[discostu]

It got exacerbated by that stupid “everybody gets a turn” rule. I think all of the games that have ended in ties since then both teams got a FG, under the old rules they all would have ended on the first possession.

Parity isn’t really the source of the 9-7 playoff teams, it’s clustering. The league keeps getting at least one division that all sucks, and somebody has to win that division. While I do think winning the division should be the path to the playoffs I wouldn’t mind seeing a 10-6 proviso on that, if you can’t win your division at 10-6 or better you didn’t really win, we’re going to go get a wild card team from one of the divisions that doesn’t suck. There really isn’t as much parity in the NFL as the league wants people to think.

[dfwgator]

I’d get rid of the divisions, and have each team play the other 15 teams in their Conference. Take the top 6 teams with the top two getting a first-round bye.

[Alberta's Child]

I think it's parity of mediocrity first and foremost -- regardless of records. I've said for years that there hasn't been a team since the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s that was truly a dominant NFL roster from top to bottom. Nowadays, it seems like a team can build a solid offensive line and put a decent QB behind it, throwing to a group of tall, fast receivers ... sign a group of pass-rushers to harass the opposing QB and offset your useless linebackers and secondary ... and you've got a Super Bowl contender.

I've seen this movie play a few times. It's how my Giants won two Super Bowls with some pretty average teams in recent years.