NFL 2015: Who has the toughest division?

The National Football League is broken into two conferences, with each conference housing four divisions; the East, North, South and West. While fans are always comparing their teams to the other 31 across the league, it is really a wasted exercise. If your team is better than the other three in its respective division, you are guaranteed the playoffs and at least one home game.

While the macro picture is always focused on and analyzed time and again, its the micro which should be driving the conversation. For example, the Indianapolis Colts are a talented team, but would have something to worry about if they played in a different division. However, they play in the AFC South, so their fans can get a nice long nap in and be woken up in January.

For each division, the picture is a totally different image. There are obvious advantages of playing in a weak group, but there are some benefits of being tested throughout the year as well. Without further hesitation, let’s look at each division from weakest to strongest.

8. NFC South

You had to know this was coming. Last year, the Carolina Panthers became only the second team in league history to win their division with a losing record at 7-8-1. However, Carolina showed it was a worthy postseason participant by beating the Arizona Cardinals (albeit with Ryan Lindley) before falling on the road to the Seattle Seahawks.

The rest of this division is mediocre and/or terrible. The Atlanta Falcons have solid offensive weapons and a nice quarterback in Matt Ryan, but the defense was the league’s worst in 2014 and doesn’t look much better now. The New Orleans Saints are the best bet to bounce back in the South, but they also have a suspect defense which lost its leading tackler from last year in middle linebacker Curtis Lofton.

Perhaps the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can make a jump from 2-14 to playoff contender with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston taking the reins. Once more, Tampa Bay is another team in this division with ample offensive potential but a limited defense. Look for a ton of 34-31 contests played between these teams except when Carolina is involved.

Next: Indy and the invalids...