Is The AFCE The Toughest Division In Football Now?

[Steely Dan]

NFCE

 

NJG (Clinched Division and Homefield throughout playoffs)

Washington

Dallas

Philadelphia (Wild Card)

 

 

NFCW

 

Arizona (Clinched Division)

Seattle

San Francisco

Seattle

 

 

NFCS

 

Atlanta (Wild Card)

Carolina (Clinched Division)

New Orleans

Tampa Bay

 

 

 

NFCN

 

Chicago

Green Bay

Detroit

Minnesota (Clinched Division)

 

 

 

 

AFCE

 

Buffalo

NJJ

Miami (Clinched Division)

New England*

 

 

AFCW

 

Denver

Kansas City

Oakland

San Diego (Clinched Division)

 

 

AFCS

 

Houston

Indianapolis (Wild Card)

Jacksonville

Tennessee (Clinched Division and Homefield through playoffs)

 

 

AFCN

 

Baltimore (Wild Card)

Pittsburgh (Clinched Division)

Cincinnati

Cleveland

 

The toughest division is, IMO, the AFCE. Probably being a homer but it's close. The other candidate for toughest division, IMO, is the NFCS. Teams are pretty stacked up in those divisions and there are some good teams that will miss the playoffs because they play in those conferences. The AFCN has Baltimore and Pittsburgh but the two other teams suck. JMO

 

The weakest is much easier. Hands down I think it's the NFCW.

 

With more FA signings and draft yet to come it's hard right now but it's fun to talk about.

[Lori]

AFC West is in the running for the second one, with coaching changes in three out of four teams since the beginning of last year.

 

Lucky for us. They accounted for four out of the Bills' seven wins last season.

[Steely Dan]

AFC West is in the running for the second one, with coaching changes in three out of four teams since the beginning of last year.

 

Lucky for us. They accounted for four out of the Bills' seven wins last season.

 

That's a tough one to call because of all the turmoil on those teams. If LT leaves SD that's a big blow to that division and if Denver has irreparably pissed off Cutler then they should be very weak too. Especially since they seem to have gutted their defense. Can the coaching changes help or hinder those teams?

[lets_go_bills]

It's kinda funny but I think the two East divisions are the best while the two West divisions are the worst.

[BuffOrange]

The AFC South looks tough - each team has a solid foundation in place.

Those NFC South teams are never good 2 years in a row, so it's a little premature to give them that much credit. I think teams like Atl & Miami are going to take a step back before they move forward.

[Steely Dan]

The AFC South looks tough - each team has a solid foundation in place.

Those NFC South teams are never good 2 years in a row, so it's a little premature to give them that much credit. I think teams like Atl & Miami are going to take a step back before they move forward.

 

Tennessee lost Haynesworth and Jacksonville will still suck. Indy is strong but only made it as a wild card last year. Houston always seems to be on the rise but, like the Bills, always seems to fall short of expectations.

 

Atlanta has Ryan and Turner. Ryan may have a sophomore slump but even if he does they still have Turner. Carolina I think may fall into the never good two years in a row but I think Jarrett takes a big step up this year. I also think Jonathan Stewart will take a big step up this year and that makes a bad year less likely IMO.

[OCinBuffalo]

I voted NFC west for weakest, but it was tough to choose them over the AFC West = the only division to have no team with a winning record.

 

The reason I still think it's the NFC West is that let's face it, Arizona will fold, again, this year. Rams, SF, Seattle are just terrible, and, they are playing in the NFC, which should mean that they win an extra 2+ games a season, but they don't win them. Conversely, on paper, this year Denver, Oakland, and San Diego have better players with better upside, who knows what will happen with the Chiefs.

 

Ultimately, it's a tie, but the fact that the NFC is such a weak conference is the tie breaker. Clearly the West in general is weak, followed by the Central in general. I'd give the East the clear edge over the South in both conferences.