Week 1 Preseason Chatter Thread - 8/8/13

[ravidubey]

Their organizational vision and identity gives them an edge.

To me, they are a lot like the Landry teams in the mid-1980s. They did not look good on paper, but they had that edge that made things easier.

Division strength matters a lot. Dallas faced average competition in the NFC East in the 1970s so they made the playoffs almost every year. Same with the 49ers of the 1980s.

Now it's the whole AFC.

Outside of a couple of Rex Ryan's early years with the Jets, the Pats' division has been a freaking joke since 2000. The Texans had such a cakewalk in 2011 they won the division with their 3rd string QB. Peyton Manning chose Denver because the AFC West is the weakest in football.

The Steelers have simply lost those two automatic wins they used to get from the Bengals, though I guess they'll always have Cleveland so the bottom will never truly fall out. But the arrow is pointed down in Pittsburgh.

 

[Texas Ace]

Division strength matters a lot. Dallas faced average competition in the NFC East in the 1970s so they made the playoffs almost every year. Same with the 49ers of the 1980s.

Now it's the whole AFC.

Outside of a couple of Rex Ryan's early years with the Jets, the Pats' division has been a freaking joke since 2000. The Texans had such a cakewalk in 2011 they won the division with their 3rd string QB. Peyton Manning chose Denver because the AFC West is the weakest in football.

The Steelers have simply lost those two automatic wins they used to get from the Bengals, though I guess they'll always have Cleveland so the bottom will never truly fall out. But the arrow is pointed down in Pittsburgh.

Well said, and I agree.