Antiquated Understanding of the AFC v. NFC

Among the groundbreaking thoughts shared with all those lucky enough to receive the WEEI radio frequency this morning were that the Patriots would have the Superbowl won by halftime. Now, whether this opinion is in and of itself stupid is certainly debatable. The Patriots are perhaps the best team of all time. They are 18-0, have an average margin of victory in excess of 15 points, possess probably the best offense of all time, and beat the Giants in week 17 in a game in which everything seemed to go the G-Men's way.

Did he cite any of these reasons as the basis of his opinion? NO. Well, you may ask, upon what nuggets of brilliance did he base this condescending, demeaning and controversial opinion? The answer, because the Giants have made their run to the playoffs through the NFC, a cakewalk compared to the rigors of the AFC playoff tree.

Wow. This is unbelievably stupid for so many reasons I do not even know where to begin. First of all, the two conferences went 32-32 against each other this year. This number certainly suggests parity between the two divisions. If the AFC is so vastly superior to the NFC, wouldn't it atleast have a winning percentage over .500 against it during the regular season. Moreover, the stupidity of this comment becomes even more outrageous when you compare the relative roads to the Superbowl endured by the Pats and Giants.

Because the Patriots had a bye, I will limit my analysis to the Divisional game and Conference championship, ignoring the fact that the Giants went on the road to beat the #1 rated defense in the NFL in the first round of the playoffs. In the Divisional round, the Giants beat the 13-3 Dallas Cowboys in Dallas, and the Patriots defeated the 11-5 Jacksonville Jaguars at home. Dallas was 6-2 at home on the season, and 3-1 against AFC teams, with one of its home losses coming against the Philadelphia Eagles and the other home loss and sole AFC defeat coming at the hands of the Pats. Unquestionably these are two quality defeats. The undefeated Patrots were clearly the class of the NFL this year, and I think any New England fan can attest to the potential for the Eagles to play well on the road, especially when their starting quarterback is actually active. Furthermore, Dallas is universally recognized as one of the most intimidating and difficult playoff atmospheres to play in, especially when they are coming off of a bye week. The Patriots on the other hand played the Jags, who were 3-1 against the NFC, with wins against the powerhouses of the NFC South, Atlanta, Carolina, and Tampa Bay by 1 point, and a loss to New Orleans by 17. The Jags were a pedestrian 5-3 on the road, including road losses to New Orleans and Houston. Moreover, the Jags were coming off a grind game against Pittsburgh in the Wild Card while the Pats enjoyed an extra week of preparation. Is there really any question who had the more difficult game here?

In the Conference Championship the story was no different. The Giants played at Lambeau Field in sub-zero weather against the 13-3 Packers, who posted a 7-1 home record and an undefeated 4-0 record against the AFC, including a defeat of the San Diego Chargers, the Patriots Conference Championship opponent. The San Diego Chargers were 11-5 on the year, a mere 4-4 on the road and 2-2 against the NFC. Moreover, those numbers were accumulated in large part due to the contributions of their big 3, LT, Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers. However, all three were severely injured during the playoffs. LT was, for the most part, inactive for the Conference Championship, taking only 2 ineffective carries on his sprained knee. Gates was totally unable to run on his dislocated toe, and was limited to 6 catches for 60 yards in 3 playoff games and 2 catches for 17 yards in the AFC championship game. Rivers suffered a torn ACL and played some-what effectively despite not being able to fully transfer his weight.

The bottom line is, the Patriots will most likely win the Superbowl, but to argue that the AFC is vastly superior to the NFC and that consequently the Pats had a more difficult road to the Superbowl is totally idiotic. It is without question that the Giants had an unbelieveably difficult two games against teams that were superior even without consideration of injuries and home-field. You sir, are a moron.