What happened to parity in the NFL?

[kcdave]

Didnt we all go round and round a few years back about parity in the NFL? Im sure you remember all the peeps that after walking the dog across the grassy knoll would plop down with the WebTV and blabble on and on about how the league wanted all teams to finish 7-9, 8-8, or 9-7.

Not so this season.

ZERO teams @ 7-9.
One team @ 8-8.
Four teams @ 9-7.

Eh, waddevva.

13 teams, 10-6 or better. Pretty damn nice, right?

DOH! 14 teams, 6-10 or worse!

The only parity that currently exists in the NFL, is you have roughly half the league being decent or better, by beating the other half of the league that sucks.

1 Texans 2-14
2 Saints 3-13
3 Titans 4-12
4 Jets 4-12
5 Packers 4-12
6 Raiders 4-12
7 49ers 4-12
8 Bills 5-11
9 Lions 5-11
10 Cardinals 5-11
11 Rams 6-10
12 Browns 6-10
13 Ravens 6-10
14 Eagles 6-10
15 Falcons 8-8
16 Dolphins 9-7
17 Vikings 9-7
18 Cowboys 9-7
19 Chargers 9-7
20 Chiefs 10-6
21 Patriots 10-6
22 Redskins 10-6
23 Panthers 11-5
24 Bucs 11-5
25 Bears 11-5
26 Bengals 11-5
27 Steelers 11-5
28 Giants 11-5
29 Jaguars 12-4
30 Seahawks 13-3
31 Broncos 13-3
32 Colts 14-2

Also, what about the supposed dominance of one conference over the other?

14 teams suck ass. W/L 6-10 or worse. 7 AFC, 7 NFC.
6 medicore teams. W/L 8-8 thru 10-6, but not making the playoffs. 3 AFC, 3 NFC.
12 teams still playing. 6 AFC, 6 NFC.

Perhaps parity wasnt so bad after all.

[Joe in PB]

1 Texans 2-14
2 Saints 3-13
3 Titans 4-12
4 Jets 4-12
5 Packers 4-12
6 Raiders 4-12
7 49ers 4-12
8 Bills 5-11
9 Lions 5-11
10 Cardinals 5-11
11 Rams 6-10
12 Browns 6-10
13 Ravens 6-10
14 Eagles 6-10
15 Falcons 8-8
16 Dolphins 9-7
17 Vikings 9-7
18 Cowboys 9-7
19 Chargers 9-7
20 Chiefs 10-6

Every one of these teams has at least one major flaw, some more than one. Most have horrible offensive lines. The Chiefs & Falcons - horrible defense. The Eagles were decimated or TOed.

What has happened to the league is a philosophy of skimping on Olinemen and spending most of the salary cap on skill players and Defense. Of course any NFL fan with a head on their shoulders knows games are won in the trenches. That's trenches.....as in plural.

Evidently most NFL GM's have their heads up their asses.....or watch too much ESPN.

[poptart]

Not much has changed, despite what the records say, IMO.

Look, you've got 14 teams (nearly HALF the league) that were just plain AWFUL football teams.

Around the league there is just too much BAD BAD BAD football being played.

The so-called 'good' teams had jacked up records because they spent their time kicking the crap out of shit teams.
Props to them.

The leauge has WAY over-expanded, and quality is a very rare.

[Cicero]

Pretty much sucks when you only win 5 games and desperately need a playmaker in the Draft and you get to pick 10th, b/c there are 9 shittier teams in front of you.

[BSmack]

Pretty much sucks when you only win 5 games and desperately need a playmaker in the Draft and you get to pick 10th, b/c there are 9 shittier teams in front of you.

The Steelers picked Roethlisberger with the #11 pick in 2004. So quit yer bitchin.

[Joe in PB]

I think another problem is the salary cap and in particular the lack of a rookie salary cap. The league is all too eager to jettison veteran role players who make a veteran minimum of say $600,000- to $750,000 for rooks who make $250,000. In large part because unproven rookies in rds 1-3 are making millions in guaranteed money. That in turn hurts special teams and makes for a less experienced bench or back ups. With injuries always a factor many of these green players are on the field more than they would have been 20 or even 10 years ago.

A rookie salary cap would insure all these unproven players work at their trade to achieve those large salaries, instead of winning the lottery for potential based on their college careers or combine workouts. Certainly now many rooks don’t work as hard as they would if they only received a few hundred thousand out of college, as opposed to being set for life based on potential. A rookie cap would also make the #1 pick something every team would want and possibly trade for. That is not the case with the current system of rewarding unproven players with over-blown signing bonuses. Right now in the league the 6th pick in the draft is more desirable than the 5th pick because of a much lower slotted signing bonus.

The bottom line is the worst teams in the league should have the benefit of being able to trade the top picks, & at the moment there are very few takers because of the large commitment teams have to make for unproven players.

That is just wrong.......and it continues to hurt the league......our league.....the fans league.

[jiminphilly]

I think another problem is the salary cap and in particular the lack of a rookie salary cap. The league is all too eager to jettison veteran role players who make a veteran minimum of say $600,000- to $750,000 for rooks who make $250,000. In large part because unproven rookies in rds 1-3 are making millions in guaranteed money. That in turn hurts special teams and makes for a less experienced bench or back ups. With injuries always a factor many of these green players are on the field more than they would have been 20 or even 10 years ago.

A rookie salary cap would insure all these unproven players work at their trade to achieve those large salaries, instead of winning the lottery for potential based on their college careers or combine workouts. Certainly now many rooks don’t work as hard as they would if they only received a few hundred thousand out of college, as opposed to being set for life based on potential. A rookie cap would also make the #1 pick something every team would want and possibly trade for. That is not the case with the current system of rewarding unproven players with over-blown signing bonuses. Right now in the league the 6th pick in the draft is more desirable than the 5th pick because of a much lower slotted signing bonus.

The bottom line is the worst teams in the league should have the benefit of being able to trade the top picks, & at the moment there are very few takers because of the large commitment teams have to make for unproven players.

That is just wrong.......and it continues to hurt the league......our league.....the fans league.

Yet the NFL is still clearly more fun to watch compared to the NBA, MLB and the NHL so when you have the market cornered, why change?

[Joe in PB]

Why try to win the Super Bowl or make the playoffs since we're the only game in town?

Sincerely,

The AZ Cardinals


The NFL's ratings have never been better.

Sincerely,

ABC


I'd rather play Nintendo than watch the NFL.

Sincerely,

Every 12 year old kid and potential future fans in America

[Mississippi Neck]

Also, what about the supposed dominance of one conference over the other?
.....................

12 teams still playing. 6 AFC, 6 NFC.

Correct me if wrong, but, unless the format is changed..will this not always be the case... :?