Geography, rivals key to NFL leagues

With the addition of the 32nd team, the Houston Texans, to the league in 2002, the NFL sees it necessary to realign the entire league. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and his consultants are considering where each team should be placed and have promised a decision will be announced in March.\nThe league has decided to abandon the system in which each of the two conferences have three divisions. There will be eight divisions (four per conference) of four teams. \nWhile the league should start over completely, it has become obvious the NFL is trying to keep as many teams in their current conferences as possible. Under those guidelines, I have come up with a realignment structure of my own, in which only four teams switch over. I based my divisions mostly on geography and rivalries:\nAFC\nEAST\nNew York Jets, Buffalo, New England, Miami\nAll the teams are in the AFC East, and should be, geographically. This keeps intact the rivalry between the Patriots and the Jets.\nCENTRAL\nCincinnati, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Tennessee\nAll the teams compete in the same division. Breaking up either of the Browns' rivalries with the Bengals or the Steelers would upset all of Cleveland, as those games are about all they have to look forward to.\nMIDWEST\nIndianapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Denver\nThis division is new because it brings the Rams from the NFC West, and the Colts from the AFC East. The Rams have possibilities for two new rivalries with the in-state Chiefs and the Colts. The Broncos might remain in the West to remain true to geography, but, aside from Kansas City who will remain in Denver's division, the distance from Denver to its nearest division opponent (Oakland) is further than its furthest opponent under this plan (Indianapolis).\nWEST\nSeattle, Arizona, Oakland, San Diego\nMany people would hate to see the Cardinals move to the AFC, but I feel it would help them. It is absurd that they are in the NFC East, and they need to be in a division with some closer opponents. This is a franchise that needs some kind of identity, and maybe by switching over, that can be created.\nNFC\nEAST\nPhiladelphia, New York Giants, Washington, Baltimore\nThe Ravens have a new franchise and have little seniority in the AFC. An obvious rivalry with the Redskins would be created, which should ease the pain of Dallas moving out.\nCENTRAL\nGreen Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago\nThe NFC Norris, as ESPN's Chris Berman likes to call it, is the easiest division to predict because there are countless rivalries, and all four teams are close geographically.\nSOUTH\nAtlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville\nThis division has obvious geographic reasons, and a Florida rivalry in the making. Jacksonville might not want to move to the NFC, but it is young to the league.\nSOUTHWEST\nNew Orleans, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco\nSan Francisco is nowhere close geographically to the rest of the three teams, but its rivalry with the Cowboys will explode if they meet twice a year. The battle of Texas will be at stake, and while the old Oilers were an AFC team, I think the ownership in Houston should try to forget about the past as quickly as possible and try to create a completely new image for the city and football.\nThese divisions are balanced for the most part, but in the NFL, that should not matter, as teams change so rapidly. The strongest divisions would appear to be the AFC Midwest and the AFC East, but in three years, anything can happen.