NFL Division by Division Season Preview

The time is finally here. The final cuts have been made and the rosters have been trimmed down to 53. All of the meaningless preseason games are over and every team has a fresh start and a clean slate. Indeed, NFL kickoff weekend is upon us and the season starts on Thursday night with a great game between the Titans and Steelers. So today I wanted to give a general overview of how I see every division shaking out this year.

NFC East:
My Division Favorite – Eagles by a slight margin
Playoff Contenders – Eagles, Giants, Cowboys
The NFC East is always one of the best divisions in the NFL and it should be no different in 2009. I think it will be a knock down, drag out fight for the division title between the Eagles and Giants this year. Both teams come into this season looking very similar. The Eagles have been built around the defensive side of the ball for years and they have always gotten enough from QB Donovan McNabb (even through injuries) and RB Brian Westbrook to be perennial playoff participants. For whatever reason though, the Eagles just have not been able to get over the hump and a Super Bowl title has eluded them. After last season’s late surge, the Eagles come into 2009 with renewed hopes though. QB Michael Vick was given a 2nd chance by Philadelphia and he should be able to help the Eagles’ offense be more dynamic and unpredictable, but it remains to be seen how much he will help. The Eagles will once again hope that McNabb and Westbrook stay health and that they continue to get development from their receivers. The defense may not be as dominant as it has been, especially with the passing of Jim Johnson in the offseason.

The New York Giants are built the same way as the Eagles. They rely on a stingy defense to shut down other teams and then ask QB Eli Manning to do enough to manage the game while they pound it out on the ground. The problem for the Giants this year is at the WR position. After the sad situation with Plaxico Burress, the Giants have no big playmaker at WR. The loss of Burress clearly hurt the team last year, as Manning struggled to do anything in the passing game. The Giants did not do anything to bring in a dynamic WR this offseason, so those concerns remain. The Giants and Eagles should be battling atop the division and I really think it could go either way depending on how the two games between both teams shake out this year. I give the slight edge to the Eagles, but the Giants could easily walk away with the division title as well.

The Dallas Cowboys are hoping for a turnaround this season after releasing WR Terrell Owens and hopefully improving team chemistry. The problem though is that the Cowboys are really no different than they were last year and they are minus a future Hall of Fame WR. I am not sure Dallas will be able to take a step up and they should remain behind the Eagles and Giants. I think the Cowboys have a shot to battle for a Wild Card spot if they get some luck and bring consistent play to the field. They do have a good defense and QB Tony Romo can be one of the best in the league sometimes. As for the Washington Redskins, I see them as a .500 team and they should not challenge for a playoff spot. They have the talent to look like world beaters some weeks, but then other weeks they will look mediocre at best. I think they will lose enough divisional games to keep them in the bottom of the division.

NFC North:
My Division Favorite – Vikings by a small margin
Playoff Contenders – Vikings, Packers, Bears
Just like the NFC East, the NFC North is always a great division to watch. The games are rough and hard hitting and the division title race always seems to come down to the final week of the season. The addition of QB Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings gives them the edge to win the division this year in my opinion. In the past few seasons, the Vikings have been able to build up a really good defense and the drafting of RB Adrian Peterson instantly gave Minnesota a dangerous running game. However, inconsistent play and mistakes from the QB position has held them back. Brett Favre will be able to come in and offer stability to the position. He knows the offense like the back of his hand and I believe he will not have to be a gunslinger this year. If Favre is able to limit mistakes and lean on Peterson and the defense to do some heavy lifting, it should be a recipe for success. An injury to Favre would obviously derail this plan, but right now, Favre should only develop more chemistry with the offense and the Vikings should be in great position.

Behind the Vikings, it should be a great battle between the Packers and Bears. Both of these teams have the potential to sneak up and win the division if the Vikings run into problems and the Favre experiment does not work. The Packers will be driven by how good QB Aaron Rogers will be this year. Rogers is starting to show that he can be an elite level star in the league and he will carry the offense. The question is if he can get solid help from the running game and if he will get big play help from his receivers. The Packers will also need their defense to step up and try to allow Rogers to win games for them. The Bears have no trouble on the defensive side of the ball and now the franchise may have finally found an answer at QB with the acquisition of Jay Cutler. The Bears have relied on defense and a strong running game to win for years, but now they might be able to hurt teams through the passing game. The Bears still lack a weapon at WR though, so Cutler will only be able to do so much and it remains to be seen how quickly things will gel for the offense. I do think that the Packers and Bears both have a shot at contending for the Wild Card spots, and maybe the division, if they catch some breaks. And as for the lowly Detroit Lions, they will still suffer through a horrible season, but I do think they can get 2 or 3 wins this year. Expect growing pains from rookie QB Matthew Stafford, but if he develops, the Lions could finally be on a path to respectability.

NFC South:
My Division Favorite – Falcons by a small margin over the Panthers
Playoff Contenders – Falcons and Panthers
I feel that the balance of power has shifted to the Atlanta Falcons this year and I believe they will overtake the Panthers and win the division this season. QB Matt Ryan will only continue to develop and he has a wealth of weapons in RB Michael Turner, WR Roddy White, and newly acquired TE Tony Gonzalez. The Falcons also sport a pretty good defense and they should have enough to win the division this year. The taste of success, combined with playoff disappointment, should be enough to motivate Atlanta and give them confidence heading into this year. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I just have a feeling that the Panthers will not be as good this season. QB Jake Delhomme is another year older and the Panthers are still one dimensional in the passing game with WR Steve Smith. The Panthers can pound it out on the ground however, and they still have a really good defense, but I just have a hunch they will not be as good this season. They did not look particularly good against the Ravens in the most important preseason game, so maybe that skews my thinking. I do think the Panthers will strongly contend for a Wild Card spot though, but they could be shut out with the wealth of contenders from the NFC East and North.

The New Orleans Saints will be a fun team to watch with QB Drew Brees running their high powered offense, but I think their defense will hold them back and they will fall short of the playoffs again this year. The Saints pretty much rely on their offense to just outscore opponents, and usually that is not the way to go for long term success. One too many off days from the offense will bring about too many losses and I can only see the Saints being around .500 this year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be bringing up the rear of this division. The Bucs are still fairly solid on defense, but they are far from the dominant unit they used to be. The Buccaneers biggest problem will be an anemic offense though. QB Byron Leftwich is not consistent enough and the team lacks enough weapons to get the job done. Add in a rookie head coach and I see a team that will be mediocre and finish below .500.

NFC West:
My Division Favorite – Cardinals by a decent margin
Playoff Contenders – Cardinals
The NFC West should basically be a one team division this year. The Arizona Cardinals have become the class of the division and they should have no trouble winning it and being the only playoff representative from the division. The loser of the Super Bowl has had trouble qualifying for the playoffs in the next season, but the weakness of the NFC West should prevent that problem for Arizona. QB Kurt Warner returns with his dynamic duo of WRs in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and the addition of rookie RB Chris Wells will really help the offense be potent. Throw in a solid and improving defense and the Cardinals should have no trouble winning the division.

The 49ers and Seahawks should be battling for 2nd place, but the ceiling for both of those teams should be around .500. Behind Coach Mike Singletary, the 49ers are slowly improving. The have a pretty tough defense, but are still held back by the offense. They will try to pound it out on the ground, but they lack the ability to have balance because the passing game is weak. Rookie WR Michael Crabtree could have really helped QB Shaun Hill, but he decided to be a fool and “diva” and his contract dispute will hurt the team. The Seahawks get a healthy Matt Hasselbeck back at QB, but even with the addition of WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Seahawks will still be lacking on both offense and defense and they don’t have enough to make a complete turnaround from last year. The St. Louis Rams will most likely be in the basement of the division. Their only bright spot is RB Steven Jackson, but he is not enough to overcome the other problems and it will be a struggle for the Rams as they continue to try and rebuild.

AFC East:
My Division Favorite – Patriots by a solid margin
Playoff Contenders – Patriots and Dolphins
Barring another injury to QB Tom Brady or another bizarre scenario, the Patriots should be back on top of the division this year. It seems as if Brady’s shoulder is fine and the “injury” he suffered will just be a small scare. The Patriots looked great on offense in the preseason and Brady and WR Randy Moss look ready to pick up where they left off before Brady’s knee injury. The defense will be solid as usual for the Patriots and they should have no trouble winning the division. I think the Dolphins are primed to slip this year. They caught many teams by surprise last season, but they will not do so this year. The schedule is much tougher for the Dolphins and Tom Brady is back to 100% for the Patriots. That combination spells trouble and 2nd place for Miami. The Dolphins lack firepower on offense and I don’t think the methodical, no mistake philosophy will be enough. The defense should keep Miami in most every game, but they will come up short in too many. The Dolphins should still have a shot at a Wild Card spot, but the AFC is very tough and I would not be surprised if Miami’s schedule bites them and they miss the playoffs entirely.

The Jets and the Bills will be fighting to stay out of last place in the division. I probably have to give the edge to the Jets to finish 3rd. New Coach Rex Ryan has had first hand experience with a rookie QB, baring witness to QB Joe Flacco last year with the Ravens, so he should be able to support rookie QB Mark Sanchez in New York. I still think though that the Jets will not be able to do enough to make a playoff run. Their defense is solid but certainly not up to the Ravens’ level and they lack weapons on offense to really help Sanchez. The Jets will be solid and have a shot at .500. The Bills will end up being mediocre at best and will finish last. WR Terrell Owens was brought in to try and make the offense more explosive, but he will most likely be keyed on by defenses and he will not make that big of an impact. The offense looked terrible in the preseason and the defense is nowhere near being dominant enough to carry Buffalo. The Bills will struggle and it will be fun to see if Owens blows up this year.

AFC North:
My Division Favorite – Steelers BARELY over the Ravens
Playoff Contenders – Steelers and Ravens
As I have said a few times already, this should be one hell of a fight this season for the AFC North title. I can’t wait to see the two games between the Steelers and Ravens and the result will most likely decide the division. Both teams are built on defense and look to do enough on the offensive side of the ball to win. I am hearing many so-called “experts” say that the Ravens will miss former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. You mean like the team missed Marvin Lewis when he left? That is a weak argument and I don’t think the people saying this realize how deep the Ravens are on defense. The Steelers still have an edge when comparing offenses however. QB Ben Roethlisberger has proven himself time and again as a star and he has a solid running game and WR Hines Ward to back him up. Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco is continuing to improve and develop though, and he looks to be better this year already compared to last season. The Ravens still have a good running game with RB Ray Rice improving and RB Willis McGahee now being the 2nd back to help spell him. Again, the Ravens could be held back because they have no game breaking WR, but Derrick Mason is as solid as they come and the Ravens have worked on getting Flacco to spread the ball around. Based on experience and a slight talent edge, I have to give the Steelers the edge to win the division. I think they find a way to be 1 game better than the Ravens, but I would not be surprised at all if Baltimore wins it because they have looked great in the preseason. No matter how it shakes out, both teams will make the playoffs.

The Browns and the Bengals will be fighting to finish in 3rd place, but it seems as though the Bengals have a solid edge over the Browns. Both of these teams have come into the past few seasons with hopes and promise and they somehow find a way to disappoint. The Browns are trying to rebuild around QB Brady Quinn (or QB Derek Anderson…who the hell knows with Mangini) and the Bengals are hoping a healthy QB Carson Palmer will bring more success this year. I do believe a full, healthy year from Palmer can bring more wins to Cincinnati, but I don’t think they have enough to make any sort of playoff run, even though a few misguided “experts” seem to think so. Clearly, the Ravens and Steelers are much better than the Browns and Bengals, so either team will be lucky to get a sniff at .500 this year. I expect the Browns to fall away though and be pretty bad while the Bengals should be able to hang in there. Make no mistake, the Browns and Bengals will still compete in every game, but they just do not have enough to get things done and they are looking at sub par seasons.

AFC South:
My Division Favorite – Titans by a small margin over the Colts
Playoff Contenders – Titans and Colts
The winds of change are slowly sweeping into the AFC South and the division now seems to belong to the Titans for the time being. Tennessee features a tough hitting and solid defense and a great running game. They are built just like the Steelers and Ravens and that is a good recipe for success. QB Kerry Collins remains the starter for the Titans and he will effectively manage the game and provide Tennessee with a lot of wins and a division title, building off of last year’s great regular season campaign. The Titans’ biggest challenge will come from the Indianapolis Colts, but the Colts are slowly starting to slip from dominance. The window is slowly closing on QB Peyton Manning. Coach Tony Dungy and WR Marvin Harrison are gone and the offense is not as explosive as it once was, but they do have young talent in place. The sheer greatness of Manning though will keep the Colts dangerous on offense and he will get the job done. The defensive unit in Indianapolis is still pretty good and I believe the Colts will be able to do enough to sneak into the playoffs. The AFC is going to be a slugfest this year, so I would not be shocked if Indy caught some bad breaks and not even made the playoffs. But then again, they could get hot and win the division outright. It should be a great battle.

The Houston Texans are starting to improve and there is talk that they could make a playoff run this year. I just do not see that happening. The Texans have many weapons on offense and success will hinge on whether or not QB Matt Schaub can stay healthy. He has already looked a bit shaky in the preseason, so I don’t know if that will happen. The Texans are held back by their defense. Mario Williams has developed into a dominating pass rusher and he is starting to justify his #1 overall draft pick status, but he needs more help. The secondary in Houston is extremely soft and I think these problems will be too much for Houston to expect a playoff berth this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars will most likely fall away and finish last in the division. I just do not see them having enough offense to contend and their defense is certainly not one of the tops in the league. Coach Jack Del Rio will have the Jags ready to play each week, but they do not have enough talent to be an elite team.

AFC West:
My Division Favorite – Chargers by a wide margin
Playoff Contenders – Chargers
Just like the NFC West, the AFC’s western division is a one team race. The Chargers should clearly be head and shoulders above the rest and they are a potential Super Bowl contender. The Chargers have an explosive offense and are good enough on defensive to get to double digit wins and win the division handily. Their top competition should come from the Denver Broncos, but there is so much turmoil in Denver that I don’t know how much of a challenge they can provide. Coach Josh McDaniels is trying to install a new system and get the team on board with it and he has had to already deal with the Jay Cutler situation and problem child WR Brandon Marshall. I am not convinced that QB Kyle Orton is the answer and the Broncos continue to have problems keeping a RB healthy. The defense has slipped in recent years and I only foresee a mediocre season at best. The Chiefs and the Raiders will be in the basement of the AFC West and they both have a long way to go to even reach respectability. I think this is the year that the Chargers finally avoid a slow start and they should beat up on their division rivals easily.

The Game’s Quick Hits

ECW Recap: ECW continues to be a fairly entertaining hour of television when the WWE allows the focus to be on in-ring action. I was pleased to see that tonight and glad the no-talent Abraham Washington did not grace my screen. The night started with a match between The Hurricane and Paul Burchill. These two have had a nice little feud going and even though there is nothing ground breaking here and it is only mid-card filler, they produced a pretty good match. I was pleased to see both wrestlers focus on their strengths and show a nice contrast. The Hurricane tried to use his speed and quickness, while Burchill relied on his strength advantage and tried to wear Hurricane down with power moves. The pace was good and the crowd was supportive of Hurricane and into the match. In the end, Hurricane won with an Eye of the Hurricane after Paul ran into Katie Lea on the ring apron. This was a solid effort all around and much appreciated. These types of matches need to happen more on Raw instead of stuff like the Hornswoggle garbage. It also seems as though Shelton Benjamin and Sheamus are headed toward a feud after an altercation they had following a tag team victory over Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu. I still believe Benjamin should be going after the ECW Championship or moved to Raw or Smackdown and challenge for one of the secondary titles. He can put on some great matches when given the chance. Let’s hope that he can produce some good things with Sheamus. I am still on the fence about the “Celtic Warrior”, but he is definitely the best of the “New Talent Initiative” wrestlers.

The main event featured ECW Champion Christian and Tommy Dreamer taking on Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov. We learned that Christian will be defending his belt against William Regal at Breaking Point, so this match turned into the WWE’s hard sell for the PPV tonight. The two sides put on a perfectly acceptable tag team match. As you would expect, Christian and Dreamer had to rely on speed and veteran savvy, while Kozlov and Jackson brought pure power. Jackson was showcased a little more in this match, looking very imposing and dominant at times and he was able to pick up the victory on Dreamer after a grab of the foot from Regal on the outside. The “Ruthless Roundtable” stood tall at the end of the night and we were left to wonder if Christian’s title reign would soon be over.

- Oklahoma could use some more good news, but they did not get any on Tuesday as Coach Bob Stoops told the media that star TE Jermaine Gresham underwent arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee to determine the severity of cartilage damage. Unfortunately for the Sooners, the injury was not a simple removal of anything and the doctors determined that Gresham needed stitches to repair the cartilage, which will require a recovery time of 5 months and put Gresham out for the season. Gresham returned to school and put off the NFL for a year, so this is extremely bad news for him and could hamper his draft value. He was Oklahoma’s leading returning receiver this year and a real playmaker on offense. Now that he is out for the year, it is pretty much a given that the Sooners offense will suffer and miss his big play ability. At this point, I still stick to my view that Oklahoma will lose against Texas and now the game against Miami is looking more dangerous. It will take a huge effort and tons of determination for the Sooners to fight through this adversity.

- The Richard Seymour watch continues as he failed to report to the Raiders for the 2nd straight day. Raiders Coach Tom Cable said he has nothing new to report and nothing has changed, Patriots Coach Bill Belichick refuses to talk about it since the Patriots no longer have the rights to Seymour, and the NFL is saying to get a statement from the teams. This is quickly starting to turn into some drama now. Reports are saying that Seymour had no advanced warning of the trade and right now, things such as his contract and his role with the Raiders and what they expect from him need to be “worked out”. As I stated yesterday, this move must suck for Seymour, but he really needs to be a professional about it and report to the team or at least give a statement. I would have thought he learned some class and professionalism from the Patriots, even though they did deal him a tough hand. In the NFL, business is business.

- Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick spoke to a group of 200 students on the first day of classes at Nueva Esperanza Academy, a North Philadelphia charter school. He warned the students not to bow to peer pressure and to make good choices that will allow you to be a leader and not a follower. Vick offered himself up as an example of what happens when you lose focus and how your life can go down a bad path. I am happy to see that Vick is getting out in the community and trying to do some good work. As I have stated before, if he can work to make a positive difference and stay on course himself, then the 2nd chance he is getting in the NFL is totally justified. I hope that more schools and organizations give Vick a chance to make a positive impact and not just sit back and bitch and moan about how Vick is bad for young people. That will solve nothing.

- The captain’s selections are in for the 2009 President’s Cup: Ryo Ishikawa, who at 17-years old will be the youngest player ever in the competition, and Adam Scott were chosen by Captain Greg Norman for the International team and Captain Fred Couples chose 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan for the United States team. Scott’s selection was a bit curious considering the fact that he has fallen to 53 in the world rankings and is suffering through the worst year of his career. Glover and Mahan bring experience to the U.S. squad, as they also were the Captain’s picks 2 years ago. The President’s Cup is a very fun event to watch, even though it is not at the level of the Ryder Cup. I love seeing the match play format, as well as the different foursome matches. There is some real drama that is created and I still say that even though on the surface golf might not seem that exciting, it really can be some of the best competition that you can watch if you are a sports fan.

- I thought this tidbit was worth mentioning with the U.S. Open going on right now. The new head of the men’s tennis tour, Adam Helfant, said that the tour is planning an All-star event in March to try and boost the sport’s popularity. He said the top players are in favor of the event, which would include a skills competition, celebrity doubles matches, and an awards show. Helfant wants to try and create more buzz at the beginning of the year for tennis, something he claims other sports do well. While I think this is a noble cause Helfant is trying to do, I don’t think it will do much good. Tennis is more of a niche sport that will always appeal to a segment of the population, but it will never grow to the heights of the four major professional sports in America. Tennis is a great recreational sport and it will always be around, but it can only grow so much. Unless you can somehow bring along new stars that grow to the level of guys like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, and other greats, AND have them develop intense rivalries, tennis will always lag behind in viewership and popularity. That’s just the way it is.

- U.S. Open Update: The women’s side of the draw has reached the quarterfinals and #2 seed Serena Williams still has not really been tested as she cruised by #10 seed Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-3. In the other women’s quarterfinal of the day, Kim Clijsters routed #18 seed Li Na 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals against Williams. This is an amazing run by Clijsters after being away from the game for 2 years and the match with Serena has the potential to be very intriguing. On the men’s side, a huge upset occurred as #2 seed Andy Murray was blitzed and totally outplayed in losing to #16 seed Marin Cilic, who won in straight sets 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Cilic will now play #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals. Men’s #3 seed Rafael Nadal lost the first set to #13 seed Gael Monfils, but Nadal was able to eventually wear down Monfils as he slowly faded away and Nadal won in 4 sets. Nadal will now face #11 seed Fernando Gonzalez, who advanced by beating #7 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 4 sets.