Which NFL conference is better? AFC of NFC?

[cookieman12]

AFC

NFC

[sketchy]

The NFC.
The AFC only has the Patriots and Steelers.
The NFC has the Eagles, Saints, Rams and Vikings.
Having said that, all those six teams have had very easy schedules, so it's hard to gauge exactly how good any of them really are.

From what I've seen though, the SuperBowl looks like a three-horse race between the Patriots, Steelers and Saints - with the Saints being my clear favorites to win (no, I'm not a Saints fan).

[madhatters4]

seems you are disrespecting my eagles. best run offense in the league (average 200+ yds per game), Qb leads the league in TDs, Defense has allowed only 1 100 yard rusher all year, haven't allowed a TD in over a month, and only getting better

[sketchy]

@madhatters4 Like I said, the Eagles have a great record and impressive stats - but they've played cupcakes!
I can let them off for losing to Kansas City, because the Chiefs were actually playing well back then, but still - Carolina are the ONLY team with a winning record that the Eagles have beaten, and their other opponents have included the 49ers (1-10), Giants (2-9), Broncos (3-8) and Bears (3-8) - basically, every really terrible team in the league, except for the Browns.
The Seahawks should definitely be more of a test - at least for the defense - but again, their secondary is pretty banged up right now...
Anyway, I'm not saying the Eagles are bad - just that they haven't proven anything yet, and I wouldn't be even slightly surprised if they were one-and-done in the playoffs.

[madhatters4]

there schedule is fair to point out but who are the patriots playing that is so much better? they loss by a worse margin than the eagles to the chiefs. beat the broncos by a smaller margin than the eagles beat the broncos, lost to the panthers. the only games against good competition they won was against the falcons and saints

the steelers lost to the jags and bears. barely beat the hapless colts. and play in a division where they play the browns twice. their best competition this year was against the vikings

i don't disagree that the eagles have played some bad teams but they've played a similar level of competition the steelers and pats have played. i do think this 3 game road trip (esp vs the seahawks and rams) will go a long way to firm up the battle readiness. but the reality is the league is top heavy. about 5 good teams a lot of filler so every team on top has played a rather easy schedule.

[sketchy]

@madhatters4 I did say that all of the top 6 teams have had easy schedules.
The difference with the Patriots and Steelers is that we already know what we're getting with them - they're basically unchanged from last season. It's the same personnel, same coaching and same results. Brady and Roethlisberger are a year older, and Blount has moved to the Eagles, but that's about it. The Eagles are a substantially different team from last season, so we won't know how good they are until they actually face a decent opponent.

[madhatters4]

well they were in the game against KC and within 3 points til the 3rd quarter and beat a playoff caliber team in north carolina.

i'm a huge philly fan and conditioned after years of failure to be weary of success but it's hard to not look at what they do on the field (50+ points against one of the best defensives in football in the broncos, held the leagues 3rd leading rusher to 33 yards this last sunday) and see they have the talent, scheme, and leadership to go very far

love good sports debate... wish there was more of it on this site

[sketchy]

@madhatters4
So they finally played a good team, and it didn't go well... They got a bit unlucky (eg. Wentz fumbling at the goalline), but never looked like they might win. The Rams next week should be another good test, and our last chance to judge them before the playoffs (after that, it's 2 very easy games, and what should be a meaningless final game against the Cowboys, where I guess they will be resting starters etc).

[madhatters4]

rubbing it in? haha just kidding. that game was brutal to watch. coaching looked over matched, undisciplined play (all the penalties), poor game plan again wilson (should've contained instead of pursuing him)... but still in seattle against a super bowl caliber team i'm not overly concerned.

they have a fairly easy schedule after LA. it will be interesting this loss means that game 16 against the cowboys could still have home field advantage implications.

[sketchy]

@madhatters4
Well the Eagles won. Just one slight problem though...

[madhatters4]

don't remind me... ugh. shockingly they are still somehow 4th in vegas' pick to win the super bowl (behind the steelers, vkings and patriots). not sure how that's possible

[sketchy]

@madhatters4
I feel your pain - he was my QB in fantasy (now I'm relying on Cam Newton). At least my main rival has Jeffery and Ertz...
To be fair, Nick Foles is not bad. I'm always a bit sceptical when someone comes out of nowhere and has a great season, like Wentz this year (or Foles in 2013) - makes me wonder how much of the success is down to the system and supporting cast anyway (Alshon Jeffery is *really* good), and maybe there won't be such a big drop-off.

I know what you mean, but who are you going to put above them? I'd say there are 5 distinct tiers:

1. Patriots, Steelers, Saints (the elite)
2. Seahawks, Jaguars, Rams, Panthers (capable of beating anyone on their day)
3. Ravens, Chargers, Vikings, Cowboys, Falcons (above average but not Super Bowl contenders)
4. - everyone else - (mediocre)
5. Browns, 49ers, Giants, Texans, Colts, Broncos (really awful)

For now at least, Eagles are borderline second tier.

[madhatters4]

i think wentz's is showing a natural and hopefully expected progression of a #2 pick. Foles you are right came out of left field with the 27td 2int season. i think his progression is bolstered with a better playing defense, WR additions (like jeffrey), better TE play from Ertz and Trey Burton and the addition of the RB's

i think the eagles still are a strong team. they have a 3 headed rushing attack which can be leaned on to help foles manage games. their defense will have to step up in a big way. if they can get homefield advantage (and their schedule is pretty cake through the end of the season) it will help a huge amount in the playoffs bringing teams like the saints out of the dome or not having to go to seattle potentially to play the seahawks

by the way which team are you a fan of?

[sketchy]

@madhatters4
We will see...
And I'm British, so not a natural fan of any particular team - I tried it a couple times with the Ravens and Seahawks, but they both immediately won the SuperBowl, and I didn't want to look like a "glory supporter" (same with baseball and the Red Sox - they have me to thank for their first World Series in 86 years; unfortunately for the Canucks though, my gift doesn't seem to extend to hockey). But, yeah, I'm leaning towards the Saints this year, and I think the Chargers are a dark horse too (note that I'm never going to say Patriots, just on principle - and probably not the Steelers either, since they no longer have Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis or any of my other old favorites).
Also, I've just moved to Slovakia for the winter, so probably won't see another game this season anyway (maybe the Super Bowl itself, if I'm lucky).

[madhatters4]

haha well you can be an eagles fan... little fear of being labeled a glory supporter since we've never won a super bowl

[hannahbanana11]

AFC AFC AFC

[hannahbanana11]

Thxxx for MHO

[madhatters4]

this year the NFC for sure.
Fly Eagles Fly!!

[Other_Tommy_Wiseau]

NFC and it's not close.

[Iron_Man]

AFC East go Miami Dolphins

[outsidecurve]

Good luck making the playoffs lol

[Iron_Man]

The future will be bright

[Iron_Man]

Who's your team?

[outsidecurve]

Rams

[Iron_Man]

We beat you guys last year

[outsidecurve]

Last year doesn't mean anything lol. We have a new coach, new city, new receivers, and leading the league in scoring.

[Iron_Man]

Will see how you guys do this year. You have to deal with the Eagles the Vikings the Redskins etc etc

[outsidecurve]

And you have to deal with Jay Cutler 😂😂

[Iron_Man]

He's a crappy quarterback I never wanted him on the team. He will be in broadcasting next year

[Iron_Man]

Let's see how your Los Angeles Rams do today against the New Orleans Saints good luck with that lol. By the way when Miami beat them last year it was in Los Angeles and they were the Los Angeles Rams last year

[CT_CD]

NFC.

Carolina Panthers will win Super Bowl 52