Football Preview Pt. 3b (NFC and Playoffs)

Moving on.......

NFC East

Philadelphia (11-5) - Despite all of the controversy that seems to follow him, Donovan McNabb has been better than ever since 2004, the year the Eagles brought in T.O. The only thing that seems to hold him back are the injuries. This year, he'll still be recovering from the knee injury that ended his season last year. Despite that and another year with pedestrian receivers, Donovan will be fine, as he's still in his prime. The Eagles will struggle on defense, as their front seven is very young and suspect.
Dallas (10-6) - The Tony Romo love fest is over, now its time for him to put up numbers. He has a good working relationship with T.O. and Jason Whitten, but not so much with Terry Glenn. Regardless, I expect Dallas to throw the ball a lot this year, and be a work in progress on defense.
Washington (8-8) - Everybody loves Jason Campbell. Luckily for Jason, the young quarterback doesn't have to learn a new system for the first time in years. The "Skins also have two good running backs, but a bad offensive line. Their overpaid receiving corps will probably look a little less overpaid as Campbell progresses, while their defense could either be very good or very bad.
NY Giants (5-11) - Trainwreck. Bad QB, bad RB's, bad WR's, overrated TE, bad O-line, good D-line, bad LB's, old DB's, suspect special teams, and an insane coach paired with an overmatched GM.

NFC North

Chicago Bears (10-6) - The Bears and Colts have a lot of things in common, despite Indy being an offensive juggernaut and the Bears being stallwarts of defense. One of the things they have in common is the fact that they are far and away the best teams in their bad divisions, although the NFC North is starting to catch up with Chicago.
Green Bay Packers (7-9) - Their poor running game will force them to throw it a lot, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you feel about Brett Favre. I'm going to call it a bad thing.
Detroit Lions (6-10) - Yes, Calvin Johnson was the best player in last year's draft. What about all the holes on defense? I guess the Lions figure Rod Marinelli would make up for that somehow with his coaching. Or they hope to lean on Mike Martz and outscore everyone like Martz's old Rams' teams.
Minnesota Vikings (6-10) - Goodbye Brad Childress.

NFC South

New Orleans Saints (11-5) - Damn my Dolphins, or should I say Nick Saban, for not making Drew Brees the franchise quarterback.
Carolina Panthers (10-6) - Guess who's bizzack. Nobody's talking about them, so its time for them to return to prominence. Steve Smith finally has a good running mate in Dwyane Jarrett, although Keyshawn wasn't that bad.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) - Goodbye Jon Gruden? I wouldn't be surprised if he resigned after this season, because I don't believe they'll ever fire him.
Atlanta Falcons (4-12) - Too much controversy.

NFC West

St. Louis Rams (12-4) - Yes, I think the Rams will have the best record in the NFC this year. Will they be the best team? I can't call it yet. But I can say that with Holt, Bruce, Drew Bennett, Randy McMichael, Stephen Jackson and Marc Bulger, they'll probably have the best offense. Jim Hasslet gets the most out of their defense, and they should be unbeatable in the dome this year.
Seattle Seahawks (8-8) - This could be the beginning of the end for Hasselbeck (turning 32 next month), Shaun Alexander (Age 30), and Mike Holmgren.
San Francisco 49ers (7-9) - This year's "young team everyone thinks is poised for a playoff run to ultimately make everyone look stuipd" team. While they're getting better on offense and defense, but are about a year away.
Arizona Cardinals (5-11) - The Cardnials are who we think they are, and firing Dennis Green won't make them any better.

Playoff Prediction Section

Teams who won't make the playoffs this year that made them last year:

AFC
Baltimore
Kansas City
Jacksonville

NFC
Seattle
New York Giants

This year's playoffs:

(winners in Bold)
AFC

Wild Card Round
#1. New England -Bye
#2. San Diego - Bye
#3. Cincinnati vs. #6Denver
#4. Indianapolis vs. #5 New York Jets

Divisional Round

#1. New England vs. #4. Indianapolis
#2. San Diego vs. #3. Cincinnati

AFC Championship

#1. New England vs. #3 Cincinnati

NFC

Wild Card Round
#1. St. Louis - Bye
#2. Philadelphia - Bye
#3. New Orleans vs. #6. Carolina
#4. Chicago vs. #5. Dallas

Divisional Round

#1. St. Louis vs. #4. Chicago
#2. Philadelphia vs. #3. New Orleans

NFC Championship

#1. St. Louis vs. #3. New Orleans

Superbowl

New England vs. New Orleans