2011 NFC Preview

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles

To be honest, I’m not buying into the hype that the Eagles are a dream team or even are going to deep it in the playoffs. I think that the entire division is overrated, but we are talking about the Eagles. If people think that Vick will have the same season as last year, please share whatever you are smoking. I think that he will have a decent year, but if he gets frustrated, it all just seems to go downhill. I think the team will be able to play enough defense and have enough big offensive games to make the playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys

I think that the Cowboys offense is going to be deadly. The only question is going to be the offensive line, but when you get to put Romo, Austin, Bryant, Felix Jones, and Witten, who the heck are you going to guard? The biggest problem is that the defense is led by the other clown in the NFL, Rob Ryan. Why someone hasn’t made a reality show about the Ryan family has to be the biggest oversight in the galaxy. The Cowboys have talent on defense, but they usually aren’t disciplined so maybe Ryan will scare them enough to make the tackle.

New York Giants

Here’s where fantasy meets reality. I used Eli Manning last year for my starting QB on my fantasy football team and had no problem doing so. In reality, he throws a lot of interceptions and just overall turns the ball over much more than you would like. That though is the same for the entire team as Bradshaw and Jacobs also have trouble holding onto the ball. On the other side, the defense doesn’t cause a lot of turnovers and that could be a problem. I think that this will be the last hurrah for Tom Coughlin.  He was never really beloved by Giants fans, and I don’t think they are going to take to kindly missing the playoffs once again.

Washington Redskins

The Redskins were a hot topic last year manly because of the problems that McNabb and Haynesworth caused. Though they dumped them on other teams, the Redskins problems didn’t go away in the slightest. The only thing they have going for them is that their running game could actually give them a couple of first downs a game, because God knows they aren’t going to get many with Beck or Grossman. You can’t feel too confident when Rex Grossman is aggressively trying to win a starting job. On the other side, the defense is good enough to keep them in some games, but when you have teams in your division that are offensive heavy, it might be a tough year for the Redskins again.

 NFC North

Green Bay Packers

People forget that this team is more than just a run and gun team. Yes, Rodgers is going to throw the ball around a lot, but he gets two big weapons back, one being his running game with Ryan Grant. They also get back their top TE in Jermichael Finley, so believe it or not, this team could be even better. They didn’t lose much and while it is really difficult to repeat a championship, with their defense as good as it is and the upgrade with a couple of weapons, who knows if we are looking at the beginning of a dynasty.

Detroit Lions

I think this comes with a clause. Stafford has to stay healthy for at least most of the season. This team has enough weapons on offense and defense for them to finally stop blackmailing their fans just to get them to come to the games. I think the defense still has holes. The biggest being that the secondary still can’t cover anyone longer than 3 seconds. So they have to hope that the defensive line gets to the quarterback before everyone is open.

Chicago Bears

I can just hear it now. How could this team get worse? They added a few pieces and they had a great season last year. I guess this is more of a gut thing, but it doesn’t seem like Chicago can put together two good seasons in a row. In fact, since 2006, the Bears have had a winning year every other year. Lance Briggs might have seen this stat this week and decides now that it might be a good time to get out of there. If you’re the Bears don’t you just laugh and tell him to wait till next year? I mean who decides one week before the season starts that oh I forgot to tell you guys, yeah, I want to play for another team. Plus on the other side of the ball, I trust the offense as much as I trust the stock market. Because whether you are investing in GM or putting the ball in Cutler’s hand, you are gambling.

Minnesota Vikings

It’s hard to imagine that McNabb’s situation actually improved as far as more weapons than last year. The problem is, that while his weapons might have improved, where he finished in the standings most likely won’t. At the very least, AP won’t have his career go in the tank quite yet because McNabb is still better than Christian Ponder would have been this year, or might ever be to be honest.

NFC South

New Orleans Saints

The Saints will have to rely on their offense probably more than ever to get them to the playoffs. The defense right now is going to be searching more than Arian Foster is for a new PR manager. For goodness sakes, Turk McBride is going to be their starting right defensive end. I’ve seen McBride play, it’s not pretty. One thing that I actually think helps this team is that they don’t have to now answer the Reggie Bush saga that seemed to continue every year. Replacing him with Sproles you don’t really lose anything and couple that with an improved backfield with Ingram and you don’t mind putting all the pressure to score early and often.

Atlanta Falcons

Falcons’ fans, I hope you enjoyed that 13-3 year last year because I don’t think you’ll see that again this year. Last year, they won so many close games that it was just a matter of time that they lost one of those which they did early in the playoffs. I think in order for this team to take the next step Matt Ryan is going to have to step up and be a big time QB. He needs to makes steps to be a Brady or Rivers or Manning. I’m not saying he needs to put up those kind of numbers but he has so many weapons right now that he needs to take charge and lead this team. If he does, I will be eating my words about the 13-3, if he doesn’t and stays the QB that he is, which is still a top end QB, they will end up losing some of those close games.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I’m not really buying that this is an up and coming team. I think they are a classic 8-8 team. I think that Josh Freeman is a decent QB, but I’m not as big of a fan as many people are. Yes he had a heck of a year, but I don’t think we see those numbers from him this year. Also the defense is going to be tested and tested hard this year having to play some top end offenses. If the Bucs can come out of those games with some wins, I might be a believer, but as of right now, I think they are more a one year wonder.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers said they are planning on spending some money to improve this team. They did the right thing by keeping their own guys, but then pretty much stopped there. Their big acquisition was acquiring Greg Olsen from the Bears. Yes he does provide a need, but what happened to spending money? Also, I can’t stress how much I believe that Cam Newton is going to struggle this year. I will count it a huge success if he throws as many TDs as INTs. It is obvious now there was no real battle for the starting QB spot after he had a 42 percent completion percentage. As long as he knew what color jersey they were wearing that day and threw somewhere close to that player, he was getting the job.

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers

Why not? If you can give me a reason not to put them here and who else should go here, I’d love to hear it. This team was supposed to run away with this division last year and they didn’t, so now with pressure off of them, all they need to do is win maybe 1 more game then they lose and hello playoffs. This team actually has a good offense. Alex Smith really just has to get out of his own way and not screw up royally and this team should win some games. The defense is interesting enough to force people to actually plan against them unlike other teams in this division.

St. Louis Rams

This team is young and could win some games or they are young and could lose some games. The schedule for them looks at least challenging if not difficult in some stretches this year so they are going to need to create an identity to rely on. I think one thing they could get behind is getting to the QB with Long and Quinn on either side of the defensive line. They did get Bradford some help with Sims Walker but I’m a little surprised that they didn’t spend more to really put themselves in a better position in this weak division.

Arizona Cardinals

This offense was so lethargic at times last year it was difficult to watch. Any QB that was put in looked like they were throwing a dead fish around. With Kolb though they at least have a chance to move the ball more than 2 yards at a time. This also opens up the running game with former first round pick Bennie Wells. This offense might surprise a few people, but this defense might leave more of a sour taste in your mouth. They allowed the third most points per game in the league last year and they didn’t really get much better.

Seattle Seahawks

I think that Matt Hasselbeck held this team together more than people know. If Tarvaris Jackson is seriously getting consideration for this team’s starting QB position, it’s going to be a long year. Even if he has the best weapons in the league, he still isn’t going to put up very good numbers. The Seahawks better ask for their Madden entry in the 12th man to keep being loud even if they don’t get much help from their QB because they are going to need all the help they can get this year. But hey, it’s the NFC East. It’s a magical land where subpar teams make it in the playoffs.