AFC East: What If the Indianapolis Colts Were Still Around?

Imagine the extent of the rivalry. Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning twice a year. The eccentric Rex Ryan vs the mellow coaches who have led Indianapolis through the years. Bill Polian vs the Buffalo Bills would have been intriguing while it lasted. The lights of Miami vs the warmth of Lucas Oil Stadium.

If the NFL never expanded to 32 teams, the AFC East would have been the most rugged, difficult, and most competitive division in all of the NFL.

How would the Buffalo Bills be affected? Easy. They would have made the playoffs at least once this past decade. Playing elite quarterbacks in Brady and Manning multiple times in a season would have forced Buffalo to spend big bucks on proven players. The rebuilding process would have to take ten months, not ten years.

Those games vs the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts would have been easy sellouts. Maybe the Bills would be forced to have a big name coach and quality scouts, like Polian, to actually build the team through the draft. The success of the Colts and Patriots would give the Bills exposure to how good franchises run and maybe they could have learned a thing or two and played in a playoff game.

How would the Miami Dolphins be affected? Maybe they themselves could land a quarterback. Ever since the Colts moved to the AFC South, Miami has had decent teams with mediocre-at-best quarterbacks. A good free agent quarterback would want to go to a division with the likes of Manning and Brady. Maybe he could diminish their success or get major national attention if he out performs Brady or Manning. The Dolphins would sell out games and make lots of money whenever Brady or Manning played.

How would the New York Jets be affected? Rex Ryan would talk up a storm and the Jets would have a quality team. They could benefit from all of the attention being focused on New England and Indianapolis. It would be possible for them to fly under the radar and develop a quality, technical football team. Maybe the city could, for once, belong to them if the Jets advanced further than the Colts or the Patriots. Rex Ryan would make sure he still gets the attention he thrives on, but maybe the Jets could finally back up their talk.

And lastly, how would the New England Patriots be affected? Games against Indy would be mini-Super Bowls. Every day preceding the game would be all about the two quarterbacks. Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? Take your pick. The debate would be never-ending and each game would add more to the story.

Having a similar schedule would make comparisons of the two teams more accurate. Bill Belichick would create some genius game plans and games would come down to the wire. The Colts vs the Patriots has been considered the best rivalry in football over the past few seasons. Imagine what would happen if they were guaranteed games against each other?

It is probably better that the NFL balanced the league out and relocated the Colts to the AFC South. Still, imagine if the Colts were still in the AFC East. The level of play and intensity would be ridiculously high and television viewers would love the games.

The Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning debate would be taken to new levels and such a rivalry would be good for the game. Now for the question: Would the Patriots and the Colts be as successful as they were in the 2000's if they were in the same division?