NFL Predictions Special - NFC

I am already regretting some of the picks I made during the AFC Predictions Special after taking into consideration some of last week's performances, most notably Carson Palmer's, but I will stand by my picks.

As I gloated before, I managed to pick Pittsburgh correctly to win the Super Bowl last year. Unfortunately, as I recall, my NFC picks were absolutely and ridiculously awful, capped off by picking Seattle to miss the playoffs. Oops.

Let's try again, and remember that the order a team appears within its division is the order that I predict them to finish:

NFC East

New York Giants: In what may be the toughest division in football, the Giants are the most complete team of the four. Eli Manning is an up and coming QB with a great pedigree, Tiki Barber is still a solid RB, and Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey help to spread the offense out. On the defensive side of the ball, this team is just sick. The secondary may be the only question, but may not be an issue considering their D-line won't give the opposing QB time enough to throw a solid pass anyway.

Dallas Cowboys: I possibly would have picked them to finish first if I had written this a couple of weeks ago. They have been getting a lot of buzz in the press during the offseason, and they are an attractive pick to go deep into the playoffs. But as the preseason has progressed, there have been some major flaws exposed. Most notably, Bill Parcells' growing discontent with QB Drew Bledsoe. It's pretty difficult for a team with unrest at the QB position to do anything special. If you couple that with Terrell Owens' mounting injury and personality problems, there's going to be trouble in Big D this year.

Washington Redskins: This team is definitely the X-Factor in the NFC this season. If they pull together like they did last year, and play over their heads or as a cohesive unit, they could steal some games, and ultimately the division. My bet is that they aren't going to put the magic together again this season like they did last year, and will probably let more games slip away than they steal. QB is a question on this team as well, and I'm wondering how long Mark Brunell can keep living on borrowed time in the pocket like he has been. If he goes down, or just plays poorly, the team is left with untested but talented youngster Jason Campbell. The team was so unsettled with Clinton Portis' shoulder injury, that they traded for T.J. Duckett. The receivers are talented, but ultimately unproven aside from Santana Moss. Chris Cooley could end up being the make or break player on this team at TE.

Philadelphia Eagles: With the TO fiasco, and disappointment from last season's performance behind them, the Eagles have a new start. Can Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook stay healthy? Is Donte Stallworth the right cog to fit in their receiver void? What about their offensive line? Just too many questions this season to really make any type of serious push at the playoffs.

NFC North

Detroit Lions: Last year, I infamously picked the Lions to win the division. Well, that didn't work out so great. But I'm going to step up and do it again. Not so much by what they can do, but more so by what the other teams won't be able to do. If they can win 4 or 5 games in the division, and that's a big if, there are 5 other winnable games on their schedule. At that pace, they could potentially be a 10 win team, which will easily be enough to win the NFC North. Bringing Mike Martz in as their OC could push their talented offense over the hump this year, and the Lions will be yet another team from Detroit to surprise this year.

Minnesota Vikings: I wasn't going to put them ahead of the Bears, but I just had to. Not because I like the Vikes really, but because I really don't like the Bears this year. Brad Childress looks to change around a team that has been downright comical for the last few seasons. But there is a lot of unproven talent on this year's team. The defense looks to be solid, led by an outstanding D-Line, what could be a competent linebacking crew, and a good (even if not great) secondary. The offense concerns me. But if it can just be adequate, this team should be over .500.

Chicago Bears: In 2001, Chicago surprised everyone and went 13-3. In 2002, heavily favored Chicago once again surprised everyone and went 4-12. I feel them doing the same thing this season, but maybe to a lesser extent. The mainstream media seems to be looking past their flaws and overlooking the rest of the competition (maybe rightly so) in the division. In fact, to some, they might as well be starting to sell playoff tickets. But this team is dangerously flawed. They are going into the season with their backup QB looking more capable than the starter, and there's a brewing controversy on the horizon (see Cowboys, Dallas). Their talented RB Thomas Jones feels slighted by the organization trying to give his job to the backup Cedric Benson, and both have been nicked up. The receivers are a HUGE question mark. I question the offense's ability to score points. And the defense, while still uber-talented, is getting older and more injury prone. If a couple of players drop on either side of the ball, stick a fork in them.

Green Bay Packers: Here is the NFC's answer to Houston and Oakland in the AFC. These three teams should be vying for futility supremacy. I can't list all of the flaws for this team. I really can't. It would give me too much joy. The main question is if during the middle part of the season we find Brett Favre looking just as terrible as he did last year and during the preseason this year, will new head coach Mike McCarthy have the guts to pull the plug on Favre and give Aaron Rodgers the reins? I say no. And I also say 2-14 might not be out of the realm of possibility. The floor's the limit with these guys.

NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: This team will fly under the radar for the early part of the season because of all the attention that Carolina has been given as the crowned favorite to win the NFC. I think the Bucs are more balanced than the Panthers are, though, and that might translate into not letting a couple of winnable games get away from them, and could be the difference between first and second place. Chris Simms might be the only weak point on a good, but not spectacular offense, and the defense is always good. It's teams like this that do great things in the playoffs.

Carolina Panthers: Yes, they are a talented team. Yes, their defense is awesome. But...they always seem to let a few games slip through the cracks. Jake Delhomme keeps getting better, and the receiving corps has improved as well with the addition of Keyshawn Johnson, who should help take some of the pressure off of Steve Smith. But what about their ability to run the ball? DeShaun Foster is talented, but also injury-prone, and while DeAngelo Williams has looked good in preseason, he is a rookie. If Foster goes down again, and Williams falters, they might be looking for someone else to DeRun the DeBall.

Atlanta Falcons: If Michael Vick ever learns how to play the QB position, or if his coaches ever learn how to build an offense around him that plays to his strengths, this team will be dangerous. Until then, the Falcons are an 8-8 team. Plain and simple. Vick will win some games for them, and he'll lose some games for them.

New Orleans Saints: They hit the jackpot when the Texans inexplicably went with Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush. They improved drastically at QB by signing Drew Brees and letting Aaron Brooks go. This preseason, they officially gave up on the Donte Stallworth project, and traded him to the Eagles, effectively handing Devery Henderson the starting receiver spot opposite Joe Horn. The Saints have some talent on both sides of the ball, but still have a ways to go. It's just nice to see them finally heading in the right direction.

NFC West

Seattle Seahawks: For the last few years, the loser of the Super Bowl has missed the playoffs altogether the following season. That won't happen to the Seahawks. First of all, they have probably gotten better than last year's team, and only really had one key loss--guard Steve Hutchinson to the Vikings. They added defensive stalwart Julian Peterson to an already talented defensive that is young and fast and has irreplaceable experience from last season's playoff run. The passing game potentially could be more effective, given that they replaced third receiver Joe Jurevicius with Nate Burleson. If that's the case, it will certainly dampen the loss of Hutchinson and open up the running lanes for Shaun Alexander. Secondly, who's going to stop them in the division? Seriously, who?

St. Louis Rams: The Rams could be better just for simplifying Mike Martz's extremely complicated offense. Scott Linehan's more basic, balanced approach means a slightly better season for back Steven Jackson, and less pressure on oft-injured QB Marc Bulger to do it all. The receivers are all back, the line is a little strong, and defense is the big question again. There's a lot of offense to go around in the West, and if the Rams are unable to stop it all, they'll find themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time.

Arizona Cardinals: A questionable offensive line, an unimpressive Edgerrin James, and an unknown defense pushed the Rams ahead of the Cardinals in my rankings. The passing game should still flourish, but maybe the best thing that could happen to this team for the long term is Edge struggling. That should be the final blow and convince them to spend some money on real offensive line talent. The defense is probably one or two players away, especially up front, from being a difference maker, too.

San Francisco 49ers: The offense has at least looked capable of putting up points this year. Alex Smith looks better than his abysmal season last year, they jettisoned malcontent Brandon Lloyd and replaced him with talented Antonio Bryant, and also added very promising rookie TE Vernon Davis. I honestly have no idea what their defense is capable of. No clue whatsoever, but if Mike Nolan can tailor an offense around his assets, the Niners could surprise some people and steal a few games away from unsuspecting teams.

There you have it. Coming up next week, Playoff and post-season awards predictions. Savage away, my friends, savage away.