Let's add a little data to the flames. Below is a histogram of alliance scores in week 1 of 2006 according to the Blue Alliance. That is New Jersey, VCU, and the Pacific Northwest. So it is missing at least BAE, others may be missing too. The mean points scored per alliance was 28.2, this would be after penalties.
There are a lot of similarities between 2006 and 2012, but I would argue on the whole the 2012 is a much more technically challenging game with fewer opportunities for points. On the flipside, penalties add points to the other alliance's score.