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The AFC.....


Special K

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I'm not a believer of the Titans and their 6-0 start, and beyond that, no teams have really stood out from the pack.

 

Of course the Bills have exceeded expectations, and I am optimistic about their playoff chances.

 

Pittsburgh blew a game in the 4th quarter at home today, and the Pats* and Jets win but look dreadful in doing so.

 

Playoff hopefuls Cleveland, Jacksonville, Indy, and San Diego, are all at or below .500.

 

Is this the NFL's ideal of "parity"?? (I sure hope not).....or has the AFC really fallen this far this fast??

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Not too much different in the NFC, expect that all the good teams happen to be in the East.

 

It means that it's an open race. There's no team in the league that the Bills can't beat. Conversely, there is also no team they are a sure bet against.

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Not too much different in the NFC, expect that all the good teams happen to be in the East.

 

It means that it's an open race. There's no team in the league that the Bills can't beat. Conversely, there is also no team they are a sure bet against.

Right on. Parity is the answer. There is no dominant team, and I still believe the Bills can be a real SB contender this year. Can anyone name a team that the Bills simply couldn't beat? And vv, is there any team that couldn't beat the Bills? Aside from the Lions, I think I'm in the clear on this.

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I'd say it's the Giants title to lose at this point. They're playing good tough football. I think you're right about the AFC this year a bunch of so-so teams.

 

Yeah impressive win by the Giants today even though the Steelers did some dumb things. I wasn't sure their Cleveland debacle was a complete fluke at the time insomuch as I thought losing Strahan/OC would eventually catch up with them. But they're clearly the favorite now as the rest of the division looks like an only slightly stronger version of the AFC East with no bad teams but nobody really good either (Philly was not nearly as impressive as the score today).

 

As for the AFC, "mediocrity" I think is generous - it is "late 80's AFC" bad. It's actually kinda embarrassing that such a crappy league consumes so much of my life.

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I would say parity. Not just in the AFC but the NFC as well. I feel safe in thinking that everybody knows about the AFC's parity, so let me show you the parity that also exists in the NFC. Mainly the NFC's toughest divisions, the East & South.

 

NFC East:

The Cowboys beat the Eagles, Packers & Bucs, but lost to the Skins, Cards & were blown out by the Rams, and struggled against the still winless Bengals.

 

The Giants gutted out and beat a tough Steelers team and are 6-1, but among those 6 wins are blowout victories over the Rams, Seahawks & 49'ers, and an OT victory over the still winless Bengals. By the way that one loss was a 35-14 loss to the Browns.

 

The Eagles have victories over the surprising Falcons & Steelers, but also blowout victories over the Rams & 49'ers. Meanwhile they have lost to the Cowboys, Skins & Bears.

 

The Redskins have victories over the Cowboys, Saints & Cards, but lost to the Rams & Giants, and struggled against the Browns and the still winless Lions.

 

NFC South:

The Falcons have victories over the Packers & Bears and blowout wins over the Chiefs and still winless Lions, and have lost to the Eagles, Panthers & Bucs.

 

The Panthers have beaten the Chargers, Bears, Falcons, Cardinals and have blowout wins over the Saints & Chiefs. The Panthers have lost to the Vikings and were blown out by the Bucs.

 

The Saints beat the Chargers & Bucs and have blowout wins over the 49'ers & Raiders, and they lost to the Skins, Vikings, Broncos & Panthers.

 

The Buccaneers have beaten the Packers, Bears, Falcons & a blow out win over the Panthers, but have lost to the Saints, Cowboys & Broncos.

 

I think this shows that parity is all over the NFL. Any given Sunday.

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I would say parity. Not just in the AFC but the NFC as well.

 

 

 

I think this shows that parity is all over the NFL. Any given Sunday.

 

 

You make some good points, but the more I think about it, I don't think its a question of parity or mediocrity.

 

I think that parity=mediocrity, and that should be a concern for the league.

 

Sure, one should be happy that one's team can beat any team on any given Sunday....but isn't it equally as frustrating to know that one's team can lose to any team on any given Sunday??

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Looking back on the history of the NFL and its championship teams, and the history of the Buffalo Bills and its fans, I have a couple thoughts related to the topic.

 

IMO, Bills fans, and I am a huge one, are so scarred by those Super Bowls that we can never accept anything less than a bullet-proof team. NE was a bullet-proof team last year...

 

Another trait most of us share is an obsession with the offensive line, thanks to those Dallas games. I realize we need a very good O-line to make it where we want to go, but historically having the world's best O-line is only a key to success, not THE key. I think we ran into the best O-line possibly ever assembled, and have let that come to dominate the way we think about football.

 

Talented, fundamentally sound teams create the 'luck' that wins games, and ultimately championships.

 

Yeah, it's a crapshoot among the teams at the top, and that's what keeps the game exciting.

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You make some good points, but the more I think about it, I don't think its a question of parity or mediocrity.

 

I think that parity=mediocrity, and that should be a concern for the league.

 

Sure, one should be happy that one's team can beat any team on any given Sunday....but isn't it equally as frustrating to know that one's team can lose to any team on any given Sunday??

I see your point about parity.

 

I personally think that parity is a good thing, and here's why.

 

I've heard a lot of people, be it fans, or sports writers and broadcasters, that parity is a bad thing for football. That they miss the good old days of the dynasty teams. The teams that would dominate the league.

 

While I agree that the Dynasty teams were great as were several other teams, the rest of the league had quite a few putrid teams. These teams were downright AWFUL. If you remember back to the 70's, 80's & 90's, the number of awful teams was quite high.

 

Thats why I like parity. I'd rather have a league with a bunch of 6-10, 7-9, & 8-8 teams, than a league with a bunch of 2-14, 3-13, & 4-12 teams.

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