NFL Preview: NFC
Are you ready for some football? The NFL season is fast approaching and I don't think I have ever been more excited for a football season in my life. At the start of every season, every fan believes that this is their team’s year. This is the year that your team is going to go all the way and win it all. I always have high expectations for the Bengals, like any true fan, but this year I think they could really make some noise. Last year's 10-6 squad was good, but they faded down the stretch and now this year's Bengals team has one of the toughest schedules in the league. Any other year I would say that the Bengals would not win 8 games with the schedule they have, but not this season. This team is for real and if they stay healthy look for the Bengals to be playing into January, maybe even February. The possibility of seeing the Reds and Bengals in the playoffs in the same year gives me chills just thinking about it.
Before I get to how I think the Bengals will do and who will lead the team to glory, let's look at the rest of the league, starting with the NFC.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys, 11-5 (in 2009), won Division: The Cowboys come into the season absolutely loaded on both sides of the ball and are one of the favorites to go to the Super Bowl. QB Tony Romo has a good line and great weapons to get the ball to on offense. A three headed monster in the backfield with RB Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, can all take it to the house at any time. WR Miles Austin looks to continue his break out season and Roy Williams looks to rebound from a down year, not to mention the addition of rookie Dez Bryant. Bryant got suspended for most of the last year while playing at Oklahoma State, but he is a great talent with a bright future. It's no coincidence that he wears #88, the same number of another great Cowboy WR in Michael Irvin. LB DeMarcus Ware is one of the best, if not the best pass rusher in the NFL and the rest of the Dallas defense is solid. With the Super Bowl being played in Dallas' own backyard, owner Jerry Jones has assembled a team that he thinks can get to the Super Bowl.
New York Giants, 8-8 missed playoffs: The New York Football Giants, or the, "GGGGGGGG-men," as Chris Berman likes to say, look for a return to the playoffs after a .500 season. The Giants were hurt by the injury bug last year and if they stay healthy they might challenge the Cowboys for the division. Eli Manning is a solid QB and RB Brandon Jacobs is a load in the backfield, but they must stay healthy. Head coach Tom Coughlin is on the hot seat and may be on his way out of the Big Apple with a sub-par season.
Philadelphia Eagles, 11-5 Wild Card berth: For the first time since 1999, the Eagles have a new QB under center in Kevin Kolb. After trading Donovon McNabb to the Washington Redskins in the offseason, the Kevin Kolb era begins in the city of brotherly love. The Eagles are a young team with players like Kolb, WR's DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, RB LeSean McCoy and UC grad TE Brent Celek all having less than 5 years of NFL experience. The lack of experience might hurt the Eagles, but head coach Andy Reid is one of the best and he should have his team firing on all cylinders when the season starts. It might be hard to repeat an 11-5 season without McNabb, even though the Eagles are young; they are a fast and very athletic team.
Washington Redskins, 4-12, missed playoffs: The Redskins are a whole new team this season with a new head coach in Mike Shanahan and QB Donovan McNabb. Last year's QB Jason Campbell was traded in the offseason to the Oakland Raiders to make room for McNabb and Jim Zorn was fired half way through last season. Well, not really, but he had his play calling duties taken away and had no real control over the team. Mike Shanahan, former Denver Broncos coach, was out of the NFL last year, but he can still coach. He led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowls in John Elway’s final years and with another good QB in McNabb, the Skins should be better in 2010. Even though the $100 million dollar man, DL Albert Haynesworth, took forever to complete his conditioning test that most contestants on the Biggest Loser could do, he is back to help lead the Redskins defense. If the defense can play well enough to keep Washington in the game, the offense will score enough points for them to win some games.
NFC North
Chicago Bears, 7-9 missed playoffs: Ah, the Bears. Just like the Cubs, expectations for the professional sports teams in the Windy City are always high. Last year was a disappointing season for the Bears, even with new QB Jay Cutler, he managed to led the league with 26 INT. Head coach Lovie Smith and Cutler will be on the hot seat this year if they don't make the playoffs, which I don’t see happening.
Detroit Lions, 2-14 missed playoffs, obviously: The Lions have not been great since Barry Sanders retired and have gone 2-30 the past two seasons. Not so great, but since they have been so bad they have had one of the top two picks in the draft the past two years. The last two drafts have resulted in QB Matthew Stafford and DT Ndamukong Suh. Stafford threw only 13 TD’s last year and had 20 INT in his rookie season, but showed some promise down the stretch. He has some solids weapons to get the ball to in WR Calvin Johnson, RB Kevin Smith and rookie RB Jahvid Best out of Cal. The Lions should at least double their win total from last year, but that might be it.
Green Bay Packers, 11-5 Wild Card berth: The Packers are a dark horse for the Super Bowl in my opinion. Aaron Rodgers has emerged as one of the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL and with a good season might be in the MVP conversation. A solid defense complements the Packer offense and the Pack will probably go head-to-head with former QB Brett Favre and the Vikings for the division title.
Minnesota Vikings, 12-4 won Division, lost to Saints in NFC Championship: Brett Favre is back, wait no he's not, wait now he is, my God. The Brett Favre watch on ESPN was almost as bad as the LeBron special; thank God that was only a one hour show. QB Brett Favre is indeed back and the Vikings look to go back to the NFC Championship, this time with different results. All the stars are back, RB Adrian Peterson is one of the top 3 backs in the league and DE Jared Allen is one of the top pass rushers in the NFL. A good defense and an offense lead by Favre should lead the Vikes back to the playoffs, but they will have to fight off Brett's former team for the division crown. But don't be surprised to see the Vikings playing deep into January and maybe even February.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons, 9-7 missed playoffs: I don't know what to think of the Falcons. They have great players on offense lead by QB Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner, WR Roddy White and future Hall of Famer TE Tony Gonzalez. The defense struggled at times last year, but if the defense plays well and the offense plays like it's capable of, Atlanta should be good. We will have to wait and see which Atlanta team shows up this season, the 2008 playoff team or the 2009 team that missed the playoffs.
Carolina Panthers, 8-8 missed playoffs: Jake "delight come" you got a Delhomme, as Chris Berman would say, is in Cleveland and Matt Moore takes over as the Panthers quarterback. Moore will probably be the starter in week one, but rookie Jimmy Clausen out of Notre Dame is waiting on the sidelines. The Panthers have the best one, two punch in the NFL at running back, with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. WR Steve Smith is also pretty good. The Panthers struggled to throw the ball last year, which resulted in teams loading the box to stop the run. A better passing game should open up even more room for Williams and Stewart, but the success of the Panthers relies on the arm of Matt Moore. If he under performs at the start of the season, look for Clausen to come off the bench.
New Orleans Saints, 13-3 Won Super Bowl XLIV: Who Dat, the Saints surprised everyone last year by winning their first 13 games and beating the Colts in the Super Bowl. Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees has been on every talk show known to man and also graced the cover of Madden NFL 11 in the offseason. The Madden cover is said to be cursed, but I think Drew Brees will break the curse this year and the Saints will have another good season. It is hard to repeat as Super Bowl champs, in fact it's hard enough just to get back to the playoffs, but it should be no problem for the Super Saints. They will have to play with huge targets on their backs, as most defending Super Bowl champs do. The Saints I believe are up to the challenge and should be back in the playoffs to defend their crown.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3-13 missed playoffs: The Bucs had a long season last year and I don't think it will get much better this season. QB Josh Freeman is in his second year, but suffered a thumb injury in the preseason. The rest of the offense is full of young players and the defense was the worst in the league at stopping the run last year. Freeman needs to be healthy if the Bucs have any chance, but being in a tough division with the Saints does not help Tampa. If might be another long season for the Bucs and head coach Raheem Morris, who is on the hot seat.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals, 10-6 won Division: Their are a lot of new faces in the desert for the Cards this season. QB Kurt Warner retired, WR Anquan Boldin was traded to Baltimore, S Antrel Rolle is a New York Giant and LB Carlos Dansby is in Miami. It's going to be hard enough replacing Kurt Warner, but Boldin, Rolle and Dansby were three of the best players on last year's squad. Look for Beanie Wells to get more carries and Pro Bowl WR Larry Fitzgerald to have another big year with the departure of Boldin. Right now either Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson will be starting at QB, but not knowing who the starting quarterback will be going into the third preseason game is never a good thing. I doubt Arizona will win 10 games again, but a weak division and a moderate schedule might help the Cardinals reach the playoffs.
San Francisco 49ers, 8-8 missed playoffs: All of the tools are in place for the 49ers to win, but once again it relies on the quarterback, former number one pick Alex Smith. The 49er defense has gotten better over the years, mainly because of the defensive intensity that, former linebacker and head coach, Mike Singletary brings to the team. Lead by Pro Bowler LB Patrick Willis, the 49er defense has a chance to be a top 10 or even top 5 unit this year. On offense Smith has a great RB in Frank Gore to hand the ball off to and TE Vernon Davis and second year WR Michael Crabtree give Smith targets to throw too. This just might be the 49ers year.
Seattle Seahawks, 5-11 missed playoffs: Pete Carroll is now the head coach of the Seahawks after leaving USC before the sanctions set in. This is Carroll's second stint in the NFL and he looks to have different results from last time. USC was one of, if not the best college football program while Carroll was there and he will bring a lot of energy to Seattle. The Seahawks should be better under Carroll, but it might take a year or two for them to return to the playoffs.
St. Louis Rams, 1-15 missed playoffs: Even though the Rams were the worst team in the NFL last year they were rewarded with the number one overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Number one overall pick QB Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma will take the reins and try and bring the Rams back to the glory days when they were the "Greatest Show on Turf." Bradford will be facing a tough test in his first NFL season, like most rookie quarterbacks, but will have some help. RB Steven Jackson is one of the top 5 running backs in the NFL and former UC WR Mardy Gilyard will give Bradford a weapon to throw to. It will take some time for Bradford to adjust to the NFL, but he did win the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma and he is a pretty good QB. The Rams will win more than one game this year, but will still probably have a top 10 pick in the 2011 draft.
Now for the NFC Awards; from who I think the offensive and defensive players of the year, rookies of the year will be and who will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
NFC Offensive Player of the Year: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints. The best QB in the NFC and one of the best playing the game, Brees will have a chance to win League MVP and lead the Saints back to the Super Bowl.
NFC Defensive Player of the Year: LB Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers. The heart and soul of 49er defense and with one of the best linebackers of all-time in Mike Singletary as his coach, look for Willis to have a break out year.
NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year: QB Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams. Bradford has the biggest opportunity to make an impact as a rookie seeing how he will probably be the starter in week one. Even though he will probably struggle at times, Bradford is good enough to have a solid rookie season.
NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year: DT Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions. Suh will be starting on the defensive line for the Lions and if plays like he did at Nebraska, Suh will have a huge rookie season. It will be an adjustment from college and he may not have the same success at first, but just give it time.
Predicted 2010 NFC Standings
X-clinched playoff spot, Y-clinched division, Z-clinched home field advantage, *-first round bye
NFC EAST
Y-Dallas Cowboys: 12-4
New York Giants: 9-7
Washington Redskins: 8-8
Philadelphia Eagles: 8-8
NFC NORTH
Y-*Minnesota Vikings: 13-3
X-Green Bay Packers: 12-4
Chicago Bears: 6-10
Detroit Lions: 5-11
NFC SOUTH
Z-*New Orleans Saints: 13-3
X-Atlanta Falcons: 10-6
Carolina Panthers: 7-9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4-12
NFC WEST
Y-San Francisco 49ers: 10-6
Arizona Cardinals: 9-7
Seattle Seahawks: 6-10
St. Louis Rams: 3-13
NFC Playoffs
Wild Card Round
Green Bay over San Francisco
Dallas over Atlanta
Divisional Round
Dallas over New Orleans
Minnesota over Green Bay
NFC Championship
Dallas over Minnesota. The Cowboys beat up on Brett Favre and the Vikes and will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Jerry Jones will get his wish in seeing his Cowboys play the Super Bowl in the stadium that cost him $1 billion dollars.
An AFC preview is still to come.
Before I get to how I think the Bengals will do and who will lead the team to glory, let's look at the rest of the league, starting with the NFC.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys, 11-5 (in 2009), won Division: The Cowboys come into the season absolutely loaded on both sides of the ball and are one of the favorites to go to the Super Bowl. QB Tony Romo has a good line and great weapons to get the ball to on offense. A three headed monster in the backfield with RB Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, can all take it to the house at any time. WR Miles Austin looks to continue his break out season and Roy Williams looks to rebound from a down year, not to mention the addition of rookie Dez Bryant. Bryant got suspended for most of the last year while playing at Oklahoma State, but he is a great talent with a bright future. It's no coincidence that he wears #88, the same number of another great Cowboy WR in Michael Irvin. LB DeMarcus Ware is one of the best, if not the best pass rusher in the NFL and the rest of the Dallas defense is solid. With the Super Bowl being played in Dallas' own backyard, owner Jerry Jones has assembled a team that he thinks can get to the Super Bowl.
New York Giants, 8-8 missed playoffs: The New York Football Giants, or the, "GGGGGGGG-men," as Chris Berman likes to say, look for a return to the playoffs after a .500 season. The Giants were hurt by the injury bug last year and if they stay healthy they might challenge the Cowboys for the division. Eli Manning is a solid QB and RB Brandon Jacobs is a load in the backfield, but they must stay healthy. Head coach Tom Coughlin is on the hot seat and may be on his way out of the Big Apple with a sub-par season.
Philadelphia Eagles, 11-5 Wild Card berth: For the first time since 1999, the Eagles have a new QB under center in Kevin Kolb. After trading Donovon McNabb to the Washington Redskins in the offseason, the Kevin Kolb era begins in the city of brotherly love. The Eagles are a young team with players like Kolb, WR's DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, RB LeSean McCoy and UC grad TE Brent Celek all having less than 5 years of NFL experience. The lack of experience might hurt the Eagles, but head coach Andy Reid is one of the best and he should have his team firing on all cylinders when the season starts. It might be hard to repeat an 11-5 season without McNabb, even though the Eagles are young; they are a fast and very athletic team.
Washington Redskins, 4-12, missed playoffs: The Redskins are a whole new team this season with a new head coach in Mike Shanahan and QB Donovan McNabb. Last year's QB Jason Campbell was traded in the offseason to the Oakland Raiders to make room for McNabb and Jim Zorn was fired half way through last season. Well, not really, but he had his play calling duties taken away and had no real control over the team. Mike Shanahan, former Denver Broncos coach, was out of the NFL last year, but he can still coach. He led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowls in John Elway’s final years and with another good QB in McNabb, the Skins should be better in 2010. Even though the $100 million dollar man, DL Albert Haynesworth, took forever to complete his conditioning test that most contestants on the Biggest Loser could do, he is back to help lead the Redskins defense. If the defense can play well enough to keep Washington in the game, the offense will score enough points for them to win some games.
NFC North
Chicago Bears, 7-9 missed playoffs: Ah, the Bears. Just like the Cubs, expectations for the professional sports teams in the Windy City are always high. Last year was a disappointing season for the Bears, even with new QB Jay Cutler, he managed to led the league with 26 INT. Head coach Lovie Smith and Cutler will be on the hot seat this year if they don't make the playoffs, which I don’t see happening.
Detroit Lions, 2-14 missed playoffs, obviously: The Lions have not been great since Barry Sanders retired and have gone 2-30 the past two seasons. Not so great, but since they have been so bad they have had one of the top two picks in the draft the past two years. The last two drafts have resulted in QB Matthew Stafford and DT Ndamukong Suh. Stafford threw only 13 TD’s last year and had 20 INT in his rookie season, but showed some promise down the stretch. He has some solids weapons to get the ball to in WR Calvin Johnson, RB Kevin Smith and rookie RB Jahvid Best out of Cal. The Lions should at least double their win total from last year, but that might be it.
Green Bay Packers, 11-5 Wild Card berth: The Packers are a dark horse for the Super Bowl in my opinion. Aaron Rodgers has emerged as one of the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL and with a good season might be in the MVP conversation. A solid defense complements the Packer offense and the Pack will probably go head-to-head with former QB Brett Favre and the Vikings for the division title.
Minnesota Vikings, 12-4 won Division, lost to Saints in NFC Championship: Brett Favre is back, wait no he's not, wait now he is, my God. The Brett Favre watch on ESPN was almost as bad as the LeBron special; thank God that was only a one hour show. QB Brett Favre is indeed back and the Vikings look to go back to the NFC Championship, this time with different results. All the stars are back, RB Adrian Peterson is one of the top 3 backs in the league and DE Jared Allen is one of the top pass rushers in the NFL. A good defense and an offense lead by Favre should lead the Vikes back to the playoffs, but they will have to fight off Brett's former team for the division crown. But don't be surprised to see the Vikings playing deep into January and maybe even February.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons, 9-7 missed playoffs: I don't know what to think of the Falcons. They have great players on offense lead by QB Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner, WR Roddy White and future Hall of Famer TE Tony Gonzalez. The defense struggled at times last year, but if the defense plays well and the offense plays like it's capable of, Atlanta should be good. We will have to wait and see which Atlanta team shows up this season, the 2008 playoff team or the 2009 team that missed the playoffs.
Carolina Panthers, 8-8 missed playoffs: Jake "delight come" you got a Delhomme, as Chris Berman would say, is in Cleveland and Matt Moore takes over as the Panthers quarterback. Moore will probably be the starter in week one, but rookie Jimmy Clausen out of Notre Dame is waiting on the sidelines. The Panthers have the best one, two punch in the NFL at running back, with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. WR Steve Smith is also pretty good. The Panthers struggled to throw the ball last year, which resulted in teams loading the box to stop the run. A better passing game should open up even more room for Williams and Stewart, but the success of the Panthers relies on the arm of Matt Moore. If he under performs at the start of the season, look for Clausen to come off the bench.
New Orleans Saints, 13-3 Won Super Bowl XLIV: Who Dat, the Saints surprised everyone last year by winning their first 13 games and beating the Colts in the Super Bowl. Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees has been on every talk show known to man and also graced the cover of Madden NFL 11 in the offseason. The Madden cover is said to be cursed, but I think Drew Brees will break the curse this year and the Saints will have another good season. It is hard to repeat as Super Bowl champs, in fact it's hard enough just to get back to the playoffs, but it should be no problem for the Super Saints. They will have to play with huge targets on their backs, as most defending Super Bowl champs do. The Saints I believe are up to the challenge and should be back in the playoffs to defend their crown.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3-13 missed playoffs: The Bucs had a long season last year and I don't think it will get much better this season. QB Josh Freeman is in his second year, but suffered a thumb injury in the preseason. The rest of the offense is full of young players and the defense was the worst in the league at stopping the run last year. Freeman needs to be healthy if the Bucs have any chance, but being in a tough division with the Saints does not help Tampa. If might be another long season for the Bucs and head coach Raheem Morris, who is on the hot seat.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals, 10-6 won Division: Their are a lot of new faces in the desert for the Cards this season. QB Kurt Warner retired, WR Anquan Boldin was traded to Baltimore, S Antrel Rolle is a New York Giant and LB Carlos Dansby is in Miami. It's going to be hard enough replacing Kurt Warner, but Boldin, Rolle and Dansby were three of the best players on last year's squad. Look for Beanie Wells to get more carries and Pro Bowl WR Larry Fitzgerald to have another big year with the departure of Boldin. Right now either Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson will be starting at QB, but not knowing who the starting quarterback will be going into the third preseason game is never a good thing. I doubt Arizona will win 10 games again, but a weak division and a moderate schedule might help the Cardinals reach the playoffs.
San Francisco 49ers, 8-8 missed playoffs: All of the tools are in place for the 49ers to win, but once again it relies on the quarterback, former number one pick Alex Smith. The 49er defense has gotten better over the years, mainly because of the defensive intensity that, former linebacker and head coach, Mike Singletary brings to the team. Lead by Pro Bowler LB Patrick Willis, the 49er defense has a chance to be a top 10 or even top 5 unit this year. On offense Smith has a great RB in Frank Gore to hand the ball off to and TE Vernon Davis and second year WR Michael Crabtree give Smith targets to throw too. This just might be the 49ers year.
Seattle Seahawks, 5-11 missed playoffs: Pete Carroll is now the head coach of the Seahawks after leaving USC before the sanctions set in. This is Carroll's second stint in the NFL and he looks to have different results from last time. USC was one of, if not the best college football program while Carroll was there and he will bring a lot of energy to Seattle. The Seahawks should be better under Carroll, but it might take a year or two for them to return to the playoffs.
St. Louis Rams, 1-15 missed playoffs: Even though the Rams were the worst team in the NFL last year they were rewarded with the number one overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Number one overall pick QB Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma will take the reins and try and bring the Rams back to the glory days when they were the "Greatest Show on Turf." Bradford will be facing a tough test in his first NFL season, like most rookie quarterbacks, but will have some help. RB Steven Jackson is one of the top 5 running backs in the NFL and former UC WR Mardy Gilyard will give Bradford a weapon to throw to. It will take some time for Bradford to adjust to the NFL, but he did win the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma and he is a pretty good QB. The Rams will win more than one game this year, but will still probably have a top 10 pick in the 2011 draft.
Now for the NFC Awards; from who I think the offensive and defensive players of the year, rookies of the year will be and who will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
NFC Offensive Player of the Year: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints. The best QB in the NFC and one of the best playing the game, Brees will have a chance to win League MVP and lead the Saints back to the Super Bowl.
NFC Defensive Player of the Year: LB Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers. The heart and soul of 49er defense and with one of the best linebackers of all-time in Mike Singletary as his coach, look for Willis to have a break out year.
NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year: QB Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams. Bradford has the biggest opportunity to make an impact as a rookie seeing how he will probably be the starter in week one. Even though he will probably struggle at times, Bradford is good enough to have a solid rookie season.
NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year: DT Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions. Suh will be starting on the defensive line for the Lions and if plays like he did at Nebraska, Suh will have a huge rookie season. It will be an adjustment from college and he may not have the same success at first, but just give it time.
Predicted 2010 NFC Standings
X-clinched playoff spot, Y-clinched division, Z-clinched home field advantage, *-first round bye
NFC EAST
Y-Dallas Cowboys: 12-4
New York Giants: 9-7
Washington Redskins: 8-8
Philadelphia Eagles: 8-8
NFC NORTH
Y-*Minnesota Vikings: 13-3
X-Green Bay Packers: 12-4
Chicago Bears: 6-10
Detroit Lions: 5-11
NFC SOUTH
Z-*New Orleans Saints: 13-3
X-Atlanta Falcons: 10-6
Carolina Panthers: 7-9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4-12
NFC WEST
Y-San Francisco 49ers: 10-6
Arizona Cardinals: 9-7
Seattle Seahawks: 6-10
St. Louis Rams: 3-13
NFC Playoffs
Wild Card Round
Green Bay over San Francisco
Dallas over Atlanta
Divisional Round
Dallas over New Orleans
Minnesota over Green Bay
NFC Championship
Dallas over Minnesota. The Cowboys beat up on Brett Favre and the Vikes and will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Jerry Jones will get his wish in seeing his Cowboys play the Super Bowl in the stadium that cost him $1 billion dollars.
An AFC preview is still to come.
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