Grading the NFC in '07: How Does Your Team Stack Up With the Rest of the Class?

NFC East

Cowboys (13-3, NFC Divisional Round): B

A great season by the Cowboys was spoiled by their division rival. The Cowboys had a great regular season and Tony Romo certainly turned into a superstar quarterback, but the losing streak continued in the postseason for the Cowboys.

Giants (10-6, Conference Champions): A+

The Giants lost Tiki Barber to retirement and Jeremy Shockey to injury mid-season, and Eli Manning has continued to develop as a quarterback in just his 4th season. The Giants defense has been excellent after a poor start in the first two games. They have a huge challenge ahead of them, but reaching the Super Bowl is an A+ effort already.

Redskins (9-7, 1st round loss): A-

The Redskins did not have a lot of expectations coming into the season. Despite the  injury of quarterback Jason Campbell and the tragic loss of Pro Bowler Sean Taylor, the Redskins nearly pulled on a 1st round upset. But turnovers at the end of the season with a career backup quarterback spoiled the upset bid.

Eagles (8-8, DNQ): C

The Eagles played very well at the end of the season and just ran out of time for their bid at the playoffs. The Eagles could be a playoff team next year and should stick with franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb.

NFC North

Packers (13-3, Conference Runners-Up): A

The Packers were not expected to qualify for the playoffs in the beginning of the year and had an amazing season. They just did not make enough plays at the end of the game versus the Giants. Favre had an amazing year and will more than likely return. With Aaron Rodgers still waiting in the wing and looking sharp, the Packers should be a contender for years to come.

Vikings (8-8, DNQ): B

The Vikings were going to be a shoe-in A for me, but the collapse at the end of the season with their playoff hopes in their own control and Adrian Peterson's struggles after a historic start to end the season decreased them to a B. Tavarius Jackson is still struggling, but made some plays in some games. The turnovers and mistakes need to decrease if he is going to lead this talented team to the playoffs.

Bears (7-9, DNQ): D

The defending NFC Champions struggled most of the season and finished strong, but 7-9 is not acceptable in Chicago with the team they have in place. Giving up on Grossman early on I believe sealed their fate. Grossman is going to make mistakes, but last year made some plays to keep them in games. The defense also struggled and with the uncertainty at quarterback now the Bears could be in for another long year next season.

Lions (7-9, DNQ): C

The Lions improved this season, but a 6-2 start without solid victories and a sloppy 1-7 finish showed that the Lions were true pretenders early in the season. It is my hope that Drew Stanton will be healthy this season and receive reps, because Kitna—though solid when he is not turning the football over—is not the quarterback of the future.

NFC South

Buccaneers (9-7, 1st round loss): B

The Bucs rested their starters for the majority of their last two regular season games and seemed very sloppy versus the Giants at home in the playoffs. They could not get much going, but no one expected them to win the NFC South in the first place. Jeff Garcia was very solid at quarterback, but I do not expect a repeat division title from a division that has been as crazy as the NFC South over the past years.

Saints (7-9, DNQ): D

The Saints struggled and could not overcome a terrible start to the season. Despite losing Deuce McAllister for the majority of the season and Reggie Bush for the end of the season, the Saints' main problem was actually on defense. The running game was solid at the end of the year, and Brees was amazing, but the defense could not stop anyone. The trendy pick to win the NFC this season was not established with a defense that has so many holes.

Panthers (7-9, DNQ): C

The Panthers used 4 starting quarterbacks this season and won with all of them, but only won 7 games overall. If Dellhomme stayed healthy I think they could have contended with the Bucs for the the division title. Next season could be Fox's last if they do not reach the playoffs.

Falcons (4-12, DNQ): D

The Falcons could not have had worse luck this season with the Vick incident and their rookie coach quitting in the middle of the season. They struggled a lot on offense, but Redman played solid at the end of the season. The 4 wins is not pretty and the team certainly needs a quarterback in the draft—but the team easily could have won 1 or 2 games with the luck they were dealt.

NFC West

Seahawks (10-6, NFC Divisional Round loss): B-

The Seahawks won the West again and won a nice opening round playoff game versus the Redskins, but struggled against the Packers and got dominated on a snow covered Lambeau Field. The Seahawks seemed very old in that game and slow—with a division filled with young talent, the Seahawks reign in the West could be finished. Holmgren is back, but I do not see the Seahawks repeating again.

Cardinals (8-8, DNQ): B

Ken Whisenhunt led the Cards to a .500 record for the first time in a while. The Cards were swept by the 49ers, which cost them their playoff hopes. The Cards won some nice games and look solid for the future, but their defense and questions at quarterback seem very interesting. Will Leinart or Warner start next season? Warner filled in nicely, but still turned the ball over a lot. The Cards could be around .500 again next season, I believe.

49ers (5-11, DNQ): D+

The 49ers were a trendy pick to take over the West after a 7-9 season in 2006, but they took a couple steps back after Alex Smith was injured for most of the season. Many critics are giving up on Smith because of the success of Shaun Hill at the end of the season. I think the 49ers defense is solid and Patrick Willis is a superstar already after leading the league in tackles. With Mike Martz running the offense for the 49ers next season, and if Smith is healthy, the 49ers will rally around Frank Gore and contend for the NFC West title.

Rams (3-13, DNQ): D

The Rams had a lot of injuries with Bulger and Jackson missing time and the loss of Orlando Pace for most of the season. The Rams were a big disappointment for many, but even if healthy I did not see this team winning more than 6 games. I expect the Rams, if healthy, can win 5 or 6 games next season.

Part 2 (AFC) coming tommorrow.