Are we in for another decade of NFC dominance in Super Bowls ?

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

We all remember the NFC was by far the dominant conference in the 80s and 90s when in particular the NFL title was dominated by the likes of the Redskins,49ers and Cowboys.

Once the Broncos started winning consecutive SBs in the late 90s the league had switched over to the power in the AFC ....until the Giants upset and now the NFC is champion of 3 of the last 4

Now with another SB victory by the NFC,could this be a sign of things to come?

Is the NFC taking over the reigns?,Is this signalling the return of the NFC dominance of decades gone by?

I sure hope not.....

 

[Patriot Missile]

We all remember the NFC was by far the dominant conference in the 80s and 90s when in particular the NFL title was dominated by the likes of the Redskins,49ers and Cowboys.

Once the Broncos started winning consecutive SBs in the late 90s the league had switched over to the power in the AFC ....until the Giants upset and now the NFC is champion of 3 of the last 4

Now with another SB victory by the NFC,could this be a sign of things to come?

Is the NFC taking over the reigns?,Is this signalling the return of the NFC dominance of decades gone by?

I sure hope not.....

Jumping the gun a little there? A whole two in a row?

But yeah, that run by the nfc from 84 to 98 reminds of of the National leagues all star dominace over the American league in the 70's and 80's. Very frustrating indeed. I sure hope not too.

 

[patsfan-1982]

We all remember the NFC was by far the dominant conference in the 80s and 90s when in particular the NFL title was dominated by the likes of the Redskins,49ers and Cowboys.

Once the Broncos started winning consecutive SBs in the late 90s the league had switched over to the power in the AFC ....until the Giants upset and now the NFC is champion of 3 of the last 4

Now with another SB victory by the NFC,could this be a sign of things to come?

Is the NFC taking over the reigns?,Is this signalling the return of the NFC dominance of decades gone by?

I sure hope not.....

not at all the steelers will be back the pats are still re-building there defense and the colts will be back at 100% next year as long as Tom Brady Peyton Manning and big ben play in the AFC there is hope lol

 

[DarrylS]

not at all the steelers will be back the pats are still re-building there defense and the colts will be back at 100% next year as long as Tom Brady Peyton Manning and big ben play in the AFC there is hope lol

Also think the Chiefs are going to be in the conversation..

 

[BlueString94]

It all matters how they play in the big game; rings aren't always the way to measure a conference's dominance; it is clearly much harder to make the playoffs in the AFC, where you have to have more than 7 wins at least to get in.

 

[RayClay]

No
.....................

 

[RhodyPatriot]

I'm fine with an NFC decade of dominance with the Patriots sneaking in to win a couple.
(which I think is going to happen by the way)

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Jumping the gun a little there? A whole two in a row?

But yeah, that run by the nfc from 84 to 98 reminds of of the National leagues all star dominace over the American league in the 70's and 80's. Very frustrating indeed. I sure hope not too.

Just keep in mind that the GB Packers are the youngest team in the NFL. That is scary.

 

[fair catch fryar]

No. Remember, today's NFL isn't the same. Those NFC teams were well run and loaded with lots and lots of talent they could keep for a decade. Besides, the NFC totally dominated those Super Bowls in every way. The Super Bowls for the last ten years have all been good to great games w/ the exception of the TB/Oak game.

 

[PatsDeb]

We all remember the NFC was by far the dominant conference in the 80s and 90s when in particular the NFL title was dominated by the likes of the Redskins,49ers and Cowboys.

Once the Broncos started winning consecutive SBs in the late 90s the league had switched over to the power in the AFC ....until the Giants upset and now the NFC is champion of 3 of the last 4

Now with another SB victory by the NFC,could this be a sign of things to come?

Is the NFC taking over the reigns?,Is this signalling the return of the NFC dominance of decades gone by?

I sure hope not.....

Nah, they are just keeping our place warm until we can iron out all the kinks
Hasn't the AFC (including our Pats) continued to dominate the NFC during the regular season? I'm happy the NFC won the last two years and beat two of our biggest rivals, preserving the Pats as the best team of the current era. Hopefully we'll get back there next year and put an end to your worries.

 

[DarrylStingley]

No. I don't see either conference as dominant. There are no dominant teams in the NFL right now.

 

[Jackson 2]

No........

 

[TrueBeliever]

Um, let me think about that NO.

Seriously, the NFC is no longer the dominant conference anymore. It hasn't quite gone totally opposite of the '80s and early '90s, where the AFC was considered JV, but the tide has turned.

I don't think we'll see either conference dominate like that, not with the way the league is set up these days.

 

[mcgraw_wv]

I do, and I think it favors us a lot.

When we were knocked out of the playoffs, I wanted to Steelers to make it over the Jets and lose.

Why?

Every Super Bowl loser has a down year the following year, even the pats in 08 failed to make the playoffs, and I understand that we were still 11-5... but I would consider that a down year still. The Colts this year looked like a shell of their former selves.

With the Colts looking like they may be set to fight for their division here on out, and the Steelers hopefully having a set back. The AFC doesn't present many powerhouse teams any longer.

With the Jets hopefully losing a lot of talent this offseason, I think the Patriots stand to be the lone power team in the AFC for the foreseeable future, not only do they have their core players still playing at high levels, but they have infused young talent into the team that is already to make their names known as the next core players of a solid Patriot Team.

When you look at the other great teams in the AFC, no other teams have a young core of players ready to step in and play at a top level. The Steelers are getting older, the Colts are starting to fall apart, and the Jets went all old all out this year.

Every AFC team that would prove to be top tier competition looks to be fading.

Yet in the NFC, you have more than a few teams on the upswing in talent and Youth, the Packers being one of them, the Bears, the Eagles, the Falcons, the Saints, and even Detroit.

So I think the swing of power has swung in the NFC's direction, and I think the Patriots will be there, one more or two more times to try and be the lone AFC teams to take a few championships from the NFC.

I think the AFC dominated the 00s decade, and all the teams who were top teams, all lost in the SB at the end of the decade, the Pats, Colts, and Steelers, showing their age against hungry young talented teams in the NFC.

With only the Pats looking primed to continue it's top team status for many years to come.

 

[Dutchmaster617]

I do, and I think it favors us a lot.

When we were knocked out of the playoffs, I wanted to Steelers to make it over the Jets and lose.

Why?

Every Super Bowl loser has a down year the following year, even the pats in 08 failed to make the playoffs, and I understand that we were still 11-5... but I would consider that a down year still. The Colts this year looked like a shell of their former selves.

With the Colts looking like they may be set to fight for their division here on out, and the Steelers hopefully having a set back. The AFC doesn't present many powerhouse teams any longer.

With the Jets hopefully losing a lot of talent this offseason, I think the Patriots stand to be the lone power team in the AFC for the foreseeable future, not only do they have their core players still playing at high levels, but they have infused young talent into the team that is already to make their names known as the next core players of a solid Patriot Team.

When you look at the other great teams in the AFC, no other teams have a young core of players ready to step in and play at a top level. The Steelers are getting older, the Colts are starting to fall apart, and the Jets went all old all out this year.

Every AFC team that would prove to be top tier competition looks to be fading.

Yet in the NFC, you have more than a few teams on the upswing in talent and Youth, the Packers being one of them, the Bears, the Eagles, the Falcons, the Saints, and even Detroit.

So I think the swing of power has swung in the NFC's direction, and I think the Patriots will be there, one more or two more times to try and be the lone AFC teams to take a few championships from the NFC.

I think the AFC dominated the 00s decade, and all the teams who were top teams, all lost in the SB at the end of the decade, the Pats, Colts, and Steelers, showing their age against hungry young talented teams in the NFC.

With only the Pats looking primed to continue it's top team status for many years to come.

You couldn't be any more wrong. A wild card team with a pass rush and any young unproven QB just called, as long as they hit our weak line and let the young QB manage the game while we turn it over and punt 50 times then an 8-8 team from Denver or Jacksonville for all we know can knock us off even at 16-0. The balance of power means nothing because our two best seasons in franchise history were ended to wild card teams with young QBs.

 

[mcgraw_wv]

You couldn't be any more wrong. A wild card team with a pass rush and any young unproven QB just called, as long as they hit our weak line and let the young QB manage the game while we turn it over and punt 50 times then an 8-8 team from Denver or Jacksonville for all we know can knock us off even at 16-0. The balance of power means nothing because our two best seasons in franchise history were ended to wild card teams with young QBs.

Well I have said in many other threads we need a power running game and a monster DE. But to the point of the thread, I see the Patriots having less AFC competition in the coming years as it has been in the last 8.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I could see teams like Houston,Oakland,Kansas City and Baltimore become better in the AFC ...All those teams have good defenses and IMO are on their way up.

Even Cleveland showed some promise for the future last season as the games went on and McCoy took over.

 

[Ron Sellers]

I don't think you can compare what has happened the last four years and what could reasonably be forecasted over the next few years to what was going on from 1984 - 1996. During many if not most of those years the league's top three or four teams year in and year out were almost exclusively clubs from the NFC. You can't say the same thing over the last four years in the NFL. Despite the NFC's success in recent Super Bowls the teams considered to be the best in the league prior to those Super Bowls being played were mostly in the AFC or evenly split between the two conferences.

2010: AFC 130-126, NFC 126-130. Top (11-5 or better) teams: NE 14-2; Atl 13-3; Pit 12-4; Bal 12-4; NYJ 11-5; NO 11-5; Chi 11-5. Edge to AFC; NFC wins SB by 6

2009: AFC 133-123, NFC 123-133. Top teams: Indy 14-2; NO 13-3; SD 13-3; MN 12-4; Dal 11-5; Phi 11-5; GB 11-5. Edge to AFC; NFC wins SB by 14

2008: AFC 130-125-1, NFC 125-130-1. Top teams: Ten 13-3; Pit 12-4; Ind 12-4; NYG 12-4; Car 12-4; Bal 11-5; Atl 11-5; Mia 11-5; NE 11-5. Edge to AFC; AFC wins SB by 4

2007: AFC and NFC 128-128. Top teams: NE 16-0; Ind 13-3; GB 13-3; Dal 13-3; SD 11-5; Jax 11-5. Edge to AFC; NFC wins SB by 3


Now let's compare to one of those years in the midst of the NFC's dominance:

1989: NFC 114-110, AFC 109-113-2. Top teams: SF 14-2; NYG 12-4; Denv 11-5; Rams 11-5; Phi 11-5. (There were also three 10-6 teams; all were from the NFC.) Edge to NFC (7 of the 8 teams with double-digit wins were in the NFC); NFC wins SB by 45.



One other thing to consider: what are the franchises that are typically named as the most well run from the top down, at sustaining long term success in the salary cap/free agency era? Typically people will say the Pats, Steelers, Colts, and perhaps the Giants, Eagles and Packers. More recently Falcons, Saints and Ravens are mentioned as well. That's pretty close to an even split between the two conferences.

Bottom line is that I don't see a comparison between the domination of the NFC of 1984-1996, to the NFC of 2007 to now, or going forward. Obviously anything can happen in the future but I don't see anything to suggest that that will be the case. However I do see the power being split equally in comparison to the way it was from 1997-2006.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I don't think you can compare what has happened the last four years and what could reasonably be forecasted over the next few years to what was going on from 1984 - 1996. During many if not most of those years the league's top three or four teams year in and year out were almost exclusively clubs from the NFC. You can't say the same thing over the last four years in the NFL. Despite the NFC's success in recent Super Bowls the teams considered to be the best in the league prior to those Super Bowls being played were mostly in the AFC or evenly split between the two conferences.

2010: AFC 130-126, NFC 126-130. Top (11-5 or better) teams: NE 14-2; Atl 13-3; Pit 12-4; Bal 12-4; NYJ 11-5; NO 11-5; Chi 11-5. Edge to AFC; NFC wins SB by 6

2009: AFC 133-123, NFC 123-133. Top teams: Indy 14-2; NO 13-3; SD 13-3; MN 12-4; Dal 11-5; Phi 11-5; GB 11-5. Edge to AFC; NFC wins SB by 14

2008: AFC 130-125-1, NFC 125-130-1. Top teams: Ten 13-3; Pit 12-4; Ind 12-4; NYG 12-4; Car 12-4; Bal 11-5; Atl 11-5; Mia 11-5; NE 11-5. Edge to AFC; AFC wins SB by 4

2007: AFC and NFC 128-128. Top teams: NE 16-0; Ind 13-3; GB 13-3; Dal 13-3; SD 11-5; Jax 11-5. Edge to AFC; NFC wins SB by 3


Now let's compare to one of those years in the midst of the NFC's dominance:

1989: NFC 114-110, AFC 109-113-2. Top teams: SF 14-2; NYG 12-4; Denv 11-5; Rams 11-5; Phi 11-5. (There were also three 10-6 teams; all were from the NFC.) Edge to NFC (7 of the 8 teams with double-digit wins were in the NFC); NFC wins SB by 45.



One other thing to consider: what are the franchises that are typically named as the most well run from the top down, at sustaining long term success in the salary cap/free agency era? Typically people will say the Pats, Steelers, Colts, and perhaps the Giants, Eagles and Packers. More recently Falcons, Saints and Ravens are mentioned as well. That's pretty close to an even split between the two conferences.

Bottom line is that I don't see a comparison between the domination of the NFC of 1984-1996, to the NFC of 2007 to now, or going forward. Obviously anything can happen in the future but I don't see anything to suggest that that will be the case. However I do see the power being split equally in comparison to the way it was from 1997-2006.

I am not pointing out what regular season records were in terms of dominance,this is strictly based on the point of who is showing up more in the biggest game of the year...and lately in 3 of 4 the NFC has outplayed,outcoached,made fewer mistakes and has wanted it more than the AFC teams did....like it was 2 decades ago

Is the NFC more talented in terms of overall players than the AFC?....perhaps you could say that might be the case now but you would have to dig deep into every teams roster to find that answer.

 

[mcgraw_wv]

The answer always lies in the QBs, and right now, the AFC has all the established older QBs, and the NFC has all the younger hungry up and coming QBs.