Parity worked in the NFL...now, let's see if the NFL likes it

Let's face it: The NFL playoffs this year haven't exactly been as exciting as, say, eating a rice cake or painting the bathroom.

There have been eight games played so far, and a grand total of two of them have been competitive.

Take away the Cardinals-Packers game in the wild-card round and the Jets-Chargers game in the Divisional round on Sunday, and the other six games were decided by an average of a shade more than 21 points per game. That's three touchdowns and three point after tries (assuming Nate Kaeding isn't kicking them).

Take away the Jets' two upsets, and the favorites have won five of six.

The Patriots are gone. The Cowboys are gone. The Eagles are gone. The Packers are gone. And tradition is gone, too. What we're left with are four teams who, combined, have won one Super Bowl in the last 39 years.

The entire West Divisions in both leagues are gone, which leaves CBS and FOX with no media markets west of Minneapolis with a dog in the fight the rest of the way.

But, of course, this is what the NFL wanted.

This is parity.

Now, none of this is to say that there aren't some pretty good football teams moving on to the conference championship games Sunday. There are. There's probably no argument that the Saints and Vikings were the two most consistent, most polished teams in the NFC from September until now. And the Colts had a great chance to be unbeaten right now had they not taken their foot off the proverbial gas pedal after week 15. So, you can argue that the three best teams the NFL had to offer this season are still playing, along with the Jets, who run the ball and play defense better than any of them.

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So this isn't a column about how the best teams aren't going to be competing for a spot in Super Bowl XLIV.

They're just, well, different teams.

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