Well its that time of the year again, my favorite time of the year when it comes to sports. Baseball is headed down the stretch run, College Football kicks off this Saturday and the NFL is just around the corner. Here is the Sportfellas NFC preview for 2008. The AFC will be soon to follow.
NFC East- It seems like the Cowboys have been on the brink of being something special for about 5 years now, but one thing or another has prevented them from really doing something big. Last year's 13-3 performance was good enough for the best record in the NFC, but they tripped up against the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants in the wildcard round. The Giants on the other hand looked like a borderline playoff team that somehow ended up doing something special. This year I think things will change. The Cowboys should repeat as division champions and will be the last ones laughing this year. The Giants really weren't all that great to begin with, but now with the losses of pro-bowl DEs Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, they look to be headed towards a postseason full of Tv watching on their couches. The Eagles and Redskins are both talented teams who always have the potential to make some noise, but this year is the Cowboy's year in the East.
NFC North- One of the more interesting divisions in football this year. The big storylines of course are the exit of Brett Favre and the emergence of Adrian Peterson as a premier back. Last year the Packers surprised by racking up 13 wins but will Aaron Rodgers be able to repeat the success of Brett Favre? The Vikings looked poised to become one of the better teams in the NFC. Their rushing game has become the best in the NFL behind a strong line and their defense made huge strides last year. Of course like the Packers and Bears QB play will be a huge question for the Vikings. If Tavaris Jackson can play smart enough to avoid mistakes and let his running game and defense win the game this should be the Vikings division to lose. The Bears lack quality skill players and are battling some injuries as well, they are unlikely to make much noise this season and the Lions.... well they are the Lions.
NFC South- THe Bucs may have been the most surprising division winner last year. They were able to squek by with the division title with only a 9-7 record in a weak division. This year I expect this division to bounce back a bit. The Saints were a big disappointment last year but they have too much talent to let that happen again. Look for Drew Brees and company to win 10 games and take the South this year. The Bucs still have a solid but not great team as well, they will be in the picture in both the division and the wildcard. The Panthers who were among the best teams in the league for a few years have fallen a bit. They got no production out of Steve Smith last year and they have no proven running back. They have a chance to be a solid team but it looks like a 3rd place finish. The Falcons are a non-factor again this year.
NFC West- Quite possibly the weakest division in all of football. The Seahawks have won this division each of the last 4 years. Every year it seems we hear how this will finally be the Cardinals year to break out but so far they have failed every time. The Seahawks have lost some WR depth as well as Shawn Alexander so if the Cardinals can get good QB play from either Warner or Leinart they may be able to come away with this one. I still have to think its more likely the Seahawks win this division for the 5th time in a row. The Rams are a young team that has improved some but they still look to be a year or two away and the 49ers are a mess, going with JT O'Sullivan at QB over struggling former #1 pick Alex Smith.
Picks to break out
Jonathan Stewart RB, Carolina
Stewart will share carries with D'Angelo Williams in the Carolina backfeild to start the season, but there have been great reports out of Panthers camp on Stewart. Every year in the NFL we see a rookie Rb breakout and Stewart is a food possiblity to be that guy this year.
Laurent Robinson WR, Atlanta
Robinson became a starter for the Falcons late in the season and I was very impressed with him. He is expected to be the full-time starter this year in Atlanta opposite Roddy White. Of course Falcons QB Matt Ryan will have to perform for Robinson to put up big numbers, but if so I think he will.
Picks to break down
Marc Bulger QB, St. Louis
Bulger has been the starter for the Rams seemingly forever and has been very consistent. However fir the first time last year we saw signs of him breaking down. One more poor year from Bulger and the otherwise young Rams may choose to draft a QB in the off-season and move on.
Ahman Green RB, Houston
Green has been a consistent performer for a long time and is still listed on depth charts as the Texans starting RB but he is coming off a shaky year and has not looked good this preseason. THe Texans have a couple young RB in Chris Taylor and Steve Slaton that could take over the Texans job if Green struggles again.
NFC's best Offense
New Orleans Saints. Despite their 7-9 record last year the Saints finished 4th in the NFL in total offense. They have a plethora of talent at the skill positions to go along with Drew Brees who had another great year. Expect the Saints to bounce back and put a whole lot of points on the board this season.
NFC's best Defense
Tampa Bay Bucs. The giants lost too much from the defense and pass rush to repeat their defensive performance from last year. The Bucs are solid at all 11 positions and held opponents to under 17 points a game last year. The Cowboys, Packers and Vikings all have talented defensive units as well.
Bold Prediction
The Dallas Cowboys will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season. There is just too much talent in Dallas on both sides of the ball. After blowing playoff opportunities each of the past 2 seasons I expect Romo and company to get it done this year.
NFC North- One of the more interesting divisions in football this year. The big storylines of course are the exit of Brett Favre and the emergence of Adrian Peterson as a premier back. Last year the Packers surprised by racking up 13 wins but will Aaron Rodgers be able to repeat the success of Brett Favre? The Vikings looked poised to become one of the better teams in the NFC. Their rushing game has become the best in the NFL behind a strong line and their defense made huge strides last year. Of course like the Packers and Bears QB play will be a huge question for the Vikings. If Tavaris Jackson can play smart enough to avoid mistakes and let his running game and defense win the game this should be the Vikings division to lose. The Bears lack quality skill players and are battling some injuries as well, they are unlikely to make much noise this season and the Lions.... well they are the Lions.
NFC South- THe Bucs may have been the most surprising division winner last year. They were able to squek by with the division title with only a 9-7 record in a weak division. This year I expect this division to bounce back a bit. The Saints were a big disappointment last year but they have too much talent to let that happen again. Look for Drew Brees and company to win 10 games and take the South this year. The Bucs still have a solid but not great team as well, they will be in the picture in both the division and the wildcard. The Panthers who were among the best teams in the league for a few years have fallen a bit. They got no production out of Steve Smith last year and they have no proven running back. They have a chance to be a solid team but it looks like a 3rd place finish. The Falcons are a non-factor again this year.
NFC West- Quite possibly the weakest division in all of football. The Seahawks have won this division each of the last 4 years. Every year it seems we hear how this will finally be the Cardinals year to break out but so far they have failed every time. The Seahawks have lost some WR depth as well as Shawn Alexander so if the Cardinals can get good QB play from either Warner or Leinart they may be able to come away with this one. I still have to think its more likely the Seahawks win this division for the 5th time in a row. The Rams are a young team that has improved some but they still look to be a year or two away and the 49ers are a mess, going with JT O'Sullivan at QB over struggling former #1 pick Alex Smith.
Picks to break out
Jonathan Stewart RB, Carolina
Stewart will share carries with D'Angelo Williams in the Carolina backfeild to start the season, but there have been great reports out of Panthers camp on Stewart. Every year in the NFL we see a rookie Rb breakout and Stewart is a food possiblity to be that guy this year.
Laurent Robinson WR, Atlanta
Robinson became a starter for the Falcons late in the season and I was very impressed with him. He is expected to be the full-time starter this year in Atlanta opposite Roddy White. Of course Falcons QB Matt Ryan will have to perform for Robinson to put up big numbers, but if so I think he will.
Picks to break down
Marc Bulger QB, St. Louis
Bulger has been the starter for the Rams seemingly forever and has been very consistent. However fir the first time last year we saw signs of him breaking down. One more poor year from Bulger and the otherwise young Rams may choose to draft a QB in the off-season and move on.
Ahman Green RB, Houston
Green has been a consistent performer for a long time and is still listed on depth charts as the Texans starting RB but he is coming off a shaky year and has not looked good this preseason. THe Texans have a couple young RB in Chris Taylor and Steve Slaton that could take over the Texans job if Green struggles again.
NFC's best Offense
New Orleans Saints. Despite their 7-9 record last year the Saints finished 4th in the NFL in total offense. They have a plethora of talent at the skill positions to go along with Drew Brees who had another great year. Expect the Saints to bounce back and put a whole lot of points on the board this season.
NFC's best Defense
Tampa Bay Bucs. The giants lost too much from the defense and pass rush to repeat their defensive performance from last year. The Bucs are solid at all 11 positions and held opponents to under 17 points a game last year. The Cowboys, Packers and Vikings all have talented defensive units as well.
Bold Prediction
The Dallas Cowboys will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season. There is just too much talent in Dallas on both sides of the ball. After blowing playoff opportunities each of the past 2 seasons I expect Romo and company to get it done this year.
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