It may be hard to remember at this point. You may have to go deep into the recesses of your memory. It seems like it can't be true. But at one point the NFC used to win every single Super Bowl. It was a bettor's nightmare. The laws of odds said someone else was going to win. They had to. Right?
But before John Elway led the Denver Broncos over the Green Bay Packers back in 1998, starting the trend of equality in the NFL, the NFC had won 13 straight Super Bowls. Now that could have been because the Buffalo Bills helped them out four times, but it still doesn't discount the fact that the NFC used to rule football. In this span, which started in 1985 (which, scary enough, is before most of the first years on this campus were born), there were only two Super Bowls-1989 and 1991-where the game was won by fewer than 10 points. Since then, the AFC has won five out of seven times. So, what happened to the NFC? And can they get back on track this year?
What happened to the NFC is what happened to the AFC and what happened to the NFL: the screw-tight salary cap killing any chance of building dynasties. As hard as it is to build a team good enough to get them into the playoffs, it has become even harder to figure out a way to keep that team together from season to season especially if those players perform well enough to earn your team a Vince Lombardi Trophy. In the past seven years, only St. Louis has made it back to the big dance more than once. And unlike the NFC teams of the past generation, they failed to get lucky twice.
So can this year be any different? Starting in the NFC West we have a surprise favorite to come out of it. The Seattle Seahawk bandwagon has filled up on gas and is heading out of Washington and around the country. Is it safe to get on it? That's debatable. They finished the season so strong last year and they made many key additions, but can they take that next step to actually getting to the playoffs and winning some games there. There are those who think so as many are picking them to come out of the weak NFC West.
The NFC South will be an interesting division this year. We have last year's NFC representative in the Super Bowl, Jake Delhomme's Carolina Panthers and the Super Bowl winner from two years ago, the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. Is Carolina going to be able to repeat last year's magic especially after losing that Cinderella feeling? Or did Tampa Bay figure out their chemistry problems by showing Keyshawn Johnson the door? I think both these teams could end up making the playoffs but the Panthers better hope the glass slipper stays on a little longer.
The NFC North is anyone's game. This may be the American League Central of the NFL season: someone has to win it but it doesn't mean they've accomplished all that much. Can Lovie Smith rescue the Chicago faithful and bring back some respect to the Windy City? Will Detroit's defense be able to help out that explosive offense? Will Minnesota be able to ride Randy Moss and improve on last year's 9-7 record? Or will Brett Favre be able to rework some more magic and will his team to another playoffs? My money is on Favre, half from him being in "There's Something About Mary" and half from him being a simply amazing player.
And last is the NFC East. Many people think this division is a done deal with the acquisitions of Terrell Owens and Jevon "The Freak" Kearse by the Philadelphia Eagles. But they forget they lost three key defensive figures in Carlos Emmons (now with the Giants), Bobby Taylor (Seahawks) and Troy Vincent (Bills), as well as a fan and clubhouse favorite in Duce Staley (Steelers). The Giants did a summer cleaning which turned into a gutting of the whole team as there is now a new sheriff in town. The key for Big Blue last season was their O-line and it will continue to be their biggest question mark as this season starts. Bill Parcells can work a lot of magic in Dallas, but can he find the fountain of youth for Keyshawn Johnson, Vinny Testerverde and Eddie George? If he can, nominate him for both coach of the year and the Nobel Prize. And Washington continues to add big-name talent to their roster. It'll just be interesting to see if all that talent can actually mesh into a team. This is a division of tough coaches. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top. The Eagles are my early pick, but never count out the Giants or any team coached by Bill Parcells.
So who will finally make it out of the NFC? Well, with Joe Montana, Steve Young, Phil Simms and Troy Aikman retired it's not so easy to tell anymore, now is it? Phily is the easy pick, the Seahawks are the bandwagon pick, Carolina is the "they-did-it-last-year-so-why-not-again" pick, and Green Bay is the sentimental pick with Brett Favre going at it again. Which team will come on top? We'll know about 17 weeks from now. In the meantime, I'm not even going to try to guess.