NFL – NFC

For Eagles fans, the NFL season begins on September 10, when they travel to Washington.

Last week, I took a look at how I saw the AFC shaking out in the Divisions. This week I will focus on the NFC.

NFC West

1. Seattle Seahawks – Only the Cardinals and tough road games stand in the way of the Seahawks easily winning the West. Seattle has the Packers, Giants, Cowboys, and the Titans on the road. The good news is they do not play any back-to-back road games.
2. Arizona Cardinals – Any team with Larry Fitzgerald has a shot at winning every game. QB Carson Palmer had a good year in 2016. This team could surprise as the divisional winner, but if not, they should get a wild card berth.
3. Los Angeles Rams – There are favorable schedules and unfavorable schedules. The Rams have the latter. Imagine playing in London after a game on the East Coast and another on the East Coast the week after. Wade Phillips is the new head coach (hard to refer to him as “new”). They won four games last year. The Rams should get a few more this season.
4. San Francisco 49ers – Kyle Shanahan is the new head coach after Chip Kelly’s dismal stay (2-14 last year). They should improve overall, but their record may not. No competition for last place in this division. The 49ers have it sewn up.

NFC South 

1. Atlanta Falcons – They won the NFC last year and probably should have won the Super Bowl. It will be interesting to see how much that loss carries over to this season (it often does). Their OC Kyle Shanahan is in San Francisco, but there is no doubt this is one of the most talented teams in the NFL. I’m betting on them again.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – QB Jameis Winston and receivers DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans make the Bucs a contender for the division title and certainly a playoff team. They have the Falcons twice toward the end of the season along with the Packers.
3. New Orleans Saints – This team is on the downslide after back-to-back 7-9 seasons. They have not improved much at all and their top players are getting old. The saving grace here is they should be better than the Panthers.
4. Carolina Panthers – Cam Newton is the key again and his surgically repaired shoulder is a question mark as is the protection he will get from his offensive line. I am anxious to see how they use Christian McCaffrey (short passes and long runs = long passing yardage).

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers – Great quarterback with great receivers and a weak division will give the Packers the division title again. They do have tough openers with Seattle and Atlanta the first two weeks and only two home games after Thanksgiving. Keep Rodgers healthy and they are a lock to win the North.
2. Detroit Lions – Matt Stafford continues to improve and so do the Lions (two winning seasons the last three years). They open with the Cardinals, Giants, and the Falcons. If they win one of those, they may have a good season.
3. Minnesota Vikings – Oh, how do you pick the Vikings? They seem to underachieve every year. Sam Bradford had a great start last season and quickly fizzled out. They cannot run the ball. They do play decent defense and that can and should be their strength.
4. Chicago Bears – They have been the North’s last place team three years in a row and this year should be no exception. They will start 0-4 against Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, and Green Bay. No chance to recover.

NFC East

1. Dallas Cowboys – I know you want me to pick the Eagles here, but I just can’t do it. Even with the suspension of Ezekiel Elliot, the Cowboys still have a great offensive line to keep a running game going and Dak Prescott is coming off an outstanding season. Their defense should be even better than last year. It hurts to say it, but Dallas wins the East.
2. New York Giants – No Eagles here either! The Giants have a solid quarterback and one of the best receiving groups in all of football. If they get a ground game, they may actually be able to upend the Cowboys. They play four road games in their first six, so a good start is critical.
3. Philadelphia Eagles – The schedule is a bear – just playing the East teams twice is a formidable task. I like Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz, but the offensive line needs to create a running game and the defensive line needs to protect the secondary. I hope I’m wrong about their East standing.
4. Washington Redskins – They have had two consecutive winning seasons, but this won’t be another. Opening with Oakland and Kansas City will make them 0-2. Kirk Cousins is still a mystery as is this whole team. 

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. Despite the truly understandable pessimism of boxing fans, the Mayweather – McGregor fight turned out to be a good fight. Mayweather’s strategy of wearing down McGregor worked, but McGregor certainly battled to the very end. So Mayweather ends his career over $300 million richer and McGregor picks up $100 million and enhanced the image of the UFC. Each fighter won in a way.
2. The Dustin Johnson-Jordan Spieth battle on Sunday was just as entertaining. Two golf heavyweights battling it out in the Northern Trust and going an extra hole to determine the winner made for great drama.
3. The Iron Pigs and now Phillies Rhys Hoskins has just been ridiculous – 11 home runs in 64 at bats (the fastest to that number in major league history) and in 18 games. At that pace, he would have hit 99 home runs in a season!
4. There were a couple of surprises in high school football this past week – Palisades beat Notre Dame and Wilson destroyed Pen Argyl. Our Saturday game this week is Palisades at Wilson. Interesting. Friday night has Emmaus at Whitehall. Good football early!
5. “Gary’s Guesses”, my weekly NFL predictions, will return next week. The blog will take a week off for the holiday, but the “Guesses” will be there next week.