those “balanced teams” that have done anything over the timeframe NE, Pitt and us have for as long as we all have? Everyone else has endured long losing streaks to be able to build with high draft picks, has had moments of glory before falling back into mediocrity or has never won the SB.
There are no teams without weaknesses or depth issues. Or, as I believe, without coaching deficiencies. Except New England.
So who are these mythical "Balanced teams". There may be at the moment one or two, but there are no year over year balanced teams, NE excepted.