Is the AFC still the NFL’s supreme conference? Be likely not, but let’s put it this way; the top half of the AFC is better than the top half of the NFC .The bottom half of the NFC is better than the bottom half of the AFC. The top half of the AFC went 25-7 against NFC opponents (Patriots, Colts, Chargers, Steelers, Jaguars, Titans, Browns, Texans). The top half of the NFC went 19-13 against AFC opponents (Cowboys, Packers, Seahawks, Bucs, Giants, Redskins, Vikings, Eagles). Does this make sense? Are you confused?
The cycle is beginning to turn back to the NFC, but we think there will be about 3-5 more years of AFC dominance or not?
The dominant Super Bowl champion New York Giants dwells in the NFC. Two of the AFC’s top players (New England Patriots QB Tom Brady, San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman) are lost for the entire season. The NFC is 4-2 vs. the AFC in interconference play after two weeks of the season.
The NFC has not had a winning record against the AFC since 1995. Last season, the conferences were even (32-32) in head-to-head competition for the first time since 2001. Entering last season’s Super Bowl, the AFC had won six of the last seven title games.
Improved offensive play is a big reason why the NFC is flourishing once again, as 13 of the 16 NFC teams are averaging 20 or more points per game this season. A few star players in the conference have successfully returned from injury this season. Donovan McKnabb is healthy, rejuvenated and the Philadelphia Eagles are once again one of the top scoring teams in the league. Jake Delhomme has brought his signature enthusiasm and triggerman personality back to the undefeated Carolina Panthers after missing all of last season, due to ligament-replacement surgery in his right elbow.
Scoring has been a staple in the AFC, thanks largely to the play of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Historically, the AFC has always been considered “the conference of the quarterback” and on most Sundays they will have more first-round starting quarterbacks than their NFC rivals. Brady’s season-ending knee injury and the struggles of Carson Palmer have hurt the QB quality in the AFC.
Typically, the NFC has been a conference that features strong defenses and solid running games, but that philosophy could be changing, as some NFC teams are copying the AFC formula(check copycat league) basing their success on the play from the quarterback position. The statistical numbers do not lie; Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning, and Drew Brees are all having hot starts to their seasons. The passing numbers haven’t been this good in the NFC since the Kurt Warner era in St. Louis and during this recent AFC’s domination; Brett Favre and McKnabb have been only premier quarterbacks the NFC had to offer in competition.
The supremacy of the AFC could be ending this season, as the gap seems to be closing between the two conferences. Perhaps now the NFC will get the respect it deserves.
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Posts Tagged ‘Replacement Surgery’
If you ask any cat or dog owner, they will tell the animals are one of the family. Talk to them for a while and they will strike you as happy and well-adjusted. This might not seem significant but continuing medical research has detected a significant trend. This is not just your neighbor. It’s the majority of people who keep a pet. The most recent piece of research was presented to the International Society of Anthrozoology conference held in Kansas City this October by a team from Loyola University of Chicago.
They were testing the hypothesis that the use of dogs in a hospital environment would represent a beneficial therapy, promoting faster healing and a better rehabilitation following joint replacement surgery. Some of you will be convinced that dogs are the equivalent of disease carriers and believe they should never be allowed into a hopefully relatively sterile hospital. After all, dogs are barred from most eating places. Allowing animals into public spaces is a balancing of risks and benefits. Hospitals are not as clean as we might believe and dogs do not make what is often a bad situation any worse. In fact, their presence is proving to be great therapy and the benefits of admission now significantly outweigh keeping them out.
The team was using a number of dogs specially trained to respond positively to patients. Each animal has been taught some 40 different commands and will respond with behavior likely to soothe a patient or to motive his or her to resume movement. The exploits a fairly common reaction in humans to stroke dogs. Many of them found the feeling of fingers running on and through fur to be relaxing. When the dogs also appear to show appreciation, bonding takes place quickly and patients feel happier. Pets are stress busters. Even more significantly, this research confirms that patients going through rehabilitation with dogs healed more quickly and used 50% less painkillers than a control group who relied on human therapists for counseling and support. Regular monitoring found the pets lowered the heart rate and blood pressure of their human companions.
It’s easy to sneer at research like this, feeling people who get sappy over dogs are strange in all kinds of ways. Yet this research is not unique. There have been many studies with similar findings. The real point of interest in the latest trial is the finding that patients who are not pet owners benefit after only one period of interaction with a dog. The more regular the contact, the better the human’s physical and emotional response. This research does not, of course, suggest people should recover from serious surgery without the use of some painkillers. Tramadol will remain the standard drug for pain management. But the finding that people recover more quickly using less medication is encouraging. No matter how good tramadol, it’s better to use it only over the short term. Having a pet is clearly a good move.