Smashmouth Football League Articles

NFC East

1. Washington Redskins
2. New York Giants
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Dallas Cowboys

Analysis: GM Bryan Mellon has once again worked his magic with the Washington Redskins. He spent the offseason focusing on developed talent instead of building for the future, and it will likely result in a division title. Not far behind him are the New York Giants, who don't look much different, but do have a tougher schedule this year. The Philadelphia Eagles are a wild-card and based on GM Leonard Jones' patience, could surprise this year. Lastly, I won't kid around this year. I know the Dallas Cowboys will be in last place, and I'm okay with that.

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Chicago Bears
3. Detroit Lions
4. Minnesota Vikings

Analysis: The Green Bay Packers could easily be the defending champs this year if Brett Favre hadn't gone down with a mid-season injury. If he's healthy this year, there's no reason to think the Packers don't take the division. The team no one talked about last year was the Chicago Bears, despite going on an unprecedented 10-game winning streak that took them to the NFC Championship Game. I'm not sure they'll get quite that far this year, but the team still looks competitive. After losing out on the top overall pick in the last two weeks of the 2002 season, the Detroit Lions nabbed their franchise cornerstone in Byron Leftwich -- and you know, I think he's good enough to bump them to third in this division, which surprisingly will leave us with the Minnesota Vikings in the cellar.

NFC South

1. Carolina Panthers
2. Atlanta Falcons
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Analysis: I'm still confused at how the Carolina Panthers ended up in the cellar last season, and with that extremely weak schedule this year, I'd pin them as most likely to win their division. The Atlanta Falcons also made a good move this offseason, jettising off the Michael Vick mistake and bringing in a solid signal caller in Trent Green. He should help improve the team. The New Orleans Saints get the short end of the stick, because while their team is still young and developing, their tough schedule will likely hurt them long-term. Lastly, we have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their offseason has been widely scrutinized and I don't see the 2003 regular season going well for their squad.

NFC West

1. San Francisco 49ers
2. Seattle Seahawks
3. Arizona Cardinals
4. St. Louis Rams

Analysis: Boy, I'm going to hear it about this one. Starting at the top, I think the San Francisco 49ers will run away with this division. They not only improved dramatically, but underperformed last year, which I feel makes them a cinch for this division. I also think that GM Rock Hewko and the Seattle Seahawks are close to finding their grove and should be fairly competitive this season. Now, I know this is the controversial part, but I think the Arizona Cardinals have enough talent on their team to win 6-7 games (more than most people are saying), and see marketed improvement this season. But the catcher is that I have the defending Super Bowl Champs last in their division. Call it a hunch, but I feel like the St. Louis Rams are in for a rough year -- going up against a tough schedule and not having them depth (especially on defense) that they had last year...their season could quickly derail.

NFC Playoff Seedings

1. Carolina Panthers
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. Washington Redskins
4. Green Bay Packers
5. New York Giants
6. Atlanta Falcons