Last week we looked at the AFC and made predictions for each division. It is time for the NFC! Now, the NFC isn’t as clear cut in my opinion as the AFC. We know all the big fish in the AFC. The NFC on the other hand has lots of big fish but no real one team that you can just say, “Yup! NFC title is theirs.” I mean you have the Saints who are always a top team but somehow find ways to not make it. The Seahawks? The 49ers represented the NFC last season but was that just a one year deal? Nobody knows, but we will try and figure it out today. Let’s do it.
NFC East
The NFC East manages to be the most dramatic division in football every year. I’m not sure if it’s the teams or the fans. The division made up of some of the more passionate fanbases in the NFL is always gonna be fun, however. You’ve got the Eagles, Giants, Cowboys and newly named “Football Team”. That one will take some time getting used to. Though these fanbases are sort of annoying, like I said they do ooze with passion and it helps that the games between these opponents are usually close. The Eagles won the division last season by the skin of their teeth. The Cowboys who should have won, have only themselves to blame. For years, they have been one of the most talented teams in football. They have a top 3 running back in Ezekiel Elliot, arguable top 10 quarterback in Dak Prescott, a top offensive line and a great group of receivers that features Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and now rookie CeeDee Lamb. Defensively, they have studs at linebacker in Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch while also now having a crazy defensive front after adding Everson Griffen, Aldon Smith, and Dontari Poe (who is currently injured) to a line that already featured DeMarcus Lawrence. My Cowboy fan friend’s also say their secondary is improving but I won’t go that far just yet. Either way, the Cowboys are in prime position once again to make a run. But the question remains, will they? The scapegoat, Jason Garrett is gone now so it is on Mike McCarthy to turn things around. Speaking of Jason Garrett, he didn’t just leave the Cowboys peacefully. He decided they would have to see him twice a year by agreeing to takeover as the offensive coordinator of the NY Giants. We all know who THE guy is on the Giants. It is none other than Saquon Barkley. I’d say he is the 2nd best running back in the league. I could argue for 1st if need be. The offense runs through him. He makes everybody else’s jobs easier because defenses key on him. It is time for the Giants to make his job easier. They spent a top pick on tackle, Andrew Thomas out of Georgia. They have their receivers back healthy to start the season. It is to be seen if Daniel Jones is a starting caliber quarterback. He wasn’t awful last season, but this year he will have a full body of work. The defense is led by Michigan Man, Jabrill Peppers on the back end who was supposed to form a tandem with rookie Xavier McKinney but he suffered an injury that will keep him out for a good amount of time. They did manage to sign veteran corner Logan Ryan so that should help them a bit in the secondary. As I said, this division also features the Philadelphia Eagles. I never knew just how wild Philadelphia fans were until the past few seasons. I guess you can thank Nick Foles for giving them that Super Bowl. The issue, Nick Foles led them to that win. Not their star quarterback that they all love in Carson Wentz. Don’t get me wrong, Wentz is a great talent but the guy is hurt every week. The Eagles as a whole are just always hurt. It doesn’t make any sense why their luck is so bad, but I’d appreciate it if they could find it within them to not have 5 of their main guys out every other week! I can’t debate with Philly fans because the injury argument is always in their back pocket. Either way, they manage to win meaningful games and make the playoffs. I love the addition of Darius Slay. The Eagles have long needed a game changer in the defensive backfield and now they have one. They still have a solid offensive line and I think Miles Sanders will become a household name this year. Lastly, the Washington Football Team. They have a new coach, new name, new system, new team president but the same owner. I’ll save the spiel on Dan Snyder for another day, but the Washington Football Team have some promising pieces. Dwayne Haskins appears to be in the best shape of his life. They have Terry McLaurin who I absolutely love. Their front seven only got better with the addition of Chase Young through the draft. That’s three Ohio State guys…somebody please help. Anyway, those guys are good. They added Ronald Darby who should help in the secondary a little bit, but they still have a lot of unknowns. We know Ron Rivera can coach. We know their defensive line can rush the passer, and we know they will play hard for the most part. I wasn’t a fan of them cutting Adrian Peterson, but that must mean one or both of the two young running backs are showing promise in this new offense. We will see soon enough! Prediction: Cowboys win
NFC West
The NFC West has the potential to be the best division in football this year. This league has so many stars on both sides of the ball with each of the four teams. Let’s start with the Arizona Cardinals. They brought in coach Kliff Kingsbury last season who is known as an offensive mastermind and paired him with rookie Kyler Murray. This season both are in their second seasons of NFL action and they just happened to add Deandre Hopkins in the offseason. The offense was already exciting to watch but now they will be SERIOUS. They also added all around defensive stud, Isaiah Simmons in the draft to pair with pass rusher extraordinaire, Chandler Jones. The Cardinals are a very good sleeper this season that can certainly surprise some people. Two years ago the Los Angeles Rams squared off against the New England Patriots and got smacked. Last year, the Los Angeles Rams appeared to be a shell of that Super Bowl team. They added Jalen Ramsey in the middle of the season but that didn’t quite change their fortune. They look for a fresh start this year under Coach Sean McVay. They have arguably two of the best players in the entire league on their team with Aaron Donald paired with the aforementioned Ramsey. The defense has all-pro pieces at nearly every level. The offense still has Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp but they will be breaking in a new starting running back after letting Todd Gurley walk. I hope for the NFL’s sake the Rams get back on track because when they were hot they were so fun to watch. Last season’s NFC representative San Fransisco 49ers are also back this year with a vengeance. They lost one of their running backs, traded away defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, and Hall of Fame tackle Joe Staley retired but they are still laser focused on getting back to the Super Bowl. Jimmy G is back, Richard Sherman is back, Deebo Samuel is in his second year and primed for a big role. Will the defense be the same without Buckner? They used a first round pick on defensive lineman, Javon Kinlaw out of South Carolina with hopes that he fills the void. Kinlaw is a beast. Standing at 6’5 311 pounds him and Nick Bosa could be dangerous on the defensive line for years to come. But, while all this sounds good there is one other very good team in this division and they are LOADED. Enter Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. What did the Seahawks do this offseason? GET BETTER! They traded for perhaps the best safety in football. Jamal Adams was miserable in New York. I mean the Jets aren’t great, so who wouldn’t be? Pete Carroll and the Seahawks front office got right to work and found a home for the All-Pro. Pair him with Bobby Wagner and Shaquill Griffin and well, you have a pretty darn good defense I’d say. Then you have who I think is the best quarterback in football and you’ve got a recipe for success. Yes. Russ is the best quarterback. He throws the best deep ball, he’s the best leader, and if you look from a pure talent perspective offensively he does not have the same weapons guys like Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes does, yet he manages to be playing in big games come winter time. Speaking of offense, DK Metcalf isn’t a rookie anymore. Tyler Lockett is back and so is Chris Carson so the main weaponry he does have is back. And with that…Prediction: Seahawks
NFC North
This is the most top-heavy conference in the NFC. The NFC North is made up of the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and the Minnesota Vikings. The Chicago Bears are starting Mitchell Trubisky again this season. That could be a good or bad thing. Last season Trubisky struggled to say the least. A season after leading the Bears to the playoffs he came out this past season and threw for 3138 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. To put that into comparison, Patrick Mahomes threw for 4,031 yards 26 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Deshaun Watson threw for 3,852 yards 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. You may be asking why I would compare two of the games best to Mitchell Trubisky? Well, in the 2017 NFL Draft, Trubisky was picked first overall which was ahead of both of the aforementioned players. The good thing is the bears have a solid defense led by Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson. They have Tarik Cohen who is exciting offensively and Allen Robinson is back at receiver. If they can get any type of solid quarterback play the Bears can be a threat. The Detroit Lions are in a bit of a weird position. Last year they were not good. But, their starting quarterback, Matt Stafford missed much of the season. In fact, their first few games with him they tied against the Cardinals, beat the Eagles, beat the Chargers, and lost to the Chiefs by 3. By no means is this me saying the Lions are good or will be good this year. In fact, I believe they will be pretty bad simply because they have so many weaknesses defensively. They drafted Jeff Okudah at corner which is a step in the right direction but he is more so filling a void left by the departure of Darius Slay. Judging by their first week depth chart, he isn’t even the starter yet. They have Trey Flowers off the edge which is a great piece but they still need more. I am a huge fan of them signing Adrian Peterson. They spent a pick on Deandre Swift out of Georgia and who better to mentor him than AP?! The Green Bay Packers are in a much different position than the first two teams. They are in win-now mode. Mostly because they have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Now, having him didn’t stop them from spending their first round pick on another quarterback. Why? Nobody knows. It has created quite a bit of controversy around the league. But, the Packers are adamant Aaron Rodgers is their quarterback for years to come. Either way, if he’s your quarterback you have to surround him with weapons. Not an understudy. Regardless, they have a top receiver in Davante Adams and a great running back in Aaron Jones. Their defense has Jaire Alexander who is an absolute monster at corner and the “Smith Bros” off the edge. I would have loved for them to add another receiver but still don’t doubt Aaron Rodgers. They’ll be in the playoffs. Lastly the Minnesota Vikings. The team that manages to continue to knock off the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs is back and primed for another run. Say what you want, but Kirk Cousins has been getting it done for the most part. Dalvin Cook is a beast, Adam Thielen is a tough cover for opposing db’s and their defense is solid. The only thing is they will be without star defensive end, Danielle Hunter for the remainder of the season. We will see how they replace him moving forward. Prediction: Packers
NFC South
It is the grandaddy of them all! The NFC South aka the best division in football featuring the best team in football. If you know me or have been following along you know why I say this. The NFC South features the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and YOUR SUPER BOWL CHAMPION Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yes, I am a delusional Bucs fan but why wouldn’t I be? In all seriousness, I believe this is arguably the best division in the league not because I am a Bucs fan, but because the quarterback play mixed with star power around the division is tremendous. You’ve got Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Teddy Bridgewater. Christian McCaffery, Michael Thomas, Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, DJ Moore, Alvin Kamara, Leonard Fournette, and Todd Gurley. Lavonte David, Cameron Jordan, Marshon Lattimore, Deion Jones, Shaq Barrett, Demario Davis and Brian Burns. Wow! And you can only have one winner? Bloodbath. The Falcons as you may have noticed added Todd Gurley this offseason. Many people are writing him off but I am not. He is a bonafide superstar that got misused in the new look Rams offense. He will be in Atlanta running crazy like he did at Georgia just a few years ago. They also have Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley on the outside. They also added Hayden Hurst at tight end to replace Austin Hooper. The biggest hole is the secondary. But with so many weapons across the NFC South there is an arms race for secondary help and most teams have fallen short. They took a chance on corner AJ Terrell out of Clemson in the first round of the draft. So far, all reports indicate he is better than advertised and he will be suiting up as CB1 this weekend. Coaching is also an issue for the Falcons, but with new toys, hopefully they put it all together. The Carolina Panthers are probably the odd team out this year. Despite talent, they have a new coach and a new quarterback. They have the best running back in football, but will the offense be able to spread the ball out to more than just him. Coach Matt Rhule is coming from the college game and the question is, how will he adapt to the NFL? His college record wasn’t amazing either but I’m sure he is a good coach to have gotten here. Defensively they drafted Derrick Brown out of Auburn and I believe he will be a stud. Luke Kuechly retired so it’ll definitely be an adjustment not having him in the middle of the field. I look for the Panthers to steal some games for sure, but they won’t be contending for the playoffs this season. The New Orleans Saints are the favorites to win the division according to the experts. I mean, why wouldn’t they be? HOF quarterback in Drew Brees, a good coach, arguably the best receiver in the NFL plus a great running back. Their defense has pieces on the line, in the middle, and in the secondary and they’ve had very little people come or go so for the most part they’re the same as last season. It will be interesting how they play this season after another heartbreaking playoff loss. No fans will be in the Superdome as well and that’s a big advantage for them so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out as well. They get my Bucs first week so we will find out quickly. Speaking of the best team in the NFL, the Tampa Bay Bucs are as new look as new look can be. Out goes Jameis, in comes Tom Brady. Now, I love Jameis so there will be no slander but, when you get a chance at the GOAT you have to take it right? The Bucs will be more than just Tom Brady, they have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and then added Rob Gronkowski and Leonard Fournette. WOOOOHHH you can tell I am ready! But, let me take this time to put you all onto some lesser known players that you will get to know this season. Ronald Jones, Scotty Miller, Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting. There you go. Thank me later. Prediction: ALL BIAS Tampa Bay
Thank you all for reading both of my previews. If you haven’t already check out Quis’ NFL Season Preview: Predictions and Thoughts, AFC Edition. Football is back and I hope this helped you get as excited as I am. Let me know your thoughts and as always subscribe and share! Love you all. – Quis
1st Quarter With Quis 