I guess I should probably finish this up, now that we’re a week into the season…..

NFC North

Green Bay Packers — 12-4 — 1st Place

First, I love this division. The NFC Smashmouth. OK, so probably only the Bear still have the classic NFC gameplan, but there’s loads of tradition in all four of these teams. I like the Packers to win it. Brett Favre alone is enough to pick this team. But throw in Ahman Green, every fantasy owner’s dream, and a respectable defense, and I think you’d be nuts not to at least have them in the playoffs. And that’s assuming Terry Glenn doesn’t do a damn thing.

Minnesota Vikings — 11-5 2nd Place

Last year was a fluke. Duante Culpepper’s a budding superstar. Randy Moss — when he decides to play — is already there. I think Michael Bennet will be come a solid back with loads of breakaway potential. The guy is a world-class sprinter, you can’t have that kind of speed and not be at least an adequate running back. New coach. New start. Lots of talent. That means playoffs.

Chicago Bears — 11-5 2nd Place

Last year’s first round of the playoffs proved that the Bears are not a 13-3 team. Their defense won three miracle games alone for them last season. Anthony Thomas is a credible back, but I don’t think he’s a great one. The Bears could have a league-best recieving duo in Marcus Robinson and Marty Booker if they had a quarterback who could consistently get them the ball. Jim Miller is not that quarterback. Still, this team has a defense that will keep them in every game. Miller doesn’t have to be great, just good enough not to kill them with mistakes. I see lots more 13-10 games. They’ll just miss the playoffs.

Detroit Lions — 1-15 — 4th Place.

And I’m being generous. This team is terrible. And their personnel decisions will keep them terrible. Why in the name of Mel Kiper did they draft Joey Harrington when they have in Mike McMahon a potential first-tier quarterback? They now have two potential first-tier quarterbacks, separated by a couple of years in age, neither of whom will ever gain any confidence because he knows the other is primed to take his spot at his first mistake. Poor Az Hakim. He jumps from the class of the league, to the mole on the ass of the league. Yeah, he’s a featured wideout now. But he’s being featured by the Lions.

NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 10-6 — 1st Place

I don’t think Tampa has a playoff team. But somebody has to win this division. A retread quarterback (Brad Johnson), a mediocre halfback (Michael Pittman), an all-pro fullback who will likely be underutilized (Mike Alstott) and a good, but not nearly as good as they’re hyped defense. The Falcons, Saints and Panthers will supply some easy wins. But they won’t get past the first round of the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints — 7-9 — 2nd Place

Aaron Brooks had a terrible softmore season — and promptly demanded a new contract. Still, if he can bounce back, the Saints might be formidable. They got rid of some bad karma — La’Roi Glover and Willie Roaf, mainly — and have an all-pro WR (Joe Horn) and a promising tailback — Deuce McAllister. They also added some spee at wideout by signing the Colts’ Jerome Pathon.

Atlanta Falcons — 5-11 — 3rd Place

No D. Michael Vick looks good, but I’m not all that confident in any receiving corps whose foundation is its tight end — and a tight end named Alge Crumpler at that. I’ve never been impressed with Warrick Dunn, and I’m even less enthused with him now that he doesn’t have locomotive Mike Alstott blocking in front of him.

Carolina Panthers — 3-13 — 4th Place

Don’t get excited about their big game 1 win. They’ve done that the past four years. And last year, they followed up by dropping their next 15. Their “quarterback of the future” is Chris Weinke, who’s 30. They benched him for Game 1 in favor of Rodney Peete, who’s biggest NFL accomplishment thus far has been getting Holly Robinson to marry him. Mushin Muhammad was this team’s lone offensive light. But his numbers last year were half of what he did in 2001.

NFC West

San Fransisco 49ers — 14-2 — 1st Place

What’s not to like? Jeff Garcia. Huge numbers. Garrison Hearst. Almost had his leg amputated — last year makes the Pro Bowl. Should he go down, a stalwart backup in Kevan Barlow. Terrell Owens. Maybe the best offensive player in football (see Marshall Faulk). J.J. Stokes. Would see his own star rise had he not spent his career in the shadows of Owens and Jerry Rice. Bryant Young and Dana Stubblefied. ESPN’s website says they’re the weak link in this squad’s d-line. A fast and hard-hitting secondary (no. 3 in interceptions last year). Super Bowl bound.

St. Louis Rams — 13-3 — 2nd Place

My thinking? We’ll get two, maybe three Super Bowls this year. And that’s not counting the real one. Because the Rams and 49ers are the class of this league, and they’ll probably play three times this year. I’m not going to run down all the St. Louis weapons. It’s depressing really, all the talent they have. I actually bumped them to 2nd — and out of the Super Bowl — after yesterday’s miserable performace against the Broncos. The Rams appeared to have lost heart. They weren’t even hustling through the two-minute drill as they were down by 10 late in the game. Is this team jaded already?

Seattle Seahawks — 5-11 — 3rd Place

Shaun Alexander is a stud. WR Darrell Jackson’s pretty good, too. But that’s all this team has. Poor Trent Dilfer. All he’s done is win the last 18 regular season games he’s started, and bring back a Super Bowl ring for Baltimore. Still, Baltimore promptly cut him, and Seattle signed him — then benched him. When he subbed for an ailing Matt Hasselback, Dilfer continued to win games. Dilfer finally got the starting nod for Seattle in the preseason this year — then tore his ACL. Hasselback’s back. That’s bad news for the Seahawks.

Arizona Cardinals — 3-13 — Last Place.

The Cards approached medicrity against the Redskins on Sunday. But I’m not yet convinced the Redskins are mediocre. I think Jake Plummer “rising star” status is ruined. You’d almost feel sorry for David Boston, a wideout with superstar written all over him, except that he spent his offseason snorting blow and driving drunk. Thomas Jones screams Bush League at RB. No d-line. An above average secondary. But you need more than good cornerbacks to hang with the Rams and 49ers.

AFC Playoffs/Honors

First Round

Miami over Tennessee
Denver over San Diego

Divisionals

Indianapolis over Miami
Pittsburgh over Denver

Conference Final

Pittsburgh over Indianapolis

Offensive Rookie: Antwan Randle-El
Defnsive Rookie: Quentin Jammer
Offensive MVP: Peyton Manning
Defensive MVP: Ray Lewis
Coach of the Year: Tony Dungy

NFC Playoffs/Honors

First Round

St. Louis over Green Bay
Minnesota over Tampa Bay

Divisional Playoffs

St. Louis over Philladelphia
San Fransisco over Minnesota

Conference Final

San Fransisco over St. Louis

Offensive Rookie: Deuce McAllister
Defensive Rookie: Julius Peppers
Offensive MVP: Terrell Ownes
Defensive MVP: Michael Strahan
Coach of the Year: Mike Tice

Super Bowl
San Fransisco over Pittsburgh.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 9th, 2002 at 1:43 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.