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AFC teams have the power
Posted: Thursday November 25, 1999 10:08 AM
The dominance of the AFC is becoming more and more obvious as the NFL season grinds on. Like last season, it's apparent that whoever wins the AFC championship will be favored to win the Super Bowl. Of the six teams at 8-2 or 9-1, five are in the AFC: the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-1), Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans (all 8-2). The only NFC entry among the top teams is the St. Louis Rams (8-2), who are ahead of the pack, and 6-4 is the dominant record in the conference. The Rams could clinch the AFC West division Sunday with the combination of a win over the New Orleans Saints and an Atlanta Falcons' victory over the Carolina Panthers. Because of the disparity between the records of the AFC and NFC teams, you could have an AFC team staying home with a better season-ending record than two or three NFC teams that make the playoffs. You could have an 8-8 playoff team coming out of the NFC. The 6-4 NFC teams are the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like I said in August, I think the Vikings have a legitimate chance to come out of the pack. But they need to shore up their defense. Only two teams give up more yardage per game than the Vikings -- the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins. The conventional wisdom is that the Rams will fade. But the team I see has all the ingredients to last: good defense, the offensive combination of a strong running back in Marshall Faulk, a strong quarterback in Kurt Warner, and great receivers in Isaac Bruce, Az-zahir Akim and Torry Holt. Plus, Faulk is a strong receiving threat. Bruce has caught 56 passes for 787 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Faulk is the second-leading receiver on the team, with 53 receptions for 572 yards and two touchdowns. Hakim has four receiving touchdowns. Why the AFC dominance? The main reason could be the shift of brainpower from the NFC to the AFC. You've seen Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells, Jim Mora, and Mike Holmgren -- all of whom are sharp coaches -- go from NFC to AFC teams over the past four or five years. Another reason is the emergence of young quarterbacks in the AFC. Peyton Manning, Steve McNair and Mark Brunell are doing well, and Jon Kitna of the Seahawks has come into his own. And defenses are strong in the AFC: seven of the top eight teams (in terms of fewest yards allowed) in the league are from the AFC. The bottom line is that -- with the exception of the Rams -- all of the NFC teams seem old.
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