WindyCitySports 407 Posted August 4, 2011 Which division is the toughest this year? I saw a guy on the Bears Facebook page say it was the NFCN by far, so I thought I would bring the question here. Personally I think you could make a case for the NFCE, NFCS, AFCE, and NFCN. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AllYouNeedIsLovie 377 Posted August 4, 2011 I think it's the NFC South. The Falcons and Saints are both very good teams and the Bucs are also a very young team that is on the up rise and is already pretty good. I also think the Panthers will be better than they were last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GA_Eagle 595 Posted August 4, 2011 Think the Panthers could be significantly improved. A middle of the road type of team as opposed to bottom of the NFL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KiLaSix9+ 398 Posted August 4, 2011 I'm going with my NFC South too. I think the Bucs, Saints and Falcons will all have winning records and will be in a tight battle for the division crown and wildcard spot until the very end. I also believe Carolina will be improved. I see them around .500 if not a game over. NFC East is close behind but the Skins will bring em down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
badgers 380 Posted August 4, 2011 NFC south is good but they all play the Panthers twice a year and played the NFC West last year so the 3 of the good teams all had easy paths to a 10 win record. That's not strong that's lucky. Don't get me wrong they are good teams. The AFC north has two playoff teams but two gutter teams. The AFC east has two playoff teams, the dolphins and bills. I say NFC north. Simply because when you look at league standings as of now our lowest ranked team, Minnesota is not ranked very far below 20th. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KiLaSix9+ 398 Posted August 4, 2011 NFC south is good but they all play the Panthers twice a year and played the NFC West last year so the 3 of the good teams all had easy paths to a 10 win record. That's not strong that's lucky. Don't get me wrong they are good teams. The AFC north has two playoff teams but two gutter teams. The AFC east has two playoff teams, the dolphins and bills. I say NFC north. Simply because when you look at league standings as of now our lowest ranked team, Minnesota is not ranked very far below 20th. I'm sorry did I miss when they moved the Lions to another division? 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GA_Eagle 595 Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) eh, NFC North feels like it took a step back. I don't think the Vikings or Bears will be as strong. Pack and Lions will be as good or better as previous seasons. Think the AFC North and the NFC South are probably the strongest top to bottom in each conference. Think the Browns get better and the Bengels are a mess but 2 great and one decent team is solid. Edited August 4, 2011 by GA_Eagle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WindyCitySports 407 Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) I'm sorry did I miss when they moved the Lions to another division? No, but I think you missed almost all predictions for this year's divisional standings, which have the Lions finishing ahead of Minnesota. Edited August 4, 2011 by WindyCitySports 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JetsFan4Life 542 Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) eh, NFC North feels like it took a step back. I don't think the Vikings or Bears will be as strong. Pack and Lions will be as good or better as previous seasons. Think the AFC North and the NFC South are probably the strongest top to bottom in each conference. Think the Browns get better and the Bengels are a mess but 2 great and one decent team is solid. Yeah but I think the Vikings will take a step forward and I have the Lions as a surprise wildcard team. I might be inclined to say the NFC North just because the Panthers are the worst team in the NFL. If you think of it also how many playoff games did the South win last year? 0. Maybe part of it is the schedule of getting to play to the NFC West as to why the records were so good last year. Edited August 4, 2011 by JetsFan4Life Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KiLaSix9+ 398 Posted August 4, 2011 No, but I think you missed almost all predictions for this year's divisional standings, which have the Lions finishing ahead of Minnesota. Which just points out how much the Vikings are predicted to regress. You have two good teams and two whom wont even be in the runnings for a wildcard spot (by most predictions) yet were to believe the NFCN is the leagues best division. GTFO. Weak argument. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
badgers 380 Posted August 4, 2011 I'm sorry did I miss when they moved the Lions to another division? I hardly think it's unreasonable to suggest that the approximate preseason rankings for the NFC north teams will appear as follows: Packers: top 5 Bears: around 10 lions: just barely in the top 20 Vikings: between 20 and 25. The panthers bengals, redskins and bills (the consensus "worst" team from the other divisions in the discussion) all have the potential to be ranked lower than 25 and it's not a stretch to say that they could be the bottom 4 teams in the league. Also in the NFC north: defending champions, NFC championship host. The saints didn't make it past the wild card round, and the falcons got blown out at home in the playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KiLaSix9+ 398 Posted August 4, 2011 I hardly think it's unreasonable to suggest that the approximate preseason rankings for the NFC north teams will appear as follows: Packers: top 5 Bears: around 10 lions: just barely in the top 20 Vikings: between 20 and 25. The panthers bengals, redskins and bills (the consensus "worst" team from the other divisions in the discussion) all have the potential to be ranked lower than 25 and it's not a stretch to say that they could be the bottom 4 teams in the league. Also in the NFC north: defending champions, NFC championship host. The saints didn't make it past the wild card round, and the falcons got blown out at home in the playoffs. Ok but even by those rankings your just proving my point. I can assure you those same rankings would put the Saints and Falcons in the top 12 and the Bucs in the top 15. Sure the Panthers might be in the bottom 5 but that still gives the South a better average than the North based on those rankings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maverick 791 Posted August 4, 2011 I'm going with my NFC South too. I think the Bucs, Saints and Falcons will all have winning records and will be in a tight battle for the division crown and wildcard spot until the very end. I also believe Carolina will be improved. I see them around .500 if not a game over. NFC East is close behind but the Skins will bring em down. So the Skins bring the NFC East down but Carolina doesn't bring down the South? Eh, I don't go for that. The Redskins suck but they're still better than the lolPanthers. By the way last year's results: Giants defeated Panthers Eagles defeated Falcons Saints defeated Cowboys Bucs defeated Redskins Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KiLaSix9+ 398 Posted August 4, 2011 So the Skins bring the NFC East down but Carolina doesn't bring down the South? Eh, I don't go for that. The Redskins suck but they're still better than the lolPanthers. By the way last year's results: Giants defeated Panthers Eagles defeated Falcons Saints defeated Cowboys Bucs defeated Redskins I don't believe Carolina will be as bad as they were last year. As I mentioned in my post... We cant agree that the Panthers have improved their team while the Skins took a step back? At least when it came to the draft and free agency. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted August 4, 2011 The only divisions that deserve to be in the discussion, IMO, are the AFC East, AFC North, NFC East, and NFC South. Those are the only divisions who look like the favorites to have more than one playoff team, and in the case of the NFC East and NFC South, potentially three. That's why I think it comes down to those two. And honestly, who cares if both divisions have a shitty team bringing them down? Almost every division has a shitty team. If you have three teams capable of winning 10+ games and making the playoffs, that makes for extremely competitive football. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeyDay Posted August 4, 2011 AFC South will get back to being the best divsion in football. dont be surprised to see all 4 teams above 500. again 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) I hate to be a homer, but I say the BEAST. Why? Because it has three teams that are currently capable of winning a Super Bowl this year. The South would be in the conversation, but I think the Falcons are mostly hype and that Tampa still has one year before they're perennial contenders. Also, I don't think it's a sham to crown New Orleans the division winner this year. I just got a feeling, and I really like the things they did in the offseason. I need to see Freeman throw less than 15 INTs for the second year in a row (6 is rather low. Remember Garrard's 3 INT season? He followed it with something like 22 the next year. Just got to be sure Freeman is consistently careful with the ball, year by year). The Beast, in my eyes, is much more up in the air. The North is not in the conversation. The Pack attack is the only team currently capable of winning a Super Bowl in that division. Chicago will contend for a playoff spot, but I just don't think Cutler is capable of winning a Super Bowl as of yet. AFC: South- No clear cut winner in this division. Every one of the 4 teams should be relatively competitive North- Steelers-Ravens. Two playoff usuals, but there ain't much below them. East- Pats-Jets. The other two teams are going to suck. West- Chargers-Chiefs-Broncos. Only one will clinch a playoff berth, but all 3 could be in the mix. Oakland lost Aso and Tom Cable...they'll fall back to the bottom again. Really, the only AFC Division that could compete with both the BEAST and NFCSouth is the AFCSouth. Jacksonville and Tennessee might turn out to be sleeper duds, but I don't think so. I think that division is wide open this year. It's down to those 3, but my pick is the BEAST. Edited August 4, 2011 by BwareDWare94 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GA_Eagle 595 Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) I hate to be a homer, don't lie. edit: Edited August 4, 2011 by GA_Eagle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FIDDYDEUCE 81 Posted August 4, 2011 NFC South with the NFC North as a lock for 2nd toughest division. The Saints defensive line has improved; Franklin, Rogers and Ellis = a huge wall in the middle. The Bucs are no joke. Josh Freeman is a stud and is going to be a top 10 QB in the league someday. That defense looks good aside from the two idiots in the secondary (Talib & Jackson) who always get themselves suspended, that D looks good. Bowers, McCoy, Price, Clayborn... if that works out then: The Panthers have improved, there is no way they don't win more games than last year unless Clausen starts or Cam blows on an unfathomable level. The Falcons are the same team with the addition of a better defensive line and a rookie wide recover that looks to be good -for their sake he better be. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 442 Posted August 4, 2011 Honestly I think it's a tie between the NFC South and NFC East. Both divisions have 3 good teams and 1 crappy team. Going off of last year the NFC South wins out but I think the Cowboys will play much better than last year. The way I see it, the Saints and Falcons are easily on par with the Eagles and Giants. I feel all of their strengths and weaknesses equal out very well. The same goes for the Bucs and Cowboys. With the Cowboys having some new coaches, a relatively weak backfield, and a bad run game I don't see them as being Superbowl caliber quite yet. The same goes for the Bucs mostly due to the 2 rookie DE's and most likely the rookie MLB that will be starting for us. I suppose the deciding factor could be between the Redskins and Panthers but they're both bad teams and we won't honestly know how well they do until after the season because of the big changes. By all rights the Panthers should improve, and I honestly see the Redskins declining a lot with not really having a QB or RB but it's hard to guess which will be worse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JetsFan4Life 542 Posted August 4, 2011 The only divisions that deserve to be in the discussion, IMO, are the AFC East, AFC North, NFC East, and NFC South. Those are the only divisions who look like the favorites to have more than one playoff team, and in the case of the NFC East and NFC South, potentially three. That's why I think it comes down to those two. And honestly, who cares if both divisions have a shitty team bringing them down? Almost every division has a shitty team. If you have three teams capable of winning 10+ games and making the playoffs, that makes for extremely competitive football. So what if almost every division has a shitty team? The question is the best division, top to bottom. It is not what is the best division only based off of the teams that are good. If the worst team in one division is way worse than the other team in another division than that should factor in. This is why I'm saying NFC North. The only team I think will be below .500 is Minnesota and I think they they will be 7-9. The Packers will be great, I really think the Lions could go 10-6 or 9-7, Bears maybe 9-7 or something. Compared to the NFC East, I think the Giants will win the division at 11-5 or something. The Eagles will be good and grab a wildcard. Cowboys may go 9-7. Redskins will stink in my opinion and go 5-11. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Turry 755 Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) NFCN easily then it would be the AFCS for next season anyways Edited August 4, 2011 by monstersofthemidway Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted August 4, 2011 NFC N was also guaranteed a spot in the Super Bowl last year in the NFC Championship. lol. I don't see why we can't AT LEAST be in the discussion. The Vikings will be very iffy.... But I think the Packers, Bears (their Defense), and Lions can take the NFC E to the tool shed. Packers beat the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles twice | Lost to Washington | 4 - 1 Bears beat the Cowboys & Philly | Lost to NY and WAS | 2 - 2 Vikings beat the Cowboys, Redskins, & Eagles | Lost to NY | 3 - 1 Detroit beat WAS, lost to the other 3 | 1 - 3 So... NFC North verse the NFC East was 10 - 7. Not dominant or head and shoulders above... But definitely above regardless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 78 Posted August 4, 2011 NFC North. It's a murderer's row of defensive lines. I feel for the QBs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
