NFC domination for a long time?

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

It was just a few years ago that the AFC seemed to dominate the NFC, as the trio of Patriots-Colts-Steelers were the gold standard of the league. These teams have represented the AFC in 10 of the last 11 Super Bowls and up until 2008 had won 6 of 8 against the NFC.

Now? It's looking pretty bleak. It begins with the quarterbacks. The NFC boasts Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, and Matt Stafford, four quarterbacks that seem to have just begun their dominating ways (well, Brees might be a little older, but he still has quite a few good years left.)

Consider this: Stafford would have easily been the second best QB in the AFC this year, behind only Brady, but he wasn't even a pro bowl selection in the NFC. He wasn't even the first alternate. That was Cam Newton, a rookie. Oh, I forgot to mention a guy named Tony Romo finished with a mere 31 touchdowns and 10 INTs and a guy named Matt Ryan who had 29 and 12. That's right, the 4th NFC pro bowl alternative would have been the second best QB in the AFC.

Alex Smith was probably the 10th best QB in the conference with the lowest INT pct in the league and a 13-3 record (along with some MVP chatter.)

The NFC also has some up-and-comers who had sophomore slumps: Sam Bradford and Josh Freeman.

Beyond the quarterbacks, the overall quality of the best AFC teams is quickly deteriorating.

Colts- Done.

Steelers- Soon to be done. A very old roster and a very bad cap situation, along with a QB who literally might not last two more years with all his injuries.

Ravens- Possibly done very soon. Another team with an aging defense whose offense does not look up to the task to carry them.

Texans and Bengals- Good young teams that will get a lot of hype, but honestly, these teams don't seem to have that much talent. Texans, we'll see. I'm led to believe their front office won't make the good decisions required for a consistently good team, based on everything they've done up to this point.

The good news here is that the Patriots should contend in this conference at least until Tom Brady retires. We might only have to face 1-2 good QBs each year. The bad news is we just might become the Buffalo Bills. Wouldn't that be a strange way for BB and Brady to end their careers?

 

[MP-Logick]

The NFL is cyclical...every year teams expected to be good disappoint and teams expected to stink make the playoffs. San Francisco was a couple fumbles by their backup punt returner from making the Super Bowl.

There's no question that the NFC is better right now, but who knows who long that will last? The salary cap has changed everything. Maybe next year Peyton Manning will be a Miami Dolphin and he'll embarrass our defense twice and we won't even make the playoffs. Maybe we'll go 15-1. But it's better to be in the AFC for the Patriots, because it's an easier road to the Super Bowl. And there are no advantages for either conference when they get there.

All three of the last four NFC wins came down to one play or one drive...I don't expect to see a long streak of NFC wins. Let's just get back to the Super Bowl, and see what happens.

As for the Bills...that would hurt, but Bills fans would still much rather lose four Super Bowls then not be remotely successful, like their past decade.

 

[PatsGirl2011]

Hmm..it depends. The AFC is probably going to be down slightly depending on a lot of things. Next year will prob be the same contenders in the hunt plus 3 teams who will "surprise" or play up to their expectations like the chargers and Jets. In the NFC there are really good teams and average teams. The good teams will prob be Green bay and NO. I think SF will prob take a step back because they won't surprise anyone. A team like the Lions may be able to compete if they fix their defense. I don't know about Atlanta. Philly will be better. I think they will win the NFC East. If Peyton plays for the NFC then things can get fun. I honestly don't think he wants to end his career in the same division as Brady knowing he may never see the SB again, IMO. SF may be a good fit and they will be a slightly better team for the short term. I think they stick with Alex Smith though.