NFC 2009 Season Predictions

Like a kid on Christmas Eve, I could not sleep last night. I am so excited about this season that I was up until 3:30 a.m. and back up by 9:30 a.m. to watch the pregame shows. (That's right East Coasters, there are lots of us watching football on the Pacific, too.)

Why am I so excited? Certainly a big factor is the changes in my Green Bay Packers that have them on the verge of becoming an elite team again, prompting both Howie Long and Michael Strahan to pick them to play in the Super Bowl.

But the league also has a lot of great competition. I see there being eight teams in the NFC that could win 10 games, and four others who are still legitimate playoff contenders. The NFC East alone has four playoff contenders and three teams capable of winning games when they get there.

There are also other storylines. What effect will the presence of Mike Vick have on the Eagles? How much will the Cowboys benefit from the loss of Terrell Owens and Pacman Jones?

And of course, the endless stories on the ultimate media whore, Brett Favre, who is already saying he might not want to play a whole season. Ever see a team gel behind the leadership position of football when that player chooses not to play?

I could go on about the storylines, but it is only keeping me from watching the games. So without further adieu, here are my predictions for 2009 by division and subsequently in the playoffs (for points about each team, see my last NFL article):

NFC East

1. New York Giants—this team will only be the fourth seed.
2. Philadelphia Eagles—like last year, they just get into the playoffs.
3. Dallas Cowboys—in another division, they might make the playoffs.
4. Washington Offensively Named Ones—no offense.

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers—a first-round bye thanks to an easy schedule.
2. Minnesota Vikings—how does a Viking fan court get to overrule the league on the Williams brothers?
3. Chicago Bears—Cutler again will not make the playoffs.
4. Detroit Lions—but hey, they'll be infinitely better than last year...

NFC South

1. Atlanta Falcons—they earn the top seed.
2. Carolina Panthers—not enough to get into the post-season.
3. New Orleans Saints—too bad the Saints didn't have a fan rule in their suspensions.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers—rebuilding.

NFC West

1. Seattle Seahawks—edge out the Cards, but not good enough to get a first-round bye.
2. Arizona Cardinals—continue the trend of Super Bowl losers missing the playoffs.
3. San Francisco 49ers—will be lucky to play .500.
4. St. Louis Rams—may well be the worst team in football.

Playoffs, round-by-round—you will see that I have picked three road wins, because those teams are simply better:

1. Eagles over Seahawks, Giants over Vikings
2. Eagles over Falcons, Giants over Packers
3. Giants over Eagles

Tomorrow, I will submit an article on the AFC.