After 8 weeks and seeng how week 9's sunday game begin in a couple of hours, lets look at a wild NFC and see how the 16 teams break down into our categories (follow this link to understand the categories)
1. Division Clinchers
East: Dallas and/or Philadelphia
You're going to understand why I have 2 NFC East teams in here after reading disappointments, but lets get to both of these NFC East rivals. These two teams play each other later in the season, so more than likely one of these teams will end up holding the crown at the end of the season. But if we have to look at how has been more dominant, it pains me to say that the Cowboys, a team I rarely root for, has been playing like they want to live up to the title of "America's Team". Philadelphia has been playing okay but they need to find their rhythm from earlier this season in order to be a threat in my eyes. The only thing that will ultimately decide how far these teams go is how much can Philly count on Nick Foles to win them a game when it really counts and how healthy will the NFL-leading rusher Demarco Murray be going down the season and can Joseph Randle be helpful?
West: Arizona Cardinals
Where you expecting someone else? Maybe a team that plays in Santa Clara, California? Or maybe you were expecting the defending NFL Super Bowl Champions from that little town in Seattle? Either way, get ready for a changing of the guard in the NFC West. Arizona has been playing like they aren't afraid of the 49ers or the Seahawks and with them having a win over San Francisco, Philadelphia and now scheduled to play in two possible NFC championship defining games ( Dallas this week and Detroit in 3 weeks), expect them to get hot late in the season as it seems they aren't just running away with this division, they might just be one of the few teams to be playing in a Super Bowl.... at home.
North: Detroit Lions
No Calvin Johnson. No Reggie Bush. No Stephen Tulloch. All 3 Starting Tight Ends out. Now if I told you that about the Detroit Lions, you would tell me they aren't going to be 6-2 and leading the NFC North, but that they would be 4-3 and barely holding on to second place in the NFC North. But these aren't the Lions of old. With Jim Caldwell at the helm, and with Teryl Austin turning a dysfunctional defense into the number 1 ranked defense in the NFL, these team needs to be looked at as a legitimate threat in the NFL, not just the NFC. I believe in my heart of hearts that the games between Dallas, Detroit, Philly and Arizona will decide who wins the NFC. The Lions schedule prior to the start of this season looked grim, but now with a schedule that has them playing against only 3 teams with a record above .500 and having Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush, Eric Ebron, Brandon Pettigrew, Joe Fauria returning to the team along with rookies Kyle Van Noy and Tj Jones coming, expect the roar of Detroit to go from loud to thunderous.
2. Dark Horses
West: Seattle Seahawks
I'm sorry to every San Francisco and St. Louis fan, but lets face facts: each and every year, this division is a 2 horse race. And this year, neither of these teams are good enough for the playoffs while Seattle is. Now while the game against Arizona will decide those games, I think Seattle slides off a bit and loses one of those two games, ultimately returning to the playoffs as a wild card team. With the defense and the Legion of Boom losing some players due to free agency was harmful to their defense, the fact that Percy Harvin was traded away for draft picks (dumbest move I've seen), him being an issue that drove Golden Tate to Detroit, and now the rumors that Marshawn Lynch will not be returning to the team after the season, that Super Bowl of last year might be more treasured than before, if they can't right the ship.
North: Green Bay Packers
As a NFC North fan, and a Lions fan, there is one rule I have learned: Never count out Aaron Rodgers. Never. As much as I can point out the issues that the Green Bay Packers have: extremely suspect defense, running game that in my opinion is worse than Detroit's, Corners that can't cover a bowl of soup, Aaron Rodgers keeps them in the playoff hunt each and every year. But I think they end up getting the 2nd Wild Card slot because as good as Rodgers is, Detroit has Stafford who was given weapons of Calvin and Golden Tate. And while having those weapons is good, the reason Packers fans should be worried because as good as Rodgers is, Stafford of the Lions has the x-factors and potential to be just as good.
3. Disappointments
Notice: before I go into the Disappointments, understand that none of this is personal but your team deserves to be called out.
West: San Francisco 49ers
All that talent, a okay defense, and they can't get right. I don't know what the true issue with this team is but I can point to 2 things that stick in my craw about this team: The Over-hype of Colin Kaepernick. Im sorry but I don't think he is that good, he can run but if I needed to win a game, and its 3rd and 20 in the 4th quarter, I don't trust him, as a passer, to get someone open and get 21 yards or more. The second thing that sticks with me is the coach. Look, lets be honest, the GM of the Niners needs to make a decision: either give Harbaugh the contract he deserves, or let him walk. Enough of this "oh, we don't know" and "Well it's Jim's decision, not ours", do the right thing. Either sign him to a multi-year contract or let him go. Trust me, he won't be out of a job for long, there is a little school in Michigan that wear's Maize and Blue that would LOVE to have his services.
North: Chicago Bears
I hate being the one that said I told you so, but I told you so. I said that this team would be in trouble with the rest of the division because of the defense, which allowed a whopping 51 points to the New England Patriots. But a defense that reminds me of the Walking Dead isn't the main reason that Chicago sucks, its that offense. You have Martellus Bennet, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Matt Forte. And they are 3-5 and a game away against Green Bay that, barring a miracle occurring, will have you eliminated from playoff contention for the 4th straight year.
THE ENTIRE NFC SOUTH
No offense but no team from this division, and I mean even if one of these teams has a miraculous run to get to 8-8, deserves to be in the playoffs. If they do, it means that a winning team will not make the playoffs due to this horrible division getting a playoff spot. Where do I begin? Carolina can't stop anyone on defense and Cam Newton only has one target to go to and even he isn't making a big contribution, New Orleans and Atlanta's defense both had the Detroit Lions dead to rights and both teams blew it and allowed the Lions to step up and knock them down, and then there is Tampa Bay. Do I really have to say anymore?
Possible NFC Title Matchups
1. Detroit vs Dallas
This one will be a rematch of last year's thriller. I think both teams will be healthy but the biggest questions going into this possible matchup is can Demarco Murray go off on the Lions dangerous defensive line, and can Detroit shoot the lights out against Dallas' defensive backfield?
2. Dallas vs Arizona (rematch from week 9)
Being the kind of person that doesn't want to jinx a matchup, I legitimately don't know what to expect from this matchup. I think that if it does happen, it will be better than the week 9 matchup due to the fact that Tony Romo won't be out of the game with a back injury and Patrick Peterson will be playing on Arizona's defense, as he is questionable for the week 9 matchup with a concussion
3. Arizona vs Detroit (rematch from week 11)
This game like the Dallas vs Arizona game is something I can't call because I don't know how impactful this game will be, but I will say this: if Arizona is 8-1 and Detroit is 8-2 going into that week 11 game, the winner will be in the driver's seat to win the NFC championship game.
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