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Are we renewing the era of NFC dominance?


detlef
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OK, so the last two SB champs have been from the NFC and both of those teams look great this year. Detroit and SF seem to be emerging from the depths and are both young and poised to start challenging them. Speaking of young, there's ATL. Then you've got the NFC East which has another team that has won it all recently and Philly and Dallas teams who should be better than they are. Not to mention a Chicago team that was playing about as well as anyone before they lost their two best offensive players to injury. How many teams would be play-off teams if you took away their starting QB and bell-cow RB?

 

What about the AFC? You've got the West, which is a total mess. The South, which is maybe barely better. The East, which has one good team and that team has massive warts and an aging cast of players. Then you have the North, hands down the class of the AFC, with a Steelers team that is also not getting any younger, a Ravens team that might be poised for a run provided they don't drop one of their unexplained stinkers at the wrong time. The Bengals, with a promising young QB/WR tandem and solid D, might be the future of the conference. But is the AFC in good hands when the Bengals are the class of the conference?

 

Perhaps I'm being a bit too tough on the AFC, but you have to admit that it takes some creativity to come up with much nice to say about those teams.

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Pack and Saints are going to be very very tough to beat. I think the Pats are awesome but the D scares me. Pitt always shows up but im not sure they are clicking this year like they have in the past. The ravens D is awesome and Rice is awesome but they are a little inconsistent too. The Pack or the Saints will win it this year in my humble opinion but "any given sunday" always applies.

Edited by whomper
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Perhaps I'm being a bit too tough on the AFC, but you have to admit that it takes some creativity to come up with much nice to say about those teams.

 

I agree with your post overall, the NFC seems to be the conference to beat these days.

With that said, the Texans were looking great until the injury bug hit the team. A one score loss to the Saints, which was a close game throughout, and beating the Falcons showed me that they could hang with the NFC teams. The 2011 draft was amazing (Watt, Reed and Yates), and we've got a lot to look forward to in 2012 if everyone can stay healthy.

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I agree with your post overall, the NFC seems to be the conference to beat these days.

With that said, the Texans were looking great until the injury bug hit the team. A one score loss to the Saints, which was a close game throughout, and beating the Falcons showed me that they could hang with the NFC teams. The 2011 draft was amazing (Watt, Reed and Yates), and we've got a lot to look forward to in 2012 if everyone can stay healthy.

Fair enough, add Houston to the list of teams who are already pretty good and poised to improve. But you can say that about teams 3-5 in the NFC.

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Yep, I'd rank all 6 NFC seeds above Denver, Houston and Cincy. The Steelers are pretty banged up and vulnerable too, not exactly the scary team we are used to seeing. Then the Pats with their horrible defense and the Ravens who have been all over the place this season...definitely the weakest conference playoff representation I can remember. It has to be giving the NFC teams extra motivation to look over and see their potential matchup in the SB.

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My point, primarily, is that there's little reason to see it getting any better for the AFC any time soon. Neither the Pack nor the Saints, the cream of the NFC crop look to be just milking another year out of their teams the way the Pats and Steelers seem to be. And the Niners, Lions, and Falcons all seem to be as promising going forward as anyone in the AFC. As bad as it looks this year, something unexpected would have to happen for it not to be worse next year or the year after that.

 

And, yes, there's the "Any Given Sunday" deal. But, from the mid 80s until the late 90s on "Any Given Sunday" didn't happen all that often for the AFC in the Super Bowl. The Niners, Skins, Giants, and Cowboys all sort of took turns having their way. Sometimes the AFC made a game of it, but just as often, it was a blood bath.

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My point, primarily, is that there's little reason to see it getting any better for the AFC any time soon. Neither the Pack nor the Saints, the cream of the NFC crop look to be just milking another year out of their teams the way the Pats and Steelers seem to be. And the Niners, Lions, and Falcons all seem to be as promising going forward as anyone in the AFC. As bad as it looks this year, something unexpected would have to happen for it not to be worse next year or the year after that.

 

And, yes, there's the "Any Given Sunday" deal. But, from the mid 80s until the late 90s on "Any Given Sunday" didn't happen all that often for the AFC in the Super Bowl. The Niners, Skins, Giants, and Cowboys all sort of took turns having their way. Sometimes the AFC made a game of it, but just as often, it was a blood bath.

Meh, teams come out of nowhere every year. Next year we could be talking about the Raiders, Miami and KC being juggernauts. And the Pats, Steelers and Ravens have solid coaching/front office/scouting, and should continue to draft well and improve. It's amazing what a key free agent acquisition here, Rookie of the Year there, can do for a team with a couple weaknesses to fill.

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Meh, teams come out of nowhere every year. Next year we could be talking about the Raiders, Miami and KC being juggernauts. And the Pats, Steelers and Ravens have solid coaching/front office/scouting, and should continue to draft well and improve. It's amazing what a key free agent acquisition here, Rookie of the Year there, can do for a team with a couple weaknesses to fill.

Do they? Really? Like who? Last year KC "came out of nowhere" to finish 10-6, get bounced in the 1st round and then go back to mediocrity this year. Sure, they lost Charles and Cassell, but did anyone think they were the goods anyway? That team got chased off the field in week one while they were still at full strength.

 

You could sort of say the Niners came out of nowhere, but they've been a sexy pick to emerge for some time and seemed to be only lacking a coach to put it together.

 

So, sure, weird things happen and all that. But weird things also don't happen. And "weird things" are going to have to happen to a number of teams to make them legit title contenders in the AFC while it appears, in the NFC, there are plenty of teams stacked with either a bunch of nice young talent or, better still, a combo of young talent with some very solid vets mixed in. Who's got that in the AFC?

Edited by detlef
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Do they? Really? Like who? Last year KC "came out of nowhere" to finish 10-6, get bounced in the 1st round and then go back to mediocrity this year. Sure, they lost Charles and Cassell, but did anyone think they were the goods anyway? That team got chased off the field in week one while they were still at full strength.

 

You could sort of say the Niners came out of nowhere, but they've been a sexy pick to emerge for some time and seemed to be only lacking a coach to put it together.

 

So, sure, weird things happen and all that. But weird things also don't happen. And "weird things" are going to have to happen to a number of teams to make them legit title contenders in the AFC while it appears, in the NFC, there are plenty of teams stacked with either a bunch of nice young talent or, better still, a combo of young talent with some very solid vets mixed in. Who's got that in the AFC?

You're right, don't know what I was thinking. My bad.

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It seems to me it's mainly the level of talent at the QB position and the fact that the NFL is now a league dominated by QB's.

 

Of the playoff teams:

 

NFC: Rodgers, Brees, Manning, Stafford, Ryan, Smith

 

AFC: Brady, Rothlesberger, Tebow, Dalton, Yates, Flacco.

 

Which group is better? No contest. Younger too.

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It seems to me it's mainly the level of talent at the QB position and the fact that the NFL is now a league dominated by QB's.

 

Of the playoff teams:

 

NFC: Rodgers, Brees, Manning, Stafford, Ryan, Smith

 

AFC: Brady, Rothlesberger, Tebow, Dalton, Yates, Flacco.

 

Which group is better? No contest. Younger too.

 

 

I'd say that's not quite accurate, when guys like Philip Rivers and Matt Schaub are sitting out the playoffs on the AFC side. Of course, the flip side of that is Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, and Mike Vick* are out in the NFC.

 

 

* or not, depending on what you think of Vick as a QB

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Andrew Luck may have something to say about that era before long. Until then the AFC's hopes probably ride on Tom Brady.

 

 

Good call - you can ALWAYS count on a highly-touted high 1st round QB to turn out exactly as expected.

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Good call - you can ALWAYS count on a highly-touted high 1st round QB to turn out exactly as expected.

But he's closest thing to a sure thing to come out in ages. You know since that last closest to a sure thing player a few years ago, and the one before that....

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No Disrespect to the Giants or 49ers but I would think the thoughts in this thread pertained more to the Pack and Saints. Now that they are gone do we still feel the NFC has an edge in the sb with the 4 remaining teams ?

Edited by whomper
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No Disrespect to the Giants or 49ers but I would think the thoughts in this thread pertained more to the Pack and Saints. Now that they are gone do we still feel the NFC has an edge in the sb with the 4 remaining teams ?

Not a clear enormous edge, but I think the Giants squeak out a tight defensive battle on Sunday, then I really like their chances against either AFC team.

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I was rooting for the Giants vs. GB, not because I have anything against GB (and honestly have much more reason to have a vendetta against the Giants), but because of the officiating. Going into the game Iwas not sure if I had a rooting interest, but as soon as they botched that fumble call I went blue.

 

This week I will be voting for the Giants again. Nothing against the 49ers either...in fact I have always admired the 49er franchise. Jack Coughlin really runs a respectable team, though, and it's hard to not at least admire the way he handles his group as well. More to the point, though, as I am abviously rooting for my boys in Foxborough...I think it would be really fun to see a rematch of the SB from a few years ago. Good Times.

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