NFC EAST
NY Giants
Dallas
Philadelphia
Washington

This Division is strange to me. The Giants, Cowboys, and Eagles are all so mercurial that the slightest unforseen circumstance could mix it all. My one solid pick is NOT Washington. For now, I'll go with the team whose primary source of Drama is behind bars.

NFC NORTH
Green Bay
Chicago
Detroit
Minnesota

The attitude of the Sports Media towards Green Bay puzzles me. Everyone talks about how bad the Defense was down the stretch last year, while conveniently forgetting that half of the starters were injured, and that almost all of those injured guys came back. Cutler will improve the Bears but has no receivers. Minnesota has a locker room split by a QB controversy and neither camp is behind the guy who is actually starting. And Detroit is Detroit.

NFC SOUTH
New Orleans
Atlanta
Tampa Bay
Carolina

This is the Division I know the least about.

NFC WEST
Seattle
Arizona
San Francisco
St. Louis

I could be underestimating Arizona here, and I certainly would not be the first to do so. But I am expecting good things out of Seattle, and after their SuperBowl trip the Cardinals are going to find it difficult to sneak into anything this year.


NFC Wildcard? I wanted to go with Dallas, but if their heads are on straight enough to make a legit wildcard run then odds are they win NFC East. So I'm gonna go with... Da Bears.

NFC Champ? Gonna be a bit of a Homer here, but Green Bay has all the tools, a well gelled locker room, good defensive personnel, a talented quarterback and a receiving corps that can run with any other in the league.


AFC EAST
New England
Buffalo
Miami
NY Jets

People may thing I am crazy, putting Buffalo at the #2 slot here, but before that happens I want you to take a look at the performance of teams with Terrell Owens during his first season with them. It's uncanny.


AFC NORTH
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
Cleveland
Cincinnati

Pittsburgh has an excellent argument for actually being better than they were last year. Baltimore will be scary for them but there still is little doubt who the better team is. My hope is that the Browns put Brady Quinn firmly at the starting QB slot and have a mild Renaissance with him there, but the Ravens and Steelers are too good for Cleveland to hope for more than #3 in the division this year.

AFC SOUTH
Tennessee
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville

Has it really come to this, Indianapolis? I'm afraid it has. Peyton Manning can still manufacture some wins but without a better group around him it won't be enough this year. I wanted to put a Houston team with moxie at the top, and may yet regret not doing so, but for now the Titans are the team to beat in that division.

AFC WEST
San Diego
Oakland
Kansas City
Denver

San Diego wins this Division in a yawner.

AFC Wildcard? Ravens. Baltimore is the only AFC team with a legitimate pre-season argument to be able to hang with the Steelers on paper. Sure, any team on any given Sunday, but barring those miracles, it's the Ravens and the Steelers for now.

AFC Champ? Steelers. I live an hour away from Pittsburgh, and already I am wincing at how obnoxious their fans are going to be when they go to another Superbowl...




Superbowl? ...which will make it all the sweeter when my Packers beat them there. Green Bay wins all of it when the Steelers suddenly fail to get the lucky breaks that seem to bloom for them in Super Bowl situations. While I will be the first to call that an upset on paper, that is only because the 3-4 is still a new system in Green Bay. The following year? All bets are off.