So... better late than never... right? It's been a crazy few weeks. The new job is taking up a ton of my time, it's competition season for my technology club, my youngest child just got appointed as Middle School Vice President for the state of North Carolina, and my dad is potentially having open heart surgery on Friday. So yea, I haven't had as much time for around here. But truth be told, I need it. This is my place to come take my mind off things. There may even be a greater degree of difficulty predicting how things will play out AFTER 7 games have been played. I'd love to say I didn't even look at the standings, but that would be a lie. So without further ado, let's earn some AP.
NFC East
1.
Dallas Cowboys
2.
Philadelphia Eagles
3.
Washington Redskins
3.
New York Giants
Analysis: If you told me that Drew Brees was going to miss as much time as he has, there's no way I'd take the
Dallas Cowboys this high - but Apolo is a wizard. This week I have picked them in the Eliminator Pool (where I'm undefeated) and now I'm picking him to win the NFC East and come in 2nd in the NFC - so go put ALL your money on them to lose this week against The Buccaneers and their backup QB. In 2nd place, I think it's actually pretty close roster wise with all three teams. I have to go with the
Philadelphia Eagles, but I think Scotty and the
Washington Redskins will be right there all year long! Two very talented rosters with even better men as the GMs. I am honestly shocked by what is going on with my old division rival Romeo and the
New York Giants. The team is way too talented to be winless - however Romeo is smart enough at this point to make it a race for the #1 overall pick. Even if they don't end up picking there, the trade value of the pick could be huge.
NFC North
1.
Green Bay Packers
2.
Detroit Lions
3.
Minnesota Vikings
4.
Chicago Bears
Analysis: The
Green Bay Packers would have been my pick to start this season no matter what, and I'm actually rooting for them to win the Super Bowl. I just think Brad deserves it, and that will become a little harder next year without Favre. Speaking of Favre, he was supposed to be in Denver right now. My heart still hurts, as I thought we had a deal. Speaking of, I had an offer out with Wade for McNabb, and I didn't get a reply until he had been traded to the
Detroit Lions! Now, when I saw the final compensation, it made sense. I don't fault Wade - I wouldn't have been able to match that haul. After paying all that, you have to imagine Rod is thinking playoffs. The
Minnesota Vikings should be ranked higher than this after they brutally bent me over this week, but I'm still sour Randy Moss isn't a Bronco. Culpepper is another guy who was "promised" to me, but he ended up pulling an unmatchable haul. Am I a cheap skate? I might be. The
Chicago Bears are GM'd by one of my favorite Madden GMs of all time and he's exceeding ALL expectations with the Bears this week. This team will be a force in the very near future. I'd be happy to be wrong about 4th place this year.
NFC South
1.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2.
Atlanta Falcons
3.
Carolina Panthers
4.
New Orleans Saints
Analysis: I still get choked up talking about the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and if they struggled and I eventually got a chance to GM my favorite team again - that wouldn't be the worst thing ever... but I just can't pick against the Bucs. The
Atlanta Falcons appear to be the biggest threat this year in the division, but I just can't bring myself to make them division champs. Can Vick figure it out? The
Carolina Panthers have been undergoing a rebuild, and I love the pieces they are putting together, but they appear a year away. The
New Orleans Saints have the sexiest group of WRs assembled in quite some time - but maybe this is the year to tank to get them someone to throw the ball to them?
NFC West
1.
St. Louis Rams
2.
San Francisco 49ers
3.
Seattle Seahawks
4.
Arizona Cardinals
Analysis: The
St. Louis Rams are an absolute force. I am frankly surprised they didn't go undefeated, but the Packers saved the day. Justin surely will be gunning for (15-1), and they certainly CAN do it, but I think (13-3) is more likely. No reason to risk injuries. The
San Francisco 49ers are lucky they are GM'd by one of my favorite humans, because after the NFL version stole Mike Evans yesterday, I don't have anything nice to say about the organization. I hope that injury causing radio tower doesn't turn my goats hamstring into a 16-hour slow cooked brisket. The
Seattle Seahawks are a team that's struggling, but they have hit on so many draft picks that this won't last for long. I was just kicking myself yesterday for passing on Mankins. The
Arizona Cardinals love to tease in trade talks, and then leave you with blue balls. Will might just be clearing the tanking allegations, planting seeds of trade talks. JK, JK! I do think this team has a lot of talent, but that is closely tied to the development of QB Phil Rivers.
NFC Playoff Seedings
1.
St. Louis Rams
2.
Dallas Cowboys
3.
Green Bay Packers
4.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5.
Detroit Lions
6.
Minnesota Vikings
Three teams from the NORTH? Yuck. Ultimately, there are no bad teams in this bracket. The potential to be a lot of fun, and I can't wait to write about what I think will happen in those games in my playoffs predictions article! Stay tuned! I promise to not wait two months to post it.
