And the pendulum swings again

Back in 2006, the AFC was undoubtedly the superior conference. The Colts ended up winning the Super Bowl, but the Patriots and Ravens were also good enough to do that, but they each lost to the Colts. The NFC winner that season was the Bears, who endured a mostly horrible Rex Grossman season and still earned home field advantage. Who can forget some of the horrible Rex outings that the Bears still ended up winning (I don't know which was my favorite, his 6 turnover game against Arizona, or his 0 QB rating against Minnesota). The Saints finished 10-6 and got a first round bye that season. The AFC was by far the superior conference.

That is no longer the case. As always happens in sports (AL to NL, East to West), the balance of power has shifted to the NFC. All 6 teams in the NFC playoffs will have at least 10 wins (remember how the '06 Saints had 10 wins and a first round bye?), and I believe any of the 6 teams could make the Super Bowl. Over in the AFC, two wild card spots are still open, and it's possible an 8-8 team could make the playoffs in the AFC. The Bengals have won the AFC North, but have been mostly unimpressive for the past month or so. The Patriots have been uninspiring this season, yet they'll roll in with 11 wins most likely. Just a couple of weeks ago, teams like the Jets and Texans seemed dead; now they are very much in it. And while I believe all 6 NFC teams are also Super Bowl contenders, I would be shocked if anyone other than Indianapolis or San Diego makes the Super Bowl out of the AFC. New England only seems to play really well in spurts, the Bengals don't have nearly a good enough passing game, and who knows who the wild card teams will be.

It's just interesting to me to watch this transformation happen. I can remember when the NFC was basically a joke, and the AFC had all of the strong teams. Lovie Smith can thank his long coaching tenure in Chicago to the NFC's weakness in 2006; the Bears haven't made the playoffs since, and he'd be long out of a job if not for that Super Bowl run. Back then, the Giants made the playoffs at 8-8 and the Eagles made it the 2nd round with Jeff Garcia at QB. Those days are long gone, and the AFC now has some of these issues. The middle of the AFC is extremely mushy, and the power resides all at the top with the Colts and Chargers. It should make for a very fun playoff in the NFC, and a very boring opening round for the AFC. How does Bengals-Jets sound to you? Or Patriots-Texans?

BY THE WAY...

I just want to point out that in the preseason, I pegged the Bengals as the most likely bad team from a year ago to make the playoffs this year but I didn't trust their defense. Whoops, that's actually the strength of the team. It's their passing game you can't trust; Palmer threw for 90 yards against Minnesota and 130 today against Kansas City. They have no deep threat in the passing game, so every possession is a struggle down the field. As morbid as it may be to say this, they really miss Chris Henry and his ability to stretch the field. Chad Johnson, Laveraneus Coles and Andre Caldwell are all possession receivers at this point.

I'm just glad that the day has finially come when the Bengals and Cardinals are both playoff teams. These were the two biggest laughingstocks during my childhood and into my adult life. A Bengals-Cardinals Super Bowl was unfathomable as recently as 2004, but it's now a possibility. I enjoy seeing new teams in the playoffs, so it's nice to see these teams doing well finally. Maybe by 2019 we can call a Lions-Browns Super Bowl a possibility.