AFC North

[Reed the Raven]

I am looking forward to the next 3 - 10 years in the AFC North. It is by far the best division in the National Football League and it's going to be extremely competitive faster due to the Julio Jones trade and the Carson Palmer trade (especially since the Raiders are going to probably win their division and go to the playoffs) and the Ravens and Steelers will continue to do their thing. All 4 teams are good to great at drafting.

Your thoughts?

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: AFC North

Good Division? Yes.

By far? I don't think so, especially as long as the NFC South is still around.

[buckeye02]

Re: AFC North

What Julio Jones trade?

[55]

Re: AFC North

What Julio Jones trade?

The draft day trade with Cleveland... the Browns now have two 1st rounders next year.

[buckeye02]

Re: AFC North

The draft day trade with Cleveland... the Browns now have two 1st rounders next year.

Ah ok. He linked the trade with the Carson Palmer trade so that lead me to believe he thought Julio Jones was traded at the deadline

[Buckeyes_Doc]

Re: AFC North

Ah ok. He linked the trade with the Carson Palmer trade so that lead me to believe he thought Julio Jones was traded at the deadline

I thought the same thing. My reaction was "WHAT?!" and I immediately went to espn.com but didn't see a thing.

I think the AFC North is a strong conference and will continue to be but I don't know if it will be the best.

[iAM-IncReDiBLe-]

I'm a homer, but the nfc south is full of young teams who are on the come up or should be consitently good for years to come.

Sent from Jesus EVO

[Rancid Radio]

Re: AFC North

I'd say the AFC North is the most competitive, NFC South is still on the rise but the AFC North is always a dogfight. Especially now with Cincy and Cleveland apparently on the up-swing, and don't forget that we're just two years removed from when Cincy stunned everyone and took this division.

[redsrule]

Re: AFC North

I'd say the AFC North is the most competitive, NFC South is still on the rise but the AFC North is always a dogfight. Especially now with Cincy and Cleveland apparently on the up-swing, and don't forget that we're just two years removed from when Cincy stunned everyone and took this division.

It's gonna happen again.
That is a different story though

[ggsimmonds]

Re: AFC North

Here is what is great about the AFC North:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/te...sition/defense
Yards per game allowed:
1. Baltimore
2. Cincinnati
3. Pittsburgh
4. Cleveland

[cjonesfan921]

Re: AFC North

My ignorance will not allow me to say any division is better than the NFC East.

[Shibito]

Re: AFC North

Certainly a great division, but the AFC East is looking interesting now with the rise of the Bills. The Dolphins are still a joke, but Cleveland is no play-off contender at this time either.

I think the NFC North will be the most competitive in the near future. Green Bay has a talented young team, Chicago is a solid team every year, Detroit is on the rise, and Minnesota is going to have a scary offense.

[wwharton]

Re: AFC North

Certainly a great division, but the AFC East is looking interesting now with the rise of the Bills. The Dolphins are still a joke, but Cleveland is no play-off contender at this time either.

I think the NFC North will be the most competitive in the near future. Green Bay has a talented young team, Chicago is a solid team every year, Detroit is on the rise, and Minnesota is going to have a scary offense.

How are the Bills (4-2) on the "rise" but the Browns (3-3) are "no play-off contender"?

And if the Dolphins are still a joke, how is that division looking better when all 4 teams in the North are .500 or better?

Personally, I think the NFC North is still the top division now and going forward, with the NFC South a close second.

[Shibito]

Re: AFC North

How are the Bills (4-2) on the "rise" but the Browns (3-3) are "no play-off contender"?

And if the Dolphins are still a joke, how is that division looking better when all 4 teams in the North are .500 or better?

Personally, I think the NFC North is still the top division now and going forward, with the NFC South a close second.

The Brown's have beat the Colts by 8, the Dolphins by 1, and the Seahawks by 3...

They've lost to the Bengals by 10, Titans by 18, and Raiders by 7.

The Bills have beat the Chiefs by 34, Raiders by 3, Patriots by 3, and Eagles by 7.

And they only lost to the Giants and Bengals by 3 points each.

Big difference in quality of wins/losses there.

[wwharton]

Re: AFC North

The Brown's have beat the Colts by 8, the Dolphins by 1, and the Seahawks by 3...

They've lost to the Bengals by 10, Titans by 18, and Raiders by 7.

The Bills have beat the Chiefs by 34, Raiders by 3, Patriots by 3, and Eagles by 7.

And they only lost to the Giants and Bengals by 3 points each.

Big difference in quality of wins/losses there.

You'll have to explain the difference more. The Steelers barely beat the Colts and the Seahawks beat the Giants (who beat the Bills). The Bills played the Chiefs right after they lost Charles who their entire offense was modeled around. The Bengals are 4-2 and the Eagles are a losing team right now.

It's the NFL... a win is a win. If we're going to dig into quality of wins we need to consider home/away, possibly weather, fluky play (should we assume Brady would throw 4 picks against them again?), other factors (like mentioned with the Chiefs), etc. And if we're going by preseason expectations (when talking about beating a team like the Eagles for example) then we'd have to assume that the Bills will level off to 7-9 or worse anyway. Bottom line is they're 4-2 and Cleveland is 3-3.