By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer

The toughest divisions to make a living in the NFL these days
are not the NFC or AFC East. This popular notion has gone the
way of the efficient offense in Washington and Buffalo. It's
disappeared.

To find the most competitive climate in pro football, look to
the north. The AFC North probably is the best sector in the
league, followed closely by the NFC North.

Does that mean the Vikings will face the Steelers in the Super
Bowl? Or the Packers will take on the Bengals? Hardly.

But for weekly excitement and excellence, the old Black and Blue
Divisions are golden.

Consider how the Steelers (5-2) built on their championship not
by diving even deeper into their time-tested philosophy of
winning with the running game and big-time defense. No, these
Steelers can pass with anyone, which has been especially
significant because their running game has stagnated.

What's more electrifying in the NFL than Ben Roethlisberger
creating big plays that seem to come straight from the sandlot,
not the playbook? He did it on the decisive touchdown in the
Super Bowl, and he's kept right on doing it, altering the style
of his team along the way.

"I think some of it comes from that being what the Steelers
always did in the past. I always say you have to keep up with
the times," Roethlisberger said. "That's kind of evolving into a
passing offense league-wide. People talk about the Steelers and
the run game because we want to be physical. When you want to be
physical, people assume that's the run game. But that can mean a
lot of different things.

"I guess you can go all the way back to the '70s and we were a
grind-it-out team. We're not that '70s team. We're our own
identity and that includes a lot of no-huddle stuff. It's been
good."

And consider what the Ravens have become, ranking seventh on
offense and only 13th on defense. Sure, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed
still are in Baltimore and still are difference makers. But the
Ravens are defined just as much by what quarterback Joe Flacco
and the three-pronged running attack does.

"Defense wins championships, but you need the offense to score
points. To be saying we're an offensive team doesn't fit us,"
running back Ray Rice said. "When they talk about this Ravens
team, they're going to say, 'That team is a physical, good
football team.' That's what we aspire to be."

Lest we forget, the Bengals' stunning run of down-to-the-wire
games has marked them not only as a far more resilient bunch
than we can remember representing Cincinnati, but also as a
contender. The Bengals of the past would have floundered after
that fluky last-second loss to Denver in the opener. This team
has flourished.

"Bringing together a group of guys that understand what a team
is all about makes it enjoyable," coach Marvin Lewis said.
"Every time we enter this building, we leave better than we are.
And if we keep doing that, then things will be good."

The rise of the AFC North has overshadowed the collapse of the
AFC East through eight weeks. At 5-2, the Patriots are about
where everyone expected, even if they were anything but dominant
until the last two games. Then again those routs, by a combined
84-7, came against Tennessee and Tampa Bay, both winless when
they were crushed by New England.

What has happened to the rest of the division? Remember, Miami
won the AFC East a year ago, going 11-5 and unveiling the
wildcat, which has spread like, well, wildfire through the
league. The Dolphins are 3-4, with two of those victories over
the Jets, and if they lose at Foxborough on Sunday, the division
race pretty much becomes a Patriots jog to the playoffs.

For all the bluster coming out of Jets camp, they have had
breakdowns in every facet of football, negating a 3-0 start.
While the Jets are a thousand times more entertaining under Rex
Ryan than the dour Eric Mangini, they're still headed for a .500
season that would be worse than their record under Mangini in
2008.

Buffalo? That Terrell Owens-Lee Evans combo has a total of 46
catches and four TDs. Not much improvement or excitement there.

Over in the NFC, the North has one dominant squad and two
wild-card contenders. It also has an elan somewhat lacking in
the other divisions.

Even some Cheeseheads would now have to admit watching that
graybeard guy at quarterback for the Vikings is enthralling -
especially after what Brett Favre has done to the Packers twice
already. No game had more intriguing elements than Favre's
return to Lambeau Field, and he certainly delivered.

The Vikings as a whole are delivering, too, thanks to a superb
pass rush led by Jared Allen, and the best running back in
football, Adrian Peterson. But that doesn't make Green Bay or
Chicago an also-ran.

Consider that the Packers have lost only to Minnesota (6-1) and
Cincinnati (5-2). The Bears have fallen to Green Bay, Atlanta
and Cincinnati, all winners. In Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler,
they have QBs as capable as Favre. They trail behind mainly
because each has a major weakness on the offensive line that
plays directly into Minnesota's hands.

While the NFC East has three teams all capable of making the
postseason, those teams' dominance has gone missing.

New York started 5-0, then was routed by New Orleans and
Philadelphia and outmuscled by Arizona. The Giants' secondary is
a sieve and teams are bulking up to thwart the pass rush that
has become their only real line of defense.

Philadelphia and Dallas are an enigmatic 5-2. When at full
strength, which has been very rare through seven games, the
Eagles are dynamic on offense, efficient on defense. Then they
throw in the biggest stinker of the year by any favorite, losing
at Oakland.

The Cowboys are on a three-game roll and they're finally
pressuring quarterbacks. But the pass defense is mediocre and
they have just nine takeaways; winless Tampa Bay has 11.

So, for now, let's shift the spotlight from East to North.