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NFC East

Dallas finished last year atop the NFC East and did something they hadn’t done in some time and that was win a playoff game, however that trend didn’t continue as they lost to Minnesota in the next round. 2010 will be the second year in the new stadium and with the Super Bowl there they will try and become the first team in history to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium. There are some obstacles to overcome as their schedule is very tough. Besides the division games, they play the NFC North, and AFC South and the defending champion Saints. They did bring in through the draft a big name receiver, but he ended up getting hurt and will miss some time, and before that refused to carry the veterans pads which led to and could lead to more lockeroom issues. The biggest difference they are facing is McNabb is in Washington which makes the Redskins tougher and the Eagles a bit of a mystery. Last year they went 4-2 in the division and beat Washington and Philadelphia twice, so maybe beating McNabb regardless of the team he is on isn’t a problem, but went 0-2 against the Giants including the opening game in their new digs. For 2010 I have the tough schedule being the biggest problem leading to a solid 10-6 year, but falling just short of the division and playoff spot by one game.

Philadelphia had a big offseason releasing Brian Westbrook and trading away Donovan McNabb. The biggest surprise about McNabb was who they traded him to, not only was it within the NFC it was within the East as he was traded to Washington. With McNabb’s exit who will lead the Eagles? Year in and year out it was always on Donovan’s shoulders and he could always lead to a playoff birth for the most part and with him gone is Kevin Kolb really the answer to Philadelphia’s question of who will lead them back to the playoffs. The biggest thing that can help Kolb relax and escape the clutches of the fans of Philadelphia is if the running game and defense are able to take some of the pressure and open things up for Kolb and give him short fields. LeSean McCoy had a nice rookie season, but can he do it again when teams will stack the box and make Kolb beat them? Look for Philadelphia, in 2010, to take a step back and finish under .500 at 6-10 as they will need to improve at the quarterback spot next offseason.

NY Giants are coming off a disappointing 8-8 season which they started off 5-0 and couldn’t even win the finale of their stadium as they move into a new-state-of-the-art one this year. The biggest problem last year was the injuries they had on their defense that put them in so many holes offensively that they just didn’t have enough time to get out of. The Giants have most players back on defense and with some key additions like Bullock and Rolle the Giants are poised to get back to playing their tough football again. The biggest thing on offense is can the young receiving core once against step up and play as well as needed to win the big games. The schedule on the road for the Giants is very tough as they have the three divisional opponents, Indianapolis, Green Bay, Minnesota, Houston and out to Seattle, so it will be very important to use the new stadium as a home field advantage as much as possible. With health on their side the Giants can take this division with an 11-5 record and get back into the playoffs where they can do some damage.

Washington had a horrific year least year, went 4-12 over all and didn’t win a single game within their division going 0-6. Another problem that arose for them was winning on their road where they lost 7 of 8 games. In this offseason they made a lot of moves by getting Donovan McNabb as they figured can’t beat him get him, added a couple of once-stud running backs in Willie Parker and Larry Johnson to make the running game a three headed monster with Clinton Portis still there to add to the new two. Even with the running backs and McNabb, Washington’s problems are still there as they need to win division games and on the road. McNabb can do those things up to a certain point and with the leadership of Mike Shanahan they could get those done, but the defense especially Albert Haynesworth is a big question mark that really wasn’t addressed in the offseason. Look for Washington to improve from last year by winning more than double but still have just a 9-7 record and finishing third in the division.

NFC North

Minnesota with Brett Favre at the helm had a good season, went 12-4, 8-0 at home and 5-1 in the division, but came up short as Favre threw a late interception in the NFC championship game. That allowed the game to go into overtime when the Saints won and went onto the Super Bowl. This year the Vikings will need to play a little better on the road and try and get homefield advantage to sway things in their favor this time around. The Vikings and Favre went through the same run around again this year trying to get Favre back into a Minnesota uniform and they did. Can Favre come back healthy and can Minnesota recapture that same magic as last year? The answer is yes! Favre will once again lead them to a 12-4 record and a division crown just edging out Green Bay once again. Peterson will correct his fumbling problems and they have enough wide receiver depth to overcome the surgery for Sidney Rice and headaches of Percy Harvin if they continue to be a problem.

Green Bay had a big year going 11-5 and defense was third in points allowed in the NFC last season, however any hopes of a magical season were dashed when Rodgers fumbled the ball and led to an Arizona score to end their playoff game. Rogers is reenergized for another big year as he is lighting up the scoreboards in the preseason. With the offense running on all cylinders and the defense as ferocious as ever, the Packers are once again looking to bring the trophy back to “Title Town” and will get into the playoffs with an 11-5 season.

Chicago made the trade for Jay Cutler last year, but things didn’t go as planned as they went 7-9 on the year and just 2-6 on the road. Injuries were also a big problem as Brian Urlacher went down early leaving a big hole at middle linebacker. With him back and the addition of Julius Peppers, the Bear defense looks to get back to the top of the league. For offensive help the Bears got Chester Taylor to team up with Matt Forte, but the wide receiver spot is still a big question mark at best as Devin Hester still isn’t rounded into form and Johnny Knox is a second year player who had an average season last year. Look for the Bears improvements to help mildly as they still have to play Minnesota and Green Bay twice this year which will leave them at another 7-9 season and in third place.

Detroit couldn’t do anything right last year going 2-14 on the year with no wins in the division or on the road and lost their last 6 games of the year. Matt Stafford is improving and Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson are great targets to throw to plus the decent running game of Kevin Smith and Jahvid Best will continue to improve as a quality offense, but the defense is lacking. The Lions defense allowed nearly 500 points last year and that was the most in the league by nearly 60 points. Look for the offense to continue to improve making them a tough beat this year, however that defense still has holes expect a 4-12 season in Detroit.

NFC South

New Orleans had the best year out of everyone as they won it all beating the Colts. I believe the party is still going on in the Big Easy! As defending champs there will be a bulls eye on their back and a possible hangover as most teams have spent the entire offseason doing interviews and endorsements and they will not be focused. Now that the fan base has a taste of the good life they want more and want another ring. New Orleans was the best team on the road in the NFC and that got them homefield advantage, go figure. Can the New Orleans defense continue to play well if the offense has any hiccups? I think they will they are very underrated and not respected. Look for another great year out of Drew Brees and company as Sean Peyton has kept them in line once they came in for mini camp. If one guy can beat the Madden cover jinx it will be Brees as the Saints go 13-3 once again and win home field advantage.

Atlanta stumbled a little out of the gate and on the road as they just 3-5 on the road, but finished strong winning three in a row to get to 9-7 however 11 wins was needed to get into the playoffs. Atlanta was hurt by injures to Michael Turner putting all the pressure on second year QB Matt Ryan who just didn’t get it done. This year with Turner back to go with Jerious Norwood and two big targets in Rodney White and Tony Gonzalez, the offense will put up the points and take the pressures off the defense that can play free and loose. Look for the Falcons to soar high this year pushing the Saints, but falling just short at 12-4, getting a wild card birth.

Carolina ended up with a .500 record thanks to Matt Moore who took over for Jake Delhomme who was having a brutal season and had a hand injury. Moore is now the starting quarterback with Delhomme in Cleveland, but some other departures especially on defense (Julius Peppers) has put them a little short of experience there. Carolina needs to win on the road if they think of turning this around at all as they went just 3-5 on the road. This season will be a major down year as Moore was just a band-aid last year not a solutions as the offense will be ok but need a bigger arm and better defense leading to a 4-12 season for the Panthers.

Tampa Bay went 3-13 last year winning just one home game and one division game. They couldn’t do enough on offense as their defense let up 400 points and they scored just 244, difference of nearly 10 points a game. They are getting some people back this year and they still have some weapons on offense in Cadillac Williams and Kellen Winslow Jr. but no real threats in wide receiver. The defense is about the same, but if the offense can’t score and has turnovers that lead to short fields they are stuck and over used. Slight improvement from Tampa Bay this year with a 5-11 record and taking a few steps forward towards improvement

NFC West

Arizona won the division and playoff game last year but fizzled in the playoffs against New Orleans and that led to some big changes as Kurt Warner retired and disgruntled receiver Anquan Boldin was traded to Baltimore. The Cardinals still have two quality receivers in Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston and the running game of Bennie Wells and Tim Hightower are good, but who will man the ship? Matt Leinart still hasn’t proved he is ready and hasn’t done anything to improve, so enter in Derek Anderson who is a good quarterback and with those receivers could do some damage. The offense seems set, but the defense lost some players. That division is only getting one playoff team out of it and San Francisco looks better. With some lack of leadership look for an 8-8 record in the Desert and no playoffs for the Cardinals this year.

San Francisco did great at home going 6-2 and in the division going 5-1, however the road was not so forgiving as they were just 2-6 on their way to going 8-8 last season. They were middle of the pack last year in points scored, but having Michael Crabtree for the full year, a stud back in Frank Gore, a big tight end in Vernon Davis, and the acquisition of Brian Westbrook as a third down back out of the back field the Niners are set to make their move to take the division. San Francisco’s best part is their defense which allowed the second fewest points in the NFC last season. Look for it all to come together this year as they take the division with a 12-4 record.

Seattle went 5-11 last year and only one of those wins and eight of those losses came on the road. Seattle has always had a great homefield advantage and that leads to tough road games with a lot of travel. They have new head honcho in Pete Carroll who didn’t do too well in his first go around in the NFL, but he wasn’t really given a long enough shot. With a big reputation coming out of USC he is given another shot in Seattle where he has a veteran quarterback in Matt Hasselbeck, a few decent receivers and a nice collection of running backs that were brought in during the offseason. The problem is the defense was down right bad giving up the 5th most points in the NFC. Look for the defense to once again let them down as they go 6-10 on the strength of the homefield and offense.

St. Louis has Stephen Jackson and not much else as they went 1-15 last year with no wins at home or in the division. They seem poised to do a little better as they got Sam Bradford to lead the way. Early in games the pressure won’t be on as much as the running game will lesson the blows, but when the defense starts struggling, and it will, the running game can’t do anything and the defenses will start blitzing when St. Louis is in throw mode in many of the second halves. Look for a 3-13 season out of St. Louis with the kid at the helm.

AFC East

New England had a good 10-6 season but mainly was because they went 8-0 at home and their down fall was going 2-6 on the road. When the playoffs came they lost as Baltimore came into New England and beat them up pretty good as the loss of Wes Welker really hurt. The Patriots have had a lot of off-the-field issues with contracts and such, mainly with Tom Brady’s future with the team. On the field they still have Randy Moss, and Welker should be ready come the regular season, but Torry Holt is already out for the year. In the back field, the running game is solid and full of veterans with the biggest improvement is the addition of Alge Crumpler to the team as a big time possession receiver for Brady. Look for another big year out of New England as they once again win the division with a 12-4 record just edging out the Jets.

NY Jets had an interesting year with a rookie head coach and quarterback in 2009, got all the way to the AFC Championship and were even winning at halftime before Peyton Manning took over in the second half. They were lucky to get in as Indianapolis rested guys in the second half of their regular season match up, but once the Jets got in the playoffs they took care of Cincinnati and San Diego and gave the Colts a run for their money for the first three quarters. If the Jets want to get back to the playoffs and make everyone believers that this wasn’t some fluke, they need to do better in the division where they went just 2-4 last year and only were behind New England by one game when it was all final. The biggest question they have going into the season is the defense good enough without Darrelle Revis and can the Jets win without him? Sooner or later he will sign but will it be too late. Can Hardknocks trend continue as the last few teams to be on (Dallas, Baltimore, and Cincinnati) have gone on to make the playoffs? Yes! Look for the Jets to get by fine until he comes back and finish second once again to the Patriots with an 11-5 record.

Miami had an up and down year as they started well with Chad Pennington. Then he got hurt and they went through some ups and downs with the rookie Chad Henne. Things looked ok as they were 7-6 with three to play and poised for a possible playoff run, but alas it wasn’t meant to be as they lost their last three finishing 7-9. To address some problems on offense the Dolphins traded for disgruntled receiver Brandon Marshall from Denver to give them a big time receiver for Henne to throw too. Can the wildcat running formation continue to work as well as it has in years past to ease some pressure off of Henne and confuse the defenses? Look for Miami not to have any surprises and take a bit of a step back as they go just 6-10 on the year.

Buffalo tried a year with Terrell Owens, but that didn’t do too much to bolster their weak offense. They were consistent in going 3-5 in home games and road games, and did little damage in the division going 2-4. They can’t seem to get over that mid range area of wins from 6-8 into 9 or 10 and possible playoff spot. The division is tough and the Bills haven’t been able to get a quarterback to do anything with the offense since Jim Kelly left. Look for another down year and this one bad as they got nothing to score with on offense and nothing on defense to stop the other teams. 3-13 will be their record.

AFC North

Cincinnati had a big bounce back year in 2009 as they took the division winning all six division games, but had no momentum going into the playoffs and stunk up the joint against the Jets as they had a quiet exit in the playoffs. To add to their offense they picked up Terrell Owens to pair up with Chad Ochocinco. That move will either lead to many touchdowns and wins or totally blow up in their face and destroy the team's rapport like TO has done so many times before. This will be another solid season of 10 wins and six losses, but in the tough AFC North that won’t get it down as they fall short of a playoff spot.

Baltimore went 9-7 and got into the playoffs despite a 4-5 road record and .500 in the division last year. The defense was once again stellar in leading the way in the playoffs, but the offense was lacking in the wide receiver category. To compliment the aging Derrick Mason the Ravens went out and traded for Anquan Boldin who gives them a quality pair of receivers to go with a solid running game and ferocious defense. Look for Baltimore to recapture the division with an 11-5 mark.

Pittsburgh got a big blow to their season when Ben Roethlisberger got a 4 game suspension after they lost out in tiebreakers to Baltimore and the Jets. The one benefit is that they don’t have too hard of a schedule in the first four games and two quality back ups in Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich. Leftwich will get the nod early in the season, but if they have any problems Batch is there in the waiting to step in and manage the game. With Leftwich going down for week one most likely Batch will remain as the number two guy promoting Dennis Dixon as their starter. With the trading away of Santonio Holmes to the Jets that puts Mike Wallace and Hines Ward as their top two with the returning Antwain Randle El to be in on three wide plays. Look for the well balanced attack on the ground and in the air to lead them to an 11-5 season and a playoff birth.

Cleveland finished strong winning four in a row to turn a 1-11 start into a 5-11 and even won a division game. Cleveland picked up some veteran leadership in the offseason by signing Jake Delhomme which could help make them a tougher team to play than in the past as he has some players to throw to. The defense would need to step up and be strong like in the last month of the season and not how they were in the first three. Look for Cleveland to stay the same at 5-11, but continue to build up the young players and get ready for a big push in 2011 or 2012 when they get a stud quarterback.

AFC South

Indianapolis had another Colts type year winning the first 14 games but losing the last two as Peyton Manning rested in the second half. They did get to the Super Bowl only to loose to New Orleans. The Colts were a model of consistency going 7-1 at home and on the road and sweeping through the division once more. The question isn’t how hungry is Manning and the Colts after coming up short in the Super Bowl, it is how bad do the Colts want to get back and how much will they beat teams by? Granted they are another year older and with no Bob Sanders on defense can the offense just repeatedly put points up to allow the defense to play at ease? The answer is yes. The offense driven by Peyton Manning will just pick apart teams and win going away as they have another 14-2 season with the best record in the league.

Houston finished above .500 with a 9-7 record but was just 1-5 in the division which hurt come tie breaker time with other teams due to conference losses. Houston has a great balance between offense and defense with Matt Shaub throwing the ball up to Andre Johnson and Mario Williams leading the defensive attack, but can they get over the hump and get to that ten win mark and possibly a playoff spot this year? No. They have way too tough a schedule especially early on which will put them in an early hole leading to a sub .500 record at 7-9.

Tennessee finished up strong last year to get to .500 at 8-8, but could have been better as they struggled big time in the division going just 2-4. They did have some off the field issues at times this off season with Vince Young getting into a bar fight and Chris Johnson wanting a new deal, but those have been handled and both are set to play this season. Can Vince Young do enough with his arm and legs to get Chris Johnson room to run as he had 2,000 yards last year and is eying up 2,500 this year? Not really. Teams are going to put eight men in the box and Vince won’t have enough time and the receiving core simply isn’t good enough to make plays as Tennessee takes a small step back from last year and is 7-9 in 2010.

Jacksonville started well in 2009 and was 7-5 with four games to play and if they went 2-2 had a shot at the playoffs, but just fell apart instead losing all four games finishing 7-9 and just 2-6 on the road. After Maurice Jones-Drew the Jaguars have a lot of question marks and not too many answers that are favorable. Can David Garrard at 32 continue to take a beating and lead this team? Can the lack of attendance and support continue to show no motivation to get the players up in a big spot? Where is the big time defense they once had? There are no answers to these questions in a positive manner and with that the Jaguars will have another sub par year, this time even worse going 5-11 in 2010.

AFC West

San Diego went 13-3 last year, was tied for the best road record at 7-1, and won 11 in a row to end the regular season. All that was great, but after a first round bye they ran into the hot NY Jets and lost at home in the playoffs showing once again they are built for the regular season and not the playoffs. Some changes have come for the Chargers as they released LaDainian Tomlinson and possibly Vincent Jackson who is still holding out for contract demands. Can San Diego on the arm of Phillip Rivers continue to have a potent offense without Jackson’s deep threat ability? The Chargers tend to get off to slow starts and finish strong. Can they do that again if they start slow? The answer to the first question is yes as they still have Antonio Gates to throw to and Darren Sproles out of the back field. As far as the second question they won’t need to as they will get off to a red hot start with an easy early part of the schedule and end up going 13-3 once again in 2010 and finish atop the division.

Denver got rid of one disgruntled player in Jay Cutler last year and early on was playing better without him having gone 8-4 through their first 12 games, however that faded as they lost each of their last 4 games to finish at .500 (8-8) and out of the playoff picture. This off season they traded away another player who wanted out of Dodge in Brandon Marshall, but will that lead to a playoff spot? Probably not as the defense is banged up with an injury early on and they just don’t seem to have enough fire power on offense as Eddie Royal is now the guy as far as wide receivers go. Look for a little better year this year at 9-7 but simply not enough as they would need at least double digits to even be considered for post season play.

Oakland simply went bust with the pick of JaMarcus Russell who had so much promise coming out of LSU with a big arm, but no work ethic and an even worse attitude. Oakland finished up 5-11, but only two wins were at home as the offense time and time again couldn’t score and kept putting way too much pressure on the defense to be perfect. Well 2010 is going to be different as Russell is gone, they have a new QB in Jason Campbell who will have the weapons to throw to, and a decent running game for a balanced attack. They are still the Raiders who are a few pieces away from getting there as they will have a 5-11 season once more.

Kansas City was the worst team record wise in 2010 in the AFC with a 4-12 season winning just one game at home where they used to have and still somewhat do have a good home field advantage. They brought in a lot of new coaches and got rid of some headaches like Larry Johnson and brought in some veteran leadership in Thomas Jones. The lingering question off a 4-12 year is will the off season moves be enough for them to get back to challenging for the division or even a wild card spot? The daunting answer is no. They will improve and double their win total to 8 but will also have 8 loses and finish third in the division.

Predictions

NFC East Winner - NY Giants

NFC North Winner - Minnesota

NFC South Winner - New Orleans

NFC West Winner - San Francisco

Wild Card Winner – Atlanta

Wild Card Winner – Green Bay

Wild Card Games:

Green Bay @ San Francisco

Atlanta @ NY Giants

Divisional Games:

Green Bay @ New Orleans

NY Giants @ Minnesota

Championship Game:

Green Bay @ Minnesota

NFC Champion: Green Bay

AFC East Winner – New England

AFC North Winner – Baltimore

AFC South Winner – Indianapolis

AFC West Winner – San Diego

Wild Card Winner – NY Jets

Wild Card Winner - Pittsburgh

Wild Card Games:

Pittsburgh @ New England

NY Jets @ Baltimore

Divisional Games:

Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis

NY Jets @ San Diego

Championship Game:

NY Jets @ Indianapolis

AFC Champion: Indianapolis

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