The NFL held a teleconference yesterday in preparation for its owners meetings in Palm Beach next week, which I will be attended and from which I will be blogging. One of the primary goals of the meetings is to revisit the competitive balance in the league. Rich McCay, a co-chairman of the competition committee, said after reviewing last year, the league thinks the competitive balance is in good condition, citing these examples:

* A fifth seed won the Super Bowl this year, two seasons after a sixth seed won the Super Bowl. (I know, I know, splenectomy needed for the latter portion of that sentence.)

* In the AFC-NFC crossover games, each conference won 32 games in head-to-head competition.

* Statistically, plays were up to 153.1 a game. Points were up to 43.4, the highest since 1983. Yards per game were up to 650.4, the 10th highest in league history. And passing yards were 428 a game, second-highest in league history.

* Touchdowns per game were up to 4.85. Penalties per game were down, to 13.45 -- which seems like a high number if you watch the infrequently penalized Seahawks play regularly. And length of game is down to 3:02:59, which the league says it is happy with given the inclusion of instant replay.