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Ranking the divisions - NFC East #1?

JohnLockesGhost

By JohnLockesGhost
in The Stadium

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JohnLockesGhost

JohnLockesGhost

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My first post, so go easy boys.

Got a lot of people around here talking about how tough the NFC East division is going to be, so I thought about looking at (and ranking) the other divisions in the NFL. What do you think about these:

1) AFC North -- Sure the Steelers won the Super Bowl, but they weren't even the best team in the division during the regular season. The Browns will definitely be a winning team and the Ravens will probably be the redheaded stepchild of the bunch -- just constantly getting beat up.

2) NFC EAST -- With all teams improving, especially the skins, the divisioin is stacked from top to bottom. Those who think the Eagles are going to be bottom-feeders are fooling themselves.

3) AFC West -- Despite the Raiders being in this division, they still have plenty of firepower. Denver is always good. San Diego has a big question mark at quarterback and Kansas City lost its OC. Maybe this division will fall off a bit this year.

4) NFC South -- Once again a very good division, with an elite team in the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons and the Bucs are also perennial contenders. The Saints will suck again. Twas always thus.

5) AFC South -- Sure they have the Colts (an elite team) and the Jags (a good team), but that's about it. The Texans and Titans don't cut it.

6) AFC East -- Phins could challenge the Pats for the division this year, but I don't think it'll happen. The Jets may improve, and as much as I like Marv Levy, the Bills will continue to stink.

7) NFC North -- Vikings, Lions, Bears and Packers. The Lions will suck. The Packers don't know about their quarterback. The Vikings always underachieve. But the Bears could be good.

8) NFC West -- It's Seattle and some other teams not worth my effort typing. Although the Cardinals have tried to improve, but they're still the Cardinals.

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Enter Apotheosis

Enter Apotheosis

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I don't think you can rank the AFC North ahead of the NFC East. If anything, its the AFC West that is the top AFC division. The ONLY case you can make for the AFC North is based on pure speculation involving dramatic improvement from the Cleveland Browns... you also ignore the fact that the Bengals are not likely to have Carson Palmer in their starting lineup until midway through the season which hurts them a LOT.

The NFC North, AFC West, and NFC South all have teams that have PROVEN over the last couple of years that they are major competitors. Helll, the NFC East and AFC West were tops in the league for wins last year with the NFC South not too far behind and most of these teams have shown some level of improvement (or, at the very least, not lost anyone critical to their success).

The way I see it, the AFC West is on the verge of decline but they still have one good season left in 'em. The NFC East is on the rise big time.

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PotomacSkinsFan

PotomacSkinsFan

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1) NFC East- top to bottom the best: 4 playoff caliber teams

2) NFC South- Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa are all great teams that play great D. Atlants almost made the playoffs last year, and those other two did. Saints get Deuce back, and they've added Brees (I still think they're the Saints though, and you know what that means).

3) AFC West- Raiders ARE weak, but this division can run the football probably better than any other.

4) AFC North- Browns were in the cellar, but have drastically improved. With Crennel at the helm you can't count em out. Quarterback questions for 3 of the teams (palmer hurt) make me question putting them ths high.

5) AFC South- Colts are great. Jags can beat anyone. Tennessee could rebound from injuries and cap casualities. Houston is a joke.

6) AFC East- Pats are always an elite NFL team. Dolphins are well-coached and finished the year extremely strong. The Bills and Jets look pretty sorry though.

7) NFC West- Seattle is one of the league's best. St. Louis still has offensive weapons, but I don't expect much from them. The Cards could surprise people if their defense shows up to a game this year, but San Fran might be the worst in the league.

8) NFC North- The Bears should be good. The Vikes shouldn't. The Pack look like their going to be Favre-less, but they do get Ahman Green back. The Lions make me want to jump out of a window.

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bulldog

bulldog

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The NFC is wide open for 2006. Seattle is not a dominant team on either side of the ball. Chicago won a lot of games without an offense. That won't happen in 2006 with a harder schedule.

Right now, I would be looking at the Panthers and Redskins :)

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JohnLockesGhost

JohnLockesGhost

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Sure, you're right. I am assuming some things, that why it's a prediction. I see the AFC North with two elite teams and possibly one very good team in the Browns. Granted, I'm assuming Carson Palmer will be back and will be in his old form and I'm assuming the Browns will improve over last year. But, sure, you could argue the NFC East is better top to bottom.

Your argument is well-taken. I like the AFC West too, that's why I have them third.

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bulldog

bulldog

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San Diego starting Phillip Rivers may not be what they were with Drew Brees. I look for them to struggle a bit early in the season.

The Raiders are awful. The Chiefs are aging and now have a coach whose style doesn't seem to mesh with the players Al Saunders and Carl Peterson put together.

Only the Broncos seem to be a team that will come back and be a contender from the AFC West.

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Kurd Cudins

Kurd Cudins

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All right. So I decided to do a mathmatical breakdown of each division to determine which one was the strongest. I used #'s from this website and I would like to stress that like most rankings they are arbitrary, but more importantly, are based on last years final rankings and do not reflect offseason moves: link to #'s

http://members.aol.com/powerrater/nfl-foot.htm

These are the avg's of each divisions team rankings.

1. AFC WEST - (82.96)

2. AFC NORTH - (82.86)

3. NFC EAST - (80.92)

4. NFC SOUTH - (79.04)

5. AFC SOUTH - (78.83)

6. AFC EAST - (78.62)

NFC WEST - "

8.NFC NORTH - (78.17)

The #'s never lie.:doh: J/K. But a closer look, for those who understand statistics, shows that the afc north has a very high variance and is "skewed" by Pitt's success. I would say that the AFC WEST is first, with the NFC EAST,second and the AFC North third. Remember these stats don't reflect the offseason. Just my :2cents:

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bulldog

bulldog

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but, that's part of the point here. what has happened since the end of February is VERY important.

Teams like the Steelers and Bengals haven't improved themselves. Neither has Seattle who lost Steve Hutchinson.

Meanwhile the Panthers pick up a perfect #2 receiver in Keyshawn for their offense and the Redskins seal up holes at rush end and wide receiver :)

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PotomacSkinsFan

PotomacSkinsFan

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but, that's part of the point here. what has happened since the end of February is VERY important.

Teams like the Steelers and Bengals haven't improved themselves. Neither has Seattle who lost Steve Hutchinson.

Meanwhile the Panthers pick up a perfect #2 receiver in Keyshawn for their offense and the Redskins seal up holes at rush end and wide receiver :)

i think thats a good point. I like the NFC East and the NFC South

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JohnLockesGhost

JohnLockesGhost

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]']switch the afc north with the west...

So do most people believe the AFC West is the best division in football? I think this division will struggle this year. But I could definitely put the NFC East at the top. The NFC South doesn't impress me much, except for the Panthers of course.

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GibbsFactor

GibbsFactor

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NFC East is by far the most difficult division.

AFC West has two new coaches, one team with an unproven QB with only the Bronco's really hoping to contend.

NFC South has the Saints in the division, which will be a far worse team then the worst NFC East team. Bucs, Panthers and don't sleep on the Falcons, will be every bit as good as the Skins, girls iggles and gints.

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Major Harris

Major Harris

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:cheers:

welcome to es, excellent first post.

i don't see the AFC north as top three, imo. i think the nfc east, nfc south, and afc west will all battle for that title.

the nfc south has the saints, the afc west has transition in kc and san diego, and the nfc east has question marks in philly....but those are still the top 3 divisions to me.

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JohnLockesGhost

JohnLockesGhost

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:cheers:

welcome to es, excellent first post.

Thanks Major. :cheers:

I still see the AFC North as having two great teams and that's tough to get around. I mean, I guess Palmer's absence could really bring down the Bengals and the Browns could really underachieve, but I don't see that as likely. I think the Browns will be a surprisingly good team (still finishing third). :2cents:

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Enter Apotheosis

Enter Apotheosis

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but, that's part of the point here. what has happened since the end of February is VERY important.

Teams like the Steelers and Bengals haven't improved themselves. Neither has Seattle who lost Steve Hutchinson.

Meanwhile the Panthers pick up a perfect #2 receiver in Keyshawn for their offense and the Redskins seal up holes at rush end and wide receiver :)

The Steelers NEVER make a splash in free agency. Cowher does a very good job of building through the draft. Besides, they maintain their crucial offensive weapons from the previous seasons (Roethlisberger, Ward, Parker) and more or less their entire defense (with Ryan Clark instead of Chris Hope).

The Bengals are in serious trouble given that it is almost certain that Palmer will miss atleast a few weeks of the regular season. However, Seattle has only lost Hutchinson and traded Jurevicious for Burleson (who could be an upgrade if he returns to 2004 form)... so they're looking to be in the same place.

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cowboyuptx

cowboyuptx

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1) NFC East- top to bottom the best: 4 playoff caliber teams

2) NFC South- Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa are all great teams that play great D. Atlants almost made the playoffs last year, and those other two did. Saints get Deuce back, and they've added Brees (I still think they're the Saints though, and you know what that means).

3) AFC West- Raiders ARE weak, but this division can run the football probably better than any other.

4) AFC North- Browns were in the cellar, but have drastically improved. With Crennel at the helm you can't count em out. Quarterback questions for 3 of the teams (palmer hurt) make me question putting them ths high.

5) AFC South- Colts are great. Jags can beat anyone. Tennessee could rebound from injuries and cap casualities. Houston is a joke.

6) AFC East- Pats are always an elite NFL team. Dolphins are well-coached and finished the year extremely strong. The Bills and Jets look pretty sorry though.

7) NFC West- Seattle is one of the league's best. St. Louis still has offensive weapons, but I don't expect much from them. The Cards could surprise people if their defense shows up to a game this year, but San Fran might be the worst in the league.

8) NFC North- The Bears should be good. The Vikes shouldn't. The Pack look like their going to be Favre-less, but they do get Ahman Green back. The Lions make me want to jump out of a window.

What he said.

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JohnLockesGhost

JohnLockesGhost

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Great name :) , great first post, check out the rules and guidelines for the forum, and weclome!!! :cheers:

Thanks Jumbo. I'm a fan of your work in here. I've been lurking unregistered for nine months or so before I just had to get involved.

Of course, I'll do my best to respect the rules and the authority of the ES Staff. Their word is law, naturally. Get it? ;)

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