National Football Conference
NFC East
y-Philadelphia Eagles 12-4
x-Washington Redskins 10-6
New York Giants 9-7
Dallas Cowboys 8-8
NFC North
y-Chicago Bears 10-6
Minnesota Vikings 7-9
Green Bay Packers 5-11
Detroit Lions 4-12
NFC South
y-Carolina Panthers 11-5
x-Atlanta Falcons 10-6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-9
New Orleans Saints 5-11
NFC West
y-Seattle Seahawks 12-4
Arizona Cardinals 7-9
Saint Louis Rams 5-11
San Francisco 49ers 3-13
z=best league record
y=division champ
x=playoff berth
NFC Championship: Carolina over Philadelphia
Super Bowl: Indianapolis over Carolina
League and Super Bowl MVP: Peyton Manning
Best NFC Offensive Player: Steve Smith, Panthers
Best NFC Defensive Player: Brian Urlacher, Bears
Best NFC Offensive Rookie: Vernon Davis, 49ers
Best NFC Defensive Rookie: Broderick Bunkley, Eagles
Best NFC Head Coach: Andy Reid, Eagles
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NFC East Notes: Philadelphia finally rids itself of the cancer that is Terrell Owens . . . The Eagles then fill that void by trading for Dante Stallworth in a savvy move . . . If Donovan McNabb can find his old form, and tailback Bryan Westbrook can find a way to stay healthy, the Eagles’ offense should be good . . . The defense was already strong and added free agent Darren Howard and draft pick Broderick Bunkley to the front four . . . Andy Reid is headed back to the playoffs.
Washington came on strong at the end of last season and had chances to win at Seattle in the playoffs . . . Joe Gibbs has proven he’s still an elite NFL coach, the question now is whether Mark Brunell can still do the job at quarterback . . . If he gets hurt, it’s former first round pick Jason Campbell to the rescue . . . With elite talents Clinton Portis and Santana Moss, and now TJ Duckett and Antwan Randle-El in the mix, it’s hard to imagine the Skins struggling to score points . . . The defense is already tough . . . If healthy, Washington will be a very tough out in the playoffs again.
New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin has himself a lot of expectations in the Big Apple this year . . . Free agents Lavar Arrington and Sam Madison bolster an already talented defensive unit . . . Offensively, it all boils down to Eli Manning . . . We’ll find out a lot about Eli this year: either he’s the real deal and an elite franchise quarterback or just an overrated sibling . . . He’s shown flashes of both ends of the spectrum . . . For Tiki Barber, Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress to score points, Eli needs to be a field general . . . New York will be good, but maybe not good enough to make the playoffs in the most brutal division in football.
Same goes for Dallas . . . The Cowboys have an up and coming defense and a veteran coach in the Tuna, but offensively, it looks like the same old story with Drew Bledsoe . . . He hasn’t taken a team to the playoffs in a decade, and even with a strong backfield in Julius Jones and Marion Barber, along with a number of receiving weapons---Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Jason Witten---I don’t see it changing . . . Owens will be completely in the Bill Parcells' doghouse by Week 5 . . . Bottom line: Dallas needs to find a new quarterback, and maybe a new coach after what will be a competitive, but disappointing season for Big ‘D’ in '06.
NFC North Notes: Chicago repeats as champion in maybe the worst division in football . . . The Bears' defense is outstanding, anchored by all-world middle linebacker Brian Urlacher . . . Head coach Lovie Smith did a phenomenal job getting as much as he did out of a non-existent offense last year . . . This time around, it should be better, that is, if Rex Grossman can stay on the field . . . If veteran Muhsin Muhammad and youngster Cedric Benson are able to make maximum contributions, the schedule is reasonable enough that the Bears win ten again without trouble.
Minnesota was a hot sleeper pick by the so-called experts after a strong offseason . . . But then, the Vikes hit some hard times: #1 draft pick Chad Greenway, a much needed outside linebacker, tore his knee in camp and is done for the year . . . More troubling was the DUI arrest and subsequent release of top wideout Koren Robinson . . . He was Minnesota’s best big play threat last year . . . With the addition of free agent guard Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota’s lines look great on both sides of the ball . . . But Brad Johnson as the only quarterback? And Chester Taylor as the featured running back? First year coach Brad Childress has his work cut out for him.
It gets worse from there in the North . . . Green Bay added Charles Woodson and AJ Hawk, but the front seven is still suspect . . . And the offense lacks any real big play threats now that Javon Walker is in Denver and Ahman Green is older and slower . . . This will not be a pretty last year for Brett Favre in Cheesehead country . . . Aaron Rodgers, anyone?
The Detroit Lions are a terribly run organization and it stems from the top, where team president Matt Millen somehow still has a job . . . Atrocious drafting has left the cupboard bare at many positions, particularly on the defensive side of the ball . . . New coach Rod Marinelli is expected to resurrect the team with Jon Kitna at quarterback . . . He's a genius if he can get it done . . . Hey, at least it’s not Joey Harrington under center anymore.
NFC South Notes: This should be the year Carolina returns to the Super Bowl . . . John Fox has all the pieces on defense, led by the mighty Julius Peppers, while offensively the team has filled some slots nicely . . . Keyshawn Johnson will alleviate the double team pressure on Steve Smith by giving Jake Delhomme a legitimate second option . . . And Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams was a steal at the end of the first round . . . He could be starting in place of DeShaun Foster halfway through the year . . . If they get hot late---and the schedule shows it very well may happen---watch out for the Panthers in January.
Atlanta is a weird team . . . The Falcons’ unprototypical quarterback is a big reason for that... When he’s on his game, Michael Vick is the most unstoppable weapon in the league . . . When he’s off and missing receivers, you wonder why he’s even playing QB in the first place---he actually looks that out of position of times . . . Regardless, Vick says this is the year when his team finally puts it all together . . . If that’s the case, Warrick Dunn and Ashley Lelie better have monster years offensively and Jim Mora, Jr., needs to coach his guts out . . . Former Jet DE John Abraham was a key pick-up on defense; he should greatly enhance the Falcons' pass rush . . . But a deep playoff run still doesn’t strike me as all that likely for this team.
Tampa Bay overachieved for Jon Gruden last year, largely thanks to the play of rookie horse Cadillac Williams in the backfield . . . The Cadillac should have another strong year, but Chris Simms is far from a proven commodity under center . . . With the lefty Simms at quarterback, the offense may struggle to score touchdowns, but Derrick Brooks and the defense are still strong and will keep the Bucs in most games . . . They’ll be close to .500.
New Orleans will be the most exciting last place team in the league this year. Reggie Bush is the big reason why: he is the most electric tailback I’ve seen since Barry Sanders . . . Free agent pick-up Drew Brees is going to have to earn his big bucks with a limited receiving corps beyond Joe Horn . . . I wonder whether the Saints’ line can even keep Brees healthy . . . The defense still needs a lot of work, but new head coach Shaun Payton will help generate some long-needed optimism for the future of professional football in Louisiana.
NFC West Notes: History says the team that loses the previous year’s Super Bowl rarely makes it back to the playoffs . . . History will change with this year’s Seahawks. . . Sure they lost All-Pro Steve Hutchinson on the 'O' line, and there’s no way Alexander repeats last year’s 28 TD performance, but this club is still real good . . . Matt Hasselbeck is the best quarterback nobody talks about, while the defense added stud linebacker Julian Petersen . . . The late season schedule is pretty soft as well . . . Can Mike Holmgren win it all one year after getting jobbed by the officials in the Super Bowl? Maybe.
Arizona is a hot sleeper pick as well, but probably a year too early . . . The defense is average, but Dennis Green has great offensive weapons in place with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin at the wideouts and now Edgerrin James in the backfield . . . Still, the offensive line is a little suspect and Kurt Warner likely won’t stay healthy for long . . . Matt Leinart better get his chin strip on real quick . . . It’ll be a trial by fire for the Cards’ rookie QB out of USC before long . . .
Saint Louis is in a transitional period after finally ridding itself of the egomaniacal Mike Martz . . . Scott Linehan replaces him as coach, and inherits talented offensive players in Torry Holt, Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger . . . But the defense reeks of ineptitude . . . It's very hard to envision Saint Louis being cohesive either side of the ball given its current corps . . . Give Linehan some time to create the team in his mold.
Time continues to wane on in San Francisco . . . Mike Nolan’s team did add a great weapon in tight end Vernon Davis out of Maryland, but he’s really the only big target QB Alex Smith has . . . Frank Gore will be counted on for the bulk of carries out of the backfield, but he has durability questions himself . . . The 49ers are still wallowing in the darkest period in franchise history . . . It's not going to end just yet.
-JAB
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