and Chester Taylor should give Tarvaris Jackson plenty of soft secondaries to through into.

If Aaron Rodgers turns out as billed, then the Packers will have a good shot at the division. But the pressure of filling in You-Know-Who’s shoes, and the fact that he’s going to have to beat the Vikings all by himself, (TWICE) because Ryan Grant won’t have any success against them, will likely add up to a second-place finish. Maybe less, but I doubt that.

Taking a look at the other half of the division, the Chicago Bears' situation has officially become a joke, and the Detroit Lions have been one for years. However, I think the Lions have enough talent on offense, and Jon Kitna is just crazy enough to think they can really win 14 games this year.

They won't be 14-wins decent, but more like seven or eight, and especially so if they land Rudi Johnson to complement Kevin Smith (which it appears they have).

As for the Bears, well, I don’t have anything nice to say, so I won’t say anything at all, although I’d be surprised if they don’t finish in last place. A team I WOULD be surprised at finishing last makes its home in...

AFC NORTH

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Cleveland Browns
3. Cincinnati Bengals
4. Baltimore Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers are stacked, that’s the only way I can put it—they're just incredibly stacked. They have a weapon for nearly every devisable situation, and it just baffles me.

A lot of people think the Browns are going to compete with them, thanks to last year’s performance, but I have serious, serious doubts about Derek Anderson.

Unless he proves that last year wasn’t a fluke, especially after his tailspin at the end of the year that was either due to A) He isn’t good under pressure, or, B) He isn’t good when defensive coordinators have sufficient game tape of him to game plan against him, I think the Browns would do well to keep him on a short leash in favor of Brady Quinn.

I could be wrong, but I think Anderson's late-2007 performance has been overlooked quite often.

The team I was referring to that I would be surprised if they finished in last place was the Cincinnati Bengals. I even considered putting them in at the No. 2 spot but realized that the only reason I would be doing that would be to make a crazy, controversial prediction just for the sake of making one. I can’t stand people who do that.

The Bengals once again have everyone healthy, although now they have a new RB with tons of potential. However, that potential is watered-down by some injury risks, so it’s worth being wary of.

Even if they have problems at RB again this year, barring Chad Johnson's shoulder popping out of his socket, causing him to miss the entire year—I think the offense will be just fine. It’s the defense where the questions lie, so hopefully rookie Keith Rivers will give them solid play from such a high draft pick.

The Ravens have questions at many positions, but most have a good chance of panning out well in the long run (Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Fabian Washington). The defense continues to get older all the while, so it will be interesting to see when they start to focus on bringing some top-round draft talent or solid free-agents in order for the veterans to pass the torch on.

Who knows, though, Joey Flacco could have a fantastic rookie season, and the Ravens could compete for the division title. That would be quite doubtful, though. Just as doubtful is the situation out West...

NFC WEST

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. St. Louis Rams
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. Arizona Cardinals

If the Seattle Seahawks played in any other division, it’s unlikely they’d still be able to scoot by and win the division year after year with so many injury problems. However, no one in the NFC West has stepped up to claim the throne, so the Seahawks stay seated there.

This year, the only real threat to the division crown is the St. Louis Rams, who were plagued by injuries so widespread it seemed like it was contagious. With the return of a healthy Stephen Jackson and the entire offensive line, the Rams look to fare a lot better this year.

Seattle’s situation is—yet again—muddied by injury this year and yet again at the WR position. Both Deion Branch and Bobby Engram will miss a significant amount of time, although they leave behind openings that look to be filled by some talented, young wideouts.

Matt Hasselbeck is still Matt Hasselbeck.

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