Early Season Jibber Jabber

So OTAs have begun and the preseason is still a ways away, but it's nice to discuss a little bit of football even with the null period that we're in. Basically, the excitement for next season to start is hindered by the lack of anything important going on. With that being said, teams are usually ranked pre- and post-season but I think it's important to also rank the divisions. I haven't looked into a lot of people's division rankings, but I did catch Gregg Rosenthal's from NFL.com (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000168304/article/division-power-rankings-nfc-west-rises-to-the-top)

1. NFC West 
2. NFC North 
3. AFC North 
4. NFC South 
5. NFC East 
6. AFC South 
7. AFC East 
8. AFC West

For the most part I agree with his assessment. The NFC West is becoming the old AFC North with obvious comparisons on the defensive side of the ball (Steelers Vs. Ravens and 49ers Vs. Seahawks and a close 3rd adversary in the Bengals and Rams). The one main difference between the old AFC North and new NFC West is that the NFC West seems to have more firepower on offense which tends to make games all the more exciting. Mix tough defenses with young athletic quarterbacks, a mean ground game, and two head coaches whose rivalry goes back to college and you have yourself the top two teams in the NFL, and the NFL's best division.

I agree with the NFC North being #2 with three possible playoff teams. I think the NFC South might edge out the AFC North but it is a tough call. Who knows where the Saints will be with Sean Payton back and the Bucs have acquired seemingly every top notch free agent out there along with a young QB and RB. The AFC North isn't what it used to be and the Ravens have lost several key players while the Steelers have not performed well offensively in a couple of years. But there is the Bengals with their emergent defensive.

As far as the other divisions go I think the NFC East should be switched with the AFC South. I say this simply based on playoff caliber teams (AFC South = 2, the NFC East = 1). Although the NFC East is very competitive down the stretch, the last couple of years have barely produced a .500 playoff team. I know I know, the Seahawks made it a few years ago with a 7-9 record, don't remind me =(.

It's also tough for me to say the AFC East isn't last on this list. Sure they have the Patriots, but that's it. The Dolphins may have a good season which would warrant a #7 rating. But I believe that the Chiefs, with their 6 pro bowlers, will be a better team then the Dolphins. I pretty much just nulled out the bottom two teams for each division and the Broncos and Patriots are basically the same (arguably).

So my top divisions are:

1. NFC West
2. NFC North
3. NFC South
4. AFC North
5. AFC South
6. NFC East
7. AFC West
8. AFC East