The Beasts of the East: Why My Division is Better Than Your Division
by One.Cool.Customer on Jul 21, 2010 9:00 PM CDT
in Dallas Cowboys General
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PrintThe NFC East is the best division in football. Everybody knows it, not everybody likes to admit it.
Every offseason a bunch of articles pop up somewhere about why this or that division may be the best division in the NFL. I read them and yawn. 19 Super Bowl appearances between the four NFC East teams and 11 wins between three of the four speak a pretty clear language.
Okay, so you don't like the Super Bowl argument and ask what has the NFC East done for you lately, like, say, in the last five years?
Well, what about outscoring opponents more than any other division over the last five years? Or sending more teams to the playoffs over the last half decade than any other division. Or having only three teams over a five year span with a losing record.
No other division can match that.
Toughest? Most talented? Best coached? Most successful? Just how good is the NFC East?
Performance by division 2005 - 2009
Over the last 5 years, the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Redskins have outscored their opponents by 728 points. Now that may not sound like all that much, but consider that that number is almost twice as high as the 427 point differential put together by the Colts-led AFC South. The AFC South of course also is home to the expansion Texans, who last season quietly celebrated their first ever winning season.
Since 2005 the NFC East has sent 12 teams to the playoffs. Again best in the league and an average of 2.4 playoff-bound teams per year. Each year, the East sent at least two teams to the playoffs, and three teams in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
Compare that to, say, the NFC West which has sent exactly one team per year to the playoffs for the last five years (Seahawks 05-07, Cardinals 08-09, nothing for the 49ers and Rams). You could argue that the team in the NFC West that managed to lose the least games in a season made the playoffs by default, and in fact only once in the last five years did the NFC West division winner win more than ten games (2005 Seahawks). The NFC North and AFC West one-upped the NFC West by sending one more team to the playoffs in that five year span.
The NFC East racked up a total of 180 wins over the last five years, only 4 wins less than the league leading AFC South.
Equally remarkable is that the Giants, Cowboys and Redskins promoted young quarterbacks into the starting job within the last five years. And the Eagles follow suit this year.
But what is perhaps the most remarkable achievement of the NFC East is the fact that in five years only three teams have had a losing record in the division: the 06 & 09 Redskins and the 05 Eagles. Almost every division has had one or two perpetually bad teams over the last 5 years. Except the NFC East.
| Performance by division 2005 - 2009 |
NFC | AFC | |||||||
| East | North | South | West | East | North | South | West | ||
| Points Differential | +728 | -159 | +20 | -1,216 | 250 | 288 | 427 | -338 | |
| Playoff Teams | 12 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 6 | |
| Total Wins | 180 | 151 | 162 | 129 | 161 | 163 | 184 | 149 | |
| No. of teams with losing record | 3 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 9 | |
As I look at the table above, I can't help but wonder what's going on in the West divisions. I've detailed the NFC West above, but the AFC West with the Chargers, Broncos, Raiders and Chiefs looks like the second worst division in terms of overall performance. Oh, wait, the Raiders and Chiefs! Question answered.
Coaching & Talent
Heading into the 2010 season, the NFC East head coaches have a combined NFL head coaching experience of 51 years, again almost twice the experience of the next best division. And these coaches don't just have the experience, they also have the wins to go with it: Their combined .588 winning percentage is second only to the AFC East's .603 - of course, the AFC East's combined 20 years of head coaching experience is 15 years Belichick and the Patriots and five combined years for the others (2 years for the Bills' Chan Gailey, 2 years for the Dolphins' Tony Sparano and one year for Rex Ryan and the Jets).
Every single NFC East head coach has more than 10 years of experience as an NFL head coach. The Chargers, Titans and Patriots are the only teams with similarly tenured coaches. In the youth versus experience vote, the NFC East's experience gets my ballot - that is, until Jason Garrett takes over in Dallas of course.
In terms of talent, the NFC East again takes the crown among all NFL divisions. 24 Pro Bowlers last year came out of the NFC East, more than any other division.
For the 2010 season, the NFL's pre-determined scheduling formula has the NFC East meeting the AFC South. Fittingly, these two divisions have the toughest strength of schedule (SOS) heading into the season. In fact, of the 9 teams with the toughest SOS, four are NFC East teams and three (Texans, Titans, and Jaguars) play the NFC East. We'll see what that strength of schedule was worth once the dust settles.
| Coaching & Talent | NFC | AFC | |||||||
| East | North | South | West | East | North | South | West | ||
| Head Coach Tenure (Years) | 51 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 20 | 16 | 28 | 16 | |
| Head Coach W/L record | 458-321 | 128-112 | 132-108 | 74-79 | 193-127 | 135-121 | 238-200 | 111-138 | |
| Pro Bowlers 2009 | 24 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 18 | 14 | |
| Strength of Schedule 2010 | .528 | .501 | .480 | .451 | .508 | .514 | .536 | .481 | |
Size does matter after all
A large part of the success of the NFC East can be explained in simple dollars and cents. The NFC East teams are the first, second, fourth and seventh most valuable franchises in the NFL. And that's not because of the amount of Super Bowls won, or - in one particular case - not won, the level of talent, the quality of coaching or anything like that. No, the value of a franchise is largely dependent on its ability to generate revenue.
While the NFL shares television money, league sponsorships and one third of ticket revenues equally among all teams, each franchise retains the sole rights to its so-called ancillary revenue like parking, luxury suites, stadium naming rights and much more. The ability to generate ancillary revenue is largely dependent on the size of the revenue pool available for a franchise to dip into, or to put it simpler: the size of the market.
The NFC East cities are among the largest markets in the U.S., which is particularly important for TV advertising revenue, but also for the ability to drive attendance to games.
And while the salary cap has leveled the playing field somewhat between the 32 teams, the cap's parity effect only really works when every team spends exactly the same amount, and that's not going to happen any time soon.
| 2009 NFL team valuations | 2009 TV households in market area (DMA), ranked by households | 2009 NFL total regular season attendance by team | ||||||||
| Rank | Team | Value, $ BLN | Rank | DMA | TV households | Rank | Team | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cowboys | 1.65 | 1. | New York | 7,493,530 | 1. | Cowboys | 1,307,231 | ||
| 2. | Redskins | 1.55 | 2. | Los Angeles | 5,659,170 | 2. | Giants | 1,223,927 | ||
| 3. | Patriots | 1.36 | 3. | Chicago | 3,501,010 | 3. | Redskins | 1,205,404 | ||
| 4. | Giants | 1.18 | 4. | Philadelphia | 2,955,190 | 4. | Panthers | 1,162,625 | ||
| 5. | Jets | 1.17 | 5. | Dallas-Ft. Worth | 2,544,410 | 5. | Eagles | 1,144,895 | ||
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ||
| 7. | Eagles | 1.12 | 9. | Washington, DC | 2,335,040 | ... | ... | ... | ||
There is one little thing though, where the NFC East has come up fairly empty handed recently: The last decade was historically low in terms of Super Bowls for the NFC East. Two Super Bowl wins in the 70's, three in the 80's, five in the 90's but only one in the 00's. Perhaps this is the year the Cowboys help jump-start the East again.
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1st
Awesome write up OCC, I’m usually in an argument about why the NFC East is the best division in football, now I have a few more stats to back me up. Second best, I believe, would have to be the AFC North.
Football doesn't build character, it reveals character!
by 210Cowboy on Jul 21, 2010 9:37 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
The AFC East has 3 teams that could win the conference title
No other division, outside of our own, has that, IMO.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
I agree...
Although I think that the AFC South could. Tennessee has won the division before and Houston is getting better…. ah screw Houston. You’re right the AFC East is the only other one that could happen in.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
I'm trying to figure out why the south is getting so many votes
the only reason I can think is because they have the colts, I don’t fear any of the other teams. at least not over the past few years
I actively recognize my own stupidity, thank you!!!
I like the AFC South better.
Because, of my perception of the teams, and isn’t that all we can go by? I think that Colts are always a Manning toss away from winning. The Titans can hurt you, and the Jags, when they are playing well are formidable. The Texans? Meh.
If I should die before I wake,
feed Jake.
You like the Jags over the Texans? Hmmmm
I think Jax is in disarray. Their draft made no sense. Their D hasn’t been the same since Stroud and Henderson were separated. Garrard peaked and has been called a B-Quarterback by Del Rio. Jack himself is on the hot seat.
It’s a mess.
I would have said Houston helps even the score a bit, but losing Kyle Shanahan will negatively impact their offense going forward.
So I can’t find any way to rationalize the South.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Oh and Mike Sims Walker is their #1 WR
You forgot that.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
Not really, I just think the point had been made
I was saving that in case I got any disagreement.
:-)
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
The AFC North...
…has a better top 3 than the East.
Baltimore > Jets
Steelers = Patriots
Cincy > Miami
I don't know about the Steelers this year.
with pervlessburger at qb.
If I should die before I wake,
feed Jake.
I agree Baltimore is better than the Jets, but the Pats are better than the Steelers and Miami is better than Cincy.
Formerly Bye, Dawk :(
Yeah.
It is weird but for some reason I can’t take Cincy seriously.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
Neither can I
It’s Mike Brown and that whole organization that just screams incompetence to me.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Yup, my problem is Marvin Lewis
When your head coach is willing to go for a TIE against Cleveland and your QB has to call a timeout as OT is about to expire at 4th and 11 from the CLE41 to come over to the head coach and explain that with 56 seconds left in OT, a pooch punt makes it likely that the team will not get the ball back. If your HC is comfortable with tying Cleveland, you definitely have a problem.
Except for Zimmer and his underrated defense
CIN did sweep that division last season, they are doing something right.
Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Felix Jones = defensive coordinator's Kobayashi Maru scenario
by APerfectStar on Jul 23, 2010 9:16 AM CDT up reply actions
I disagree
The Pats are better than the Steelers, especially this year.
Miami is better than Cincy.
Baltimore is better than the Jets, but it’s close.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Houston is going to suffer a setback this year on offense
Their only hope is marked improvement on D.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
I actually think Houston will be better on offense.
I think they might have less yards, but be more efficient on sustaining drives.
I think that they should be able to run the ball better, and Jacoby Jones has natural ability, ala Miles Austin.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
Nope
The loss of Kyle Shanahan will hamper them.
You don’t change offensive coordinators in the off season and then see the top passer in the NFL improve the following year.
Shanahan is one of the bright young minds in the NFL. I am pissed he went to DC.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Possibly.
I forgot about that.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
When you lead the league in anything
…there’s nowhere to go but down.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
did they lead the entire league in offense?
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
passing yards
I think they’ll be hard pressed to offset any loss of production there with their running game.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Depends on how many passing yards they go down.
Also if the defense is better, they might not need to pass as much. One reason they were passing so much is because they weren’t stopping teams.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
Their starting CB's are Brice McCain and Cushing is a Roid Junkie
http://yepyep.gibbs12.com/2010/05/brian-cushing-on-steroids-duh/
I’m guessing the D may struggle.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Menat to say "Brice McCain and Glover Quinn"
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Meant to say 'Meant'
Not my day…
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
I voted AFC East as the second best.
I would take NE, NYJ, and MIA over any triumvirate any other division (outside the NFC East of course) could put up for comparison.
If I had a nickel for every Super Bowl the Eagles have won, I would have zero nickels.
wow
only 3 losing records.
I remember a couple of years ago when the AFC East was freaking TERRIBLE. Patriots were great but the other teams combined for probably like 10 wins.
Have to admit O.C.C. I've been skipping over some of your posts lately, but this one really opened my eyes...
I already knew this was the most successful division in Football, evident by the number of Superbowl trophies and appearances, but what really opened my eyes was the “points differential” figures. WOW!
I’ve often heard that the winner of the East is the most battle hardened team to make it to the playoffs, now I find myself musing over whether any of the NFC East teams would have won more championships if they had played in a weaker division like the West (NFC or AFC). Yes, playing better opposition helps, but is it more helpful than better health at the end of the season and potentially better seeding? The Chargers made it to the playoffs with a 8-8 record a couple of seasons ago, and made it all the way to the AFC Championship game. Perhaps if we had gotten a few more chances at the playoffs, who knows…
Battle tested counts for something,
but I would like to be fully healthy for the entire playoffs. I think that maybe Minn would have made it to the dance if Edwards didn’t get injured in the playoffs. We had absolutely no answer for him.
If I should die before I wake,
feed Jake.
Yeah, we had an answer...it was Doug Free our swing tackle.
Colombo rushed back from a serious injury and after the battles of the past 2 weeks wasn’t prepared to compete. The option to substitute Free into his position went out the window after Flozell got hurt. Free played relatively solid at the LT spot…didn’t allow a single sack against the Vikings best pass rusher Allen (a couple of sacks were given up by Witten on that side).
Colombo’s injury perhaps led to Davis’ erratic play…it was pretty much a jail break all day…Romo didn’t have a chance…
I just don’t see Davis on this team next year…I’m praying that one of our guard prospects can step in if it gets erratic again this season…although after reading Raf’s recent article…I’m not holding my breath…
Good article
You can do a lot of things in life. You can't stab a teammate with a pair of scissors. - Kevin Smith
Ha Ha
And that’s not because of the amount of Super Bowls won, or – in one particular case – not won
I actively recognize my own stupidity, thank you!!!
I'm really surprised at all the votes...
..for the NFC North. Packers/Vikings are 2 solid teams, sure, but with T.Jackson @ the helm, the Vikings are average/above average. We’ll find out this year, but I’m sure Favre will be back. Packers are looking to be scary good this year; one more year for that Capers 34 to mold. The Bears won’t be a contender until they fix that gaping hole in the defense… a few years back, I considered them to have one of the best D’s in the league…Mike Martz will help Cutler, but I’m not puttin’ money on it……Lions… the Lions are goin’ to surprise a lot of ppl this year, I think.. being the worst team in the league for several years has helped form themselves a decent looking roster on paper… I predict a playoff run this year or the next..
FEAR the STAR...it's all or nothing.... time to COWBOY UP.
seconded
On the Lions making a playoff run. If anyone finds a betting line on the Lions making the playoffs, let me know because I would put $20 on them.
If Stafford can stay healthy and the D-line plays up to their potential the secondary is going to look a lot better than they have in the past and they will be able to help the offense out by not giving up so many points.
The Lions are going to be a contender this year or next, but I am leaning towards this year.
For anyone who wants to see an incredible video of a QB dedicated to his team, just look at the Mic’d Up video of Matthew Stafford coming back against the Browns. Very moving… and I think it shows the makings of a superstar QB. He has the talent and the drive to do great things and they are surrounding him with several weapons.
Okay sorry for the wall of text, I’m from Detroit and they are my 2nd favorite team so I follow them closely.
Sucking has paided big dividends for the Raiders' talent pool
Oh wait they still suck.
NFC RULES!
In 2007 the pratriots were undefeated. BUT they also played against the two worst teams in the entire league that year! The jets and the bills were the worts two teams in the league! they gave the patriots 4 easy wins making them undeafeated and going to the super bowl ranking as the best team ever! That was joke when they faced the best NFC team NY Giants and were enbarassed! We all remember but no one understood how overated they were! They didnt have a good running game and their offensive line collapse. Their defense struggle all year. they best thing they had was a hot quarterback and a good offensive scheme. But it was short lived.
And didn't Miami go 1-15 as well?
Still, you have to give that team plenty of credit.
Remember to retire Fin's number, Mark.
That's a poor argument
They swept the NFC East that year.
And I don’t recall them being embarrassed by the Giants. What game were you watching?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
People generally remember what they want...
…does anyone truly remember how the Cowboys played against the Giants? They dominated the line for pretty much the first half and some of the 2nd…then our OLine started to break down…sound familiar? For all the praise they get (Pro Bowl) our Oline has a tendency to lose focus.
Yeah! so 'Don't Believe the Hype'
Shameless plug du jour.
:-)
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Or just get tired
They’re one of the bigger lines in football and average age is fairly old, so the theory that they wear down by the end of the season and late in games could also be true.
FREE THE OGLETREE!!!
Is it any wonder why the Cowboy's moved from Flozell to Doug Free?
They had to look long and hard at why we can’t seem to progress in the playoffs any further…it’s been the O Line breaking down in the last 2 playoff appearances.
It isn't just Flozell
Was Flozell the reason for those meltdowns?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
That wasn't my point...I was speaking to the youth movement...Free was ready to replace Adams.
You make changes where you can, I suspect more is coming…the young guys need to step up. Coaches need to coach them up…
Sorry I missed that
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
These are good points
I’m not satisfied that they have those linemen on the roster now, but as always I really, really want them to prove me wrong.
The whole team shares responsibility for late season melt-downs of course, but the line was clearly at the head of the class.
FREE THE OGLETREE!!!
So now the team has identified this as an issue,,,made a change at LT to try to improve...
and pretty much everyone and their mother (exaggeration) is criticizing the "Boys. It’s not like anyone is beating the door down to sign Flozell, and it’s not like he won’t take a pay cut, he just won’t go “bargain basement”.
Jaque Reeves
was at the head of the class in the Giants game meltdown.
by b roo on Jul 23, 2010 5:40 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
No doubt on defense he was bad
but the Giants have no chance of winning if the O-line opens holes and protects Romo in the second half. Of course, props to the Giants – they pulled the same trick on GB and the Pats, so clearly they played well. But given that good play at the end of the season has been hard to find with this line over the past 4 years, you have to wonder why the team hasn’t done more to improve that unit.
FREE THE OGLETREE!!!
Very nicely done, OCC
Love the poll, too.
JasonB gave you some linky love at BGN.
Formerly Bye, Dawk :(
What could have been......
I look at how bad the NFC West is and wonder what would have happened if we have been moved there during the re-alignment a few years back :-) I love the rivalries that we have here in the east but think about what last years cowboys team could have done with those division games, and what a differance that home field in the playoffs could have done for us :-) but it is all hypothetical
"I aim to misbehave"
We had home field in 2007
It’s not all it is cracked up to be any more.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Best line of the article
And that’s not because of the amount of Super Bowls won, or - in one particular case – not won.
Too bad those birds are holding the group back! ;-)
I guess you could make the case the NFC East was the best 5 years ago.
But I like to live in the present. Most would say Dallas in the NFC East is tha t divisions best team the 2 games Dallas had against the NFC North’s Packer and Vikings proved how much better the top end of that division is. Both the Packer and Vikings were significantly better than the Cowboys to the point of them being utterly dominated. The Packers should be much better 2nd year in 3-4 and experience of last years youngest roster( youngest roster last 3 years). And it could be argued Chicago and Detroit have a chance to be 2 of the most improved teams with all the off season additions. Personallt I’d rank the NFC east 4th toughest division with the AFC East and Afc North being better as well
Ridiculous
Dallas beat GB handily the year before.
Minnesota is still an iffy proposition and it wasn’t that long ago they were able to draft AD in the top 7 (how good do you have to be to draft in the top 7?). I’m betting Minneosta takes a hard fall this season. See me in about 24 weeks.
I like GB, especially on offense, but be careful how much faith you put into a defense that relies so heavily on Charles Woodson playing like he did last year (and staying healthy, which he doesn’t often do). He’s not 25. He’ll be 34 in October. After allowing 51 points in a playoff game last year, you’d better HOPE they improve.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Yep....
I agree again. Everyone has this notion that GB has owned Dallas for some reason.
Dallas is 2-1 against GB the last three times they played them. They destroyed them in 2008.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
The whole point I’m trying to make is that 5 years ago has nothing to do with today. The Packers were 6-10 two years ago but most people would not want to play them this year.
There one of the teams that most people think has a chance to be there at the end as does Dallas. I’m just pointing out the Minn. and GB wins last year as a much better indicator of teams strength than records 2,3,4,5 years ago combined with off season movesto predict where the conferences will be this season.
No one is arguing that GB and Minn will not be contenders...but your statement...
significantly better than the Cowboys to the point of them being utterly dominated
…is kinda ridiculous…
Yeah that's a homer statement.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
I don't mind lurkers coming in to discuss valid points, but it irks me when they come here to talk a little trash.
Hell, if anyone knows anything about Cowboy’s fans, we’re harder on our team than other fan’s are on theirs…
It's a free blog
…and face it, who WOULDN’T want to be on BTB????
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Actually that's true, look at the number of posts on here as opposed to pretty much every other NFL blog on SBNation...
BTB has substantially more…I’m surprised that One.Cool.Customer hasn’t posted a stat about that, yet.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It will attract more of the seedy element we’re trying to avoid.
:-)
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
I'll stand by that statement
I would think that it is hard to argue the Minn. game I think the score was 37-3 or something close to that. I don’t know how much a team needs to beat another team before it is considered domination.
Now in the Green Bay game Dallas did not have a 1st down until the 4th quarter so I feel that theword domination applies.
Now you could say Any Given Sunday( Minn. and Green Bay played well that particular dayy and Dallas played bad) I’d give you that.
Going back to my point 5 years ago has nothing to do with today. Recent history is a much better indicator in todays NFL
How recent?
Just one year?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
What he's trying to say is
is that GB is worse than Tampa Bay because Tampa Bay beat them badly and gave NO a run for their money.
FREE THE OGLETREE!!!
Every year, teams rise and fall
I think that looking for consistency of performance (high or low) is a better indicator than how a team might do in a single year against a 5th place schedule or what have you.
But back to the point of the post, which you left in your rear view mirror.
If you assume that both Dallas and Philly are contenders like Minnesota and GB, then the juxtaposition moves on to the third best teams in each division.
If you want to tell me why the Bears are more likely to contend than the Giants, be my guest.
Otherwise, I’ll consider you as standing corrected.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
I would not agree Dallas and Philly
I would lump Dallas in with GB Minn. and NO but Philly no. Part of the point I was trying to make is that I feel no division has 2 teams as strong as the NFC North Packers and Vikings. Philly shouldn’t even be mentioned The Vegas odds I saw this morning didn’t have Philly in the top 15 GB Minn. Dall. were tied for 3rd.
Chicago as much as I hate to admit it should improve with Urlacher back and the signing of Peppers can’t do anything but help. I would equate them with the Giants. Then Detroit is one team that probably made more moves than anyone. I would argue they will be the suprise team in the NFL. They added a lot of quality players in the draft and free agency
Your view is myopic
Just looking at one season to answer the question being posed erodes your credibility.
Think about it for a while. I think your lightbulb will come on and you’ll understand why your argument is sub-standard.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
5Blings, why are you even wasting your time responding? He's a lurker...do lurkers really have reason?
Look over at the GB site…it’s laughable…some articles have ZERO responses…when is the last time you saw that on BTB? My guess is that if yooper posted the same stuff on their blog, they would probably get a good chuckle…
by CaliFanInTx on Jul 23, 2010 12:08 PM CDT up reply actions
That was the year before.
GB secondary was unusually hit hard with injuries they were playing corners that otherwise wouldn’t have made the team. They have made moves ion the DLine to shore up there pass rush. Although I don’t see Minnesota improving they were an extremely elite team last year and will still be very good even if they take a step backwards. They had 6 turnovers and still should have beat New Orleans and I’m saying this about the team I hate the most.
Tell me where Dallas improved. I can see where there Oline may be a problem as well as the safety position. I didn’t touch on that but Green Bay’s OLine was a problem last year and now most feel it is a strength.
And then GB lost to Arizona and Minni to NO, a team Dallas dominated
it’s more often about how teams match up against each other than anything else. The Dallas O-line was beaten badly in both those losses. Not taking anything away from GB or the Vikes. Both very good teams. But it doesn’t really say more than any other fact. And then you get dragged down by Detroit and Chicago.
FREE THE OGLETREE!!!
Indeed.
No offense to the yooper, but those aren’t good comparisons.
apples to oranges
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
oh and....
if we are going to say “well someone beat this team so…”
Carolina kicked the crap out of Minnesota, so does that mean they should have been in the Super Bowl?
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
I don't see the NFL East being as tough as in the past.
I think this is a down year for the NFL East. Philly has a new QB and a bunch of rookies, it will take time for them to mesh ( 6/10 – 7/9). Skins are the Skins with a new old QB, a new head coach and a new system to learn (5/11 – 6/10)./ The Giants are a bit of a question mark to me. If their D gets better they could contend, but right now I see them at (8/8 -9/7). The Cowboys are the cream of the crop in the division. They are very good in all three phases, except the FG kicker is still an unkown and scares the hell out of me
(12/4 – 13/3). Whatchathink?
I think you are underesimating Philly quite a bit.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
underestimating
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
I think it will take a while for Kolb to get up to speed. ( If he ever does)
If they keep most of the people they drafted, that’s a lot of rookies to deal with. New young QB, a lot of rookies and a weak secondary. They’re rebuilding, it’s hard to be real good while rebuilding.
I'm not so sure.
Why should Kolb be any different than Romo in 2006?
by One.Cool.Customer on Jul 22, 2010 2:45 PM CDT up reply actions
He may be,
but there is no way to know untill he starts taking every snap. I bet Philly would be shiggled titless for him to be anywhere as good as Romo.
shiggled titless
I have never heard that expression before, but I am going to work it into a conversation every day from now on
Lifetime Cowboys Fan from the Swamps of Jersey
My Beer Blog: http://tiltingsuds.wordpress.com/
+1
"With the game on the line. I want the ball in my hands."
-E
by tito (eight and oh) on Jul 22, 2010 8:30 PM CDT up reply actions
All that being said...
They still have a good pass rush, good o line, good wrs, and decent rbs.
If they go 6-10 I’ll be shocked.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
They're a decent O-line.
I don’t think it’s horrible.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
I know you didn't...
I’m just saying they are good, not great but its good.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
Yeah but good against our front 7 may not be enough...I seem to recall how McNabb was rushed
…and pounded all game long…McNabb is still elusive, but I never heard that Kolb was a nimble QB.
Wow
I don’t see Philly like you do…
Who would be surprised if Kolb pulled an Aaron rodgers and they went 11-5 and won the East?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
I'd be suprised if he was as good as Aaron Rodgers LAST year...
but I wouldn’t be suprised if he wasn’t as good Rodgers was in 08
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
Rodgers in 2008 didn't have what Kolb has this year
Kolb’s supporting cast is far better.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
mmmmmm
That is highly debatable.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
Okay...let's have some fun
Rodgers inherited Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson at RB.
Kolb gets LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver.
Thoughts?
At receiver, Rodgers had Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. Kolb gets Maclin and DeSean.
Who do you prefer to throw to?
At TE, Rodgers had Donald Lee and Kolb gets Brent Celek.
O-Line? Clifton, Colledge, Wells, Spitz and Tauscher for Rodgers (yikes). Kolb gets Peters, Herreman, Cole, Andrews and Justice.
Who would you want to play behind?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
I like the Eagles O-line better BUT...
I think I liked the Packers RBs and WR’s better.
I think their WR’s are MUCH deeper, and I think McCoy is pretty unproven as RB for the Eagles.
Rodgers has much more natural ability. He’s an athletic QB.
But even if they have the same supporting cast I think Rodgers last year numbers would be hard to duplicate. There is a chance the 2010 Rodgers isn’t as good as last years.
AFB Condensed- New name, same flavor.
Quoting yourself doesn't require your own name attached to it. I'm going to assume if there isn't anyone else's name attached it's yours.
Also, look at the Packers 2009 Schedule...how many top flight defenses did they play against?
When you play Chicago and Detroit 2 times a year, you should be guaranteed at least 4 division wins. Outside of the Cowboys, Ravens and Minn, they really didn’t play any top defenses. They lit it up against Arizona, but when has Arizona ever been considered an elite defense…
Agree and disagree
I agree the O-line in Philly is miles ahead of that patchwork line in GB. I also agree the RB’s were better in GB.
I disagree on the WR’s. I think Philly may have the best trio with Celek, Jackson and Maclin, in the league.
I think Rodgers’ numbers are not out of the question because Reid likes to air it out and the team’s strength is in its pass catchers (never thought I would say that!!!). Now, the question is how much can Kolb handle?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Strongly disagree on the best TRIO...strongly, I say....
by CaliFanInTx on Jul 23, 2010 12:09 PM CDT up reply actions
+1
Blings likes to exaggerate Dallas’ foes strengths, but that statement is a reach, even for him.
Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Felix Jones = defensive coordinator's Kobayashi Maru scenario
by APerfectStar on Jul 23, 2010 9:20 PM CDT up reply actions
Whose trio would you say is better?
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Okay, stop kidding around...
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
You have to back that up with a counterpoint
…or else your disagreement falls on deaf ears.
Whose is better? NE? no.
SD? no way.
NO? maybe their top 5 guys, but certainly not their top 3.
Indy? Their #2 WR isn’t a starter on Philly. The reverse cannot be said.
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
- John Wooden (God rest his soul)
Great Post!
"With the game on the line. I want the ball in my hands."
-E
by tito (eight and oh) on Jul 22, 2010 2:22 PM CDT reply actions
Ack! you followed me from BBV :P
God Bless Texas
by dwarfknight64 on Jul 22, 2010 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Haha!
Gotta keep up on all things NFC Beast!
"With the game on the line. I want the ball in my hands."
-E
by tito (eight and oh) on Jul 22, 2010 3:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Why should we even think that any Division matches up with ours?
I mean Dallas the gints and the skinnys have almost 25% of the SuperBowls in the NFC…Every year the Rest of the AFL-NFl teams dread playing any of the NFC-East teams.Have any of the NFC-East teams, other than the gints ever been the Underdawgs, and even then they came out on top of the Patty-Cakes…Although how they did it would be anybodys guess I would imagine…So whether its a FLUKE like the gints in the 2007 SuperBowl or the Cowboys just going in and tearing sh!t up like they did to the Dolphins, and Broncos, and Bills, the NFC-East has NEVER really been considered out of their league when they played in the SuperBowls…Well, I guess you cant really say that since the crummy assed Beagles go in to the SuperBowls and stink up the place…I think we should be able to swap them and put the Forty-Whiners in their place in our Division then we wouldnt have to be embarresed with the SuperBowl losses the Beagles have hung on the NFC-East…maybe, maybe not(shrugs)…Anyway I hate the Squealers, and the PattyCakes and the no other AFC teams have ever really had much success in the SuperBowls…Yeah, yeah, every once in a while an AFC team does pretty good but they rarely last more than a year…Like the Squealers going from the 2008 SuperBowl Champs to the chumps of the AFC last year not even making the play-offs…LMAO, and their QB cant even score with real chicks, he has to go to raping little girls in bathrooms with the help of his jack-booted thugs…Takes all kinds I guess!!!…Tom Brady aint gonna ever see another SuperBowl I dont imagine, cause all the teams know he already washed up…Dont make me no never mind if he plays now or not…He already screwed up his chances of ever going to the SuperBowlagain when he tried to moll-coddle that old dope headed Randy Moses, old man…I hate Randy Moss anyway, and I think hes seriously over-rated if you ask me…Dont matter if anybody does or not ask me Im just telling you anyway…I think OCC does a good job of showing all the rest of the teams in the NFL that they are second class citizens next to the Dallas Cowboys…I mean he just tells it like it is, and he dont pull any punches…I be damned if I know where he gets all them numbers he comes up with, but it is so cool reading his storys each week when he shows the other teams how much better the Cowboys are then they are…LMAO, cause when we went down to the Big Easy and took home the win against the Aints…Everybody knows the reason they gotta win the SuperBowl is cause the rest of the Country just feels sorry for them, cause what happened to their Stadium, and the flooding of their city…I just dont believe Drew Brees is as good a QB as they say he is…Im just not sold on the idea that you go from the bottom in 2008not even coming close to making the playoffs, to the next years SuperBowl Champions…But Tony Romo sure went down their and showed the rest of the NFL how to beat them…LMAO, I think we are going to win the NFC East Division, and were going to beat whoever comes to our House in the SuperBowl…I just dont think their is another team in the NFL or the AFL that can beat us this year…Ratliff already told She-li Manning hes gonna step on his other foot this year, and then he will have another excuse for being as mediocre as he is…Like I said before I think them winning the SuperBowl in 2007 was just a big assed FLUKE…We should have gone to the SuperBowl that year I think…I mean the guy caught the ball against his head…How much freking luck can one team have?…I remeber last year when the gints came to Dallas and played us on Monday night…c’mon peeps surely you cant tell me that you truly believe the gints won that game…No siree, Lady Luck was just all over them boys that night( the WR falling down and catching the ball while on his back in the End Zone, the ball bouncing off the TE foot)…that to me is just blind luck, no doubt…Im almost certain no other team has as much luck, and wins on luck than the gints….just my opinion, but I want someone to prove me wrong…I hope the Squealers make it to the SuperBowl and we get to play them…that way we could pay them back, and even the score with how many times we beat them, and lost to them in SuperBowls…or maybe the the Indy Dolts…we could even up their luck ywin in SuperBowl 5…FEAR THE STAR
Well hello there.
Didn’t you go by “Hawgz, Bugz, and FilthyFowl Hater” last year? :-)
by One.Cool.Customer on Jul 23, 2010 2:10 AM CDT up reply actions
AFC South????
They aren’t close to the toughest, why so many votes? I don’t get that selection. Indy walks all over their division rivals annually. How is that a tough division.
AFC East, and NFC North (assuming the Bears play close to expectations) and NFC South are all tougher divisions, IMO.
Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Felix Jones = defensive coordinator's Kobayashi Maru scenario
LMAO
At the west divisions and there 0%’s…what a pathetic excuse for football teams they put together out there…
"With the game on the line. I want the ball in my hands."
-E
by tito (eight and oh) on Jul 22, 2010 8:33 PM CDT reply actions
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