Disagree.....Jeff missed the Chase in 2005 and as a 24 fan since about '97, it was probably the worst year I've ever endured, despite winning 4 races that year (including the Daytona 500). That team couldn't even run top-25 at 1.5 mile tracks. I remember him getting passed by Kyle Petty for like thirty-something place at Michigan. I remember him getting spun by Mike Bliss for like twenty-something place at Chicago. Then there were rumors that he had punched Mike Bliss at the airport. And then of course they missed the Chase.
So it's not about the COT. That whole coil-binding thing circa 2003-2005 really changed set-ups and threw veterans a huge curve. Plus there was a huge influx of new talent that didn't know any better. Rusty, Martin, Gordon, Burton all had down year(s) around this time but were able to recover. Well, Burton might be debatable. Others like Bobby Labonte, Rudd, Jarrett, Marlin were never able to recover.
Ever since then, set-ups seem more finicky and aero-dependent than ever. While the 24 team regained competitiveness almost immediately when Letarte took over (Gordon came back to win Chicago in 2006), that team has never been able to achieve the type of consistency it takes to be a truly great team.
I'm as big of a Gordon fan as there is, but he's not a team leader. He's a driver. And I don't think he's ever been able to put a truly great team around him over the last decade. Just good teams. That's why the stats are what they are.