2008 Season Preview
NFL - National Football Conference (NFC) - Predictions for 2008 Season Final Team Standings
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NFC Playoffs 2008-2009:
· Wild Card: Seattle over Philadelphia. NY Giants over Carolina
· Division: Dallas over Seattle. NY Giants over Chicago.
· NFC Championship: Dallas over the NY Giants
Last Update: August 7, 2008 (will be continually updated)
This chart shows the 2008 range of expected wins (in green) and predicted wins (in yellow) for each team
NFC East
Division Snapshot: In the NFC, the East is where the action is. Looking forward to the Giants-Cowboys matchups (weeks 9 and 15). The best Eagles and Redskins may be able to hope for is playing spoiler. (flashback see 2007 predictions 2007 NFC).
1. Dallas Cowboys Wade Phillips (2007)
2008 projected wins: 12
Record (2007): 13-3, lost to N.Y. Giants (21-17) in divisional playoff
Record (2006): 9-7, lost to Seattle (21-20) in wild card
Record (2005): 9-7
Record (2004): 6-10
Keep in mind: True dominance will depend on the D.
Recap: Plenty of offensive power that Tony Tomo just couldn't mess up if he tried.
2. New York Giants Tom Coughlin (since 2004)
2008 projected wins: 9
Record (2007): 10-6, won Super Bowl XLII (17-14)
Record (2006): 8-8, lost to Philadelphia (23-20) in wild card
Record (2005): 11-5, shut-out by Carolina (23-0) in wild card
Record (2004): 6-10
Keep in mind: Miracles can, and do, happen. Giants in the Super Bowl. Miracle. Giants win the Super Bowl. Miracle. Giants David Tyree catches pass from scrambling Eli Manning. Period.
Recap: Back to the reality of a tough division and week-to-week football. At Dallas; At Cleveland; At Minnesota; At Pittsburgh; At Arizona. Tough schedule. Goal? Sneak into the playoffs and roll the dice again.
3. Philadelphia Eagles Andy Reid (1999)
2008 projected wins: 9
Record (2007): 8-8
Record (2006): 10-6, lost to New Orleans (27-24) in divisional playoff
Record (2005): 6-10
Record (2004): 13-3, lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX (24-21)
Keep in mind: Asante Samuel arrives to boost the Eagles long-ball coverage. Is Samuel the answer?
Recap: Another year of Donovan McNabb. Will the TV announcers be able to find a new angle besides... 'is this his last game' every single game. McNabb was solid in ending the season with 3 straight wins.
4. Washington Redskins Jim Zorn (2008)
2008 projected wins: 7
Record (2007): 9-7, lost to Seattle (35-14) in wild card
Record (2006): 5-11
Record (2005): 10-6, lost to Seattle (20-10) in divisional playoff
Record (2004): 6-10
Keep in mind: The Joe Gibbs Era #2 is now over. Inexperienced rookie coach Jim Zorn takes over.
Recap: The Redskins are planning to be a grind it out offense, which probably means a frustrating season for fans. Will Clinton Portis become a lone bright spot?
NFC West
Division Snapshot: The Seahawks remain the class of the division since the Cardinals are trying to get the Matt Leinart thing to work (even though Kurt Warner is still capable of playing phenomenal ball). Anyways, we digress. Chalk the NFC West for Seattle. (flashback see 2007 predictions 2007 NFC).
1. Seattle Seahawks Mike Holmgren (1999)
2008 projected wins: 9
Record (2007): 10-6, lost to Green Bay (42-20) in NFC divisional playoff
Record (2006): 9-7, lost to Chicago (27-24) in NFC Divisional Playoff
Record (2005): 13-3, lost in Super Bowl to Pittsburgh (21-10)
Record (2004): 9-7, lost to St. Louis Rams in wild card game (27-20)
Keep in mind: The Seahawks have made the playoffs 5 years in a row. They will have to do it this year without RB Shaun Alexander.
Recap: As goes Hasselbeck so will go the Seahawks. At this rate, that's a good bet to take. The offense (RB and WR) changes a little but Matt should be able to keep the 9-10 win ship in tact.
2. Arizona Cardinals Ken Whisenhunt (2007)
2008 projected wins: 8
Record (2007): 8-8
Record (2006): 5-11
Record (2005): 5-11
Record (2004): 6-10
Keep in mind: The Cardinals last made the playoffs in 1998. And before that 1982 (when they were in St. Louis). QB Kurt Warner was a TD-machine in the 2nd half last season (tossing 21 in 8 games).
Recap: Last season's 8 wins was a welcome change. The pieces are all here to improve. The Cards will not surprise anyone if they are the NFC West's champs.
3. San Francisco 49ers Mike Nolan (2005)
2008 projected wins: 5
Record (2007): 5-11
Record (2006): 7-9
Record (2005): 4-12
Record (2004): 2-14
Keep in mind: RB DeShaun Foster has arrived to back up Frank Gore and WR Isaac Bruce is stepping in as a target for QB Alex Smith.
Recap: The season really hinges on QB Alex Smith. There are enough pieces at WR and RB for this offense to work. If Smith can be patient, he can pick up yards and help the D in the process by keeping em off the field.
4. St. Louis Rams Scott Linehan (2006)
2008 projected wins: 5
Record (2007): 3-13
Record (2006): 8-8
Record (2005): 6-10
Record (2004): 8-8, lost to Atlanta (47-17) in divisional playoff
Keep in mind: Games At Philadelphia, At New England, and At Washington aren't going to help the Rams chances.
Recap: RB Stephen Jackson is the engine of this team. He's usually good for a respectable 4.2 ypc, however that number will have to rise for the Rams to boost their win total more than a couple games.
NFC North
Division Snapshot: Anyone can win this division (although, in the case of Detroit it would be a minor miracle). The Packers will need the defense and RB Ryan Grant to offset the loss of Favre. The Vikings would just need Adrian Peterson healthy all year, as well as solid play at QB. The Bears, for all their faults, have the best team to sneak away with the division (flashback see 2007 predictions 2007 NFC).
1. Chicago Bears Lovie Smith (2004)
2008 projected wins: 10
Record (2007): 7-9
Record (2006): 13-3, lost to Indianapolis (29-17) in Super Bowl XLI
Record (2005): 11-5, lost to Carolina (29-21) in divisional playoff
Record (2004): 5-11
Keep in mind: The defense will look to rebound. Nathan Vasher is back from a 12-game injury last season; and Lance Briggs got big bucks as part of a 6-year contract..
Recap: The Bears are a tough one to figure this season. The running game suffered a blow last year when Thomas Jones was given to the Jets. This year Cedric Benson's inconsistency is out of the picture and so someone (Forte? Peterson?) will need to step in and take pressure off the QB (we won't even touch that). In a crazy division it could be all or nothing for the Bears.
2. Minnesota Vikings Brad Childress (2006)
2008 projected wins: 9
Record (2007): 8-8
Record (2006): 6-10
Record (2005): 9-7
Record (2004): 8-8, lost to Philadelphia (27-14) in NFC divisional playoff
Keep in mind: Rookie RB Adrian Peterson racked up 1,341 yards last season (including 296 in Week 9 and 224 in Week 6). But he missed 2 games and averaged just 14 carries in each of the last 5 games for a total of 260 yards.. in 5 games.
Recap: The Vikings are a reliable pick for 7 to 10 wins. That's the difference between making the playoffs or not. Could come down to the final few games.. the last of which is home vs the N.Y. Giants.
3. Green Bay Packers Mike McCarthy (2006)
2008 projected wins: 8
Record (2007): 13-3, lost to N.Y. Giants (23-20 in OT) in NFC Championship
Record (2006): 8-8
Record (2005): 4-12
Record (2004): 10-6, lost to Minnesota (31-17) in wild card game
Keep in mind: QB Aaron Rodgers (Cal) steps in, having learned from the master.
Recap: Green Bay is a real wild card this season. The pieces are there to keep winning (Charles Woodson, Aaron Kampman, Al Harris, A.J. Hawk, Greg Jennings, and Ryan Grant). However, without Favre's verteran leadership there is no way to bet on a big year. In fact, we could see a complete reversal down to 5-6 wins. We expect the Packers to finish with 8 wins.
4. Detroit Lions Rob Marinelli (2006)
2008 projected wins: 8
Record (2007): 7-9
Record (2006): 3-13
Record (2005): 5-11
Record (2004): 6-10
Keep in mind: The last 2 times Detroit has won a playoff game are 1991 and 1957. The Lions last 10 win season was 1995. Last season (7-9) was the first since 2000 that they did not lose 10 or more games.
Recap: QB Jon Kitna needs to throw for more than 300 yards a few more times (it's not like he doesn't have the targets-- Williams, Johnson, Furrey) for the Lions to make the playoffs. And the defense (which was pretty good during about 4-5 games in the middle of the season) needs to wipe out the points given up per game 37, 42, 28, 51, 20, 34 (in the final 6) finish from last season. Whoa, that's bad!.
NFC South
Division Snapshot: It will not be pretty in the NFC South, but maybe it could be. Technically, the Saints should run up enough yards and points to win the division. However, Delhomme-to-Smith is back and Carolina will look to spoil. (flashback see 2007 predictions 2007 NFC).
1. Carolina Panthers John Fox (2002)
2008 projected wins: 9
Record (2007): 7-9
Record (2006): 8-8
Record (2005): 11-5, lost to Seattle (34-14) in NFC championship
Record (2004): 7-9
Keep in mind: The Panthers are a team in decline.. until you consider QB Jake Delhomme missed 13 games last year and one of the best WR's in the game-- Steve Smith-- was left to figure out who would be throwing the ball to him from week-to-week..
Recap: Carolina may turn it around this year based on a resurgence from Steve Smith and the addition-by-subtraction move of dumping RB DeShaun Foster. Now if the Defense could only pull it together maybe they really will win the NFC South.
2. New Orleans Saints Sean Payton (2006)
2008 projected wins: 8
Record (2007): 7-9
Record (2006): 10-6, lost to Chicago (39-14) in NFC Championship
Record (2005): 3-13
Record (2004): 8-8
Keep in mind: All-around RB Reggie Bush was a big dud in 2007 failing to ever run for over 100 yards in a game. In fact, even in his best games, Bush barely got much past 100 yards combined rushing and receiving.
Recap: RB Duece McAllister is expected back after missing pretty much all of last season. This provides the glimmer of hope that the Saints could be an offensive powerhouse-- Brees, McAllister, Bush, Colston. But maybe the NFL is on to these guys now.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jon Gruden (2002)
2008 projected wins: 7
Record (2007): 9-7, lost to New York Giants (24-14) in wild card
Record (2006): 4-12
Record (2005): 11-5, lost to Washington (17-10) in wild card
Record (2004): 5-11
Keep in mind: Good thing the Bucs defense has turned into one of the best in the game.
Recap: Tampa Bay has been on-and-off from year-to-year recently. And this would be an off year. 38-year old QB Jeff Garcia will try to buc the pattern..
4. Atlanta Falcons Mike Smith (2008)
2008 projected wins: 6
Record (2007): 4-12
Record (2006): 7-9
Record (2005): 8-8
Record (2004): 11-5, lost to Philadelphia (27-10) in NFC Championship
Keep in mind: The QB situation seems to have direction following Chris Redman's impressive games in Weeks 14, 16, and 17-- throwing for 8 TD's in those 3 games. Plus, the $72 million man is in town, first-round pick QB Matt Ryan.
Recap: The Falcons have a clear, new direction now. And the addition of RB Michael Turner from San Diego actually gives a few fantasy fans a reason to actually pull for the Falcons this season. Still, a lot of work to pull out of a 4-12 hole.
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