NFC Contenders

FrankRizzo

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Three years ago, nobody thought the NFC Title game would end up being between us and the Giants.

Two years ago, nobody had the Arizona Cardinals reping the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Last year, very few people had the Saints as NFC Favorites to go to the Super Bowl, coming off an 8-8 season and changing their whole defense under new DC Gregg Williams.

Well we all know what happened all those years.

Now, entering the 2010 season soon here, the Vikings and Saints, and Packers and Cowboys are most people's chic picks. Hard to argue against any of them.

But who else do you like?

Philly without McNabb, Washington with McNabb, and the Giants all have a chance to be good. Arizona is done.

I see San Francisco stepping up and perhaps winning 11 or 12 games next year in that terrible division. Remember, they swept Arizona last year. They had the Grape Ape's beaten in Minny until the lucky miracle pass.

Singletary seems to have them on track. Alex Smith is starting to come around, and they just had a nice draft adding two studs on the OL in Iupati and Anthony Davis. They also added Taylor Mays. And even Leroy Vann as a return specialist is a guy who might give them some Devin Hester moments on special teams.

Patrick Willis is back anchoring the defense, while Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, and Vernon Davis form a hell of a triplet set. As great as we hope Finley becomes this year, Vernon Davis reached that level last year.

We dominated the crap out of them last year in the first half, but they came back and made it a contest in the 2nd half.

These bastards will be an NFC factor next year, and I hope their first playoff game is against the Grape Apes in Candlestick. And I hope our guys are watching it on the bye.

Chicago, Carolina, Atlanta... they all have a chance if things go right.
We have to play at Atlanta and of course 2 vs da Bears. Remember we got lucky to win our opener last year vs Chicago, despite winning the TO battle 4-0 or 5-0, still came down to the wire.
 

PackersRS

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To me it's:

Packers: The pieces are there. An amazingly potent offense, with a stout D against the run, and a turnover-ladden D makes for quite a package. If we can improve out ST, and play better against spread offenses, there's no reason we shouldn't make a run for it.

Saints: The reigning champions, for a reason. They didn't lose any pieces. They should contend.

Vikings: They're good. They won't win it all, they just never do, but they're contenders

Dark horses:
Atlanta: They have some pieces together. They're not in the same level as the forementioned, they have lots of questions about their D.

NYG: Their OL and DL were shaky last year, but mainly their secondary was terrible. Aaron Rouse was eventually their starting S. They had a good defensive draft with JPP, Linval Joseph and Chad Jones, but they're not that dominant D and OL they were in 07, and in 08.

Philadelphia: They're explosive, they're young. They also got rid of their QB, and I just don't know how good Kolb is. Their D took a huge blow last year with the loss of future HoF D Jim Johnson, and they couldn't generate enough pass rush without sending everybody. I love the Graham pick, but don't know how much impact he'll have.

To me that's it. I don't believe in any NFC W team, without Warner AZ isn't the same. SF doesn't have the QB to do it, and their D isn't as good as advertised (who's their pass rush? Who's their playmaker in the secondary?) Seattle had an amazing draft, but they had quite a few holes. And the Rams won't contend.

Carolina COULD be a good team, but too many question marks at QB and D. I really don't see how Chicago could be a contender. Team has no chemistry, has huge problems at the secondary, at the receiving corpse, and, most importantly, at the OL. Possibly the worst OL in the league...
 

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I have to agree with the 49ers prediction. They have 1 hell of a team and they're pretty primed up to make a run. I'm a big skeptic of Alex Smith but he has shown improvement after each year and next season may be his breakout year.
 

ivo610

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Falcons, 49ers, and any team in the NFC east. Arizona should be done unless Matt comes in and surprises everyone. I dont think Bouldin is much of a loss though, they are as deep as GB is at wr
 

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Ironically their WR depth showed it's true colors against us in the wild card game. Breaston, Doucet will be good replacements for Boldin.
 
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FrankRizzo

FrankRizzo

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Ironically their WR depth showed it's true colors against us in the wild card game. Breaston, Doucet will be good replacements for Boldin.
Good call.
But those WR's won't get to see Jarrett Bush, Josh Bell, Brandon Underwood, or even Nick Barnett covering them all year though!

I couldn't believe Capers had Barnett covering Doucet in that game on that one big play. Dammit.

Question for you guys:
Washington with McNabb, under Shanahan.
Philly without McNabb. Is it possible McNabb could lead the Skins to a higher finish than the Iggles?
Could McNabb spark Washington's offense like Favray did the Grape Apes?
Remember, Sid Rice, Bernie Berry'n, Vincent Shank-Oh were just guys before Brent got there.
 

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I'll give you two teams that 'shouldn't' win it but probably will, and I won't be surprised if it's either team.

Sanfrancisco: They bolstered the offensive line, their running game has always been decent, I think if they settle on a QB early in the season the offense can be at the very least better than average. You know Willis is being trained by Singletary to be HIS type of linebacker, and I expect big things from that defense.

Atlanta: With Matt Ryan all you need is at least one receiver who doesn't drop the ball, it doesn't matter what the rest of the team does. Matt and that oen receiver have the ability to score 50 a game.

Slight edge to the 49ers on this pick though.
 

DergaSmash

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I do think the 49ers and Atlanta have the chance to be a bit better than decent and definitely do damage in their Divisions. Carolina could be dangerous as well. I do think that if the pieces come together the Redskins could be dangerous as well. But that is a big IF.
 

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the east will be tough to decide, the cowboys have a rough schedule but if they make the postseason i think they could make a run at it, but as far as the rest of the east goes i doubt any of them will get far. I see the saints winning the south again, atlanta as a wild card. And i agree with the points made about the 49ners, i believe they will win the west. Which leaves the north, and i strongly believe we have the best shot in the NFC. Our D will be much improved after a year of getting used to our offense is still top notch and we just got a boost in special teams with that Canadian from BCU who looks crazy fast (atleast from the video highlights). A lot of teams made improvements since 09 but only a few are playing at the level GB is. GB, DAL, NO i believe will be the main contenders in the postseason.
 

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Good call.
But those WR's won't get to see Jarrett Bush, Josh Bell, Brandon Underwood, or even Nick Barnett covering them all year though!

I couldn't believe Capers had Barnett covering Doucet in that game on that one big play. Dammit.

Question for you guys:
Washington with McNabb, under Shanahan.
Philly without McNabb. Is it possible McNabb could lead the Skins to a higher finish than the Iggles?
Could McNabb spark Washington's offense like Favray did the Grape Apes?
Remember, Sid Rice, Bernie Berry'n, Vincent Shank-Oh were just guys before Brent got there.

Here's the list of notable recievers currently on the Redskins roster: Santana Moss, Bobby Wade, Joey Galloway, Devin Thomas, Chris Cooley (TE) and Fred Davis (TE). Moss is currently their No. 1 reciever and he shows some flashes of being great here and there. Cooley has already made a name for himself as a pro bowler. I'm really interested in seeing more of Fred Davis. He's still immature but definitely has explosive talent. He could be another Jermichael Finley or even better in the making. With a good QB under center for the Redskins I think McNabb may turn this offense around.
 

PackersRS

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Here's the list of notable recievers currently on the Redskins roster: Santana Moss, Bobby Wade, Joey Galloway, Devin Thomas, Chris Cooley (TE) and Fred Davis (TE). Moss is currently their No. 1 reciever and he shows some flashes of being great here and there. Cooley has already made a name for himself as a pro bowler. I'm really interested in seeing more of Fred Davis. He's still immature but definitely has explosive talent. He could be another Jermichael Finley or even better in the making. With a good QB under center for the Redskins I think McNabb may turn this offense around.
A team that went 8-8 and then 4-12 have way more holes than QB.

I think he'll improve them, but they won't content. They still lack 4 OLinemen, considering that Williams can come up and make an impact.

Let's remember. MN was divisional champs when Favre went in there. They weren't a bad team, and he made some kind of miracle...
 

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Minnesota: With or without Favre they'll win 10 games or more. They'll be there, and they're a legit Super Bowl threat, but there's a lot of history they'll have to overcome.

Green Bay: Strong year last year with a young team. Only figures to get better. Legit Super Bowl threat.

New Orleans: Obviously. They'll be a force in the end, I just question if they'll be as motivated after winning it all as they were last year. Still legit, though.

Dallas: Weak NFC leads me to believe they'll be a contender. Should win the NFC East fairly easily, and I personally can't think of a team better than them outside of GB, Minny, and New Orleans.

49ers: Someone's gotta win the West. Once you're in, anything can happen, I suppose. Not really a threat, but probably in the playoffs.

Atlanta: Bounceback year. Matt Ryan explodes. Potential dark horse in the NFC.

Others:
Carolina: If they get good QB play out of the winner of the Clausen/Moore battle, look out.

Arizona: If Matt Leinart finally blossoms, look out.

Philly: If, and this is a big if, Kevin Kolb turns out to be their Aaron Rodgers, look out.
 

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SF doesn't have the QB to do it, and their D isn't as good as advertised (who's their pass rush? Who's their playmaker in the secondary?) and, ...

Alex Smith is average at best, and so was Trent Dilfer when the Ravens won the Superbowl
 

PackersRS

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Alex Smith is average at best, and so was Trent Dilfer when the Ravens won the Superbowl
Again, 4 teams in the last 20 years won the sb with average qbs (was, nyg, tb, bal). 3 of them had incredibly dominant defenses. The other had the 2nd best OL of all time, and a dominant running game.

The last time a team won the SB with an average qb was 10 years ago...

It can happen, but it's like finding an elite qb in the 6th to later rounds...
 
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FrankRizzo

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Again, 4 teams in the last 20 years won the sb with average qbs (was, nyg, tb, bal). 3 of them had incredibly dominant defenses. The other had the 2nd best OL of all time, and a dominant running game.

The last time a team won the SB with an average qb was 10 years ago...

It can happen, but it's like finding an elite qb in the 6th to later rounds...
The thing is, Alex Smith can become a lot better than average this year. He made some serious strides last year, now with a full offseason with Crabtree, plus Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, and a new and improved power offensive line, they could be a much better offense, easily.
 

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