Is it time for divisional realignment (i.e. get out of the NFCE)?

[JoeKing]

The anointing of the Commanders got me thinking, now that there's unequivocally no more "Cowboys vs Indians" rivalry, why are we still in the NFCE?

Are our NFCE rivalries that strong anymore?

Are we in it for the Eastern US media markets (...I can actually buy that one).

What say you? At what point do the Cowboys swap, for instance, with Tampa Bay, Carolina, or Atlanta and go into the NFC South?

You sound like a clueless fan that has no knowledge of the history of the Cowboys or the significance of this team being in the NFC East.

The Dallas Cowboys will always be in the NFC East!

 

[Flamma]

The anointing of the Commanders got me thinking, now that there's unequivocally no more "Cowboys vs Indians" rivalry, why are we still in the NFCE?

Are our NFCE rivalries that strong anymore?

Are we in it for the Eastern US media markets (...I can actually buy that one).

What say you? At what point do the Cowboys swap, for instance, with Tampa Bay, Carolina, or Atlanta and go into the NFC South?

Carolina would be the most logical team to swap with.

 

[CowboyinMD]

You sound like a clueless fan that has no knowledge of the history of the Cowboys or the significance of this team being in the NFC East.

The Dallas Cowboys will always be in the NFC East!

Clueless? I've been a fan since the mid 70s, not long after the used to be in the Capitol division.

I don't get excited about playing the Eagles, Giants, or Commanders anymore either, TBH.

 

[CowboyinMD]

I should add...

I live outside of DC and Baltimore (Crofton MD), so yeah I wouldn't mind them staying in the east because of the TV regional coverage. As long as the Commanders aren't playing, Dallas is typically the FOX game, or CBS game when they're home vs an AFC team.

 

[Acceptablename]

We’re doing going to be the worst division in the NFL forever.

 

[OmerV]

We’re doing going to be the worst division in the NFL forever.

Why? When has any NFL division stayed at exactly the same place in perpetuity?

 

[Doomsday101]

Why? When has any NFL division stayed at exactly the same place in perpetuity?

People love to post the dramatics.

 

[charron]

winning a weak div means being one and done in playoffs, just like this year, so it doesnt do you much good really does it?

So making things hopeless is better? Yes I know we won't actually get to the SB but false hope is all we have. Anywhere else and we won't have that it'd be perpetual last place. Even those last place teams have more playoff wins than we do over the last 25 years. I just want to pretend we have hope damit.

 

[shabazz]

……just don’t swap us out with an AFC team…….a certain player would never sniff another Pro Bowl…..let alone playoff win

 

[CoachD]

Ummmmmm no it's not!

 

[Vanilla2]

Never going to happen. No chance we ever even see the hope of play offs in a stronger division.

We will be NFC East forever.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the nfl is that it’s definitely not cyclical.

 

[CouchCoach]

It is the only division in the NFL with all 4 teams in the top 9 TV markets with 3 in the top 5, NY, PHL and DAL. Be hard convincing those 4 owners to move.

I always thought it made more sense to regionalize it and have Dallas in with Houston, New Orleans, Tennessee.

 

[atlantacowboy]

I think the rivalry angle is dying out. The historical stadiums have been torn down. The legendary players and coaches are long gone. I think the era of free agency and the salary cap have destroyed the ability of teams to maintain a certain character that makes rivalries interesting. Rosters are now so fluid most fans couldn't name half the players on the team. I knew the entire roster of the Dallas Cowboys by number when I was 6 years old ....... and it was pretty much the same the following year. You knew the players. There is just not enough roster continuity now for any new rivalries to take root.



I just don't care anymore who we play. New Orleans is no different in feel than the WFT. The Cowboys belong in the NFC SOUTH. We should swap Carolina and call it a day.

 

[OmerV]

So making things hopeless is better? Yes I know we won't actually get to the SB but false hope is all we have. Anywhere else and we won't have that it'd be perpetual last place. Even those last place teams have more playoff wins than we do over the last 25 years. I just want to pretend we have hope damit.

That's a considerable exaggeration. We clearly would not be last place in every other division in the NFL, and there is no such thing as "perpetual". If there was the Bengals would not be in the Super Bowl, and the Patriots wouldn't have got eliminated early in the playoffs.

Well, maybe "perpetual last place" applies to the Lions ...

 

[pancakeman]

See what happens when the NFL adds teams. They are going have to keep it even somehow which means adding in multiples of 8 (one team for each division) or combining divisions and increasing the number of teams in each.

NFL has been fine with some divisions of 4 teams and some of 5 in the past. The very neat dividing that comes with 32 teams (and RIP 16 games) is a relatively new thing.

 

[sunalsorises]

NFL has been fine with some divisions of 4 teams and some of 5 in the past. The very neat dividing that comes with 32 teams (and RIP 16 games) is a relatively new thing.

As far back as I can remember there were 3 divisions in each conference with 5 teams in each (total of 30 teams). The Browns got added in expansion and the AFC Central had an extra team for a year or two until the Houston Texans came along (maybe in 2001 or 2002) to make an even number of teams again and prompted realignment. Each conference ended up with 4 divisions and Seattle got assigned to the NFC. It seems like the NFL wants to keep things even. I could see a division having an extra team short term but I don't see it being a new normal. I don't ever remember there being an odd number of games so I imagine the NFL will go to 18 games as soon as possible to make that even.

 

[HanD]

We'll play in the Jones Boyz division.

The dysfunctional owners division.

 

[nalam]

Turkey Day hasn't been kind to the Cowboys lately. They do make us gag on our turkey.

Was thay denver game or raiders game this year . Pis$ed with that raiders game loss , we had the chance to win by coming back and taking it to OT….

ST error and QB stupidity killed our drive and refs handed that in a golden platter by PI ( Brown) to raiders.

 

[cowboyec]

no.

 

[mattjames2010]

From a geographical standpoint, it is pretty stupid. But the people here talking about "tradition"

Nobody, outside of hardcore Cowboys fans, really cares about Cowboys and Commanders rivalry. One has sucked for so long that who the hell are they even rivals with? It was the same with some of you thinking the 49ers were still our heated rivals from the 90s. They're not. I would say MAYBE the Giants because our recent beatings from them in 2007 and 2011 sting, but even that was over a decade ago.

You could move the Cowboys to the South and nobody would care all that much and the NFL would continue moving.