2012 NFL Preview, Part II (NFC)

 The NFL season officially kicks off tomorrow with the Defending Super Bowl Champion New York Football Giants (that’s the full name by which I will refer to them this season) taking on Dallas.  It’ll be the third straight game between the two on NBC, which I’m sure FOX is thrilled about.  Anyway, I started my NFL preview the other day with a look at the AFC.  Since the season is literally on the horizon, I’d better finish it before the game kicks off.  With that in mind, here comes Part II, a look at the NFC:

NFC East
The Eagles figured out in December how good they were actually supposed to be all season last year.  That, of course, worked to the benefit of the Defending Super Bowl Champion New York Football Giants, so I’m not complaining, but talent-wise, I don’t think there’s any debate that Philadelphia is the best team in the division.  If they play like it all season, the Eagles will be very difficult to stop.  I realize I said all of these same things about Philadelphia going into 2011 and got burned by it, but, again, the Eagles team that showed up last December is the real Eagles team.  Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek are all among the Top 10 in the NFL at their positions, and an already sick defense got better with the addition of DeMeco Ryans.  They finished a disappointing 8-8 last season.  If that happens again, I’ll agree with all the people calling for Andy Reid’s job.  This team is good enough to win 12 games, but with the schedule NFC East teams have to play this year, 10 should do it.

Giants-Cowboys is a toss-up for second place.  Dallas seems to have the same team on paper every year.  Sometimes it results in 11-5.  Other times it results in 7-9.  I think they’re closer to the 10-6, 9-7 side of that gap though.  Dallas’s playoff chances could come down to the division games.  They always have a tough time with Washington, got swept by the Giants last season, and lost that crucial game against Philly on Christmas Eve.  For the Cowboys to be a playoff team, they have to at least split the division games.

As for the Defending Super Bowl Champion New York Football Giants, a tough schedule is going to make getting back to the playoffs a challenge.  Remember, they were only 9-7 last year.  They might be staring that record in the face again this season, but this time it might not even be enough to make the playoffs.  I also think the Giants were a slightly better team last year.  Regarding the Redskins, I have two pressing questions.  How do you win only five games, yet beat the Super Bowl champions twice?  And, does Robert Griffin III realize that his last name is “Griffin” not “Griffin III?”  The III isn’t necessary on his jersey.  (Also, will he name his kid Robert Griffin IV, Robert Griffin III Jr. or something like Tom Griffin III?)

NFC North
I don’t think there’s anybody who’d argue with me that the Green Bay Packers were the best team in football for a majority of the season.  The Packers weren’t as good as their 15-1 record indicated, though, and the Giants exposed those flaws in the playoffs.  Regardless, the Packers bring virtually everybody back from last season, and they have the benefit of all those guys being healthy (at least to start the year).  Plus, giving Aaron Rodgers an actual running back (Cedric Benson) and an actual center (Jeff Saturday) will make Green Bay’s offense a tad better.  Will they go 15-1 again?  No.  Will they win the NFC North?  Probably.

Second place is tight between the Bears and the Lions.  Detroit finally ended its playoff drought last season and looks poised to be good for a while, but I think Chicago is slightly better.  If they can stay reasonably healthy, this season’s Bears have their standard easy-schedule 11-5 written all over them.  The Lions aren’t going to sneak up on anybody this year, which is why I rank Chicago slightly ahead of them.  A return to the playoffs isn’t completely out of the question, though.  Suddenly, the NFC North has become one of the better divisions in football.  That doesn’t include the Vikings, however.  It’ll be another long year in Minnesota.  Adrian Peterson’s fun to watch and Jared Allen’s a beast.  That’s about all I can say about the Vikings.  They start with Jacksonville and Indianapolis, so a 2-0 start is possible.  After that, things will go downhill quickly.

NFC South
This division is always interesting, mainly because the four teams are so bunched together.  The Saints had visions in their heads of becoming the first home team ever to play in a Super Bowl.  There are some people who still think that.  However, that line of thinking now has to be classified as “delusional.”  New Orleans has no coach and doesn’t have its best defensive player.  Sure, they have Drew Brees and a ton of talent, but Super Bowl dreams aren’t realistic.  Especially since they’ll have to deal with Atlanta and Carolina twice each.  Winning the division’s not out of the question, but I think it’s more likely New Orleans contends for a wild card before falling just short of the playoffs.

In my opinion, the Falcons are the best team in this division.  What I like most about Atlanta is the offense.  It’s going to be tough for opposing defenses to stop Michael Turner, Julio Jones, Roddy White AND Tony Gonzalez.  The Falcons’ defense isn’t that great, but they might be able to score their way to an 11-5 record and a division title.  Carolina’s definitely a sleeper candidate.  The Panthers were a much better team towards the end of the season last year, when Cam Newton finally seemed comfortable with the role of NFL starting quarterback.  Now that he’s actually had an off-season, Newton will probably be even better this year.  That’s a scary proposition.  Carolina’s not going to make the playoffs, but they’ll come close.  They’re a year or two away from being Super Bowl contenders.  The Bucs will be better, too.  Their problem is that they’re still the fourth-best team in this division, so the playoffs are out of the question.  Tampa Bay will be a tough out in non-division games, though.  I can reasonably see the Bucs finishing 7-9 or 8-8.

NFC West
San Francisco 49ers.  I should just stop right there.  There’s one actual NFL team in this division.  Sure they flirted with Peyton before settling on another year of Alex Smith, which isn’t the worst thing in the world.  (They did finish an overtime loss away from the Super Bowl last season, remember.)  Let’s also keep in mind that with the addition of all those wide receivers, the offense should be much better than it was a year ago.  And the defense is one of the best in the NFL.  They probably won’t go 13-3 again.  It doesn’t matter.  They’ll still win the division going away.

Should injuries or something else drop the 49ers down a peg, the team that stands to benefit the most is Seattle.  The Seahawks are probably the only other team in the NFC West that can realistically see themselves coming anywhere near a playoff spot.  It’s not going to happen though.  I’m pretty sure Pete Carroll’s old team (yes, I mean USC) could give the Seahawks a game.  After a couple years of being the class of the division, Arizona has regressed to once again being the Cardinals.  If they had an actual quarterback instead of John Skelton, I’d be a little more confident in the offense.  The defense is OK, but not good enough for them to win 14-10 games.  At least they’re better than the Rams, though.  Jeff Fisher’s got some work to do in St. Louis.  Sam Bradford needs to stay healthy and Steven Jackson needs some help for them to have any shot.  A defense that features six newcomers as projected starters and won’t be coached by Gregg Williams, the rightfully suspended mastermind of Bountygate, really scares me, too.

Division Winners: Philadelphia, Green Bay, Atlanta, San Francisco
Wild Cards: Dallas, Chicago
NFC Champion: Green Bay