Obviously, I'm as excited as everyone at the huge win at Buffalo yesterday, followed by NE's loss, which put us in a tie for first in the division. But I just got to thinking about how unfortunate it is that the AFC East is, top-to-bottom, such a strong division. Of course, there's not the one dominant NE team we've had to contend with for the last few years. But not one team in this division is under .500! Wow, if we were in the AFC West (where not one team is over .500) or the NFC West, we'd be running away with this. It's too bad we're in such a strong division. But I guess it builds character for if we do make the playoffs - we would have had to do it by fighting through a really difficult division.
The AFC East sucks this year. In the past, yeah, it has been a tough division but the Pats are starting a terrible QB and an old defense. The Bills and Dolphins are both well-coached, disciplined teams but they don't have the talent to compete at the top level. I'd much rather be in this division right now than any other AFC division.
It's amazing to be able to say it at the midway point but any of these teams could actually win the division at this point. It's like 2002 all over again. I think I like the Jet's chances in the playoffs if they get there better with Favre and this running game than I liked them in 2002 with Chad and Curtis hobbling.
How can you say that when the entire division is 500 or better? I think this is why our in-division record is going to be important and why yesterday's game, along with week 1 at Miami are so huge to have in the W column. There's a big opportunity to go 5-1 or 4-2 in the division and that could be the difference in winning it, getting a home playoff game, etc.
I agree. It's not that the division is good. It's that the teams are pretty average from top to bottom. They are all well capable of beating each other on any given Sunday. Seems like the AFC-South and AFC-North feature teams that could be considered "elite" in the Titans and Steelers. The AFC-West is just downright terrible so far but I still think San Diego is very dangerous if and when they ever start playing with any consistency.
You'd rather be in the AFC East than the AFC West? Like I said, every team in the AFC East is at least .500. All 4 AFC West teams are awful.
I think his point is that there is no Lions, Rams, Chiefs, Raiders, or Bengals in this division. The idea of saying a division "sucks," when there is not one team that has a losing record now that we've past the halfway mark and are into the home stretch, seems more like an emotional outburst of hyperbole than any kind of reasoned assessment.
Yeah, the AFC West is bad. I'll give you that. I'd rather be in that division right now. But not the AFC Central or South.
I'm just basing this off of what I've seen from the other teams in the division and what I am used to seeing in past seasons. I'm not basing this on records because I don't believe that a team's record is a fair assesment of how good they are at this stage in the season. Granted, Miami and Buffalo have sucked more in the past but I still don't think they have gotten to a point where I should be scared. And the Pats have fallen off this season for obvious reasons.
what a fantastic game yesterday!!! if anyone cares I have to survive living in my northwestern pa home with my husband who is a HUGE Bills fan....ugh!!:bills_suck:
Halfway through the season and the Pats have only lost to the Chargers, Colts, and Dolphins. If they "fell off the cliff", they obviously landed on an outcropping not that far from the top of the cliff, because there's still a lot of room left for them to fall from here.
I said this in another thread, that I thought the toughest divisions in the NFL right now are the NFC East, and the AFC South. Sure, our division we are all locked up right now, but that has to do more with even competition between our teams and so far an easy schedule. Buffalo and Miami got a bit better... New England isn't close to the juggernaut they were after losing Brady, but still decent enough to hang in there. I see the Jets being about where we usually are. Hoping we can step it up a notch eventually.
The Pats are still extremely well-coached and disciplined. That being said, have you watched - really watched - Matt Cassel? He is horrible. They are a much worse team with him behind center but are still scary - I won't deny that. Just a lot less scary than they used to be. Still definitely capable of winning the division - I'm not denying that.
I've not seen entire games, but it seems like he is getting better to me, and I thought I heard Jaws say the same thing on NFL matchup. And then of course there is Don Banks' comment today ...
The NFC East is a lock on that, agreed. Kinda scary that the Cowboys, at 5-4, are in last place there now. The AFC South you are probably also right, but you could argue that the AFC North gives it a run for the money there.
you have to remember too that the afc east also drew the NFC west this year... and the Rams/Seahawks/49ers are not very good teams... this factors into some of the W's in the AFC East...
I'm looking at the NFC as the best, by far, division in football through this point in the season. Dallas looks like they are slipping badly until Romo gets back. Even when Romo is back if you can hit him they may be mortal. My number 2 right now is the NFC south. Overall that division is playing above average football. Their number 4 team (New Orleans) is better than any other division's number 4. The AFC south is next but Tennessee is pulling their grade way up. The AFC north has Cincy and Cleveland neither of which is good and Cincy is just plain bad. I put them in the bottom half of the divisions. My order from best to worst: NFC East - All above average teams, and the Gints NFC South - All above average teams AFC South - Tenn is pulling up their grade AFC East - Only below average team is currently Buf, the average grade however is not that high. AFC North - Pitt and Bal are pulling up Cle and Cincy, fortunately for them the rest are worse. NFC North - Detroit is pulling this group down, the rest are all above average. If you remove the worst team in each division I have this division 4th overall. NFC West - Arizona is playing well, the rest are bad AFC West - All bad teams except SD who is merely below average.
