NFC Predictions 2009

There are lots of questions going into the 2009 NFL season:  Can the Steelers repeat as Super Bowl Champs? Has Tom Brady recovered enough to lead the Patriots back to the playoffs? Can Matthew Stafford lead the Lions to even a single win? How will Brett Favre and Michael Vick do on their new teams, the Vikings and Eagles? These and many other questions will factor in to how I will predict the final season standings for all 8 divisions, as well as the playoff match-ups and winners. Below are my NFC predictions. Click here for my AFC predictions.

East

1. Philadelphia Eagles-  If Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook stay healthy (which is a big if) the Eagles should be very good this year. With the addition of a few rookies at skill positions (Jeremy Maclin at WR and LeSean McCoy at RB) and the addition of Michael Vick, opposing defenses will have a lot of players they have to scheme for, which will cause a lot of sleepless nights for opposing D Coordinators.

2. Dallas Cowboys – Playing in Jerry Jones’ new billion dollar baby should get the ‘Boys at least a win or two when opposing teams come in and just stare in awe at the ginormous TV above their heads, leaving the Cowboys free to rack up thousands of yards and hundreds of points. OK, maybe not, but with T.O. and Jessica Simpson out of the picture, it is finally time for Tony Romo to step up and show everyone he can finish a season, and I think he will. He still has his favorite target, Jason Witten, and T.O.’s absence should also help out Roy Williams , who should become the big-play threat he was drafted to be.

3. NY Giants – The Giants have a serious need at WR, now that they have officially cut ties with Plaxico Burress. Last year, the Giants were 11-1 to start off the season, but finished it 1-4, including the playoff loss to the Eagles. Guess what the difference was: Plaxico Burress wasn’t with them. Unless Eli Manning can prove he is worth his huge new contract extension and turn his OK receivers into good or great receivers, the Giants will miss the playoffs this year, although they will still finish above .500.

4. Washington Redskins- It pains me to put my boys in this spot, but I have to be realistic. The Redskins defense should be a juggernaut this year, with the addition of Albert Haynesworth, but it is put up or shut up time for Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell and I just don’t see them improving enough this year for either one to save their jobs. On the bright side of that coin, Bill Cowher is only a year a way from donning the Redskins colors and hopefully putting an end to the coaching carousel that has been going around and around and around since Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999.

North

1. Minnesota Vikings- With the addition of Brett Favre and, perhaps more importantly, Percy Harvin the Vikings passing game should be better and actually force defenses to not crowd Adrian Peterson. He may have his best year yet. And for you Favre naysayers, he only plays in two potentially cold-weather games the whole season, at Green Bay on November 1 and at Chicago December 28. That is a very favorable schedule for an old arm to last the full season.

2. Chicago Bears- The Bears only finished one game behind the Vikings last year with Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman as their QBs. Say what you want about Jay Cutler being a whiner who forced his way out of Denver, he is a better quarterback than Orton and Grossman put together. RB Matt Forte and WR Devin Hester will be even better this season than they were last season, which is a very good thing for Bears fans.

3. Green Bay Packers- I just don’t see any additions to the Packers that makes me think they will improve drastically enough to pass either of the Bears or the Vikings. All three division rivals upgraded their QB spot, and even though none of the new QBs are as good as Aaron Rodgers, all three teams did improve, where it seems Green Bay stayed pretty much the same.

4. Detroit Lions - The Lions will not finish 0-16 again this year. There are too many winnable games on the schedule for them to lay another goose egg. Unfortunately, their first win won’t come until after their bye week when they get St. Louis at home. If Matthew Stafford can’t lead the Lions over the Rams at home with two weeks to plan, then maybe they can pull out a win against Cleveland three weeks later, at Cincy two weeks after that, or at San Fran the second to last week of the season. For the sake of Lions fans everywhere, though, I hope the losing streak doesn’t reach week 16 when they play the 49ers.

South

1. Carolina Panthers- Until someone proves they can stop the RB tandem of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart you can’t pick against the Panthers. Preseason injuries to Steve Smith and Stewart have me a little worried that the Panthers won’t be able to repeat as NFC South champs, but with a bye week in week 4, health shouldn’t be a big concern for them yet.

2. New Orleans Saints- Drew Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and he will find a way to win a lot of the games they lost last year. Six of their 8 losses last year came by a combined total of 18 points. With the emergence of Pierre Thomas as a reliable RB threat, the Saints will also be able to do more things better suited to Reggie Bush’s talents. Opposing defense will not like the week they look at the schedule and see New Orleans is their opponent.

3. Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan will probably be a better QB this year than last year when he took his team to the playoffs and Michael Turner will be the same dominating force in the backfield, but opposing defenses will also have more film on these two and be better prepared when they play them. I predict Ryan  and Turner will look statistically worse than they did last year and the Falcons won’t make the playoffs because defenses won’t be surprised by them nearly as much as they were last year.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Questions at quarterback will doom this team all season. When Kansas State product Josh Freeman is a viable candidate for the starting QB job as a rookie you know the team is in trouble. Freeman was a decent-enough QB for the Wildcats last year, but he is not the answer for the Bucs.

West

1. Seattle Seahawks- Matt Hasselbeck should be back to his dominant form. They have a receiving core with Nate Burleson and T.J Houshmandzadeh that is actually comprised of NFL caliber players. Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett form a formidable backfield. They have all of the offensive keys to get back to their rightful place on top of this weak division.

2. Arizona Cardinals- Even though they made it to the Super Bowl, I don’t see the Cardinals improving upon their 9-7 record from last year, especially since they won’t sweep Seattle like they did last year and probably won’t sweep San Francisco either. I may be eating these words if Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin both stay healthy the whole season, if Larry Fitzgerald plays at the same level as he did last year, and if Chris Wells compliments Tim Hightower in the backfield. That is a lot of ifs that need to take place.

3. San Francisco 49ers- Shaun Hill, Alex Smith, Damon Huard. That is the 49ers depth chart at QB. Enough said. If the 49ers can find a way to get Michael Crabtree into camp, and quick, and if Frank Gore stays healthy, the 49ers may be able to finish the season around .500, but it doesn’t look good.

4. St. Louis Rams- Marc Bulger leads a team that is a far cry from “The Greatest Show on Turf” and that is assuming he stays healthy enough to lead the team at all. His receiving core consists of Donnie Avery and a bunch of scrubs, which means opposing teams will load the box and stop Steven Jackson from having a real impact on their season. If not for the upsets they pulled in weeks 6 and 7 last year the Rams would have joined the Lions as a winless team, and their prospects don’t seem much better this year.