Aug 24, 2005

NFC Quick Look

As part of my prep for my draft this Sunday, I like to take a look at all of the teams in the NFL and think about who I think will take a step forward, who will be about the same, and who will take a step back. This is certainly not an in-depth analysis, and I would encourage people to comment more in-depth. I would expect that Eric would have a pretty good commentary on the Browns and the AFC North in general. Derek, AFC West, Jay, AFC East, etc. With that being said, here's my first stab at the NFC.

NFC East
Iggles - we've talked about it on this site before, but I just can't see them taking much of a step back. Their defense is still pretty good, and even before T.O., they won 12 games. So maybe their schedule is harder and maybe T.O. as a distraction is worth another game or two. So they go 10-6? More of a commentary on the rest of the NFC East than anything else.
G-Men - Manning is hurt and still a second-year QB, Burress is not as good as he is being paid, Barber had a career year, and Shockey is one of the two most overrated TE's in the game (Heap is the other). That being said, their defense is pretty good, they are disciplined, and the rest of the NFC East sucks. They are not good, but will win more than the 6 that they won last year.
Redskins - the team that I root for. That being said, they are terrible. I think that they will improve from last year, but only to 8-8 or 9-7 at best. The defense is solid, but until the offense proves that it can move the ball and actually score points, the jury's out. Oh yeah, and Brunell will be starting by week 7.

NFC North
da Bears - wasn't Chicago in the exact same position last year when Grossman went down? frisky, might make some noise, but then their only hope hurt his leg and the rest of the season went down the toilet? so, don't you go out and get a decent back-up to protect against that? of course not. and that's why you deserve to be in this position.
Lions - no, not the crappy Black Crowes disc, the team with the sick WR trio. How long do you think that Harrington will be allowed to make mistakes before Garcia comes in? Mooch loves Garcia, and the weapons are there. I think that Kevin Jones is going to be good, and Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, and Roy Williams? Wow. I think that the defense is so-so, but we're just looking for competitive, not a Super Bowl.
Pack - I keep waiting for Favre to get hurt and he keeps throwing 30 TDs. I just feel like they are going to get old in a hurry. If Favre retires next season, is Green coming up close? He's been in the league 8 years, and isn't that about the time when RB's slow down? And without those two, who's left?
Vikes - addition by subtraction? with Moss gone, do they spread it around and actually bother with a running game? Culpepper is still the best QB in the NFC, their defense is improving, and their schedule is pretty easy. I think that the NFC North is theirs to lose.

NFC West
Cardinals - they can't be worse, right? Boldin and Fitzgerald now have Warner and his gimp thumb to throw him the ball and this guy JJ Arrington is supposed to be good. Denny Green will get them to a point, and then who knows. Again, they can't be worse, right?
Rams - Bulger is pretty good, Holt is still one of the elite WRs, and Steven Jackson looks like the real deal. I don't think that they are a SB threat, but they should put some numbers up.
49ers - yikes. I think that the only thing that you are looking at is Alex Smith and Frank Gore. And that's only for next year.
Seahawks - Shaun Alexander's contract year, will Hasselbeck finally turn into a consistent QB? After Darrell Jackson, do you even know any of their WRs? Did you know that they have a WR named Taco? No kidding. Sorry, I just can't get excited about them. Maybe it's an East Coast bias, but I don't really understand how they are any good (other than playing the 49ers twice). Anyone have any insight on this?

4 comments:

dzahn07 said...

Umm...You forgot the Cowboys, who I think have a legit shot at taking the division. Redskins are just terrible and 9-7 or 8-8 is almost as crazy as Eric thinking that Dilfer is the man to take the Browns. G-Men are about 1-2 years away. The big question mark is with the Eagles. If TO goes down, it is over. If he stays healthy, then they win the division.

Back to the Cowboys. Parcells managed to take a team led by Testerverde and George to win 6 games. He also had a system that allowed Vinny to throw for 3500 yards, which is mind boggling. Now they have Bledsoe and Jones in place. Bledsoe isn't an elite QB anymore, but I can think of at least 2 games he lost for that team last year. With Bledsoe at the helm, this has to be worth a couple of games. The defense was pretty good last year despite being on the field for so long. I'm predicting 9-7, and this will be enough to win the division if TO goes down.

NFC North: Agree with the Vikes and Pack analysis, I just don't understand why everyone is going bezerk over the Lions WR. Has Rodgers ever done anything other than get hurt? Williams and Williams are the real deal, but with no QB, who cares. And if you think that Garcia will come in to rescue this team after Harrington fucks it up, just ask Eric how that worked out in Cleveland. And BTW, Grossman went out in the third week of the season after starting out 2-0.

NFC West- Lee, here is the insight on Seattle. They are always overhyped and they suck. You can basically stack the box with 10 guys and only have 1 CB guarding 3 WR, since they can't catch the ball. Hasselback is one of the most over-rated QBs in history. Granted, its not all his fault, since his WRs drop every 3rd ball, but still, he has only had one decent year and that is it. The defense is filled with ex all pro guys from around the league.

dzahn07 said...

Oh, and here is a quick note to think about when projecting division winners. 1-2 teams that are under .500 the year prior end up winning the division. So on that note, here we go....

NFC East- Eagles, but if TO goes down I'm going with the Cowboys.
NFC North- Vikes
NFC West- Rams
NFC South- Panthers

Wild Card- Atlanta/Saints

skeetskeet11 said...

I didn't forget the Cowboys, I just refuse to acknowledge their existence.

And I think that I forgot the 'Aints. In summary, I hate Aaron Brooks (he killed my fantasy team one year) and Jim Haslett should finally get fired this year.

Eric Z said...

Yes, I believe you forgot a whole division, the NFC South.