Right time for the NFC:
NFC West
Rams dont look to have added much to their team but you just know that Brown will end up with a game winning kick against the Seahawks in one of the two games. The Rams have better talent than their record last year suggests although they may struggle at WR. Defense has always been a weak point and cant see that changing this year.
Seattle will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing season and with a fit Matt Hasselbeck you have to think they are capable of doing so. They have soome very good WR's in Houshmandzadeh, Engram and Branch. The running game is likely to be the let down in this offense. The defense has always been solid but not spectacular and dont see anything changing there. Will probably be in contention for the division crown.
49ers are an intriguing one as on paper they have a good defense and an average offense but a lot depends on how certain players perform. Shaun Hill will need to prove he is capable of leading this offense. The defense has a great young leader in Patrick Willis. Expect them to be a tough team to beat but just cant see them winning the division.
Cards are the reigning champs and the biggest thing they did during the off-season was keeping hold of Anquan Boldin who forms the best 1-2 WR combination in the league with Larry Fitzgerald. Hightower is a young RB who showed real signs of promise last season and he should team up well with rookie Beanie Wells. They have a good defense which is capable of restricting teams when they need to. Expect them to repeat as Division Winners
Division Winner: Arizona Cardinals
NFC South
Matt Ryan led the Falcons to an excellent 11-5 season and they have the players to repeat this fate providing he avoids a sophomore slump. He has some excellent targets in Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Michael Jenkins. A very good running game starts with Michael Turner who is backed up ably by Jerious Norwood. Another team with a solid if unspectacular defense. In the past few seasons the team that has finished bottom of this division has won it the following year, i think the Falcons have a shot at breaking that habit.
The Panthers will surely be looking to Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams to spearhead their offense and they should be ably supported by Jake Delhomme and the WR’s who include the very dangerous Steve Smith. Their defense may rely on how Julius Peppers plays and whether or not he is truly committed to the cause knowing he is likely to leave the team at the end of the season.
Tampa Bay seem to be the weak link in this division. They sacked Chucky which was probably long overdue. They don’t have any real stellar offensive players just some solid ones and I think that this could well be their downfall this season. They still have a strong defense despite the loss of Derrick Brooks. The real impact of Brooks departure could come in the locker room rather than on the field as he was one of the leaders of this team.
New Orleans had a disappointing season last time round especially given the players they have. Drew Brees put up huge numbers and came within a whisker of Dan Marino's long standing record. I wouldnt expect him to have such high numbers this season as i think they will look to supporting the passing game more with the running game which i can see Pierre Thomas leading as i think they will use Reggie Bush more in passing situations. They have probably the weakest defense in the division by some way and that could cost them a fair few games.
Division Winners: Atlanta Falcons
Wildcard: Carolina Panthers
NFC North
Well i suppose we should start at the bottom. I can say with absolute CERTAINTY that the LIONS WILL BE AN IMPROVED TEAM THIS YEAR. There is simply no way they are going 0-16 again. They had the #1 pick in the draft and picked Matthew Stafford which is a decent move the problem might be keeping him upright although new tackle Jon Jansen should help with that a bit. The defense still has a fair few holes and i think another #1 pick could be in the offing. Even so they will win at least 1 game.
The Bears made a big upgrade by trading for Jay Cutler although they are short of receiving targets for him. Matt Forte gives them a good #1 rusher from which they can build their offense. The Bears strength in recent years has been their defense and while i still seeing being the stronger of the two units i dont think the gap between offense and defense will be as big as previous years.
The Packers have had the youngest team in the league for the last 3 years and will be hoping that as the team grows up they become stronger. Rodgers will be the focal point of the offense and he will have to prove that he can capably replace Brett Favre. Driver and Jennings give him two reliable WRs. The running game is solid led by Ryan Grant. They are another team who have a solid but not great defense.
Obviously all the talk has been about the Vikings and the signing of Brett Favre. Many people are saying that this now makes them one of the favourites for the NFC Championship game, i have to say i'm not one of those people and while i believe Favre will be an upgrade over Tavaris Jackson there will be questions about whether he can last the season and his end of season form which last year dropped the Jets out of the race for the AFC East crown and even the playoffs. Obviously they have the number 1 RB in the league at the moment in Adrian Peterson and a very good offensive line to open holes for him. They have arguably the best run stopping defense in the league which is led by the Williams duo on the line.
Division Winners: Minnesota Vikings
NFC East
Ok now for the big one.
I'll start with the Eagles who have made a few good moves in the off-season, i especially like the signings of Ellis Hobbs and the drafting of Jeremy Maclin who gives them 2 very promising young WRs with DeSean Jackson. They still have Brian Westbrook at RB and as usual he will put up good numbers both on the ground and in the passing game. McNabb is back as the starting QB and while they have signed Mike Vick he is under no real pressure for his job as i dont believe Vick is a good passer of the ball. Vick will most likely to be used in Wildcat formations. They have a very good defense who excel in putting pressure on the opposing QB using Blitzes.
Next up is the Cowgirls (yes i cannot type their proper name if i do i spontaneously combust
), I think the loss of TO could actually be a good thing for the Cowboys as it takes away the pressure of getting him the ball. Romo has to lessen his reliability on Jason Witten and spread the ball around otherwise defenses will get wise and will simply focus on Witten. Barber and Jones give them an excellent 1-2 RB punch. They have some great players on Defense with DeMarcus Ware being one of the best pass rushing LB's in the league. Their weakness is the secondary.
The Giants have just rewarded Sheli Manning with a mega bucks contract which i have to say may have been too soon. He is a good QB and has done a superb job in helping his team win a SB but they gave him elite QB money when i think he is still some way of being elite. Like the rest of the NFC East they have a very good running game led by Jacobs and ably backed up by Ahmad Bradshaw. They are stacked with young WRs and one of those will need to step up in place of Plaxico Burress. They get great pressure on opposing QBs from just the defensive line with an excellent DE pairing in Umenyiora and Justin Tuck. LB is the weak link of this defense.
Now for my beloved Redskins. Well i have mentioned this elsewhere but i can see us struggling to a 7-9 finish this year. The problem is going to be on offense where outside of Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley we have very little. Jason Campbell should hopefully improve as this will be the first time in his career he has gone into a season without having to learn a new playbook. If he does improve and our young WRs step up then we could have a very good offense but i see the WRs needing another year. The other problem could be keeping JC standing as our O-Line gets beat far too easily. We have a good defense and hopefully the addition of Haynesworth and Orakpo should help with what was our problem last year - the pass rush. This led to us not getting many turnovers as opposing QBs had plenty of time to get rid of the ball. I can see this defense ranking in the top 5 same as last season.
Division Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Wildcard: New York Giants