Best division in football?
 

Could the NFC East be poised for a revival? Remember from 86 to 95 the NFC East won 7 Super Bowls and it looks to me that the beasts may be back. The NFC East looks uniquely prepared to go on another run, consider the other divisions for a second. PLus I've got some time to kill.

NFC Central - the old black and blue division. Culpepper is the best quarterback, Ahman Green the best running back, and Green Bay is probably the best team. Detroit and Chicago are basically also rans, but the Lions may roar with their three wideout sets this year. Verdict- not as deep as the NFC East

NFC South - Tampa and Carolina could rebound, or their success earlier in the decade could have been a fluke. Vick is the most exciting player in the game, and Stephen Davis is still a punishing runner if he can stay healthy, and Atlanta is the best team. Verdict - who would you rather have for the next five years - Aaron Brooks or Eli Manning? Advantage NFC East

NFC West - St. Louis should have fired Martz three years ago, but he is still on the sidelines inventing new ways to lose. Bulger is a premier qb, Alexander will find the end zone at least 10 times a season, but each team in the division has a fatal flaw. Verdict - Wake me when Arizona is relevant again, San Fran is not as bad as they showed last season but they're still pretty bad. Adv - NFC East

AFC East - The current clubhouse leader, but its been a one horse race lately. The Jets, Bills and Dolphins are solid teams but no one seems poised to dethrone the champs. Corey Dillon is the best RB in the division, Tom Brady the best qb, and the Patriots are the class of the league. But the Jets are the next best but Curtis Martin will start acting his age soon and they just lost his backup this offseason. Adv - push (NE is still the champs)

AFC Central - Pittsburgh did have the best record in the NFL last year, and Roethlisburger should improve which is scary considering his won/loss record last year. The Steelers have the best running game, the best wideouts, and the best qb. The dropoff is considerable, unless Carson Palmer can do better than recent Heisman winning qbs in the pros, Kyle Boller finds a way to hit an open receiver, and [insert qb name here] that guy in Cleveland stands upright. Adv - NFC East, although I like Cincinnati

AFC South - the AFC equivalent to the NFC East. If McNair can return to form, the Titans are a darkhorse with their run/pass mix. They've lost a ton of talent though, although they've drafted well and may not drop off too much. Jacksonville has a stud in Leftwich, Manning is the best in the business right now, and Houston should be improved. But the coaching pedigree just can't match the NFC East, I mean Coughlin is the fourth guy in the NFC and he's been to a couple of AFC Championships himself.

AFC West - gotta love Priest Holmes, and I think the Chiefs will actually go to the SB this year, but Jake Plummer at qb is scary, the Chargers still have Schottenheimer as coach, and the Raiders will struggle to score as much as they give up. Love the running backs, Lamont Jordan aside, but not enough defense in this division. Adv - NFC East

I was going to add some stats to prove my point, but I stopped when I saw that the NFC East avg defensive ranking was 10.5, while the AFC East was 6.5. But I still think the division is due for a renaissance...

Re: Best division in football?
 

This division has been the NFC least for the past few years. Its the same thing every year. We say that this is the toughest division and winds up being the weakest. I sure hope this division gets back to its dominant ways like the past. But the strength of divisions doesn't really have any impact anymore like the past. Before teams feared playing certain teams in the division, now it really doesn't matter.

Re: Best division in football?
 

what about all the additions that Vikings made this season? How does that not put the Vikes ahead of the Packers for that division?

Re: Best division in football?
 

i aint't lying. Minnesota might end up going to the super bowl this year if everyone gets on the same page. Green Bay might not go to the playoffs thaey lost tow studs off of the o-line. I think New England will finally succumb to the jets and the bills this year with both coordinators gone. Not even a single comment about the ravens. The Ravens probably will have the best defense in the league and if they can get some big plays out of the offense they will be dangerous. I do agree we might have the bese division along with the afc west(Chargers,Chiefs,Randy Moss's Raiders,and Broncos).

Re: Best division in football?
 

we will give them the paper champ award since you seem to think they got better w/o watching them play monk

Re: Best division in football?
 

It would be fine with me if the whole NFC suck except for the Skins so we could have alot to cheer about. We need some good years to help us forget about the past few miserable ones.

Re: Best division in football?
 

AFC East or AFC North would be my vote.

Re: Best division in football?
 

free agency really brings parity..........especially in the NFC..........
In all divisions throughout the league you have a few excellent teams and lots of teams that let's face it basically suck........
NFC East-as it pains to type it=Eagles teams to beat, rest will be improved but not enough...............
NFC North-Packers took huge loses in free agency, their top WR is holding out, and their defense isn't much to write home about-, Vikings-they look good on paper, and if their moves pan out should take this division........Bears and Lions-ZZZZZZZZ
NFC South-Falcons and perhaps Carolina duke it out......Tampa-much like the Redskins, Cowboys, Gints. Bucs ...just trying to improve and not there yet. Aints just don't care..........
NFC West-just like last year, Rams who are getting older in the tooth and sehawks, battle it out........49ers a once proud franchise is bad.............
AFC East-gotta go with the Pats, although they've had quite a few changes on their roster, but I'd stick with their coach. Jets-I hope they crash and burn and take Coles with them......interesting team none the less, Bills-will be interesting to see how the new kid does.......Dolphins-even if Ricky and company have a happy reunion I dont see them doing much
AFC South-Titans are in major rebuilding phase......McNair is always hurt......Jacksonville improving but not enough to take the Colts, Houston doesnt have all the players they need yet, ..........Colts pride of the division
AFC North-Pittsburgh.....heads above the rest, although Cincy keeps improving, but not quite there..Ravens, aging although potent defense, but there offense needs work..Browns, long way to go and now without Winslow...
AFC West-Priest Holmes is from my hometown love the guy, but the Chefs don't have enough defense-and dont ya wish we kept trent green......Chargers class of this division....Raiders.....too many question marks starting at QB, line etc........

NFC East still weak...................stronger divisions AFC hands down- PATS, STEELERS, CHARGERS, COLTS Second tier-Jax, Chefs, Ravens,Jets,..........

NFC Eagles......Falcons, Carolina, maybe Rams....far weaker.......

Re: Best division in football?
 

i think afc east is the best
[u]patriots[/u] - obviously
[u]jets-[/u] may be a little worse cuz martin probably wont be as good(and coles is gay)
[u]dolphins[/u]- definite improvement, better players and coaches
[u]bills[/u]- amazing defense and they were one of the top teams at the end of the year last year

Re: Best division in football?
 

As we blithely hand out "Advantage NFC East" citations, might we not also take a peek at the fact that only one team in the NFC East finished over .500 last year? And the year before that, the two sub-.500 teams were worse than last year... What was the combined record for the other three teams in the NFC last year? Something like 17-31? If this were any other division, what might be the adjective attached to that kind of cumulative record? Fugly?

Can the Skins break above the .500 mark this year? Possibly - but it's no guarantee.

Can the Cowboys break above the .500 mark this year? Possibly - but it's no guarantee.

Can the Giants break above the .500 mark this year? No way on this planet or any planet in the known universe...

The NFC East may have 2 teams poised to improve [Translation: make an assault on becoming a break-even team] but as of this moment - until at least two of the "bottom feeders" in the division - show real signs of competence ON THE FIELD, it is just a tad premature to say this is the best division in the NFL.

Re: Best division in football?
 

AFC East is definately the best. NFC East is a long way from the NFC East of old.

Teams I think should make HUGE improvements - Vikes, Lions, Cards, Raiders.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Ramsey Fan you pick the Raiders to have a huge improvement. Well I guess when you were that bad 1 more win is just a huge improvement. Remember my friend they have Norv.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Norv + Randy Moss = Trouble for other teams.

Re: Best division in football?
 

[QUOTE=Daseal]Norv + Randy Moss = Trouble for other teams.[/QUOTE]

I can't help but laugh at this statement. Sorry but as much as a like Norv as a coordinator he hasn't proved anything as a head coach. Moss isn't an instant fix.

Re: Best division in football?
 

He's gotta' have a QB to get the ball to him first. Culpepper and Moss developed a good working relationship.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Hey now, the Raiders have Kerry Collins, MC. Easy on my PSU boy ;).

Actually, I still do think that Collins can chuck the ball down the field. It's his decision making and fumbling that kill him. Going deep with Moss and Porter though? That's scary. They may just call 4WR shotgun sets and let it fly..............oh wait, I know of another team that tried that for a few years too and it didnt' work out for them, so maybe not.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Gotta agree with the Curmudgeon on this one. The mediocre (by this I mean the hovering around .500) teams in the AFC east, AFC north, and maybe even the west could all regularly whip the living shit out of every NFC east team w/the exception of the Eagles. Anyone claiming an NFC division w/ three sub .500 teams last year is the best division in football is blinded by the burgundy and gold.

Re: Best division in football?
 

The AFC East is far and away the best division in the league. If Ricky Williams hadn't smoked Wannstedt's job away, they would have been in the hunt. Buffalo had a better statistical defense than us last year and have a potential beast in McGahee The Jets seem to have the power to stay alive until week 16 regardless of their talent level.

Who else is in the AFC East? Oh, yeah...

Re: Best division in football?
 

[QUOTE=PSUSkinsFan21]Hey now, the Raiders have Kerry Collins, MC. Easy on my PSU boy ;).

Actually, I still do think that Collins can chuck the ball down the field. It's his decision making and fumbling that kill him. Going deep with Moss and Porter though? That's scary. They may just call 4WR shotgun sets and let it fly..............oh wait, I know of another team that tried that for a few years too and it didnt' work out for them, so maybe not.[/QUOTE]

Don't worry. I still have my Collins jersey from when he was on the Panthers. I do think he's sliding into the realm of has-been though.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Except when he plays us, he'll look like an all-star. We LOVE to have older QBs throw all OVER us.

All I ask is that Randy Moss doesn't make any game-winning catches.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Yeah, the old guys definitly kill us. Remember when Boomer Esiason torched us twice with the freakin' Cardinals? Didn't he throw for over 400 yds on us once? What the hell?

Re: Best division in football?
 

[QUOTE=Balmerskinsfan]Yeah, the old guys definitly kill us. Remember when Boomer Esiason torched us twice with the freakin' Cardinals? Didn't he throw for over 400 yds on us once? What the hell?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that was in '96 when we got off that that hot 7-1 start only to stumble down the stretch to finish 9-7 and out of the playoffs. That was one of the most frustrating seasons I've ever lived through.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Yes. I think I almost started drinking at the ripe age of 15 during that season.

Re: Best division in football?
 

[QUOTE=Monk-Fan]what about all the additions that Vikings made this season? How does that not put the Vikes ahead of the Packers for that division?[/QUOTE]

Love the additions on defense, but considering they lost Randy Moss and they have now have two smallish corners I don't think they can catch the Packers. I think Daunte Culpepper will have trouble without Randy Moss, and I don't think they have what it takes to catch Green Bay.

The Packers have the best qb, rb, and now wideout (Javon Walker) in the division.

Re: Best division in football?
 

If Walker sits out, I don't think they have much of a chance. Green Bay is always a spoiler of a team, but just like I said with TO, I don't think Moss will make or break a team.

I don't think the Raiders will be THAT much better and the Vikings will be THAT much worse. I think with the additions on defense the Vikings added PLUS the emergence of Burleson and the drafting of Williamson, I bet they forget all about Moss.

Re: Best division in football?
 

You're a year premature. I think the Eagles are about ready for a downslide, but they will still be tough. The other three teams are all poised to improve some this year. So if they do, this time next year, this could be a lot more legit. But to be honest (and I don't think I'm alone here), I could care less about the rest of the division as long as the Skins kick ass!

Re: Best division in football?
 

Right AND we beat the Cowboys...

Seriously, it's as though that win when Spurrier was here doesn't even matter. It feels as though we haven't beaten them in YEARS.

Re: Best division in football?
 

cuz we haven't. dallas has won what, like twelve out of the last thirteen. i couldn't care less about the rest of the nfc east, as long as the redskins are good. i don't care about it being the best division in football, i care about the redskins being a good team in the nfl. honestly, i don't care that the average defensive ranking for the nfc east is 10th, mainly because the skins had the third ranked defense last year.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Best division in football??

We will see in November or December....Can't wait till the offseason BS is over..

Re: Best division in football?
 

[QUOTE=CRT3]Ramsey Fan you pick the Raiders to have a huge improvement. Well I guess when you were that bad 1 more win is just a huge improvement. Remember my friend they have Norv.[/QUOTE]

I picked the Raiders because they've got a good bunch of wideouts (Randy Moss, Jerry Porter, and Ronald Curry) and a good, young, and fast tight end in Teyo Johnson. They've also got a good (if overpaid) running back in Jordan. Kerry is a good QB when offered protection. The defense has holes, but their offense should more than compensate. Anyone who saw the latter half of the season knows that the Raiders can have a good offense. Add Jordan and Moss, and you've got an explosive offense. The Raiders will win at least 9 games....a huge improvement.

Re: Best division in football?
 

[QUOTE=memphisskin]Love the additions on defense, but considering they lost Randy Moss and they have now have two smallish corners I don't think they can catch the Packers. I think Daunte Culpepper will have trouble without Randy Moss, and I don't think they have what it takes to catch Green Bay.

The Packers have the best qb, rb, and now wideout (Javon Walker) in the division.[/QUOTE]

Although Favre's has the fire and love of the game, and they do have a good RB, their defense is real weak........especially LB and safety, and no pass rushers............

Re: Best division in football?
 

hrm, thing about GB is they had a great line. Didn't they lose two very talented players?

Re: Best division in football?
 

I love how for the past 3 offseasons people have said the Eagles are ready to take a turn for the worse. I said it last year and I'll say it again this year, I just don't see it.

I see them winning at least 11 games this year and challenging for the division.

Until they prove otherwise, the NFC East title goes through Philly.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Matty - I think it all depends on if TO comes back or not. Otherwise their running game is hurting and so will their passing game.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Eagles went to 3 straight NFC Championships without TO, and they also made it through the playoffs without him last year.

TO is a big factor no doubt, but with or without him the Eagles are still the team to beat in the NFC East, and probably the entire NFC for that matter.

Re: Best division in football?
 

Speaking of people not coming back, what's the deal with Westbrook and the rest of the Eagles who are holding out?

Re: Best division in football?
 

And even if the Eagles lose people to free agency they have like a godzillian draft picks to help fill any holes.........

Re: Best division in football?
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]Speaking of people not coming back, what's the deal with Westbrook and the rest of the Eagles who are holding out?[/QUOTE]

They just resigned Westbrook but it was only a one year deal...........

Re: Best division in football?
 

I saw that. Hmmm, I wonder if they are thinking he was a one-year fluke?? He's definitely come on strong in the past couple of years. It might be a mistake signing him to a one-year deal.

Re: Best division in football?
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]I saw that. Hmmm, I wonder if they are thinking he was a one-year fluke?? He's definitely come on strong in the past couple of years. It might be a mistake signing him to a one-year deal.[/QUOTE]

Concur Malcom........The one year thing is strange seems like they are just procastinating or postponing the problem until next year.............