The NFL regular season begins in less than a month and barring any major injuries to teams with playoff hopes, these are our 2010-11 NFC predictions.
The NFL season will culminate on February 6, 2011 in Dallas when Super Bowl XLV is played at Cowboys Stadium.
The Cowboys have hopes of becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to play the NFL’s championship game on its home field.
While Dallas is a legitimate contender to appear in their first Super Bowl since 1996, the Cowboys several areas of concern that could keep them from advancing.
Dallas has more than enough offensive skill players to give opposing defensive coordinators headaches, but the Cowboys offensive line could be a problem.
Losing Flozell Adams wasn’t a huge loss as some might suggest, and his replacement Doug Free is more than capable of handling the left tackle position.
But Dallas’ line was exposed last season in the NFC Divisional loss to Minnesota when the Vikings ran circles around them.
If Dallas should win the NFC East but if they hope to have any chance of getting to the Super Bowl, the offensive line has to perform well above last season’s output.
The New York Giants look to improve upon last season’s disappointing 8-8 record.
The G-Men are generally regarded as having one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, but New York’s offense wasn’t the issue last season.
The Giants gave up 427 points in 2009, including 85 points in losing their last two games to knock them out of the playoffs.
As a result of the humiliating defeats, first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was fired and replaced by former Buffalo Bills interim coach Perry Fewell.
The Giants will be a better team this season and they should be in the hunt for a playoff berth. But their schedule isn’t very kind and that will ultimately from making a playoff appearance this season.
Washington hired Mike Shanahan to replace Jim Zorn and traded for quarterback Donovan McNabb, but don’t expect to see the Redskins improve enough to make a serious playoff push.
The Philadelphia Eagles thought trading away McNabb in favor of Kevin Kolb was the best move for the team. They’ll be thinking about that move some more when the season ends, after they’ve finished in last place and out of the playoffs.
The New Orleans Saints will look to defend their Super Bowl title from last season. This is a team that doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses and they’ll win the NFC South again this season.
New Orleans has a more demanding schedule this season with road games against San Francisco, Dallas, Cincinnati and Baltimore.
The Saints might not get home field advantage and that looms large come playoff time, especially for a dome team that may have to play in cold weather.
The Atlanta Falcons won their last three games last season to finish 9-7, but that wasn’t good enough to earn a playoff berth.
The Falcons were 28th against the pass last season and they’ll have to improve in that area to make a return to the playoffs.
Quarterback Matt Ryan had a sophomore slump in 2009 and looks to bounce back. Atlanta has enough talent and a favorable schedule to make a playoff run.
The Green Bay Packers had one of the NFL’s best defenses last season, finishing first against the run and doing so for most of the year without Aaron Kampman.
The Packers resigned Johnny Jolly in June but lost him a month later when the NFL suspended him for the entire season after he violated the league’s substance abuse policy.
Green Bay will have Kampman back this year and the defense should continue to be among the best in the league.
The offense is solid as well, with Aaron Rodgers emerging as one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. The Packers boast one of the best receiving corps in the league with Donald Driver and Greg Jennings.
It won’t matter if Brett Favre returns to Minnesota this season, Green Bay will win the NFC North.
Speaking of Favre and the Vikings, had it not been for one of his trademark bonehead pass attempts in the NFC Championship game against the Saints, Minnesota would have been Super Bowl bound.
The Vikings are the NFC’s third best team with Favre, but without him they are a marginal playoff team. If anyone is thinking Favre won’t return this season, you can stop now because he’ll be behind center at some point.
Minnesota’s schedule is very manageable aside from one four week stretch in October when they’ll face the Jets, Cowboys, Packers and Patriots. The Vikings will earn a playoff spot this season but don’t expect to see them making a deep run.
San Francisco has all the pieces in place to win the NFC West this season. The 49ers have a strong running game with Frank Gore and they’ll enjoy an entire season with Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis working together.
The key to San Francisco’s success will be quarterback Alex Smith, who has to prove once and for all that he’s capable of leading this team into the playoffs.
With the addition of free agent Brian Westbrook, the 49ers now have one more option for Smith to use, especially on third down situations.
San Francisco will win perhaps the weakest division in the NFL, but the 49ers are at best a middle of the pack team in the NFC. Don’t expect to see them advance deep into the playoffs.
Arizona will find out if Matt Leinart is ready to be the quarterback they hoped he would be after drafting him in the first round in 2006.
Leinart will have a short leash this season and any signs of trouble will put him back on the bench. The Cardinals are still talented enough to make a playoff run, but the uncertainty surrounding Leinart will be too much for them to overcome.
The Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers will make the NFC playoffs this season, with the Packers defeating New Orleans in the NFC Championship to advance to Super Bowl XLV.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Washington Redskins
Philadelphia Eagles
NFC South
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC North
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
NFC West
San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams
NFC Wildcard Teams
Minnesota
Atlanta
NFC Championship
Green Bay over New Orleans
