Divisional Smackdown Round 2: NFC North vs East, AFC East vs West

The FanSided Divisional Smackdown is headed to the Semi-Finals pitting the NFC North vs the NFC East and the AFC East vs the AFC West.

In the NFC matchup, the NFC North appears to have a clear advantage on offense, with Aaron Rodgers and Adrian Peterson headlining over Tony Romo and Felix Jones.  I still challenge another division to come up with a more formidable pair of defensive ends than Julius Peppers and Jared Allen.

On the AFC side, it’s tough to beat the skill position players that the AFC East puts out there with Tom Brady and Ronnie Brown in the backfield and Randy Moss, Brandon Marshall and Lee Evans at the wide receiver slots.  The AFC West is respectable with Phillip Rivers at the helm, but Jamaal Charles and the trio of Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd and Dwayne Bowe just don’t stack up.

I’ve been telling anyone who will listen that the Bears face an uphill climb this season in large part due to their schedule and FanSided readers agree.  Why?  Because aside from having two dates with each team from their own semi-finalist NFC North, they also square off with two other semi-finalists from the NFC East and AFC East.

We’ll check back later this season to see how the matchups turn out once the games are played, but on paper, it looks like we should be treated to some really competitive and interesting Sundays this fall.

Football season is right around the corner and I can hardly wait.  Go vote!