Summary  

The San Diego Chargers will hoist the Lombardi Trophy. 

The Patriots won't.

The Seahawks will complain about the refs after leading the NFC to yet another SB beating. 

The Bengals will cut Chris Henry after he breaks the law during his 8 game suspension.

The 49ers will lose more than expected.

The Raiders will win more than expected.

The Lions won't.

 

For more information and a division by division, team by team break down, read on.

AFC West

Winner: San Diego Chargers

SD is loaded. With the best offensive player in the league and the best defender, no team in the NFL boasts as much talent. LaDainian Tomlinson (the new LT) is the game's best player. The O-line is stacked, bringing up memories of the fab five front lining the near perfect Dallas offense of the 1990's. The promising Phillip Rivers now has a perfect young QB mentor in Norv Turner, he who engineered Alex Smith's magnificent turn around throughout last season. The D is brutal. A certified quarterback killer, Shawn Merriman will be the best OLB of all time, yes, even ahead of Lawrence Taylor (the original LT). The rest of the LB corp is solid as well. With a new safety and a couple new receivers on the roster, there is no more complete team in the NFL.

Runner-up: Denver Broncos

As always Mike Shanahan puts together a solid ball club. Meat-and-potatoes running back Travis Henry will now run behind that legendary lean, mean, slash-blocking machine that is the Denver line. If he becomes the first real solo runner in their offense since Terrell Davis, as planned, then I would also pencil in Davis like numbers, and with them a slot in the Pro Bowl. Cutler has all the pieces surrounding him to become a stat monster, and in any other division in the NFL the Broncos could expect at least a real shot at the crown. The Chargers are just too tough.

Lagger: Oakland Raiders

No team was worse last season, but few teams have done more since. This is a squad that could very reasonably go 6-10, and possibly 8-8. With one of the leagues best D's and an O-line that is finally starting to show some sense of cohesion, the Silver and Black is starting to come together. I'm not saying they'll make the playoffs, but they won't be the butt of any jokes either. No, they haven't signed their number one overall pick yet, but his impact likely wouldn't be seen until late season if at all this year. I though the signing of Culpepper was terrible, but he has looked sharp and his resurgence should carry the Oakland O to at least a mediocre season.

Whipping boy: Kansas City Chiefs

In the last 14 months the Chiefs have lost their three best linemen and their long-term QB. Last season LJ has carried the ball over 400 times, and, after contract disputes, he didn't show up on the team until 9 days before the season started. Does anyone believe this O is ready to bang on smash mouth defenses like those in Oakland, Denver, and SD twice each? I think not. This team could go 0-6 in division.

AFC South:

Winner: Indianapolis Colts

This team will not go to the Super Bowl. True, they looked great in their crucifixion of the Saints, but they are no where near where they were last year. That said, neither is their division. Having lost key pieces from both sides of the ball, 10-6 would be a good season for this squad. That'll do in the AFC South, where arguably not a single team improved from last year.

Runner up: Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags changed their starter at QB less than a week before the first regular season game. Back and forth between Gerrard and Leftwich all last season, head coach Jack Del Rios waited till September to make up his mind. Clearly this is a team that is focused on the future.

Lagger: Tennessee Titans

You have to feel sorry for Vince Young. He takes an 0-5 team to the brink of the playoffs, leading veterans and rookies with the ease and confidence of George Washington, and, as repayment, his team loses all its top playmakers. Adam 'Pacman' Jones earned himself a yearlong suspension, and both the top RB and WR found new homes for 07. Good luck Vince. You have the least talented teammates in the country.

Whipping Boy: Houston Texans

Skipping Reggie Bush and local hero Vince Young with your first pick: bad idea; cutting one of the toughest and most efficient QBs in the league for a backup who is 0-2 as a starter: worse idea. A team that seems dedicated to chasing off fans, there is little hope for the Texans. At least their defense is improving, as they have now used consecutive top 10 overall picks on D linemen.

AFC North

Winner: Cincinnati Bengals

Tough division, but the Felony Cats are primed to dethrone the Dirty Birds. I thought Carson Palmer would never recover from the brutal three ligament snapping he suffered in the Bengals 05 playoff loss to Pittsburgh. While I've never been a Bengal fan, I've never been happier to have been proven wrong. Palmer is a class act and a good sportsman, and I would hate to see his career destroyed by a terrible fluke. Fortunately, he bounced back huge in 06 and will likely be even better in 07. With their improving D, look for Cincy to reclaim the AFC North and be a dangerous opponent in the playoffs, even after the loss of two offensive linemen.

Runner up: Pittsburgh Steelers

New coach Tomlin will have his hands full when he takes the reins of a franchise not used to change at the position. I'm sure the Bengals and Ravens will be all too happy to welcome him to head coaching in the NFL. Big Ben needs a big bounce back or he could be looking for a new job. Roethlisberger should be back to 05 form, and with Tomlin looking to air it out, look for much gaudier offensive numbers from the Steelers. They'll be good, just not good enough to take the AFC North.

Lagger: Baltimore Ravens

Losing Adalius Thomas will hurt last season's best D, as he was the most versatile player on a D that used misdirection and shifts to keep opponents off balance and scared. Father Time's irrevocable force won't help either, as most of the team's top players are past their prime, including quarterback Steve McNair and shoo-ins for the Hall of Fame Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden. McNair looked worn down by the end of the season, and head coach Brian Billick will turn to Heisman Trophy winning rookie Troy Smith if, or rather when, McNair slows. No success from last year is better primed for an epic collapse.

Whipping Boy: Cleveland Browns

Cleveland maintains its death grip on the bottom of this division. With a new top-of-the-draft tackle, and some solid free agents, look for the Browns to win around 4 games this season. Yes, this team is that bad. Romeo Cremmel is looking more and more unfit for the position of head coach, and he will likely be gone by season end. My only prayer for this team is that they win enough games that Dallas, who owns Cleveland's first round pick, only gets a mid rounder, and not the top 5 pick I'm sure that is coming.

AFC East

Winner: New England Patriots (Duh)

The Pats own this division. It's not a lease. They're not borrowing it. They own it. Last year NE almost made it to the Super Bowl, and to this armada they added a brand new top flight receiver corp and the NFL's most versatile defender Adalius Thomas. Now there is finally a linebacker in red, white, and blue who at least has a shot in hell of tackling LT. This year Tom Brady has someone to throw to who you might have actually heard of. Most are picking the Patriots to win it all this year. They won't win it all, but no one in their division will even come close to stopping them.

Runner up: New York Jets

Eric "the Man-genius" Mangini continues to impress, but until teacher Belichick leaves the division there won't be many division crowns for this apt pupil. A second season of playing should help Mangold, Ferguson, & Associates in their quest to keep Chad Pennington in one piece for a second straight season, unprecedented for the oft shattered QB, and the defense continues their daunting march up to mediocrity. Things are going the right way for the Jets, but it is doubtful that the NFL schedule makers saw fit to hand them a second straight Wild Card berth.

Lagger: Buffalo Bills

Prior to the unimpressive off season, the Bills really looked decent in the second half of 06. If the team continues to develop around their young QB, we could be on the verge of an 8-8 season in the next couple of years. Start the champagne chilling now. Yes, they were 7-9 in 06, but they have shown little reason to expect any better.

Whipping Boy:

Miami Dolphins When a coach turns you down for a college powerhouse at the absolute trough of its history (Alabama), you won't be winning the Super Bowl. That said, with a coach whose gifts lay off the recruitment lines, Miami at least has a chance to improve. They run a G rated version of the Ravens D (no felonies, but no body bags, either), and are banking their offensive hopes on a man who lost his job to David Huard and missed half the season after getting hit by a Bengal. Not a Raven, a Bear, a Charger, or even a Raider. A Bengal. Quick: name two defensive players for Cincinnati. A Striped Tablecloth is not the Steel Curtain. Good luck with Adalius Thomas...twice.

NFC West

Winner: Seattle Seahawks

I've seen 3 teams in this division picked to win it, and all four finish as high as second in season previews. Let's take a big step back and re-examine. Seattle had a rough season last year, lost their two best skill position players for solid chunks of the season...and still won the division. They got them back and nearly beat the eventual NFC Champions. That's the team that returns this year. Yes, they will push around the rest of the division. The 49ers and Rams both improved decent amounts, but not enough. It will not be as close as last year.

Runner up: San Francisco 49ers

In the NFL's AA conference, this could be a Wild Card team. Probably not, but it could happen. They had a solid off season, and their D should be vastly improved, but a new WR won't turn Alex Smith into Peyton or their O line into a Mike Shanahan certified product. This is a young team; give them another season or two.

Lagger: St. Louis Rams

The Greatest Show on Turf is looking for a sequel, and a solid unit will deliver in the neighborhood of 30 points per game. That said, a D that was birthed by Mike Martz still leaves plenty of room to disappoint, and could easily give up just as many. It won't be boring though.

Whipping Boy: Arizona Cardinals

Every season someone takes AZ as the dark horse to take the division, and every season the team finishes dead last. How bad must it look that no one is taking them this year? Sure, they finally used a high draft pick on a tackle, but then they failed to resign their best lineman. Yes, being the best blocker in Phoenix is like being the smartest kid on the short bus, but still, this can't bode well for Matt Leinhart or his don't-crush-my-pretty-head rule.

NFC South

Winner: Carolina Panthers

New Orleans brought tears to everyone's eyes last season, but Carolina's D will bounce back this season, and the people crying will be those who have to play them. The Cats always bounce with off and on seasons, and this is an on year. Injuries to the D line doomed this squad, and with a healthy front and David Carr in town to take the top job from Delhomme, this will be a very different team in 07.

Runner up: New Orleans Saints

No team improved as much last year, and there is little reason they should not continue to do so. Head Coach Sean Payton has them buying into his system and each other. They have a poised QB coming off an MVP type year. At tailback they have a dedicated work horse and a slashing acrobat. Their star receiver has all the attitude problems of Marvin Harrison. This team may have had small margins of victory last year, but they continue to improve and to believe. They got thrashed by the Colts, but trying to Paint Bush as a between the tackles back will never work, and Payton likely won't make the same mistake again.

Lagger: Atlanta Falcons

Yes, Joey Harrington will be their starting QB. This is okay for a pair of reasons: 1) this is a rushing team, and passing is to keep defenses honest, and 2) Harrington has a higher career completion percentage than Vick. Obviously, they lose the scramble threat, but no team with a run first QB to has ever won a Super Bowl, so they might as well start somewhere. This team won't be as bad as everyone thinks.

Whipping boy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This team will be that bad. Garcia was a nice pickup, as a mobile QB is vital when you have no line, but it won't be enough to save them. An aging D coupled with a young O means zero success. Here's predicting a top 3 pick in the draft next season.

NFC North

Winner: Chicago Bears

Seriously? You want reasons? Grossman is awful and inconsistent, but that D will outscore most opponents in the NFL's worst division.

Runner up: Green Bay Packers

Terrible team. Dead bottom of most divisions. Young, tough D will secure them second place over the Lions and Vikings. Favre looks awful and hopefully won't die against the Bears.

Lagger: Minnesota Vikings

Name three Vikings. Is one of them QB Tavaris Jackson? Enough said. Having no offensive line and then drafting an injury prone tailback might not be the most logical decision ever made.

Whipping Boy:

Detroit Lions The worst football franchise in America comes into this season with predictions of 10 wins and their fourth WR pick in the last five first rounds. Plus side? Exciting football. If anything is more enjoyable to watch than a Hail Mary, it's a Pick Six. Expect plenty of both.

NFC East

Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

In the NFL's most balanced division (note: balanced does not mean best) even a team that loses its franchise RB has a shot at the title. That said, this Philly team has one, maybe two good runs left in them. Until age catches up with them, they will still be able to take out Dallas and the Giants in crunch time.

Runner up: Dallas Cowboys

How is Wade Phillips supposed to control T.O. Darth Parcells couldn't? Number two receiver Terry Glenn needs knee surgery and people are still taking them as Super Bowl contenders when they can't take care of their own division. Why is it the Chargers are out of the mix for tossing a coach who can't win the big one, while the Cowboys are favorites after losing a two time world champion? America's team gets the benefit of the doubt, apparently.

Lagger: New York Giants

The team loses their number one tailback ever, their QB is as whiny as Anakin in Episode II, and their coach is eerily similar to Skinner in Varsity Blues. Why should anyone feel good about this ball club?

Whipping Boy: Washington Redskins

Combining scorn for the salary cap with a blind eye to team work and the most offensive name in all of sports, the Skins are quite the spectacle. This season, Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs continues his quest to tarnish is legacy with the worst team that (lots of) money can buy. It's like the Yankees before the All-Star break,

As if football season returning wasn't enough to be grateful for, the good Lord and Dana White saw fit to give us something else to be truly grateful for.

Like a cherry on a sundae, UFC will also be making history this weekend.  The UFC's purchase of Pride Fighting comes to a climax as two champions meet to unify their belts.  In the sport's marquee division, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will meet two division Pride Champion Dan "Hollywood" Henderson.  An exciting fight is all but guaranteed as the two iron-jawed combatants will pit their wildly different styles against each other. 

Henderson is one as close as it gets to being an all-around balanced fighter, with impressive ground skills and a steel right fist, but, at 37, may be nearing the end of his reign.  However, as the 44 year-old UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy "The Natural" Couture shows us every time that he fights, Father Time is not God in the Octagon.  Small for the division, Henderson naturally fights around 195 in a division where few stray far from the 205 limit.

The sport's most charismatic champion, Rampage is as known for slamming his opponents like rag dolls as he is for his eccentric personality and dry wit.  With savage athleticism and a physique unmatched in the weight class, save perhaps for recent victim Marvin Eastman, it has to be considered that he may be simply too big for Hendo, as Jackson cuts from 220 to the 205 max.

This is a must-see fight, with a chance to finally unify the title.  While there are certainly other fighting organizations out there, it's safe to say 90+% of the top talent in the world is in Pride or the UFC.  Whoever holds the combined championship is the undisputed champion of the world, unmatched in his division.  Tonight the first to ever live will be crowned.  This is history in the making.  Regardless of which fighter remains standing, two things are for certain: a king will lose his crown, and a new era in fighting will be ushered in. 

Those fans of pure striking matches should also tune in, as world renowned kicker Mirko "Cro Cop" will look to get back to winning ways against the monstrous Chiek Kongo, a beast of a man with the strength to end lives.  Neither fighter has anything even resembling a ground game, so this match is sure to be a brawl.  With two of the world's top striking heavyweights, this fight WILL end in a crumpled body, and a red-soaked mat is all but guaranteed. 

So Vick pled guilty.  No surprise.  He will go to jail.  We knew that, too.  The only real question left is what happens when he gets out?

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has suspended Vick indefinitely without pay, has a serious dilemma on his hands.  PETA members may be hypocritical, but they are the loudest group of hypocrites on the planet, and they will certainly want a lifetime ban.  On the other hand, certain members of the NAACP want Vick to face no ban beyond his jail time, saying he will have done his time and learned his lesson.

As much as I hate to say it, I am siding with PETA.  Dog fighting is not worse than murder.  It is not as bad as rape or kidnapping, either.  But beyond those, I wonder what crimes I really consider worse than what Vick has done, as they go far beyond simply watching fights. 

This isn't about watching animals scrap, some forced version of the UFC. Animals kill each other every day in the wild; they tear each other to shreds.  Nature is brutal that way, but man is not supposed to be, especially with his best friend. 

It takes man's intervention to reach the levels of cruelty that took place at Vick's Georgia homestead.  Don't equate this to hunting: hunters don't douse deer with water and then electrocute them, unyielding to their excruciating pain.  Don't compare it to eating meat: cows aren't held underwater, limbs thrashing, lungs burning, until they drown.  Don't liken it to horseracing: geldings aren't picked up and slammed against the ground, bones crunching on each slam, until the sounds of pain stop and the body stays limp.  Think my words are brutal? Tough to read?  Punctuate every word with a dog's yelp.  These things really happened, and a large number of us are defending their perpetrator.

If Vick had merely executed his losing dogs, I would be more forgiving. For example, the 53 dogs left behind at his residence will be euthanized via lethal injection.  Even a gunshot to the head I could forgive.  But I can not overlook what amounts to torture.  Vick and his codefendants took eight dogs into the trees and hung them.  No short drop and a sudden stop, these animals writhed in agony.  The dogs were purposefully killed in the most painful manners as punishment for their nonperformance.  They weren't mean enough dogs, even after the abuse and starving, and so they were tortured to death for it.

Unlike most other highly publicized crimes of athletes, this is a case of sick, twisted cruelty.  There are reasons to get into fights; some things simply can't be let to pass.  It doesn't bug me at all that Vick flipped off jeering fans, I'm sure they gave worse than they got. Robbing a computer from your school is even a stupid mistake I can forgive; we've all done things we regret.  But this is something different at the most important level.

Vick didn't screw up one night while drunk. At the very least he created and supported the misery and death of dozens of dogs for over half a decade.  There is a very simple reason that such malice for life is often called "inhuman."  It should be.  Unfortunately, it seems there is nothing that is more human. The eternal ban is something Michael Vick has earned.  It is up to all of us to make sure it is enforced.