Nfc Central

[madbomber31]

sticking with the central divisions here...
i dont wanna go too indepth and i think this is perhaps the most cut and dry division in football...

DA BEARS- shane mathews was named the starter, so cade gets to fume on the sidelines... qb controversy yet again in chi-town...they did well in the draft for offense getting A train and david terrell from michigan, both awesome players that will make a difference from the start of the season.. terrell gives them 3 GOOD receivers.. thomas gives them a quality back that CAN be the work horse when needed.. james allen is still the starter though, and skip hicks is back there too.. they have depth at the skill spots, thats for sure... on defense they signed the HUGE mo fo from buffalo, ted washington and they got traylor from the broncos.. solid up front, then they have mr rookie zach thomas junior with urlacker... the secondary features walt harris, thomas smith and mr. "i get burned way too much" rw mcquarters... safeties are softer than they should be with brown and parrish.. neither a GOOD player, but both adequate... i'd say 7 or 8 wins this year... they will cause problems for the vikings and bucs too..

DETROIT LIONS- they dont have barry sanders!!! 6 wins.

CHEESE HEADS- favre is still there, levens is back.. ahman green stepped up late last year... freeman isn't what he was that is certain... and they got a white guy with speed on the other side, winny fan hates white receivers ... the offensive line is good, and that means favre will get more time this year.. bubba franks is supposed to play well, but who knows... chewy is somewhere sleeping with teen agers and that is actually a step down from playing tight end for the pack.. hell, i'd switch spots with chewy in a second though, i bet that piece of ass was worth it ... defense is gonna be a big problem.. especially with chicago, minnesota and even the bucs... they are gonna struggle against offensive teams this year.. they will manage 8maybe 9 just because of favres flare for winning.

MINNESOTA- how will they overcome the loss of korey stringer??? thats a huge question. not only did they lose him, they lost their best defensive players in john randle and duane rudd... they lost third wideout mathew hatchette and robert smith retired.. they also lost pro bowler todd steussie.. uh, thats a lot to replace.. they got back jake reed though and he gets to watch moss and carter be the men while he does what he can to help out here and there... i did think the vikings were gonna be tough to beat just because of moss and carter.. i still do.. michael bennett flies, he is gonna be just one step down from what smith was so that wont be too bad for them. they cant replace randall or rudd and their secondary is not so good... has anyone signed dale carter yet??? they should!!! they need him... the best part of their defense is their safeties, and unfortunately they will have to make a ton of plays.. offense will help them pull a st louis and win 9 games.

THE TAMPA BAY BUCS- it seems they have been the team to be picked to win this division and go to the superbowl since sapp and dilfer got there... well, they got a good chance now... their starter last year at qb is THIRD STRING!!! talk about an upgrade... both backs can/have ran for 1k yards... solid at reciever even though keyshawn is over rated ... and then they have that defense... they added simeon rice who i think will be HUGE this year... sapp is the best lineman in the game.. brooks flies and does it all well.. john lynch sits back and pops the fuck out of backs running the ball.. look for mcfarland to have a good year, with everyone needing to be double teamed on the front four and the other teams not being able to, someone will have to step up, it will be him.. rice will have 15 sacks, sapp will too... the weak spot is the corners.. yes, abraham has went to the probowl, but thats because teams CAN throw against the bucs if they have time, so he gets the chance to make plays.. plus they blitz the corners often... ronde barber is NOT A GOOD CORNER and will not be starting half way through the season. regardless, 11 wins should be had and a trip to the nfc title game.... vs?????? c'mon, who do you think!?!?!?!

 

[PsychoSkitz]

James Stewart is a very good starting RB.

 

[madbomber31]

i'm sorry, NO... he is adequate... but, he cannot live up to the expectations of barry sanders... and billy simms

 

[Thick dog]

The Vikings suffered some major setbacks, death of Korey Stringer, retirement of Robert Smith, defenders leaving via free agency. Michael Bennet was a good pick, and I think he can do well in that offense, unfortunately, due to SMith's retirement, they couldn't use that pick to upgrade the defense. With more development from Culpepper, their offense is good enough to get them deep in the playoffs, but lack of defense should due them in before they reach the big dance.

I like Tampa's chances. They signed an NFL caliber QB in Brad Johnson (although I'm still not sold he can be a great leader) and they upgraded the O-line. I'd like to see Warrick Dunn get the ball more (8 carries vs Eagle sin playoffs) he was the guy who go tthem there. They're defense is awesome, If Simeon Rice comes to play they could have one of the best pass rushes in history. Derrick Brooks just reported to camp today as well.

Green Bay should have a decent year, supposedly Brett Favre is throwing the ball better than ever, I like Ahman Green a lot, great speed. They are showing age and their defense is, well, I really can't name many Packer defenders anymore.

The Lions were overachievers last year and I really don't think they have much talent. They have some good young players, but no real stars.

The Bears have some young talent ( I thought Urlacher was great last year) an dmaybe some of their skill position players will develop. David Terrel seems to be in the Michael Irvin mold

In the NFC, I think the Bucs, Rams and Eagles would be the 3 main front runners, with the Vikings close behind. I just don't see the Giants repeating what they did last year.

 

[madbomber31]

we all know about favre and his streak.. but in my honest opinion i think he has hurt the team more times than not by playing hurt... when he is hurt he presses and throws some shitty passes... well, he forces things ALL THE TIME but when he is hurt he doesnt have that cannon of an arm so the ball floats and causes so much trouble.. the guy needed to take a seat when he was doing this, but never did!!!

johnson has only played one full season without injury, i wonder if leaf will get a shot in tampa... that would be funny to see HIM take them to the superbowl...

 

[Thick dog]

I'd like to see more than 1000 yard season and more than a 3.5 yd average out of James Stewart before I praise the Lions backfield. Hell, after what Dilfer did with the Ravens, I'm betting on Leaf going to the Super Bowl, lol. I honstly don't think Favre has been quite the same QB since he lost to the Broncos in the Super Bowl. He was on the fast track to Montan, Elway, Marino status, and that loss kind of set him back.

 

[thermo]

Tampa Bay
Detroit
Minny
Green Bay
Chicago

I won't back the Lions as serious super bowl contenders until Batch is off the team.

Tampas offense should get goin with Johnson, but ya never know.

Minny will never go to far until they do somethin about one of the leagues worst defenses, thats why im suprised Moss signed a long term extension.

Green Bay and Chicago, nothin fancy, 8-8 seasons at best, which even looks highly doubtful.

 

[lincoln]

Bears fan till I die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Latimer]

Tampa Bay will be the frontrunner. The Lions and Green Bay will be at the bottom. 2nd will be between the Bears and Minny. The Bears will be much better this year and will turn some heads. Their defense will be awesome.

 

[Austin316]

Our Defense is so bad that losing Randal won't even make a differance, he wasn't a factor the past couple of years due to being double and triple teamed every play. As long as we score touchdowns, all our games should be shootouts. I don't know how they are gonna be able to play well for the first part of the season, this whole Korey situation hurt them too much. Very sad thing to think about up here