This is the NFL’s toughest division?

You've probably read in this space and in our newspaper a time or two that the NFC South is arguably the toughest division in football. Notice, however, you haven't seen us make this claim recently, even if there are some in the Bucs locker room who continue to make this assertion.

I'm not buying it any longer.

Look at the mess this division has become. What once was a division whose champion was likely to do damage in the playoffs now is the NFL's clearance rack. I mean, come on: the Bucs have basically stumbled their way to 5-4. The Panthers (4-5) are going around losing to the Falcons (3-6). And the Saints (4-5), well, is it me or are they Team Schizo?

Just look at history and contrast it to the present. Only once in the five seasons since realignment has the winner of the NFC South won fewer than 11 games (the Saints went 10-6 last season). This season, it'll be surprising if anyone sniffs 10 wins.

And in each of those aforementioned five seasons, a team from the NFC South reached the NFC Championship Game. Twice (the Bucs in '02 and the Panthers in '03) the division winner reached the Super Bowl. I'm willing to bet my lunch money that this ain't happening in '07.

There are many factors in the downfall of the division, particularly the loss of key players. Atlanta lost Michael Vick and Carolina lost Jake Delhomme, for example. And we don't need to go through the litany of Bucs injuries for the umpteenth time, do we? Still, we're talking about a division where the combined winning percentage is .444.

There are other pathetic divisions out there. The NFC West also has a lone team above .500, as does the AFC West. But teams from those divisions haven't had nearly as much recent success as teams from the NFC South, so it's not a surprise.

For the record, if you ask me, the toughest division for my money is the AFC South. You've got Indianapolis, Tennessee, Jacksonville and Houston. They all manage to beat each other while remaining pretty dominant outside the division.

If nothing else, there's at least one upside to all this. We know the teams in the NFC South will continue to beat up on each other while losing games they're not supposed to. And when all is said and done, there will be drama right up until the end of the season.