Last Sunday the world watched Super Bowl XLII ½ . The New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts are the best teams in the NFL. Combine that with the fact the AFC won the past 4 Super Bowls and it gives the impression of a weak NFC. The National Football Conference has been called the “little brother� or “junior varsity� conference for some time now. Although the NFC does not boast the two top teams in the NFL, the conference is far from little league.

The AFC contains three of the elite teams in the NFL, the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Beyond those three teams, the conference is not very strong. An argument can be made for the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the San Diego Chargers as the next level of top AFC teams, but this second tier is not a step above the NFC. The Tennessee Titans are 6-2, but have only beaten one team with a winning record, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Speaking of the 5-3 Jaguars, they were crushed by the NFC South, New Orleans Saints this past Sunday. The 4-4 Saints proved they are no one’s “little brother� as quarterback Drew Brees threw for 445yards and 3touchdowns, completing 71% of his passes against Jacksonville’s vaunted defense. Similarly the 3-5 Minnesota Vikings rushed into the history books with a win over the 4-4 San Diego Chargers. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson was held to only 40yards rushing by the “mediocre� Vikings while their rookie running back Adrian Peterson ran for 295yards and 3touchdowns against one of the AFC’s best defenses. The AFC’s second tier teams losing to sub .500 NFC hardly equals dominance.

The Patriots, Colts, and Steelers play in the AFC, but let’s not forget about the NFC’s Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Green Bay Packers. The 7-1 Dallas Cowboys have one of the best offenses in the league led by Terrell Owens and Tony Romo. The Dallas Cowboys are second in yards per game in the NFL trailing the New England Patriots by only 22 yards per(428ypg to 406ypg). The 6-2 New York Giants might have the best pass rushing defense line in the league and have the second longest winning streak in the NFL with six victories.

Against the AFC the NFC’s elite have held their own. The 6-1 Green Bay Packers played their last two contests on the road in two of the toughest stadiums in the NFL(Mile High Stadium & Arrowhead Stadium) and came victorious over AFC teams. And we won’t bring up the drubbing the Detroit Lions put on the Denver Broncos this weekend.

The NFC and AFC have split their 40 games against each other this season, proving the conferences are fairly even. The AFC West and the NFC West are divisions that are without a team with a winning record. While both conferences have winless embarrassments such as the Miami Dolphins and the St. Louis Rams. The NFC has seven teams under .500 while the AFC only has six. In contrast, the AFC has four team with at least six loses while the NFC has three. The stat that proves equality is the 20-20 record both conferences share against one another. I am not claiming that one conference is better than the other, but the NFC is by no means the NFL’s junior varsity.

Defensive Player of the Year

We all saw Osi Umenyiora get his triple play this weekend. He was able to get a clean hit on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trent Dilfer, cause a fumble, and then return the fumble 75 yards for a touchdown. Umenyiora has all but won the defensive player of the year award 7 weeks into the season with 24tackles, 8sacks, 3forced fumbles, and 1td. But the best defense end in football thus far is not Umenyiora, but Kansas City’s Jared Allen.

Jared Allen is dominating the competition this season. Allen has recorded 26tackles, 8sacks, 2force fumbles, and 2pass deflections. Yes his numbers are almost identical to Umenyiora’s, but let’s look how each player earned their impressive stats. Osi played in every game this season, 6 sacks and 2 force fumbles came against the Philadelphia Eagles and their terrible backup tackle Winston Justice. Umenyiora is not at fault for dominating Justice, but he only played two great games this season being held without a sack in four games. Allen on the other hand only played five games this season being shut out only once without a sack. Allen violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy being arrested for his second DUI causing a suspension for the first two games of the season. Playing under the franchise tag this season, Jared Allen will certainly continue to wreak havoc in opponent’s backfields in search of quarterbacks and a big pay day at season’s end.

Miami Dolphins

I feel sorry for my buddy, Timmy C., whose team has already given up on their season. Two weeks ago the team traded away wide receiver Chris Chambers to the San Diego Super Chargers for a second-round draft pick. At the time of the trade Chambers accrued 415 receiving yards for the 0-5 Miami Dolphins. At 0-5, the last thing a team should do is trade away a guy responsible for 29% of your receiving yards. To make matters worse, running back Ronnie Brown is now out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Brown was 4th in the NFL in rushing (602yds) and 1st in yards from scrimmage (991yds). With the loss of Chambers and Brown the Dolphins must replace 47% of their receiving yards and 75% of their rushing yards. With opponents Giants, Eagles, Steelers, Ravens, Patriots, and the Bengals still on the schedule there is a chance the Dolphins’ franchise could not only hold the only 16-0 season, but the only 0-16 season as well.

With the former Auburn star out for the rest of the season Miami must scramble to find a new running back. Brown was responsible for 602 of the Dolphins 806 rushing yards. Could Ricky Williams be the answer? Williams applied to be reinstated to the NFL and should be eligible to play in the next week or so. The Miami Dolphins already have his rights so coach Cam Cameron might hold off on waiving the half baked Heismann winner.

Cincinnati Bengals

If you are one of the few that think Chad Johnson is the problem in Cincinnati you are CRAZY! If Chad is not wanted in the ‘nati he is more than welcome to come the nation’s capital. I’ll call Snyder right now…

Let’s talk about the Chad Johnson. Ocho Cinco is currently second in the NFL in receiving yards (680yds). Last season he led the NFL in receiving yards (1,369yds), in 2005 he was 3rd (1,432yds), 2004 he was 6th (1,274yds), and 4th in 2003 (1,377yds). Get the picture? Johnson recorded over 1,100 receiving yards every season after his rookie year. Johnson has never accused his quarterback of being homosexual, never followed around his quarterback screaming on the sidelines, in fact after his spat with Carson Palmer during the New England Patriots game, 85 went on record saying it was his fault because he ran the wrong route. Mr. Cinco has never told the media he plays when he “wants to.� Chad Johnson has never been in any legal trouble off the field, so I ask what is he doing wrong?

The Cincinnati Bengals have problems, but not with their passing game. The team is second in passing yards per game averaging 273yds a game. The Bengals average 27pts a game which is fifth in the NFL. The offense is producing despite Rudi Johnson not being healthy since week 2 and losing rookie running back Kenny Irons for the season with an ACL tear. The Bengals are averaging a depressing 98 rushing yards a game prohibiting them from wearing down teams and keeping their ravaged defense off the field. Which brings me to my next point…

Marvin Lewis is known as a defensive genius. Lewis built the Baltimore Ravens defense that is a force to this day. His short stint in Washington was also a success. Linebackers such as Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware, and LaVar Arrington flourished in Lewis’ system. Coach Lewis builds his defenses around fast and aggressive linebackers. Let’s take a glance at Cincinnati. Marvin Lewis drafted Odell Thurman who is an animal. Thurman recorded 106tackles, 5sacks, and 5ints his rookie season in 2005, but is suspended this season because of substance abuse. David Pollack is another stud linebacker Lewis drafted, but is currently facing a career ending neck injury. Ahmad Brooks… hampered with a groin injury. Even Lamar Marshall who Lewis coached in Washington is injured. How do you expect to beat the New England Patriots if all your linebackers are out? By the end of the game Dhani “Dinosaur� Jones was the only healthy linebacker the team had. The Cincinnati Bengals might be young and immature, but their biggest problem is injuries and a suspension… not Ocho Cinco.

What Good is the Franchise Tag?

Other than Indianapolis Colt Dwight Freeney, every superstar hates the dreaded franchise tag. The NFL already has two star players stating they will not report to their respected teams until week 10 to play the minimum seven games required to receive compensation for the season. Linebacker Lance Briggs is doing his best to maneuver his way out of the Chicago Bears franchise. Cornerback Asante Samuels has recently began to speak out publicly against the New England Patriots. Former Super Bowl MVP Deon Branch forced his way out of New England to the Seattle Seahawks last season in an ugly divorce from the team. The Franchise Tag does nothing but make NFL players, owners, and franchises look foolish.

Every time a player sits out of games, skips practices, or bashes an organization in the media the casual fan changes the channel. These arguments over new contracts make everyone involved look selfish. The dispute inadvertently disconnects the player from the fan. Comments about how much players make and that they only care about themselves begin to rise tarnishing the league’s marketable image. I work to make money so I understand players wanting to get paid top dollar. I guarantee as you sit at work reading this article you feel your job is not paying you enough for your services, I know mine isn’t! But we do not want to hear about millionaires complaining about not making enough money because they are already rich.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and president of the players union, Gene Upshaw, should do something about abolishing the Franchise Tag. The tag brings nothing positive to the league only negative publicity. Either pay your star players or let the Redskins do so. We could sure use another corner and an outside linebacker.

Worst trade of the off-season goes to…

If the Atlanta Falcons and the Houston Texans had a chance to renege on the trade that sent Falcons backup quarterback Matt Schaub to the Houston Texans would they? Definitely.

The Houston Texans gave two second round picks and swapped their first round pick with the Falcons for the backup quarterback. They then gave Matt Schaub a $48 million dollar contract to be the face of the Texans. The Texans chose a franchise quarterback who has never won a start and barely has a completion percentage above 50%. Do you think the Texans would have made this trade if they knew they could have drafted Brady Quinn with the eighth pick of the draft? The Texans could have kept their second round picks, drafted higher in the first round, and probably wouldn’t have had to pay Quinn the rich contract they awarded Schaub. They would have had a college star to build their offense around and probably would have sold some tickets in the process. But the Texans blew it… again.

The Atlanta Falcons on the other hand traded away their only insurance policy on Michael Vick. Between Vick’s off the field antics (which I will get to next) and sketchy play on the field, the back up quarterback is a very important position in Atlanta. Michael Vick’s reckless style of quarterback play is very exciting, but very dangerous. Vick can fall victim to a season ending injury any time he decides to scramble. If season ending injury is not enough to worry the Falcons into having a quality back up, the fact that Roger Goodell is probably going to suspend Vick for a portion of the season should. Matt Schaub is no longer there to be that insurance policy. Sure the Falcons now have Joey Harrington, but would that make you feel safe? Exactly.

Doesn’t Commissioner Roger Godell HAVE to suspend Michael Vick?

It will be interesting to see how new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handles the Michael Vick situation. Goodell has already set a precedent of suspending players and at this point has no other option but to suspend the former Virginia Tech Hokie. Personally, I think Michael Vick is guilty of having knowledge of and participating in dog fights, but I think he will be found innocent in a court of law. Either way, Goodell has to suspend Michael Vick for at least eight games for dragging the NFL’s name through the mud.

Tennessee Titan cornerback Adam “Pacman� Jones was suspended for an entire season without being found guilty of a single crime, while Chicago Bear defensive lineman Tank Johnson, who served a two month jail sentence for violating probation and other gun related charges, received only an eight game suspension. Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver Chris Henry also received an eight game suspension for his off the field issues with the law. I agree that these players need to be disciplined, but I think Goodell got the suspensions mixed up. Tank Johnson was found guilty, he had six unregistered guns in his home, and he had to go to jail! This is the player that should have received the full season suspension. Pacman Jones should have received an eight game suspension with the option of extending the suspension to a full season pending on the result of his criminal investigations. Chris Henry should not have been suspended. He was suspended last year for his off the field issues, how can someone be suspended twice for the same crimes?

Goodell has given out eight game suspensions and full season suspension to player whether they are found guilty or not by the court system. Michael Vick is an embarrassment to the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons, and Virginians alike. Goodell has no problem teaching non superstars a lesson by suspending them, but will he react the same way towards the most exciting players in the NFL? The face of a franchise? If Goodell’s new conduct policy to be taken seriously, he has to.

Random Thought…

Thomas Jones is going to be a beast as a New York Jet

More Random Thoughts…

I like the Indianapolis Colts’ choice in drafting Ohio State’s Anthony Gonzalez in the first round as a slot receiver. Giving quarterback Peyton Manning another weapon in his prime is never a bad thing, Colts team president Bill Polian is a genius. He is the same GM who designed the great Buffalo Bills teams of the early 90’s. Needless to say, Polian knows how to build a football team. Can Daniel Snyder please buy this guy? Whatever his price is I am sure we can afford it. Polian or Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome, I’ll take either.

Burgundy & Gold Thoughts…

Have you taken a look at the new ESPN preseason power rankings? ESPN has the Washington Redskins ranked the second worst team in the NFC in front of only the Detroit Lions. ARE YOU SERIOUS! Are we really worse than the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the San Francisco 49ers? Not to mention the Vickless Falcons once Godell gets through with them. I am outraged by this injustice and will be boycotting the power rankings all season (at least until the Redskins win their first 10 games in row and end up number 1).