Let me preface my blog by saying that my opinion on running backs and the perspective i view them through is vastly different than how most others do. While most marvel at the impressive accomplishments of backs like Steven Jackson, Ladanian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson, and rightfully so, I marvel at the work done in the trenches by those tailback's offensive linemen, who I think decide the outcome o####ame more than any other player beside the one that takes the snaps. While Adrian Peterson is a phenominal player and his backup Chester Taylor is anything but, both run behind a line stacked with five unfathomingly large behemoths. Ladanian Tomlinson is an undisputably great tailback, but his linemen, while not as good as those in Minnesota, are nonetheless excellent. Granted, Steven Jackson has been running wild, when healthy,  behind a makeshift offensive line, he has a passing game that can prevents opponents from stacking the box. It sounds like i am trying my best to take away credit from running backs through any means possible, but i am merely trying to build up the point that rushing the football is, in my opinion, more dependant on other, external variables than any other task in football.

Also,. with all the attention Lewis and the Browns have drawn in recent weeks, the fact that Lewis's season has been very hit or miss(dare I say Grossmanesque), has been overlooked. Through Week 11, Lewis, who missed two games in that span, ran for over 100 yards just once and averaged over 4 YPC just twice. Also, four of his 9 touchdowns came in week 9 against St.Louis, when he ran for 37 yards on twenty carries, hardly a strong performance.  When you include his last four games his performance overall has been solid, but still not as good as one would think judging from the attention Lewis has generated.

With that established, the answer is yes and no. I am not surprised at what Lewis has done on his own. (Even back in Baltimore, when Jonathan Ogden was out with injury, Lewis's performance suffered and it was clear that Lewis was largely dependant on the performance of his enormous blocker. The same can be said for Edgerrin james, who suffered a massive letdown when he left Indianapolis and the fantasy that is playing alongside Peyton Manning.) Rather, what does surprise me is how quick the Browns' first draft pick, Joe Thomas, has risen to the upper echelon of offensive linemen, and how the passing game went from non-existent to often unstopable. Braylon Edwards is a top ten reciever, Kellen Winslow a top 5 tight end and Derek Anderson a very competent, if not above average quarterback. What I am trying to say is that while Lewis has put up some nice numbers this year, those numbers have less to do with him and more to do with the offense he plays on and the beasts, particularly Thomas, that he runs behind. Throw in the fact that his four triple digit yardage games came against Cincinatti, Houston, New York(AFC) and Buffalo, and his season is even less impressive.

To sum it up, i would say that I am surprised with how well the Browns have run the ball, not how well Lewis has run the ball. Running the ball is the ultimate team effort, and if one player misses his assignment, the run play can easily get blown up. So when analysts look at the Browns and attribute their success on the ground  to Jamal Lewis, i get upset. It's not Jamal that is getting it done, rather the most unerappreciated unit in the game, the fat, one ton brotherhood that its the Offensive Line.

Some call it parity, i just call it bad. Regardless of where you stand on the NFC and the cluster of mediocrity that is every team outside of Dallas and Green Bay, it is impossible to deny that the Wild Card race is a very tight one. With only one division still up for grabs, that being the South, teams are aware that their only chance is to get the Wild Card, and while the heat is definitely on, there is a startling small number of huge matchups left between the Wild card candidates, which are the following: The New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints. Again, while the top spot in the South is still open for the Saints, the Bucs have games left against the lowly Falcons, Niners and Panthers. As long as they take at least two of those games, which they will, they division will be theirs. So now that I have established the LEGITIMATE wild card possibilities, here is a team by team analysis of their ability and chances of getting a wild card spot.

New York Giants: The Giants don't scare anybody and odds are they won't do any damage even if they reach the playoffs, but they do find themselves at 9-4, with games left against the Redskins, Bills and Patriots. The Patriots game will be a loss, book it. The Bills game could be tough, but as long the Giants beat the Redskins, who are now without Jason Campbell and Sean Taylor, they will get the top spot. No team outside of Minnesota can get to ten wins, so if they get that W in their upcoming game versus Washington, which will be played at the Meadowlands, they are guaranteed a playoff spot. Take it to the bank, the Giants are a lock. Verdict: IN

Washington Redskins: This Skins are only one game behind the Vikings, but they don't stand a chance. The death of Taylor hurt as much on the field as it does off, and the loss of Campbell sealed their fate. With games against the Giants, Vikings and Cowboys, in that order, the Redskins would be fortunate to finish .500. Just a question, is it possible to remove someone from the hall of fame? If it is, Joe Gibbs has wore out his welcome in Canton. Verdict: OUT

Minnesota Vikings: While this team has only started garnering attention in recent weeks, I have been a believer for quite a while. Personally, I think this team has a legitimate shot against either Green Bay or Dallas, and on a good day, even against some of the better teams in the AFC. Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor make up the best running back tandem, ever. Both would be above average starters, and with the weekly progression of Tarvaris Jackson and his improving receiving core, the holes will only get bigger for the two of them. Looking at their three remaining games, I don't think a valid case could be made as to how they would lose even one of them. They already smoked the Bears back in Soldier Field, and Peterson should once again make fools out of Adam Archuletta and Danieal Manning. The Skins are as full of holes as the Bears are, and Vikings will steamroll them in their second straight home game. Their season finale, against Denver, shouldn't be too tough either, given Denver's horrendous rush defense. This team will be the second Wild Card team. Verdict: IN

Detroit Lions: Jon Kitna's 10 win prediction and Roy Williams's trash talks have once again proved worthless. The Lions are done. They have the Chargers and Packers left on their schedule, and unless the Packers rest their starters, those will amount to two losses. Both games are also on the road, increasing the improbability of Detroit victories. Could they salvage a win against the Chiefs in week 16? Perhaps, but the Lions run of futility is still going strong. Verdict: OUT.

Arizona Cardinals: Given the fact that I have the Vikings winning at least two of their three remaining games, the Cardinals will have to win out to even have a chance. The good news is that with games left against the Falcons, Rams and Saints, their remaining schedule is among the easiest in the league. The bad news is that the Cardinals are simply not that good of a team. Their defense is dinged up and so are their receivers. I don't see them winning out, just because they are the Cardinals and the Cardinals simply don’t win out. That being said, they might end up at .500, not a bad start for Wisenhunt and his young Cardinals. Verdict: OUT

New Orleans Saints: Not to gloat, but I saw this coming before the season even started(same goes for the Niners, this year's version of the '06 Dolphins). As crazy as it sounds, I think that losing Bush for the season is not all that bad. If the Saints let their runners run and let their receivers receive, like they did last night, they have a better chance of winning than when they have Bush doing his hybrid thing. Hopefully Sean Payton will see that and do what I proposed a while ago, convert him into a wide receiver and bring in a real running back to split time with their other legit tailback, “the Deuce(Is there a better name in all of football, of course aside from Craphonso Thorpe).” Anyhow, the Saints are in a similar position as the Cardinals in terms of catching the Vikings. The Saints have three tough games left, a home game against the Cardinals, another home game against the Eagles and then a road date in Chicago, a matchup of the two most disappointing teams in all of football. Can they win out? If everything goes right, but we are talking about the Saints here. The Saints will end up 8-8, a game or two behind the Vikings.
Verdict: OUT

So there you go. The Wild Card teams will be the Giants and the Vikings.

Bonus Picks: The Giants, who will end up with the sixth seed, will get ousted in the first round by the Seahawks. The Vikings will squeak by the Bucs. The Vikings will lose to Dallas, but it will be a helluva game.

Coming into the season, anybody who is anybody would have told you that the NFC North is the worst division in football, with one semi-legit team followed by a number of wannabes. The Bears went into the season banking on Rex Grossman, Jon Kitna predicted ten wins, Brett Favre put off retirement yet again and the Vikings looked just as bad as Tarvaris Jackson's front teeth. In the other conference, the AFC West looked to be not just the best in their conference, but perhaps the best in all of football. San Diego and Denver were supposed to win at least 12-13 wins, Kansas City still had LJ and Oakland was supposed to be on the way up.

Come Week nine, the North has the Packers sitting pretty at 7-1, the Lions at 6-2 and both the Bears and Vikings at 3-5. Menwhile, the Chargers have already lost more games than all of last season, the Broncos are down to Patrick Ramsey and the Raiders are a little better than last year, but still the Raiders. Only he Chiefs seem to be living up to their hype, but thats not saying much. Then the biggest surprise of all hit. The Adrian Petersons ran all over the Chargers, Favre stole back a win from the Chiefs after basically giving it away and the Lions embarassed the Broncos. LT, who came into the season as the best back in football, may have lost that title to a rookie. Cutler, who has drawn endless comparisons to Brett Favre, was outplayed by the latter. Aside from the Patriots and Colts, maybe the conferences arent that far apart anymore.

On a different note, the NFC West, which was supposed to emerge as the clas of the NFC, now is a bunch of garbage. The Rams are winless, the Niners have regressed severely, the Cardinals are who they always have been and Mike Holmgren has done his best to hold the Seahawks back. But as bad as the West has been, the South has been ten times worse. Is there a worse team in the league than Atlanta? Is there a worse quarterback in the league than David Carr? Who is Earnest Graham and how did he become the starter in Tampa? The Saints, declared dead just a month or so ago, are now the favorites in this division. What about the East? Everybody knows about the Cowboys and Giants, but are the Redskins or Eagles any good? The answer is most likely no. 

That leaves the North. Has the North, so ridiculed in the preseason by experts and analysts, possibly tops in the NFC? Not only are the Lions and Packers a combined 13-3, but the Bears and Vikings cant be called bad teams, not yet. Despite their 3-5 record, the Vikings may be the scariest team in the division. If Peterson is on his game, and all signs point to him improving by the week, they can beat anybody. If he didnt fumble against the Cowboys, they could have won that game. The Vikings can beat any team in the league, but they can just as easily lose to those same teams. The Bears, easily the most dissapointing team in the NFC, still can play some football. Their offense blows, but the defense is now healthy coming off the bye. Their offense is punchless and predictable, but they can beat any team in the NFC outside of Dallas.

So you tell me, do you buy into the North? I do.

There were so many things done wrong by the Bears that i dont know where to start? The offense, despite posting thirty-one points against a pretty good defense, only got things together late in the game and actually was booed a number of times. The defensive players, as Mr. Jurkovic so astutely stated on Fox's the Final Word(local tv), shouldn't pick up their week six paychecks. The tackling was dreadful and there wan minimal QB pressure all game long. Adrian Peterson made the Bears look like children among men. The special teams, Devin Hester excluded, didnt play a good game either. They gave up big kick off returns and really cost the Bears the game after allowing a near touchdown to Peterson on that last kickoff. Here goes an attempt to try and explain why the Bears played so terribly.

 The Offense

Like i said above, their scoring output doesnt accurately represent how the they performed on offense. They didnt have many three and outs, but couldnt really string together any long drives. Cedric Benson, the goat of the offense so far, did not play that badly. When he wasnt getting hit in the backfield, he was ripping off solid chunks of yardage against the league's premier run defense. Although he had a decent game on the ground, he dropped a number of passes.  Even if those passes were caught he would have been dropped immediately, but the fact that he dropped them worries me. The difference between Benson and Peterson was clear from the get-go. Peterson runs hard and angry and doesnt get taken down with weak arm tackles. Benson, not as strong or as fast of a runner as AP, hits the deck after the slightest touch. If Peterson isnt locked up completely, he will break away for huge runs. If Benson is merely touched, his #### is dropped. The difference is night and day. The other Adrian Peterson played a decent game and made some pretty big plays, but Garrett Wolfe, on his one rushing down, made me wonder if he will still be in the league by next season. He is simply too small to really do anything on the ground.

Brian Greise made a number of mistakes and his second interception really made me scratch my head, but he did lead a unit that put up 24 points and that, along with Devin Hester's special teams touchdown , should have been enough to beat one of the most punchless offenses in football. The positive thing that i took away from this game is that Greise, contrary to popular belief, can still throw a solid deep ball. He hasnt really been given the oppurtunity to throw the deep ball but after his performance yesterday, he may be let loose a bit more in the near future. The Bears have a number of deep threats and hopefully Greise will be given the chance to take advantage of the weapons at his disposal.

Another bright spot for the offense was the play of the lineman. The return of John Tate obviously made a huge difference and the play of the line yesterday really shows how much better they are when St. Clair is not starting. They allowed only one sack and gave Benson some nice running lines on the outside. Still, the Bears dont have much depth ot this position and i believe it is time to incorporate Josh Beekman into the rotation a little bit. Chicago Bears insiders really like his mean streak and say he has a nastiness to him that is necessary for good line play.

The recievers, despite putting up respectable numbers, had some dropped passes and didnt create consistent seperation for three quarters of the game. Greise, after being forced top throw, found his recievrs often wide open, presumably a result of the Vikings trying to prevent the big play, which they didnt end up doing anyway. Bernard Berrian schooled one of their CB's and left him in the dust. Moose showed some signs of life and grabbed a perfectly thrown pass from Greise and found his way into the endzone. Devin Hester, after his highly touted offseason transition to offense, finally got into the mix, grabbing a mammoth eighty-one yard touchdown pass. Once again, the tight ends played very well. Both Olsen and Clark had some long receptions, but Olsen dropped one pass that could have easily gone for forty+ yards. 

Overall, the offense didnt play well throughout the game, but enough points were put up collectively by this unit to get a victory. For once, the blame can not be placed on the offense.

Defense

Usually i look at the defense position by position, but this week i will glob all the players together. Aside from Lance Briggs, who absolutely needs to be signed long term ASAP, and perhaps Charles Tillman, nobody on that unit did their job. Not Urlacher, Harris, Anderson or Hillenmeyer. To be fair to the lineman, the Vikings were max-protecting all game long and put the onus on the linebackers and secondary to make the plays, and quite frankly, they sucked. Adam Archuletta, who was sold to the fan base as a bad fit back in Washington, has shown that he would be a bad fit anywhere. The defense as a whole didnt tackle well, took horrible angles to the ballcarrier and didnt stick to their gaps. They overpursued the ball carrier and gave Peterson huge cutback lines. In other words, the defense, although heavily laden with good veteran players, looked like it was compriosed of a bunch of overanxious rookies. The Bears safeties are too young and raw to be relied upon to make plays, and as long as they continue to play those guys out there, the Bears will get run and passed on all game long. The Bears let some safeties go in the offseason, thinking that Archuletta would be good, Brown would be healthy and Manning Jr. would continue playing well. They would be lying if they said they wouldnt like to have Chris Harris back. 

Until Darwin Walker and Nathan Vasher return from injuries, the Bears defense will be feasted on by even the most mediocre passing teams in the league.

I said in the introductory patagraph all that needs to be said about the special teams. Hester had yet another monster game, but the coverage unit was bad. Coach Taub is really gonna work his unit hard this week.

The Bears are in bad shape. The defense is struggling, and from the looks of things the offense may now have to bail out the defense. And with games against Philly and Detroit, two teams that are extremely capable in the passing department, the offense will really have to step things up. They have the toughest schedule in the NFC North and therefore have to ouplay Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota, all teams with less overall talent, in order to make the playoffs. Until the Bears start doing things differently, there wont be any reason to write up any more Bear reports, so until then, im out.

I REPEAT, DO NOT WATCH THE BEARS/VIKINGS GAME THIS SUNDAY. It has recently ben leaked that all viewers will be subjected to the baboons in the booth, also known as Brian Baldinger and #### Stockton. One needs to be fired and the other needs to be put in a nursing home. I am considering watching the game without volume, perhaps wathing the game while listening to the radio broadcast. The one reason that i may turn up the volume is just to hear what stupid mistakes he will make this week. There is a whole slew of names for Stockton to screw up: Olin Kreutz, Bernard Berrian(Previously called Burrier by old Stocky), Lovie Smith(Referred to as Lovie Jones), Visante Shancoe, Ciatrick Fason and amany many more. I may have mispelled some of those names, but that pales in comparison to the butchering of those names sure to come on Sunday. But if Fox dares to throw that #### Siragusa into the mix, my TV may end up with a barbell through it's screen.

Its about time the Bears have a victory monday. Any Bears fan with a head on his shoulders knew that this past game against the despised and abhored Packers was do or die. Win, the playoffs are still a very real possibility. Lose, kiss the season goodbye. The odds were no doubt tipped in Green Bay's favor. The Bears came into the game with a still decimated defense, missing Nathan Vasher, Mike Brown and Dusty Dvoracek AND playing with a number of players far from full strength: Charles Tillman, Lance Briggs, Tommie Harris and Adam Archuletta, who played with a broken hand. On offense the Bears also had injury issues and some other problems. Brian Greise was starting only his second game with the Bears, John Tate was out with an ankle injury and Bernard Berrian left halfway into the game with a toe injury. Still, after a horrendous first quarter the Bears defense hung tough and the offense did just enough to get a huge victory against a streaking Green Bay team playing at home, where Brett Favre usually plays at the highest level.

Here's the Bear Breakdown:

Offense
QB: The key to the game for Greise was patience. Although Greise was clearly frustrated early on with the anibility of the offense to string together a drive, Greise stayed patient and eventually found a way to march down the field a number of times and lead a previously inept offense to 27 points against one of the better defeneses in the game. Aside from an interception thrown on a deflected pass, Greise played sound, smart football, looking off defenders and hitting recievers in stride. He seemed to have a better grasp of his limitations than he did last week, when he forced throws that he probably could have made three or four years ago, but today, no way. He spread the ball around and made use of his tight ends more than Rex really ever has. Overall, Greise played exactly how the Bears expected him to.

RB's: Cedric Benson has continued to dissapoint. Andrea Kramer reported that Jerry Angelo said that he traded away Thomas Jones because he and Ced couldnt get along. If what he said is true, that really changes my perception of Angelo. Not only did he make a move for a bad reason, but he got rid of the better player, at least at this point. Thomas Jonesing aside, Benson did what he has done all season long. He showed signs of life, but most of the time was stopped for two, perhaps three yards. He didnt make any defenders miss and with a defense that was clearly geared towards stopping the Bears' running game, the onus was on Cedric to do some heavy lifting. Instead of improving as the game wore on, which Benson himself said he does, he seemed to be gassed and forced Greise to win the game. Luckily for Benson, Greise did win the game and took the heat off of Benson. I personally would like to see a bit more of Adrian Peterson in the game. He seems to run harder and with more of a purpose than Benson. Players feed off of energy and Benson, even after big runs and touchdowns, seems hesitant to get off of the ground and sulks around like a guy that doesnt give a damn. When he ran out of bounds on a stretch play, he really confirmed what most Bears fans already know The Bears need to mix up the running back situation.

WR/TE's: I myself predicted that if Greise is to succeed as the Bears quarterback, he would need to utilize his tight ends more than his recievers. The speedy recievers seem to be a better fix for Grossman because they are best stretching the field vertically. Tigght Ends reall work sideline to sideline, which is Greise's strength. Greg Olsen, in really his first chance at playing extended minutes, played an outstanding football game. He had a number of huge catches, none bigger than the go route in which he caught a pass for a huge first down onthe final game winning drive which ended with the a touchdown pass to the other tight end, Desmond Clark. On the topic of the wide recievers, they werent as bad as they looked. There were a number of times in which the recievers got open where Greise didn't have the time to get the ball off. Better results will come with more time to mesh for the recievers and Greise. There is no doubt in my mind that Greg Olsen will be seeing a lot more playing time, starting with next week's game against Minnesota, who the Bears will only beat if they can throw the ball.

OL: While the run blocking still left a lot to be desired, the fact that the Packers seemed to stack the line on almost every play needs to be taken into account. Teams know that the Bears want to establish the run and they gear their defense towards stopping Benson, and so far they have succeeded. On the other hand, they played pretty well in passing situations and gave Greise enough time to make plays when he needed to. It also didnt help that the Bears were missing a very good player in John Tate, who was replaced by the human turnstile, John St. Clair. The offensive line did enough considering the situation, i.e the Packers stacking the box.

Defense
DL: The linemen, like every other defensive unit on the Bears, really improved as the game went on, particularly in the second half. The Packers really gashed the Bears for a lot of rushing yards in the first half, about 100 yards or so. But come the second half, the line really beat up on Green Bay's running backs and forced Brett Favre to throw, resulting in a few costly mistakes and a number of other close, game changing plays. Tommie Harris was the only lineman to register a sack, but pressure was still consistently applied to Favre and pressure was the sole reason for the interception thrown to Brian Urlacher.

LB's: The Linebackers really responded after getting embarassed by the Packers in the first half. Brian Urlacher had a key interception in the Packers' red zone, but Lace Briggs really stole the show. He registered sixteen or so solo tackles and by the time the coaching staff beefs up his stats, the number may jump into the twenties. As usual, Hunter Hillenmeyer did his job and really helped elimnate the tight ends from the game and also helped limit the number of yards gained by passes to running backs releasing after a block or immediately after the snap. Whatever the linebackers did in the second half, it worked. Brett seemed to abandon the intermediate passing game, which in my opinion is his strengh and looked downfield too often.

CB/S's: The secondary as a whole really played a nice game. John Madden appropriately awarded Charles Tillman with a spot on the horse trailor for his stupendous effort despite still being pretty ####ed up and being questionable coming into the game. His two strips were game savers and his second half coverage of his reciever really were the main reasons for the Packers' inability to have any success in the passing game after halftime. Tillman told a reporter that Lovie Smith was livid in his halftime speech and Tillman said he was really shaken up by Lovie, who almost never loses his temper. Danieal Manning perhaps played his worst game as a Bear, but really stiffened up his defense as the game wore on. He got beat badly by Jennings on his second quarter TD but after that, he had his side of the field on lockdown. Adam Archuletta really deserves credit for stepping up and playing a realtively solid game considering he was playing with a broken hand and couldn't really wrap up ballcarriers, which he doesnt do much of even with two healthy hands. The safeties really could have played a lot worse, but i think Brandon McGowan had the wrong approach on the last second hail mary, which he intercepted. He did break up the play and grab the int., but i would have rather seen him bat the ball batted down rather than get into a jumping match with a one-time high jumper, Donald Driver.(Thanks for that nugget Chris Collinsworth)

Special Teams: Even when Devin Hester doesnt get his hands on the ball, his impact on the game is enormous. He forced the Packers into short kicks all night long and it resulted in the Bears really dominating the field position for most of the game. The few times the ball ended up in Hester's hands, he made something out of nothing, leaving numerous Green Bay gunners in the dust. Coverage ace Brendan Ayanbadejo played a huge game, making some big special teams tackles and more importantly, stripping the ball on a punt return at a crucial juncture in the game. The coverage unit allowed one big return, but other than that they were great. Robbie Gold had another strong game and continues to be automatic from anywhere less than fifty. Not to say that he cant hit from farther than fifty, but the Bears dont seem willing to let him try.

Overall, the Bears really stepped up their game and made the type of plays that good teams make. Above all else, the Bears won the turnover ratio 5-1, a formula for a W in 99.9% of the time. They now have to play a good, turnover free game against the punchless Minnesota Vikings. As long as the special teams and defense play a good game, force turnovers and influence field position like they just did against Green Bay, the offense should be able to do the job against a very stout defense.

Without going too in-depth in my analysis of each of the NFC's teams, here are my quick, consise thoughts on what each team will do in the upcoming 07 season. The order the teams are listed in have nothing to do with how i think each division will shape up.

NFC North
Chicago Bears- The defense is good enough to get a bye in the NFC on it's own. Even a decent offensive performance from last year's highest scoring team(NFC) should at least get them home field advantage.

Green Bay Packers- Brett Favre's last hoorah. From what i have heard from up north in Green Bay, the end of the Favre era couldnt get here any quicker. An imporoving defense and semi-decent offense will make them the tallest of the other three NFC North midgets.

Minnesota Vikings- A goop defensive team with no offense whatsoever. Chester Taylor and Adrian peterson are good, but even the best struggle when defenses consistently pack eight men in the box. Its up to Tarvaris Jackson, but he isnt up to the task.

Detroit Lions- Jon Kitna says a minimum of ten wins are in store for the Lions.... I say 7 or eight maximum. Last time a Lion ran his mouth(Roy Williams on the Bears) there was a massacre in Soldier Field. The offense will have it's highs, but the team overall will have many, many lows.

NFC West
Seattle Seahawks- A strong team. If Alexander comes back strong and Hasselback can make it through another season full of nagging injuries, this team will take the division, which from what i have heard, has already been handed to....

San Fransisco 49'ers- The new hot sh%$ in the NFC. Everybody is ready to annoint them, but if they go out and play like they did against the Bears in the only pre-season game that means anything, which i think they will, another 8-8 or 9-7 season is in store for San Fran. By the way, Nate Clements, their big-time signing this offseason, was destroyed by Bernard Berrian.

St. Louis- What an offense. Too bad the defense is among the worst in the league. The offense will thrill but the defense will thouroughly dissapoint. The offense will keep them in games, but i see some high scoring losses for the Rams. Still, a playoff birth is a reasonable expectation for this offensive beast.

Arizona Cardinals- New Coaching Staff, Revamped Offensive Line, same old story, at least for one more season. Leinart will perform well but the offensive line will hold the running game back. I expect the line to imporve a bit, but if it doesnt, Leinart will have a season to forget. The defense also has a long way to go.

NFC South
New Orleans Saints- I cant stand the Saints and am a bit biased, but i will admit that the Saints are a good team. Good, but not great, as many seem to think. They were thoroughly thumped in the NFC Championship game last season and the recievers as a whole are extremely young. The defense, the secondary in particular, will have to improve greatly if they want to get home field in the playoffs.

Carolina Panthers- This team will be a thorn in the Saints side all season long. They have an easier schedule than the Saints but have what i believe to be a more complete team. Oh yeah, that Steve Smith guy is pretty good too. I think there is a very good chance that the Panthers take the division crown back this year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Quantity over Quality. That seems to be the theme when it comes to their group of QB's. Honestly, they have a bunch of trash at their position. Jeff Garcia had a good 1/2 season for the Eagles last year, but the Bucs are a different team. Cadillac, even with his immense talent, will have another poor season.Tteams will stack up against the run and force them to pass, and that will absolutely work.

Atlanta Falcons- Quite frankly, even a falcons team WITH Michael Vick doesnt scare me that much. What has been forgotten throughout this whole dogfighting mess is that he hasnt been too good as of late. Joey Harrington, one of the many failed draft picks of Matt Millen, will show all Atlantians why he wasnt even good enough to start in Detroit. Atlanta is perhaps the worst team in the NFC.

NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles- Look no further for the comeback player of the year. Donovan McNabb, when healthy, is the best QB in the NFC. I would rather have him than Bulger, Romo, Hasselback or even
Drew Brees. The Eagles will take back the East crown and McNabb will make a Pro Bowler out of Reggie Brown. The defense is also one of the most underrated year in and year out.

New York Giants- Not as bad as advertised. I expect a decent season from the Giants. Eli Manning, in his quest to make a (good)name for himself, will step up and improve on his not-so-bad numbers of last year. However, his supporting cast, i.e the defense and running game, will weigh down the Giants and keep them out of the Playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys- Tony Romo is perhaps one of the most undeservedly heralded quarterback in the league this side of Matt Schaub. He played well last year but rarely do undiscovered QB's emerge out of the shadows and light the world on fire. The Cowboys are a good team and will be competitive in each and every game, but they dont have enough firepower, on defense or offense, to beat the Eagles out for the top spot in the strongest division in the NFC.

Washington Redskins- Does any other team in the league have so many unheard of players? When i think of the Skins', the only big name players that come to mind are Portis, Taylor and Moss. Their offense is very old-school and somewhat out-dated. The defense doesnt exactly strike fear in an opponent either. Book it, another season at the cellar of the East.