Are you ready... part two

A view from cheap seats - Okay, time for part two of my look at the National Football League. This week it's the NFC and unlike last week I have the advantage/ disadvantage of having watched one game by each team. With that in mind here goes a division-by-division breakdown of the National Football Conference.

NFC East

I'll start with this division because it's without question the most competitive from top to bottom in all of football, every team in the division finished at .500 or better last year and 3 of the 4 made the playoffs, and it is after all the home of the reigning Super Bowl Champions.

Dallas Cowboys - In my mind, the Cowboys are the team to beat in the NFC. They improved a very talented defensive squad from last year with the draft addition of corner back Mike Jenkins and the acquisition of Adam "Pacman" Jones. Combine that with an offense that features Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton and more and you have one of the most complete teams in the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles - Simply said, any hopes the Eagles have depends on the health of quarterback Donovan McNabb. If he can manage to remain healthy for the majority of the season, the Eagles can easily win ten games and make the playoffs - if game one is any indication then things look very promising in that regard.

Washington Redskins - They are one of those teams where you do not know what to expect from week to week. Some weeks they can look great and in others they just don't seem to show up at all. I do think that Jason Campbell will continue to improve at the quarterback position and if game one is any indication Chris Cooley could be one of the best tight ends in the game before long. I also expect Clinton Portis to have a good year in the backfield but with the overall depth in that division I think the Skins are going to be the odd team out this year.

New York Giants - Well, what do you say about the defending champs? They lost Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan to retirement and Osi Umenyiora to a season ending injury. But as we seen last week Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka seemed very capable in filling those roles. As far as the offense goes Manning continues to get better, running back Brandon Jacobs looks great and Plaxico Burress is healthy for a change. I'm not sure if they can capture lightning again this year but they will have that opportunity as I think the playoffs are definitely in their future.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals - On paper, they look like a very good offensive team. A very good offensive line should provide plenty of protection for quarterback Kurt Warner to find talented wide receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and open holes for running back Edgerin James. The big question mark for this team is their defense - they need to get that sorted out if the want to make a move in their relatively weak division.

Seattle Seahawks - Only three years removed from their Super Bowl appearance against the Pittsburgh Steelers and this team is just a shadow of themselves. Matt Hasselbeck is a very good pivot but he doesn't have many weapons on offense, even less now with the season-ending loss of Nate Burleson in their opening game. And with Shawn Alexander now a distant memory I'm not sure if Julius Jones is the answer they're looking for in the backfield. They do have a very good defense, despite their week one drubbing at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, with star performers like Patrick Kerney and Lofa Tatupu but as a team they will have a long, difficult season.

San Francisco 49ers - This is a much storied franchise that has really struggled with mediocrity over the last decade or so. There was a time when this team had a succession of great quarterbacks, but those days are long gone. They have seemingly already given up their first 2005 overall pick Alex Smith and have opted to go with newly acquired pivot J.T. O'Sullivan.

He will undoubtedly spend most of his time handing the ball off or passing it to the very versatile Frank Gore. They have a young unproven defense but not enough on either side of the ball to challenge for the top spot in their weak division.

St. Louis Rams - There's not much good stuff to say about the Rams. They don't have a very good defense and despite having Marc Bulger, Stephen Jackson and Torry Holt on their roster they have a pretty anemic offense as well. They won it all in 1999 but the loss they suffered to the Patriots in 2002, when they were heavy favourites, seems to have sent them in a tailspin that they have yet to recover from.

NFC North

Detroit Lions - I don't think quarterback Jon Kitna will be making any predictions this year. The Lions will be decent team again this year, with talented receivers Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson, but they are weak in the backfield. The loss of T.J. Duckett doesn't help, and even with the addition of Pro Bowl Corner Brian Kelly, they will give up plenty of points.

Minnesota Vikings - They too have gotten back to the old style game of the NFC North. They will depend heavily on a very good defense to stop their opposition and the reigning rookie of the year, running back Adrian Peterson, will see plenty of action in the backfield. Sophomore pivot Tavaris Jackson will have an extra outlet with the addition of former Bear Bernard Berrian. And if Jackson can improve on last season's performance, the Vikings could win that division going away.

Green Bay Packers - With legendary quarterback Brett Favre gone to the Jets, the present and future of the Packers lies squarely on the arm of 2005 first round draft pick Aaron Rodgers. The Packers have a good receiving core, which includes Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, and Ryan Grant emerged as a solid running back last season. A.J. Hawk will anchor a very good linebacking core, but when push comes to shove the Packers will only be as good as Aaron Rodgers is. He passed his first test with flying colours, defeating the Vikings in their home opener, but there's still a long season ahead of him.

Chicago Bears - The 2008 edition of the Chicago Bears could be an exciting thing to watch. While the quarterback position will once again be a huge question mark, they have settled on Kyle Orton as the early going starter, this team has one of the most exciting players in the league in Devin Hester. He will be utilized and featured more on offense as a wide receiver and if he can grasp the offense Hester could have a tremendous season. They did lose Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Mohammed but rookie running back Matt Forte looked fantastic in his inaugural game last Sunday night. The Bears will use their highly ranked defense, short-yardage passing and hard-nose running to get back to the smash-mouth, black and blue type of game that made the NFC North famous.

NFC South

New Orleans Saints - The Saints are probably the second best team in the NFC next to the Cowboys. Plenty of weapons on offence - even with the loss of wide receiver Marques Colston to injury, with players like Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister and the newly acquired Jeremy Shockey at tight end. They also have a solid defense and I see no reason why they won't take one of the top two spots in the NFC.

Carolina Panthers - Starting pivot Jake Delhomme seems to have recovered nicely from off-season surgery as he engineered a last second comeback win over the Chargers in game one. That's the good news. The bad news is that I don't think this team has enough talent to really be a player in the NFC. I think they will need to win their division to make the playoffs and as I mentioned earlier the Saints have a lock on that.

Atlanta Falcons - I think the Falcons are just happy to have the Michael Vick stuff behind them and are looking to move on. They won't be a threat for a playoff position this year but rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and newly acquired running back Michael Turner will give fans more than a glimmer of hope for the future.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The Bucs always seem to be rebuilding in one way or another. I really like Jeff Garcia at their quarterback position, would have loved to see the Bears pick him up, but this team has too many holes in too many positions to be a factor any time soon.