Most of this is due to some very absurd scheduling from season to season.

Take the Falcons this season, does anyone really believe they would even be near 12 wins this season with a more tougher schedule like the Saints have had? More so speaking in where the game is at and what time of the season....

Or if last years Packers that went 15-1 didnt face cupcake teams like the AFC West and hosting the only NFC South team that was dangerous in their opener along with the fact the rest of the NFC North completely collapsed?

Its these type of scheduling from season to season that has made or break an entire NFL season, its become too much of a factor since the Division Realignment which was 4-5 years after the cap was in place, I recall back in the early 90s and all through 80s where their was no team in the NFL who would have a too hard of a schedule or too easy of a schedule, now a days you see schedules like the Falcons...........its like WTF?

I agree 100% with this -- more than the salary cap or changes to the rules, it's the constant jiggery of scheduling and tinkering with teams (ie suspending coaches for a YEAR, thankyouverymuch) that has really affected the game, to manipulate the schedule to give favorable results or influence outcomes. It's little subtle things, like scheduling the Falcons at the Saints after the Falcons get a long bye week, but when the Saints come to the Georgia Dome it's a short week...some teams get their difficult games ALL at home while others have them ALL on the road...some teams get their hard games stacked right at the beginning, from the season opener, others get to open a few cupcake games in a row, as a gift from the scheduling gods, so they can get their act together....I'm not talking about just bias against the Saints, there is a LOT of manipulation in the league schedules, if you really study and look into it...

It's gotten really transparent, how they are jiggering and tinkering with the scheduling to make certain teams have an easier or harder time of things, depending on how they want the outcome to be....all in the interest of ratings or making weak teams do better so owners make more money. Then some of the "good" teams are sacred cows who can do no wrong, while others get given all the bad breaks....been watching this get worse and worse for a long time.

If you never got to see the Lombardi Packers, Knoll's Steelers or Shula's Dolphin I'm sure it's hard for you really agree with what I'm saying. I think probably the last great team was the Cowboys team that featured Aikman and Emmit Smith. Parity has led to mediocrity ... It's barely even football any more.