2009 NFL Breakdown

Philip Thompson: The NFL approaches - here are some quick predictions.

AFC East

1. New England - Tom Brady is back but not many familiar faces on defense.
2. Miami - The team may be better but it will be difficult to duplicate last years record
3. NY Jets - Marc Sanchez started all of one season at USC and is ready to run an NFL team. I expect many struggles this season.
4. Buffalo - If not for T.O. would anyone care about them?

AFC South

1. Indianapolis - No Dungy or Harrison but they still have Manning.
2. Houston - This is the year they FINALLY break through.
3. Tennessee - Jeff Fisher is as good as they come, but it will be difficult to recreate last season.
4. Jacksonville - A pretty good team stuck in a division with three really good teams.

AFC North

1. Pittsburgh - Still the champs. Will Big Ben’s off field issues be a problem?
2. Baltimore - Flacco has to continue to manage games and not lose them for the defense.
3. Cincinnati - Somebody has to be better between them and the Browns.
4. Cleveland- The ‘Mistake on the Lake’ continues to live up to its name

AFC West

1. San Diego - May have division wrapped up by Halloween. Needs to be #1 seed in AFC to avoid cold weather games in Pittsburg and New England come January.
2. Denver, Kansas City, and Oakland - Is it possible to have three teams this bad in the same division? Denver may have the edge here cause they can at least score.

NFC East

1. NY Giants - Giants strength along the defensive line and strong running game allows them to continue to win in spite of Eli Manning
2. Philadelphia - Strong offense as normal, but how much will they will Jim Johnson and his great blitzing schemes?
3. Dallas - Wade Philips; enough said
4. Washington - A competitive team trapped in a really tough division

NFC South

1. Carolina - Can Panthers put it together once starters return for regular season?
2. Atlanta - Falcons defense is now younger, but are they better?
3. New Orleans - Their defense never stops anybody, and do not expect it to start now
4. Tampa Bay - Rebuilding begins and so dose loosing

NFC North

1. Green Bay - They put up video game like numbers in the preseason
2. Minnesota - They will be good because of Peterson and Defense, not Farve
3. Chicago - Jay Cutler is not a winner. Fact: He has not played on a team with a winning record since high school
4. Detroit - Look for them to be improved. Then again, they can only go up.

NFC West

1. Seattle - Injuries killed them last season. Still the best team on paper in division.
2. Arizona - Welcome back to reality
3. San Francisco - Getting better but still really weak at the QB position
4. St. Louis - Are they the most boring team in the NFL?

AFC Championship: San Diego over New England
NFC Championship: New York over Green Bay
Super Bowl Champ: San Diego