2010 NFC Predictions

Better late than never, here is one way the NFC could shake out during the 2010 NFL season.

East - NY Giants, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington
Comment: Last season was a blip on the radar for the Giants, and I think a healthy defense will fix many of their 2009 problems. One concern is their aging o-line, but they have a versatile offense that can hurt teams on the ground or through the air. ... Same concern for the Cowboys - will the o-line hold up? I like the Dallas D, and I think the passing game should be spectacular if QB Tony Romo remains upright. ... Too many changes in Philly for the Eagles to contend. They took a massive risk trading Donovan McNabb within the division, and it may well cost them a playoff spot. The key question is can they gel? ... I like many of the Redskins' moves, particularly bringing in McNabb and turning over an aging, ineffective roster, but they appear to be a year away.

North - Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago
Comment: This is based upon two factors - the Packers' continued development of their young players and the Vikings' over-reliance on a QB (Brett Favre) who won't come close to duplicating his magical 2009 season. ... The Packers' offense should be near unstoppable. Two concerns are a porous secondary and horrendous special teams. If those are average, they're going deep in the playoffs. ... Losing WR Sidney Rice robs Favre of one of his safety valves. But Favre probably will take a month or so to get in sync after again missing most of camp. The defense should be strong, but there are concerns on the corner in a pass-heavy division. ... I love the Lions' offseason signings, and they appear to have had another excellent draft. I don't think 6-7 wins are out of the question. ... The Bears, conversely, did almost nothing to address their issues (secondary, o-line, front office). Signing DE Julius Peppers got a lot of attention, but I actually think RB Chester Taylor could do more to help the Bears this season. Chicago's problem is most of their best players now are 30 or older.

South - New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay
Comment: If the Saints improve their defense at all, they're going to be there right at the end again. Their offense is lethal. ... The Falcons are primed to make the playoffs, but can they get past the Saints? Much of the answer hinges on their improvement on defense. ... The Panthers still have passing game concerns, and now they won't have LB Thomas Davis (knee injury) and DE Julius Peppers (free agency) on defense. I don't see the leap for them that many predict. ... The Bucs had a good draft. They need two more. Their defense will have to be incredible to make up for a lackluster offense.

West - San Francisco, Arizona, Seattle, St. Louis
Comment: More questions than answers. ... Can the 49ers pass the ball? How do the Cardinals replace QB Kurt Warner, WR Anquon Boldin, LB Carlos Dansby, and S Antrel Rolle? How far will positive reinforcement from new coach Pete Carroll take the Seahawks, who have fallen behind in the talent department? Will rookie QB Sam Bradford remain upright in St. Louis? ... The 49ers have the defense and running game to win what again will be the NFL's weakest division. The Cardinals still have a lot of talent, but they need a lot to go right to compete for a playoff spot. The Seahawks just don't have elite talent any more, and if you monitor many of their moves, it seems they've figured out they need to rebuild. The Rams are slowly getting some of the pieces to compete ... some day.

Week 9 Around the NFL

Do the owners' really know what they're doing?

This isn't what you think: I'm talking about picking quarterbacks. I'll leave the other stuff to someone else to determine.

You know by now the Cowboys' Jerry Jones (also the team's GM!) and the Redskins' Daniel Snyder are aggressive meddlers, and if you're a fan of either of those teams, you can thank the honchos for Tony Romo and Jason Campbell.

Now comes rumblings that the Glazers want to see first-round pick Josh Freeman start ... and so he will on Sunday vs. the Packers. Nothing against Freeman, who from all appearances is a physical marvel. But he's the team's third starter at the most important position in eight games. If the plan was to go with him, then why give Josh Johnson four games as starter? Or why sign Byron Leftwich and then banish him to the bench after three games? What's going on here?

Next up is Titans owner Bud Adams, who a few weeks back mentioned he'd like to see Vince Young start for the then 0-6 Titans after their bye week. Young's problems and personality quirks have been well-documented, but lo and behold Young played last week and the Titans got their first win of the season. Adams, the man who moved his franchise from Houston to Nashville (only to see the NFL place an expansion team in Houston, which now has a beautiful new stadium that Adams apparently couldn't get), must know something about QBs.

In the weeds
Take this to the bank. There will be some team in the middle of the pack right now that makes a move to not only earn a playoff spot and win at least one playoff game. A couple of AFC teams in that category can take big first steps in that direction in Week 9.

Some candidates:
Miami, which plays the Patriots. The Dolphins are 3-4, but have won three of their past four. All three wins came in the AFC East, including two vs. the New York Jets (4-4). A win at New England would position the Dolphins well to make a run at the AFC East. ...

Baltimore, which travels to Cincinnati. The Ravens (4-3) lost to the Bengals in the last minute of their Week 5 game at Baltimore. The next week, the Ravens missed a last-second field goal at the Metrodome that could have send Minnesota to its first loss. If Baltimore wins this game it will tie the Bengals for the AFC North lead. If Pittsburgh wins at Denver on Monday, there would be a three-way tie for first, and the Ravens and Steelers would have two meetings to come.

San Diego, which travels to New York to play the reeling Giants. The Bolts (4-3) are having a lot of problems on defense, due in large part to the season-ending injury to NT Jamal Williams and substandard play from their heralded group of linebackers. However, they're just two games behind the suddenly vulnerable Broncos, who could be 6-2 by the time Week 10 rolls around. Yes, Denver won at San Diego, but don't count the Chargers out just yet.

Top 5:

• 1. New Orleans (7-0) - Trap game vs. somewhat resurgent Panthers on Sunday.
• 2. Minnesota (7-1) - Late bye week and a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way sets up the Vikings for a deep playoff run.
• 3. Indianapolis (7-0) - Injuries on defense are bound to catch up with them sooner than later, quite possibly vs. Houston this week.
• 4. Philadelphia (5-2) - Interesting game vs. Dallas this week. Eagles can establish themselves as the NFC East front-runner with consecutive victories over Giants and Cowboys.
  
• 5. New England (6-2) - Patriots show signs of dominance at times, and the late bye also helps them. Must beat Miami at home this weekend.

Also considered: Houston (5-3), Pittsburgh (5-2), Cincinnati (5-2), Dallas (5-2), Denver (6-1)

Bottom 5 (tough to limit it to five this season):

• 28. St. Louis (1-7) - The Rams get two weeks to enjoy their victory.
• 29. Oakland (2-6) - The Raiders appear to quit at times, yet they're capable of beating the Eagles? This team should have its own category.
• 30. Detroit (1-6) - You lose to the Rams at home, and you get a permanent 2009 spot in this category.
• 31. Cleveland (1-7) - Derek Anderson is playing as badly as any QB I've ever seen. Oh, and they don't have a GM for some reason now.
• 32. Tampa Bay (0-7) - As if things weren't bad enough, they're hauling out the Creamsicle uniforms this weekend.

Also considered: Kansas City (1-6), Washington (2-5), Seattle (2-5), Tennessee (1-6).