What happened to the NFC being the elite Conference and the AFC sucking?

[IllegalContact]

I see it a little differently:
1 - NE (13-3)
2 - Hou (13-3)
3 - Den(12-4) Lose in Baltimore
4 - Bal (11-5)
5 - Ind (11-5)
6 - Cincy (9-7) Jets don't win out

Bal beat Indy
Den Beats Cincy

Pats beat Bal
Den beat Hou

Pats beat Den

I think the Texans split with the Colts and the Pats win out.

1. NE (13-3)
2. Hou (13-3)
3. Den (13-3) Lose head to head tie breakers with NE and Houston
4. Bal (9-7) Win Division Record tie breaker over Bengals
5. Indy (11-5)
6. NYJ (9-7) win conference record tie breaker over Cincy

WC round
Denver destroys the Jets
Indy beats Baltimore

Divisional Round
Denver beats Houston
NE beats Indy

AFCCG
NE over Denver

 

[Rob0729]

Just curious why you put the 49ers higher then other NFC teams? They tied and lost to a team the pats destroyed over in London and have been very hit or miss lately, to be fair, like every NFC power over the past month. I do not see them having any better, or worse chance in the playoffs then Atl, GB, or the giants. Any one of them bringing their A game could beat the rest. Talking specifically the past month or so no team has been as consistent as the patriots.

I discount the loss and tie to the Rams a bit because it is a divisional game. I still think they are the most consistent team in the NFC right now. When they are on, both Green Bay and the Giants are most likely better but you don't know which team you are going to get week to week especially with the Giants. In fact, when they are on, the Giants may be the best team in the league.

 

[BradyFTW!]

There's almost no way the AFC championship game will be Pats/Broncos. The likely scenario is that they'll occupy the number 2 and 3 seeds in the AFC, so they'd meet in the Divisional Round. A shame, really.

And the NFC might be better on the whole, but I'd take the Patriots/Broncos/Texans against any of the top 3 NFC teams you can come up with.

If the Pats and Broncos both win out and Houston loses one of the Indy games (a very plausible scenario), then the AFC seeding would be as follows:

1. Pats
2. Texans
3. Broncos
4. Ravens

In that scenario, the Pats and Broncos could meet up in the AFCCG. Pats would have to beat the winner of the Ravens' wildcard game, and the Broncos would have to win a wildcard game then go win in Houston.

Since I think that the Texans will lose one of the Indy games, the Pats beating the 49ers is probably the biggest hurdle to seeing this playoff seeding scenario unfold.

 

[BradyFTW!]

That is a divisional game. It's hard to knock teams for that. How many times have the Pats headed down to ol' South Beach with every one expecting a blow out, only to either lose or find themselves in a dog fight with an inferior opponent?

The Vikings and G-men losses were bad for them. And to a degree I think they should have won the home game against the Rams, that would be the counter argument to my point as the Pats have always handled the Fins in Foxboro with the exception of the wildcat game in 08.

Agreed. While I do think it's a significant point against the 49ers that they failed to beat the Rams in two tries, the Rams that they played aren't the same as the ones that we massacred. mediocre-to-bad teams, in particular, play the top dogs in their division much harder than they play everyone else.

Again, though, I wouldn't write it off entirely, either. The 49ers should have been able to manage a close victory in at least one of those games.

 

[BadMoFo]

Wait til the ****** end of the year.

This happens every year, we come out slow, fans cry about the team, we win the division and then get hot in December and all of a sudden we're unstoppable. Only to be disappointed in the end.

 

[mgcolby]

I see it a little differently:
1 - NE (13-3)
2 - Hou (13-3)
3 - Den(12-4) Lose in Baltimore
4 - Bal (11-5)
5 - Ind (11-5)
6 - Cincy (9-7) Jets don't win out

Bal beat Indy
Den Beats Cincy

Pats beat Bal
Den beat Hou

Pats beat Den

I can see that as well. You have more faith in Baltimore than I do. I think they are reeling a bit. However I do think it is unlikely that three teams win 13 games. With that said my feelings towards Baltimore supercede my inclination that three teams won't win 13 games.

I hate to think the Jets win out but they play 3 powder puffs to end the season, play good defense and run the ball effectively they can beat all three. SD is their toughest opponent and they get them in NJ. But it would be great fun to see them win out and make the playoffs only for them to get destroyed in the WC game. Their fan base deserves that.

 

[BadMoFo]

I think the reason is pretty simple: QB.

In the AFC, the following has happened in the last year to change the perception of the conference's QBs:

-Andrew Luck is awesome
-Peyton Manning returned to full form
-Matt Schaub, despite last night's game, is a pretty good QB
-Andy Dalton has proven his rookie season was not a fluke
-Only QB to be downgraded is Phillip Rivers, who goes form borderline elite to average

In the NFC, big changes:

-Eli Manning continues to turn back into a pumpkin, as people realize he doesn't belong in any conversation with the word "elite"
-Drew Brees has proven to be nowhere near the juggernaut that people overrated him as
-Michael Vick is basically done
-Tony Romo is having a very bad year
-Cam Newton in a sophomore slump
-Sam Bradford is never going to be a great quarterback
-Matt Stafford is typical big-arm, mistake-prone gunslinger
-Probably the only positive for the NFC is RGIII, who looks like a stud

So you just pick and chose the QBs to try and make a point. You left out Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers in the NFC, then Russell Wilson and Josh Freeman who are up-and-coming QBs. And are you really gonna discredit Eli Manning again after what he twice did to this franchise. Dude might turn the ball over more than other QBs, but he wins when it counts and he's one of the most clutch QBs in the league. :bricks:

Andrew Luck is only a rookie and possibly the third best rookie passer. He makes way too many mistakes, but every one hypes him because of some of the comebacks he's led and because he is Peyton's replacement. RGIII and Wilson are both playing better football than he is. And Romo, Newton and Brees might be having down years, but their numbers are about equal to Dalton and Flacco, two of the better QBs in the AFC.