NFC West vs NFC South

[bestfightstory]

So each team in the West will face each team in the South in 2013.

It's early, but I am of the belief that these will be the two best divisions in the NFL.

San Francisco, Seattle and Atlanta are all ELITE teams. With the Rams, Tampa, Nawlins and Carolina all arguably trending upward. The only team that can really be eliminated from the conversation is Arizona, right?

It will be fun to see which of these teams emerge from the fray and if either Division prevails, significantly, over the other.

Any thoughts? Where is Guido?

 

[NYCoug]

Great topic.

I'd probably rank the 2 divisions like this

Seattle
San Francisco
Atlanta
St. Louis/Saints
Panthers/Bucs
Arizona

I think the Saints have big boom or bust potential this year. They get Sean Peyton back so that'll make them better, but their defense was awful last season. They need to get that sorted out and they'll have a great bounce back season. I don't think the Rams have the potential to be better than New Orleans if they're at their best, but they can be a tough, consistent team that I'm expecting to improve upon last year. I don't think they'll regress.

Same with Carolina and Tampa. I think they both have big boom or bust potential. Cam Newton could bounce back strong and have an amazing season, or he and the rest of his crew could look like they did last year. Detroit would be perfect for this division now that I think about it. Same with Tampa and Josh Freeman. There's just a lot of youth and inconsistency and unpredictably in that division.

In the end I think the West will emerge as the better division. There might be more parity in the South but the West will have the stronger teams up top.

 

[RolandDeschain]

Saints are going to come out fighting, and win their division. Mark my words. I also disagree with BFS about Atlanta being elite. They are very good, but they are not elite. They've got an elite receiving corps, for sure, though.

 

[kearly]

Carolina is my sleeper pick to win the NFC South. They swept the Saints and should have swept the Falcons. After Kuechly moved to middle linebacker that defense took off in a big way, finishing in the top 10. Their weighted DVOA by the end of the season ranked 9th- pretty amazing considering that they started 2-8 last season. And while I don't really love Advanced NFL stats ranking system, they had Carolina in the top 5 for the whole season last year, IIRC.

Carolina won 5 or their last 6 and finished 7-9. Other than blowout losses to the Giants and Broncos they were in every game. In so many ways they remind me of the 2011 Seahawks. Also, last summer when GMs were polled about which team would be the biggest up and comer in 2012, Seattle got the most votes, but Carolina came in 2nd.

They were already very tough on both offense and defense and this offseason they picked up Ted Ginn to help their special teams too. They are going to be very tough next year. Unfortunately, we get Carolina on the road again in 2013- it could be our toughest road game next year, and maybe our most important one (outside the division).

Atlanta will make the playoffs at 10-6 as a wildcard. They will have a speedy exit, probably at the hands of Carolina.

The Saints are dangerous but their defense was historically bad last year. They remind me of the Marc Bulger era Rams. Awesome on offense, horrible on defense, doomed to .500 records.

 

[drdiags]

Not buying Saints as a .500 club. They had major distractions last year and I suspect they will rebound under Payton. Tampa started to pick up steam late last year and were considered a threat to take one of the playoff spots late. I think the NFC South is better top to bottom vs the NFC West unless Arizona can get help at QB.

Rams look to be competitive but are slightly less than Tampa. I think the Saints, Falcons and Bucs are above .500 and in the NFC West I am expecting the 9ers and Seahawks to be over .500. Rams are unknown to me but they are going to be stocking too much talent to be less than .500 in the near future. Bradford needs to prove to his doubters that he is a Franchise QB or he could end up being doubted like Freeman is with Tampa.