NFC East Champions: Philadelphia Eagles, 10-6
This division is perhaps the toughest division in professional football. Why did I predict the Eagles over the Dallas Cowboys? Dallas has Tony Romo behind center, has many talented wide receivers like Miles Austin and Dez Bryant, and it is the location of this year's Super Bowl. So, it seems intuitive to pick the Cowboys to finally win a Super Bowl after the past few years of disappointment in the early rounds of the playoffs (I blame head coach Wade Phillips for the Cowboys' shortcomings, not Romo). Do not forget about the Redskins and Giants. Expect both those teams to compete as well, especially the Redskins because they have a new coach (Mike Shanahan) and a new quarterback (Donovan McNabb). However, I like Philadelphia to win out the division this year. The Eagles have one of the most underrated starting quarterbacks in Kevin Kolb who will get his first full year as starter if he stays healthy. If not healthy, Kolb's backup is Michael Vick. The Eagles also have a solid defense and some pretty fast, explosive play makers like DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy.
NFC South Champions: New Orleans Saints, 12-4
This is also a very hard division to pick because this division has been up for grabs for the past few seasons now. I expect the Saints to finish with another strong year because the Saints will have most of their players back from the phenomenal 2009-2010 season including Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, Darren Sharper, and Jeremy Shockey. New Orleans has one of the most explosive offenses in the game because Brees loves to sit back and throw the ball down field. Plus, the Saints have one of the toughest places to play with their home stadium, the legendary Superdome. Do they beat the Vikings in Week 1? Most definitely they do. Also, the Carolina Panthers lost Jake Delhomme to the Browns and Julius Peppers to the Bears, so Carolina is in somewhat of a rebuilding mode as the team experiments with new guys like starting quarterback Matt Moore and rookie Jimmy Clausen from Notre Dame. Do not expect the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to compete much either. That team has a lot to prove to the league with Josh Freeman as quarterback, but the Bucs are one of the youngest, most inexperienced teams in the league. The Saints' biggest competition within the division should come from Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons, a team which has a great chance to clinch a wild card this year.
NFC West Champions: San Francisco 49ers, 9-7
This division is probably the weakest division in the NFC, especially now that Kurt Warner left the Arizona Cardinals and decided to retire. So, young Matt Leinart from USC will take over Kurt's spot on the roster. He is a valuable sleeper in fantasy leagues, but he and the Cardinals do not have enough to win the division. Plus, the Cardinals lost wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the Baltimore Ravens in the off season. The St. Louis Rams are in a rebuilding mode as the team experiments with the 2010 number one draft pick Sam Bradford. The only fantasy value the Rams have right now is running back Steven Jackson. The two teams I have competing in the West are the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle has a new coach, a healthy Matt Hasselbeck, and a much improved defense. Besides their new head coach, no one has been talking about this team much. However, the Seahawks have a fair chance of reaching the postseason. I believe the 49ers will finally win the division and make the playoffs. San Francisco just signed Brian Westbrook and has pro bowl running back Frank Gore. Defense needs to improve more this season, but on the offensive side of the ball, Alex Smith is developing quite nicely at the quarterback position.
NFC North Champions: Green Bay Packers, 13-3
When Brett Favre decided to return for his 20th NFL Season, I think he forgot that he was in one of the toughest divisions in football. The Vikings' chances of winning the division are slim. Sure, they have Brett Favre, but the Packers have the best quarterback in the league right now (and in fantasy leagues), Aaron Rodgers. He is probably one of the most accurate quarterbacks today. The Packers have the complete package to win the Super Bowl. They have, arguably, the best receiving core. They have a dominant running back in Ryan Grant. They have one of the top defenses in the league even without Jolly playing this year. The Chicago Bears improved in the off season. They brought in Julius Peppers for defensive help, and I think Jay Cutler is going to have a much better year than in the 2009-2010 season. If the Vikings want to win the division, they are going to have to rely more on Adrian Peterson and less on Favre in the second half of the season. I highly doubt Favre will play much in the second half of the season with his injured ankle. At best, Minnesota is getting a Wild Card spot.
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