Has a conference ever been this stacked?

[bmurph128]

Eagles/Rams/Vikings - were the top 3 seeds in the NFC last year, and all made drastic improvements - Eagles with getting their injured players back, Vikes with Cousins and Richardson, Rams with Talib/Peters/Suh/Cooks - these three teams appear to be the three best in the NFL, at least on paper

Saints - only just one step behind the other three, and only because the others have significant upgrades at multiple positions - the Saints could match that with further development of their historically good draft class from a year ago - but right now I put them a step behind the other three.

Falcons - giving them their own little tier here because, while IMO they are clearly behind the three teams above, they deserve to be separated from the rest of the NFC. Their defense is still young and getting better while their offense should get a jolt from Ridley.

Packers - they are only a tier above Carolina/Dallas/Seattle out of respect for Aaron Rodgers

Panthers/Seahawks/Cowboys - teams that have had recent success and will be threats to win their divisions. Carolina was a playoff team last year and very good when they weren't playing the Saints - Dallas and Seattle both went 9-7 amidst some extreme drama - Zeke playing a full year should help Dallas while Seattle really can't be any worse offensively. The issue with these teams is that they could backslide too - Dallas' defense, Seattle's offense and Cam have been inconsistent - but if any or all show up big, winning the NFC wouldn't be completely out the question, although at this point it feels unlikely.

Redskins/Lions - teams that have had some recent success (or at least haven't been horrible), but face uphill challenges - all feel like they are trying to rebuild on the fly.

Bears/Niners/Giants/Bucs - while I'm putting them at the bottom, fans of these teams are looking at the Rams/Vikings/Eagles/Saints and thinking "we can do that this year!" - the problem is that the Rams/Vikings/Eagles/Saints are still here. But injuries happen and the Giants best case scenario coupled with some more significant injuries to the Eagles....who knows. The Niners are a trendy pick for the playoffs; the Bucs are somewhat hyped up every year - and if Winston explodes, who knows? Bears fans are hoping for a Rams-esque turn around.

Cardinals - only truly hopeless team in the conference - and that's with a cocky rookie QB highly drafted, a top 5 RB in the NFL, a HOF WR and a guy that will be among the league leaders in sacks.



I don't think a conference has ever been this loaded before.

[Cactus Jack]

The NFC= The NBA's Western Conference

I just pray Russ can stay healthy. Otherwise I'll be watching very little football this year.

[RavenMad31]

From the early 80s through the mid 90s the NFC might have been even more stacked than it is now. The Bears with a historically great defense and Walter Payton were the fourth best team. Walsh's Niners, Gibbs' Skins and Parcells Giants took turns pounding on the AFC. Then at the turn of the decade, the Niners stayed strong, the Cowboys got dominant and the Packers got good. The NFC even had some nice teams like Eric Dickerson's Rams, The Vikings and Saints that never really had a prayer of doing anything, but probably could have made some noise in the AFC. Between '83 and '96, the NFC held Elway and Marino to zero Super Bowl wins and held a very good Bills team to 0 for 4 as well.
I think the salary cap and free agency have made it so right now might be about as unbalanced as the league can get. Reading your post, there is at least plausible reason to believe why every team in the NFC could have a decent year or better.

[bmurph128]

From the early 80s through the mid 90s the NFC might have been even more stacked than it is now. The Bears with a historically great defense and Walter Payton were the fourth best team. Walsh's Niners, Gibbs' Skins and Parcells Giants took turns pounding on the AFC. Then at the turn of the decade, the Niners stayed strong, the Cowboys got dominant and the Packers got good. The NFC even had some nice teams like Eric Dickerson's Rams, The Vikings and Saints that never really had a prayer of doing anything, but probably could have made some noise in the AFC. Between '83 and '96, the NFC held Elway and Marino to zero Super Bowl wins and held a very good Bills team to 0 for 4 as well.
I think the salary cap and free agency have made it so right now might be about as unbalanced as the league can get. Reading your post, there is at least plausible reason to believe why every team in the NFC could have a decent year or better.

I probably should have said in the free agent era, although I think the depth at the bottom of the conference is better today than it was back then. Good points.

[bmurph128]

The NFC= The NBA's Western Conference

I just pray Russ can stay healthy. Otherwise I'll be watching very little football this year.

I don't think it's like the West. There were only two teams who could have won the West last year, and really only one - the NFC is the opposite of that. If anything the AFC is like the West - Patriots/Steelers/Jags, and that's pretty much it as far as true contenders go.

[carson33]

Bears and Cardinals better too

Sent from my moto g(6) play using RealGM mobile app

[El Turco]

Bears and redskins are more hopeless than cardinals

[GoRapstheoriginal]

/deadpans: The 2018-19 NBA Western Conference would like to have a word with you. Just saying! ! ! ! ! Lolz!

[bluejerseyjinx]

From the early 80s through the mid 90s the NFC might have been even more stacked than it is now. The Bears with a historically great defense and Walter Payton were the fourth best team. Walsh's Niners, Gibbs' Skins and Parcells Giants took turns pounding on the AFC. Then at the turn of the decade, the Niners stayed strong, the Cowboys got dominant and the Packers got good. The NFC even had some nice teams like Eric Dickerson's Rams, The Vikings and Saints that never really had a prayer of doing anything, but probably could have made some noise in the AFC. Between '83 and '96, the NFC held Elway and Marino to zero Super Bowl wins and held a very good Bills team to 0 for 4 as well.
I think the salary cap and free agency have made it so right now might be about as unbalanced as the league can get. Reading your post, there is at least plausible reason to believe why every team in the NFC could have a decent year or better.

After the Los Angeles Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1982, I believe the NFC won 14 straight Super Bowls till Denver and Elway beat Green Bay in 1997, I think. I'm just going off the top of my head on this one but Otis will correct me if I'm wrong.

[RavenMad31]

From the early 80s through the mid 90s the NFC might have been even more stacked than it is now. The Bears with a historically great defense and Walter Payton were the fourth best team. Walsh's Niners, Gibbs' Skins and Parcells Giants took turns pounding on the AFC. Then at the turn of the decade, the Niners stayed strong, the Cowboys got dominant and the Packers got good. The NFC even had some nice teams like Eric Dickerson's Rams, The Vikings and Saints that never really had a prayer of doing anything, but probably could have made some noise in the AFC. Between '83 and '96, the NFC held Elway and Marino to zero Super Bowl wins and held a very good Bills team to 0 for 4 as well.
I think the salary cap and free agency have made it so right now might be about as unbalanced as the league can get. Reading your post, there is at least plausible reason to believe why every team in the NFC could have a decent year or better.

After the Los Angeles Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1982, I believe the NFC won 14 straight Super Bowls till Denver and Elway beat Green Bay in 1997, I think. I'm just going off the top of my head on this one but Otis will correct me if I'm wrong.

Nope, you are dead right, except that was the 1983 season. What was worse is that all of them but Bengals-Niners and Bills-Giants Super Bowls were blowouts.

[RaoulDuke79]

13-8 AFC vs NFC since then, with a lot of those games being close and most of them being really entertaining. We've had some great SB's in recent years.

Rams/Titans was great, and who can forget that ending. Steelers/Cardinals(holy tits that was a great ending as well!) and Packers/Steelers were both great games.

All of the NE games have been fun(I thought both of the matchups with the Giants were terrific games), and they all seemed to come down to the last minute. Even those who hate Brady and Co. have to admit that comeback against the Falcons was pretty damn entertaining, and on the flip side what in the hell Seattle was thinking on that last drive of XLIX...another incredible ending.

Blowouts usually suck, but watching Seattle beat down Peyton and the Broncos was quite enjoyable, as was watching Tampa Bay roll over the Raiders.

I think the only exceptions for me would be the the Ravens/Giants and Steelers/Seahawks, which were both very forgettable games IMO.

[Cactus Jack]

From the early 80s through the mid 90s the NFC might have been even more stacked than it is now. The Bears with a historically great defense and Walter Payton were the fourth best team. Walsh's Niners, Gibbs' Skins and Parcells Giants took turns pounding on the AFC. Then at the turn of the decade, the Niners stayed strong, the Cowboys got dominant and the Packers got good. The NFC even had some nice teams like Eric Dickerson's Rams, The Vikings and Saints that never really had a prayer of doing anything, but probably could have made some noise in the AFC. Between '83 and '96, the NFC held Elway and Marino to zero Super Bowl wins and held a very good Bills team to 0 for 4 as well.
I think the salary cap and free agency have made it so right now might be about as unbalanced as the league can get. Reading your post, there is at least plausible reason to believe why every team in the NFC could have a decent year or better.

After the Los Angeles Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1982, I believe the NFC won 14 straight Super Bowls till Denver and Elway beat Green Bay in 1997, I think. I'm just going off the top of my head on this one but Otis will correct me if I'm wrong.

Nope, you are dead right.

As always!

[bluejerseyjinx]

After the Los Angeles Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1982, I believe the NFC won 14 straight Super Bowls till Denver and Elway beat Green Bay in 1997, I think. I'm just going off the top of my head on this one but Otis will correct me if I'm wrong.

Nope, you are dead right.

As always!

I want a divorce.

[bluejerseyjinx]

13-8 AFC vs NFC since then, with a lot of those games being close and most of them being really entertaining. We've had some great SB's in recent years.

Rams/Titans was great, and who can forget that ending. Steelers/Cardinals(holy tits that was a great ending as well!) and Packers/Steelers were both great games.

All of the NE games have been fun(I thought both of the matchups with the Giants were terrific games), and they all seemed to come down to the last minute. Even those who hate Brady and Co. have to admit that comeback against the Falcons was pretty damn entertaining, and on the flip side what in the hell Seattle was thinking on that last drive of XLIX...another incredible ending.

Blowouts usually suck, but watching Seattle beat down Peyton and the Broncos was quite enjoyable, as was watching Tampa Bay roll over the Raiders.

I think the only exceptions for me would be the the Ravens/Giants and Steelers/Seahawks, which were both very forgettable games IMO.

We haven't had a good Super Bowl in 22 years,

[Bulltalk]

Yeah, the NFC was pretty dominant in that mid 80's to about mid 90's period. Take 1989 for example. The NFC had 4 teams with 11 wins or more, and 7 teams with 10 wins or more.

The Cowboys, however, *cough* *cough*, were 1-15.

[bluejerseyjinx]

Yeah, the NFC was pretty dominant in that mid 80's to about mid 90's period. Take 1989 for example. The NFC had 4 teams with 11 wins or more, and 7 teams with 10 wins or more.

The Cowboys, however, *cough* *cough*, were 1-15.

At least we beat the Super Bowl champs with our only win !!!!!

[RavenMad31]

Yeah, the NFC was pretty dominant in that mid 80's to about mid 90's period. Take 1989 for example. The NFC had 4 teams with 11 wins or more, and 7 teams with 10 wins or more.

The Cowboys, however, *cough* *cough*, were 1-15.

At least we beat the Super Bowl champs with our only win !!!!!

Also, if you told me I had to sit through a 1-15 season to see the Ravens win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years shortly after, I'd take that deal over and over and over.

[Ballerhogger]

The 49ers are going be in the wild card I think .

[Ballerhogger]

Call me crazy but the bengals will win nfc north