In the NFC South the Atlanta Falcons have become the all time favorite to win the division. The Falcons have been on a steady upswing since the arrival of Mike Smith and Matt Ryan. After capturing the #1 seed last season it appears all is in place to reach the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl. But the Falcons will have to stay healthy and beat out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a 10 win team in 2010, and the always dangerous New Orleans Saints, who revitalized their running game with Mark Ingram and their D-line with Cameron Jordan. The best division in football is going to be a war.
The NFC East got a big shakeup with the Philadelphia Eagles coming out the clear winner in the free agent wars. Michael Vick has emerged as an all around NFL quarterback and the Eagles have what may be the speediest offense in the NFL. But as always, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants won’t just go away.
The NFC West is a mixed bag of so so teams and I can’t get a clear handle on who I really like. Since I don’t think the 49ers or Seattle has a real quarterback, and Arizona won’t spend any money, I’m giving the edge to the St. Louis Rams, who at least have a young gun with potential under center.
The NFC North is going to be interesting, despite the clear advantage of the Green Bay Packers. I think the Detroit Lions are going to emerge as a defensive monster because of their defensive line and could solidly improve their offense if Mathew Stafford stays healthy. Neither Minnesota or the Bears impress me. 2010 is so last season.