NFL Preview: Division-by-division

, Marion Barber, Jason Witten, Roy Williams, and Felix Jones will win plenty of shootouts, but they'll lose some too. DeMarcus Ware can only do so much to make up for the holes in the secondary. 

4.  Washington Redskins 9-7: It won't be good enough in the toughest division in football, but I like the Redskins more than most other people. Jason Campbell isn't a gamebreaker, but he's solid, especially when Clinton Portis is having a good game. I think Portis, Chris Cooley, Santana Moss, and the emergence of (hopefully) one rookie receiver could make the Redskins' offense better than average. The O-line still has question mark at right tackle, but that defense is scary. If he is motivated (which I think he will be), Albert Haynesworth will be a force both against the pass and the run. Carlos Rogers leads an underrated secondary; however, they don't have the ability to dominate any one area that other teams do and the Redskins will find themselves losing a lot of close games. Maybe in a different division they're a playoff team, but not this one.

 

NFC North

1.  Minnesota Vikings 11-5: People forget that even without consistency at quarterback, this team made the playoffs last year. The Williams' are aging, but the run defense will still be excellent, and the secondary will be good enough with that pass rush. Adrian Peterson is an offense all by himself, and I think the passing attack (with or without Brett Favre) will be good enough to win games. They're not going to come from behind a lot, but with big plays and ball control from AP, and constant pressure on the other team's quarterback, they'll keep control of the NFC North.

2.  Green Bay Packers 10-6: Nobody is talking about these guys, but they have quietly made a lot of good moves. BJ Raji will be able to contribute immediately, and I think the 3-4 will be an improvement from last year. Aaron Rodgers is better than Phillip Rivers, and probably should have made the Pro Bowl over Eli Manning last year. My one question: Can they run the ball? Ryan Grant wore down last year. The Packers need to use Brandon Jackson more effectively to spell Ryan Grant. However, I think the talent they have passing the ball will open things up for Grant, and the improved defense will help them win some of the close games they would have otherwise lost last year. They will sneak into the playoffs.

3.  Chicago Bears 9-7: This is not what Bears fans will expect, but I don't see them getting to the playoffs. Jay Cutler is a great player, but Devin Hester is not a proven commodity. Their offense will be better. Pounding the ball to Matt Forte to set up play action will be good enough to beat a lot of teams, but not the heavy hitters. The Bears' offense will be a poor man's version of the Giants' offense (except for Greg Olsen, he's a beast). The reason they won't make the playoffs is the inability to generate pass rush.  They did nothing to improve this during the offseason.

4.  Detroit Lions 3-13:  Year one of the Stafford era will have some ups, but their O-Line is going to be leaky. Matthew Stafford will find some kind of a rhythm with Brandon Pettigrew and Calvin Johnson, but they won't be able to run the ball and they won't be able to stop the run. However, they are moving in the right direction.

 

NFC South

1.  Atlanta Falcons 10-6: They have a tough schedule, but the offense should be in the top five. I don't know how one game plans for Michael Turner, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez (all elite players at their position) and Jerious Norwood. Matt Ryan will find that it's easy to break out with so many weapons. The defense has improved, but teams will still be able to run on them, as Peria Jerry will need to improve in this area. However, they are good enough to win this division.

2.  New Orleans Saints 9-7: Another tough schedule, but the secondary will be better with Jabari Greer and Malcolm Jenkins. Reggie Bush should bounce back, and a healthy Marques Colston-Drew Brees combination will be lethal. However, they have a tough schedule, and I think the defense will let them down in big games.

3.  Carolina Panthers

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