Free Agency Grades For AFC South

[King Colt]

These grades are from NFL.com people so take it or leave it.

Colts    C+

Texans B

Titans  C

Jags    A+

In any case this once boring and predictable division is tighter now, competition is always better than walk-overs.

[BOTT]

I don't want tougher competition.  I want the colts to walk away with the division every year and be in the mix for the #1 seed. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

56 minutes ago, King Colt said:

These grades are from NFL.com people so take it or leave it.

Colts    C+

Texans B

Titans  C

Jags    A+

In any case this once boring and predictable division is tighter now, competition is always better than walk-overs.

 

NOT if you want to win division and secure home field advantage with a bye.

[21isSuperman]

I don't think it matters whether our division is strong or weak.  If you want to be the best team in the league, you have to be able to beat everyone else.  So even if we end up being in a very tough division with 3 other teams that are extremely talented and competitive, if we want to be Super Bowl champions and be the best team in the league, we have to be able to be anyone and everyone.  If we can't win a tough division, we won't win the Super Bowl anyway.

[BPindy]

4 hours ago, BOTT said:

I don't want tougher competition.  I want the colts to walk away with the division every year and be in the mix for the #1 seed. 

 

That is the worst mentality to have, and I sincerely hope no one on the Colts has it. To win the Super Bowl, you have to beat the best. If you can't even beat your division, no matter how good it is, you don't deserve to be there. If the division is competitive, it will harden the team during the season anyways. You don't want to be playing weak competition and then all of a sudden run into a wall you weren't prepared for.

[BOTT]

Just now, bap03Colts said:

 

That is the worst mentality to have, and I sincerely hope no one on the Colts has it. To win the Super Bowl, you have to beat the best. If you can't even beat your division, no matter how good it is, you don't deserve to be there. If the division is competitive, it will harden the team during the season anyways. You don't want to be playing weak competition and then all of a sudden run into a wall you weren't prepared for.

Yeah, the patriots playing in the brutal afc east sharpened their runs to multiple Super Bowls.  How can one forget those epic battles against the bills, dolphins and the mighty jersey jets?

[shakedownstreet]

49 minutes ago, bap03Colts said:

 

That is the worst mentality to have, and I sincerely hope no one on the Colts has it. To win the Super Bowl, you have to beat the best. If you can't even beat your division, no matter how good it is, you don't deserve to be there. If the division is competitive, it will harden the team during the season anyways. You don't want to be playing weak competition and then all of a sudden run into a wall you weren't prepared for.

 

no you get home field & hope for a little luck

[Nesjan3]

are division getting better will only help us, because as stated above if you want to be good and win championships you have to be able to beat everyone, which we have had a hard time with Pit and Ne since the Luck era began, even before that lol, maybe some tighter competition will toughen the team up a bit. It hopefully will also put an end to the stigma that we make the playoffs every year because we play in the worst division, even when divisions like the NFC East and south have recently been clearly worse, but still get the media attention because they are high profile teams. I swear the NFC East could be the worst division every year and still get most of the media attention, and then people will pick the Cowboys as superbowl contenders the following offseason LMAO!

[BPindy]

17 hours ago, BOTT said:

Yeah, the patriots playing in the brutal afc east sharpened their runs to multiple Super Bowls.  How can one forget those epic battles against the bills, dolphins and the mighty jersey jets?

 

AFC East has been better than the AFC South, that's for sure.

[Cynjin]

4 minutes ago, bap03Colts said:

 

AFC East has been better than the AFC South, that's for sure.

 

Only in the last couple of years, prior to that the AFC South has been a stronger division than the AFC East.  The point being that playing in a relatively weak division did not adversely affect the Patriots ability to play deep into the playoffs.

[BPindy]

2 hours ago, Cynjin said:

 

Only in the last couple of years, prior to that the AFC South has been a stronger division than the AFC East.  The point being that playing in a relatively weak division did not adversely affect the Patriots ability to play deep into the playoffs.

 

Actually no, the AFC East has been the strongest division of the past decade, going by non-division wins by all the teams. 

 

www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2014/nfl-division-strength-2002-2013

[bayone]

On 3/18/2016 at 5:02 PM, bayone said:

 

 

On 3/19/2016 at 11:34 AM, King Colt said:

These grades are from NFL.com people so take it or leave it.

Colts    C+

Texans B

Titans  C

Jags    A+

In any case this once boring and predictable division is tighter now,

 

competition is always better than walk-overs.

 

On 3/19/2016 at 0:10 PM, BOTT said:

I don't want tougher competition.  I want the colts to walk away with the division every year and be in the mix for the #1 seed. 

 

On 3/19/2016 at 0:33 PM, LJpalmbeacher said:

 

NOT if you want to win division and secure home field advantage with a bye.

 

personally I want the Colts to get that top seed but if u run through your division so easily, u miss 1 thing , division games which are important games u want to win but u want competitive battles that harden u in those big games to better prepare u for the competitive playoffs

[crazycolt1]

20 hours ago, bap03Colts said:

 

That is the worst mentality to have, and I sincerely hope no one on the Colts has it. To win the Super Bowl, you have to beat the best. If you can't even beat your division, no matter how good it is, you don't deserve to be there. If the division is competitive, it will harden the team during the season anyways. You don't want to be playing weak competition and then all of a sudden run into a wall you weren't prepared for.

Just how is that the worst mentality to have? Every team in the NFL would like to have easier teams to play during the year. It makes no difference come playoff time. The goal is to get the highest seed in the playoffs and get home field advantage. The key to advancing in the playoffs sometimes comes down to your team being healthy and the luck of a hand full of plays going your way. Every season we see teams win in the playoffs who are not more talented that the team they beat. This is not Baseball or Basketball where the team wins the best of a series.

[bayone]

On 3/18/2016 at 2:51 PM, SilentHill said:

 

 

On 3/18/2016 at 2:53 PM, crazycolt1 said:

 

 

On 3/19/2016 at 11:34 AM, King Colt said:

These grades are from NFL.com people so take it or leave it.

Colts    C+

Texans B

Titans  C

Jags    A+

In any case this once boring and predictable division is tighter now, competition is always better than walk-overs.

 

On 3/19/2016 at 0:10 PM, BOTT said:

I don't want tougher competition.  I want the colts to walk away with the division every year and be in the mix for the #1 seed. 

 

On 3/19/2016 at 0:33 PM, LJpalmbeacher said:

 

NOT if you want to win division and secure home field advantage with a bye.

 

This is simply a  post as seems i can post without reposting these, even if on unrealted topics or threads

6 minutes ago, bayone said:

 

 

 

 

personally I want the Colts to get that top seed but if u run through your division so easily, u miss 1 thing , division games which are important games u want to win but u want competitive battles that harden u in those big games to better prepare u for the competitive playoffs

This is simply a  post as seems i can post without reposting these, even if on unrealted topics or threads

[King Colt]

Compare this to boxing for example. I want the fighter that has "earned" his/her victories by giving everything that he/she had testing their ability to come out on top in every facet of the match. I recall some critics of Tyson's early fights saying he was not getting the benefit of the matches because they were over in the first round. I want competition even though it's nerve racking (like the NE games).  

[bayone]

1 minute ago, King Colt said:

Compare this to boxing for example. I want the fighter that has "earned" his/her victories by giving everything that he/she had testing their ability to come out on top in every facet of the match. I recall some critics of Tyson's early fights saying he was not getting the benefit of the matches because they were over in the first round. I want competition even though it's nerve racking (like the NE games).  

 

Wins Vs competition is good as long as by season end you get top seed , can still some how be plenty Fresh with much left in the tank yet battle hardened, and minimal minor injuries 

[King Colt]

One thing we always hear regardless of the sport is "yeah they're good but who did they play"? This was often  said of the Colts after the regular season was done and the playoffs were next and I agreed. They were a good team but not really battle tested and it showed when they lost in the playoffs often in the first round.

[Cynjin]

1 hour ago, bap03Colts said:

 

Actually no, the AFC East has been the strongest division of the past decade, going by non-division wins by all the teams. 

 

www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2014/nfl-division-strength-2002-2013

 

Yeah, IF you go by that made up metric.  Which I do not.

[colts8718]

21 hours ago, BOTT said:

Yeah, the patriots playing in the brutal afc east sharpened their runs to multiple Super Bowls.  How can one forget those epic battles against the bills, dolphins and the mighty jersey jets?

Priceless

[2006Coltsbestever]

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 9:50 AM, 21isSuperman said:

I don't think it matters whether our division is strong or weak.  If you want to be the best team in the league, you have to be able to beat everyone else.  So even if we end up being in a very tough division with 3 other teams that are extremely talented and competitive, if we want to be Super Bowl champions and be the best team in the league, we have to be able to be anyone and everyone.  If we can't win a tough division, we won't win the Super Bowl anyway.

Being in a weak Division could get you HFA though which sometimes makes all the difference in the world in beating someone in the AFC Title Game. I would rather play in a weak Division to increase my chances of getting HF.

[Colts_Fan12]

How did we get a C+ Lol

[WoolMagnet]

On March 19, 2016 at 0:50 PM, 21isSuperman said:

I don't think it matters whether our division is strong or weak.  If you want to be the best team in the league, you have to be able to beat everyone else.  So even if we end up being in a very tough division with 3 other teams that are extremely talented and competitive, if we want to be Super Bowl champions and be the best team in the league, we have to be able to be anyone and everyone.  If we can't win a tough division, we won't win the Super Bowl anyway.

This is kinda how i see it too.  The downside would be we won't sneak into the playoffs anymore by a mediocre team beating up a poor division. One would argue you won't yo far in playoffs anyway but sometimes a team can get hot.

if a better division demands better play from the Colts, its a good thing in the big picture i guess.

[BPindy]

6 hours ago, Cynjin said:

 

Yeah, IF you go by that made up metric.  Which I do not.

 

Okay, fair enough. How do you see it?

[BPindy]

7 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Just how is that the worst mentality to have? Every team in the NFL would like to have easier teams to play during the year. It makes no difference come playoff time. The goal is to get the highest seed in the playoffs and get home field advantage. The key to advancing in the playoffs sometimes comes down to your team being healthy and the luck of a hand full of plays going your way. Every season we see teams win in the playoffs who are not more talented that the team they beat. This is not Baseball or Basketball where the team wins the best of a series.

 

I disagree, I think it does make a difference come playoff time. I understand all it takes it a different bounce of the ball, but if you've been playing tough competition all year, you're simply going to be more prepared when you go against those top defenses

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, bap03Colts said:

 

I disagree, I think it does make a difference come playoff time. I understand all it takes it a different bounce of the ball, but if you've been playing tough competition all year, you're simply going to be more prepared when you go against those top defenses

IMO there is too much parity in the NFL. Every week there are what are called upsets. Even the worst teams can win at any time. If you look at the history of super bowl winners there is no evidence that I can find that shows the super bowls winners play in what is known as the toughest schedules. It would not surprise me to find out most of the super bowls winners had an easier path than not. It would be interesting to look at that.

[BPindy]

25 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

IMO there is too much parity in the NFL. Every week there are what are called upsets. Even the worst teams can win at any time. If you look at the history of super bowl winners there is no evidence that I can find that shows the super bowls winners play in what is known as the toughest schedules. It would not surprise me to find out most of the super bowls winners had an easier path than not. It would be interesting to look at that.

 

I would be curious as well. I understand that the teams with easier paths have a better situation in the playoffs, my whole point was that you don't want to go into a season thinking "I want to play easy games so I have an easy path to the championship" 

[crazycolt1]

49 minutes ago, bap03Colts said:

 

I would be curious as well. I understand that the teams with easier paths have a better situation in the playoffs, my whole point was that you don't want to go into a season thinking "I want to play easy games so I have an easy path to the championship" 

I think the players look at the schedules at the start of the season but then it goes into the week to week mode. These are professional NFL players. They all know there is no easy way to the playoffs. You slack, you lose. That's with every game on the schedule no matter who they are playing. If they don't play the best they can or up to their capabilities, then someone is losing their job sooner or later.

[Cynjin]

On March 21, 2016 at 8:00 PM, bap03Colts said:

 

Okay, fair enough. How do you see it?

 

I see the AFC East as being one of the weaker divisions in the NFL in the past 15 years.  Then overarching point is that being in a realativley weak division has not stopped the Patriots from being successful.  With the proper management and coaching it should not matter if the Colts are in a weak or strong division.  In fact an argument could be made either way on which is better.

[dynasty13]

1 hour ago, Cynjin said:

 

I see the AFC East as being one of the weaker divisions in the NFL in the past 15 years.  Then overarching point is that being in a realativley weak division has not stopped the Patriots from being successful.  With the proper management and coaching it should not matter if the Colts are in a weak or strong division.  In fact an argument could be made either way on which is better.

 

There's something to be said too about what the team does outside of the division, too. The difference with what those Patriots teams did was not only did they beat the teams they should beat...those bills/dolphins/jets....but they also won against the harder teams so they were battle tested come playoff time. The criticism with the Colts over the years is that they could beat up on their division all day long, but when it came to beating the other teams on their schedule, they had a pretty mediocre record and they struggled come playoff time. 

 

You are absolutely right about the fact that an argument can be made either way on which is better. There is nothing wrong with getting those 'free wins' against crappy opponents as long as you are also able to stand your ground against the better teams.