This will be the 1st edition of my preseason special. This edition will give a complete breakdown of the NFC and how I think teams will pan out this season.
NFC West- Seattle- despite my hate for them, common sense tells you they will rebound. With Shaun Alexander healthy again, Hasselbeck having more time to work with his WR's (esp. Deion Branch) the Hawks' offense should be potent... but I question their strength on defense. I think they win the NFC West but not by much.
St.Louis- A solid team all around. Just re-signed Marc Bulger, I love Stephen Jackson, the young RB stud... they have 2 veterns at WR with Holt and Bruce. IMO a better defense than Seattle, they could make things interesting.
Arizona- They have a wildcard with Matt Leinhart who showed he could play last season with limited opportunity.. It will be interesting to see how he plays.. I think he will bloom, how could you not in that offense with Larry Fitzgerald and Bouldin. Arizona wont be a threat for the postseason but they will be improved.
San Francisco- I think Alex Smith has continued to develop and now has a weapon in Darrell Jackson from Seattle, he also has the big TE in Vernon Davis. 2nd reason. Frank Gore. Defense needs work and only thing seperating them from taking the next step in the NFC.
NFC East- Dallas- Have to go with Dallas, Romo will continue to find T.O, Glenn and Witten and the offense will be able to score. The defense will be the highlight though. With DeMarcus Ware now under the command of Wade Phillips, he will turn into a steriod-free Shawn Merriman in the 3-4. Roy Williams is now complimented by Hamlin in the secondary... along with lockdown corners Aaron Glenn and Terence Newman. This could be their year.
Philadelphia- Depends on the health of McNabb but should contend with Dallas for division title. They lost depth at WR if they ever did have it. Reggie Brown now becomes the #1 guy, can he carry the load? Westbrook should continue to be great as long as he can stay healthy as well. As always the Philly defense will come ready every game. One of the best.
NY Giants- Just cause the skins' are trash. Eli wont flourish and never will. he will always be mediocre. I do like his weapons in Moss, and Burress. Jacobs wont fill the shoes of Tiki, and Tom Caughlin sucks ass. Another bad year in NY.
Skins'- Will go for a shootout with NY for 6 wins.. need help at QB, Clinton Portis hasnt been able to run since leaving Denver who makes every running back look like walter peyton. Have some weapons at WR, but nothing special. defense again, nothing special.
NFC North- Chicago- Rex will do fine, Chicago will be back in the playoffs. They lost Thomas Jones and that will hurt, but hopefully the chicago defense will continue to win them games.. the signing of Lance Briggs early this week really helped their cause.
Minnesota- Damn this division sucks. I really have no reason to put them here.. they just somehow manage to win games against the shitty competition they have.
Detriot- Yes, they will edge out the Packers. Jon Kitna will finally throw more TD's than Picks and the Lions are much improved.. they still dont have a great O-line or RB to help take the pressure off Kitna, but with that much talent at WR, they better be able to find the endzone and hope they outscore teams.
Packers- just a nasty situation, Brett is aging and the Packers have done nothing to help him win games.. no Ahman Green. Packers are going to look pathetic all season.
NFC South- New Orleans- Sean Peyton is a beast. period. he has completely reshaped NO from top to bottom and continues to bring spark. They have the most explosive offense in the NFC and a par defense that needs help despritely in the secondary.
Carolina- Rebound year for them.. Steve Smith is healthy, they added Dwyane Jarrett and I think Jake Delhomme is due for another big season. The defense in carolina is also very very good, but somehow seems to get overlooked.
Atlanta- Atlanta or the Bucs.. tossup again.. Joey Harrington will run the offense in atlanta, he has very limited weapons at WR which could make the offense very stagnent. The Defense in Atlanta is mediocre but did improve with the addition of Lawyer Malloy in the offseason.
Buccanears- Who will win the QB job? Simms? Gradkowski? whoever else is applying? Not looking good for them at all.. Williams is coming off a 1 TD season at RB and needs to step up. They defense is alright but wont be able to win the close games.
Well that was my entire breakdown of the NFC. Hope atleast 1 person reads this!
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