Sardina: AFC good, bad and ugly

I'm not sure what to make of the American Football Conference this season.

It started ugly with Tom Brady's injury, that gave the rest of the AFC a much better chance to represent the conference in the Super Bowl.

What team will that be? I realize Tennessee is 7-0 and is a very solid football team with a GREAT coach in Jeff Fisher, but until they develop some big playmakers on the outside, their margin for error is minimal.

The Steelers have the defense, a good quarterback and plenty of offensive weapons, but the offensive line is weak.

The Bills have a lot of spunk and an up-and-coming QB in Trent Edwards, but it's a little too early to count on them making a run deep into the playoffs.

The Patriots? Forget it.

The Colts? Only if safety Bob Sanders is completely healthy heading in November and December.

The Chargers? They have a good chance to win the AFC West, despite being 3-5, but they don't look anything like last year's team.

Parity is what the NFL wanted, and thanks to Brady's injury, the AFC is loaded with mediocre teams.

Is that good for the game?

Rays have proved point

At the all-star break, I wrote that the Red Sox and Yankees would make the playoffs and the Rays would wilt under the pressure in September.

 

Wrong!

 

In September, I still figured they didn't have enough to hold off the superpowers.

 

Wrong!

 

The Rays not only won the division, they cruised past the White Sox in four games to advance to the American League Championship Series to face my beloved Boston Red Sox.

 

OK Tampa Bay, you've proved your point. We'll all remember your magical run. Now it's time to go away and let us watch the Red Sox go for their third Series title in five years.

 

Wishful thinking.

Where are the good teams?

Aside from the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, I'm having trouble finding a good AND consistent team in the National Football League.

The Cowboys have the most talent, but in consecutive home games they lost to Washington and had to hang on to beat the winless Bengals.

Those Redskins are interesting. They are physical on both lines and if QB Jason Campbell continues to play mistake-free football, they could become last year's Giants.

The Steelers are good, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is taking way too many hits and that doesn't translate into a long playoff run.

The Titans are also unbeaten, but scare noone. They play tough defense and try to win games 17-14. They will make the playoffs, but it's hard seeing them dominating anyone.

Things change fast in the NFL, so I hope we start seeing some of the better teams - San Diego, Philadelphia and Indianapolis - starting to play like it.