At 6-2 overall, with the only two losses coming in inter-division games, is the AFC East better than advertised?
Raj: I think it is better than advertised. People will always say that the AFC is not a competitive division. But right now, the AFC East's overall record is better than those in the entire NFC, AFC South, and AFC North. Only the AFC West has the same record as the AFC East. You can debate which is the better division but if you can debate, that pretty much means the division is much better than advertised.
Jason: Nope, the AFC East still blows. Who has the AFC East beaten? Of the four out-of-division wins, only one was on the road (Miami's win over the hapless Browns). The other three were against middling teams, and by a total of six points. When AFC East teams hit the road against quality teams, the losses will start piling up. Only the Dolphins have a realistic shot at playing .500 ball, and that's mostly because they have four games remaining against the Bills and Jets and already have two wins.
Derek: I'd say it's definitely better than advertised, if only because it was pegged as the clear-cut worst division in the NFL. Heading into the season, most people would have predicted the Patriots to run away with the division, for Miami to be a borderline playoff team, and for the Jets and Bills to be AFC bottom-feeders. Two weeks in, I'd still go along with those predictions, but I don't think that the Jets and the Bills will be quite as awful as expected. They both have solid defenses and they have rookie quarterbacks who should improve with time. At this point, I don't see the Jaguars, Browns, Raiders, Chargers, Titans, or Steelers as being heads and shoulders above the Jets and Bills.
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