2006 NFL NFC Predictions

So I'm technically a day late on my predictions here, but oh well. Here they are.

NFC East

1. NY Giants 11-5
2. Dallas Cowboys 10-6
3. Philadelphia Eagles 8-8
4. Washington Redskins 7-9

LaVarr Arrington upgrades the linebacking corp and will be playing with a chip on his shoulder in a division he's all too familiar in. Strahan, Umenyoria and rookie Matthias Kiwaunuka will be one of, if not the best pass rushing trio in the league/

On offense, Eli has the first full starting year under his belt already, Tiki Barber proved himself to be a top 5 running back in the league last year, Shockey is a threat at tight end and Sinorce Moss will help stretch the field.

Dallas is a very good team, but TO is bound to implode sooner or later. I give it four weeks before his first blow up at Bledsoe, plus this team is going to encounter a full blown QB controversy at some point in this season. The running game needs to improve, and other than TO and the extremely frail Terry Glenn, there is little else at reciever.

McNabb is not the quarterback he's been billed to be, but he's also not as bad as what we saw last year. Westbrook is a nice back, but they have no recievers that sacre any defense, and the defense is starting to get old. They benefit from not having Owens around, but they're closer to rebuild than contend.

Washington spent a lot of money again (surprise there) but once again on players they have no need for. They signed Randle El to starters money, but he'll serve as they're third reciever and kick returner, and then traded for Brandon Lloyd. This gives them three recievers under 5'11" and none of them are considered possession guys. Good luck moving the chains fellas. Factor in that Clinton Portis is nursing a separated shoulder already, Mark Brunell is 49 years old, Joe Gibbs is old man crazy, and this team only made the playoffs, let alone finished above .500 last year because of a hot streak, and it makes for a bad year in the nations capitol.


NFC North

1. Chicago Bears 10-6
2. Detroit Lions 8-8
3. Green Bay Packers 7-9
4. Minnesota Vikings 6-10

The Bears bear, no pun intended, a striking resemblence to the Baltimore Ravens of a few years back. The Ravens had no offense other than Matt Stover (Yes, the kicker Matt Stover) and still managed to win games and even a Super Bowl behind their defense. Only problem is the Bears defense isn't quite that good. They need to get some offense. Cut your losses and bench Grossman already. Griese should be the starter and Kyle Orton should be given every shot to win that job. It may not have been pretty but he won games last year. The defense is solid but they'll still need to find a second wideout and a quarterback

The Lions biggest upgrade in the offseason was Mike Martz, well that and the loss of Joey Harrington. Kitna is a vast improvement over Harrington. Roy Williams and Marcus Pollard will be well utilized in Martz's system. They just need defensive help.

The Packers upgraded at virtually every position this offseason, but that still isn't saying much. They're starting two rookie guards and breaking in a new center. That could be a disaster. Greg Jennings looks very impressive, just as much as Javon Walker did in his break out season. Jennings and Driver will provide Favre with two big play targets. Bubba Franks figures to be used a lot in Mike McCarthy's offense, after years of being wasted under Mike Sherman. The real question lies in Ahman Green, can he return to even 80% of what he was before the injury. On defense AJ Hawk was added, Cullen Jenkins continues to improve and Nick Collins is poised for a break out year. The question on defense is Charles Woodson, much like Green, can he return to show signs of his old self?

The Vikings are a bad football team, don't be fooled by a good preseason or all the hype, they're just bad. Brad Johnson, can he hold up? Who's going to run the ball, Chester Taylor? Who are your recievers now that Koren Robinson is gone and Nate Burleson left for Seattle? Their O-Line is solid, so they should have protection, but they have no play makers and very little depth. The defense is half rebuild half over priced veterans, and they lost their best player (Corey Chavous) in the offseason.

NFC South

1. Tampa Bay Buccanneers 12-4
2. Carolina Panthers 10-6
3. New Orleans Saints 7-9
4. Atlanta Falcons 6-10

The Buccaneers are the most complete team in this division. The have the best defense, two good recievers, a promising young quarterback, and a future pro bowl running back. The defense will onceagain be one of the best in the league and Chris Simms is only going to get better.

The Panthers scare me because they're everybodys darlings. Those teams never pan out. Steve Smith is already nursing a hammy, DeShawn Foster never plays in more than 8 games a season, and they don't have the depth on defense that they used to. I do like Jake Delhomme, and I love DeAngelo Williams, but this team won't unseat the Buccaneers.

New Orleans, 7-9? Yes, Reggie Bush will make that much of an impact. Well, Reggie Bush and Drew Brees. The defense is still awful, but the offense now has firepower and will be exciting to watch.

We saw some signs of it in the preseason game against Green Bay, but the Falcons are a bad football team. They're still a one man team, but it appears now that Vick isn't the Superman we all thought he was a few years ago. Warrick Dunn is a very underrated back, but there are no weapons at wideout. Vick, Dunn and Crumpler on offense, that's all they have. The defense has also taken some major steps back since the darling 2004 year they put up.

NFC West

1. St Louis Rams 11-5
2. Seattle Seahawks 9-7
3. Arizona Cardinals 8-8
4. San Francisco 49ers 5-11

I'm fully on board the Rams bandwagon, but moreso the Madden Jinx bandwagon, and the "Super Bowl loser stinks the next season" bandwagon. The Rams have changed philosophy and will commit to the run now, which is bad news for the West because Steven Jackson is the best running back you've barely heard of. They will control the clock with Jackson which will open up big plays for Bruce and Holt and the outside. The defense was also given a face lift this off season with the additions of Corey Chavous, LaRoi Glover and Will Witherspoon. Plus, no more Mike Martz to single handedly lose his team games (I realize I praised the addition for Detroit, but that's Martz as the coordinator, not the guy making all the decisions.)

I'm going off little else than the two explanations above. Alexander and the Madden Curse, and the Super Bowl loser stigma. Plus they lost Hutchinson, Darrell Jackson is hurt, and the defense lost guys, and added no one except for Julian Peterson who may or may not be washed up already.

The Cardinals are everyones sleeper pick, but I don't see it yet. The defense is still awful and the O-line stinks. So what if you have Edge, Fitzgerald and Boldin, if you can't block you can't get those guys the ball.

I like Mike Nolan and he's got this team going in the right direction. The Niners are just going to keep getting better under his control.

NFC WILD CARD

Giants over Bears
Cowboys over Panthers

NFC DIVISIONAL

Giants over Cowboys
Panthers over Rams

NFC CHAMPION

New York Giants