1. New York Giants (9-1): Coming into the season everyone was raving about how deep and talented the NFC East looked.  There was talk about how talented the Cowboys looked, and how explosive the Eagles were going to be.  It almost seemed like everyone was dismissing the possibility of the Giants even getting to the playoffs.  Now sitting at 9-1, undefeated in the division, and poised to rap up a first round bye, the Giants are literally running over every team they face and are clearly the team to beat in the NFC.

2. Carolina Panthers (8-2): With the Giants stealing most of the spotlight, the Panthers have managed to quietly work their way to an 8-2 start.  Everyone points to their two ugly wins against Detroit and Oakland as a sign of inconsistency, which makes this Sunday’s matchup against the Falcons crucial.  So many comparisons are being drawn between this team and the Super Bowl team of 2003, but the one major similarity is the constancy in the running game.  Carolina ranks 6th in rushing offense.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3): Even though the Vikings aren’t a great team, it really says a lot about Jeff Garcia and that team being able to rally in the 4th quarter and win the game.  Offensively there are some concerns now with Ernest Graham being put on IR, but they have a solid defense, which is the key to success late in the season.

4. Arizona Cardinals (7-3): Kurt Warner is making another serious bid for NFL MVP, playing at the level that he was at back during St. Louis’ “Greatest Show on Turf” days.  Arizona has arguably one of the best wide receiving corps in the league, and Warner is absolutely shredding defenses because of that.  I think eventually the Cardinals running game, or lack thereof, is going to hurt them, but they are clearly going to win their division.

5. Atlanta Falcons (6-4): Okay maybe I’m being a little biased toward the NFC South, but you can’t deny how well the Falcons have been playing.  Matt Ryan is playing as good as any veteran quarterback in the league, and has a very good ground game to lean on.  Defensively there are still some weaknesses, but I think that they have enough offensive firepower to overcome those.

6. Dallas Cowboys (6-4): As much as I hate the Cowboys, with Tony Romo back, and the secondary getting healthy, I think the Cowboys are back in the running.  Now that Tony Romo has Roy Williams and T.O. to throw to, as well as a physical ground game, I expect the Cowboys to get back on track.  They aren’t the Super Bowl contender everyone made them out to be at the begining of the season, but they are still a good football team.

7. Washington Redskins (6-4): After a rough start, the Redskins appeared to be making strides, climbing to a convincing 6-2 record.  The problem is three of their wins before they got dominated by the Steelers,  have a combined record of 6-24.  It’s possible they were a little overrated, now having lost two strait.

8. Green Bay Packers (5-5): Undoubtely the Packers have had their struggles this season, getting out to a fast start, then loosing three strait, but now with Ryan Grant maybe getting somehting going, I think Aaron Rodgers can lead them to another division title.

1. New York Giants (4-0)

The Giants beat up the Seahawks bad without Plaxico Burress. The 2008 Super Bowl Champs have something to prove and they’re playing great ball. Eli Manning is looking impressive and the loss of Osi Umenyiora isn’t seeming to hurt this defense which is still strong. They might be the best team in the NFL right now.

2. Dallas Cowboys (4-1)

The Cowboys are still the most talented team in the league. They have to get the ball to Terrell Owens soon though. Whether or not trying to get the ball in his hands will help the team on the field, but T.O. will tear this team from the inside, out if Romo doesn’t start throwing it to him more. Keep an eye on the Pacman situation, too.

3. Carolina Panthers (4-1)

The Panthers running back tandem is looking great right now. Jonathan Stewart and Deangelo Williams each have had big games this year against elite defenses. Against the run, the Panthers are looking strong also. They haven’t allowed a 100 yard rusher this year and don’t look like they’re about to. I’m sure John Fox approves of the job this defense is doing.

4. Washington Redskins (4-1)

The Redskins are looking great. They haven’t slowed down after upsetting the Cowboys two weeks ago. Clinton Portis is on pace for a big year and Jason Campbell is doing an alright job too. Now if only Jason Taylor would step up and earn the money he’s being paid.

5. Chicago Bears (3-2)

The Bears made the right move starting Kyle Orton this year. He is proving to be a solid quarterback (much better than Rex Grossman). The defense has returned to it’s 2006 – 2007 form. Chicago has shown some weak spots but thanks to Matt Forte, they are solid team all around.

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers(3-2)

The Buccaneers need to stick with their offensive gameplan. One week they need to get the ball to Earnest Graham more, then they need to get Warrick Dunn more involved. Their offense needs to get going soon because their defense is getting tired.

7. Philadelphia Eagles(2-3)

They’re consistently inconsistent. The Eagles look like the best team in the league one week and then look like mediocre the next week. The loss of Brian Westbrook for this week isn’t going to help them bounce back in this tough division. The playoffs are not within reach if the Eagles don’t quickly turn their season around.

8. Arizona Cardinals(3-2)

This team has an great pass offense temporarily struck by Anquan Boldin’s injury. He’ll be back soon, but until then, the Cards have to find a consistent rushing game and get the ball to Larry Fitzgerald. They must look to their [sarcasm]elite defense[/sarcasm] to keep their winning record alive. With Adrian Wilson back, this defense will improve though all kidding aside. That means no more giving up 6 TDs to 39 year old quarterbacks.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs head coach Jon Gruden made the right call in starting Brian Griese over Jeff Garcia, at least for one game.  Griese had an astounding 407 yards Sunday against a very good Bears defense, but the question is, how long will that last?  You’re not going to be able to win many football games throwing 67 passes, balance is key.  If Griese continues to play well though, the Bucs are still going to be a force to be reckoned with.  If Ernest Graham can show some decent production, the Bucs will be in good shape. Overall I think the Bucs will prove to be the Panthers toughest division opponent.

Atlanta Falcons

How many people though that Atlanta would be ranked 9th in the league in total offense after the first three weeks?  First of all, that number is going to go down.  The two teams that Atlanta beat, the Detroit Lions, and the Kansas City Chiefs are a combined 0-6, and have two of the worst defenses in the league.  The key number with Atlanta is 9.  That’s the number of points they scored against Tampa Bay, a team with an actual defense.  I’m not saying Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are bad, just that some of their success should be taken into context.  Bottom line, the Falcons are better, but their not that much better.

New Orleans Saints

Offensively the Saints have looked like they did back in 2006, ranking 4th in total offense, but they stink defensivley.  It really doesn’t matter how many points you score if you defense gives up just as many points.  Now with Jeremy Shockey out 3-6 weeks, the Saints may begin to sputter.  Until they can stop giving up the big play and play some defense, the Saints are going to continue to loose ballgames.

2. Philadelphia Eagles: Donovan McNabb looked like he is back to 100% in the Eagles blowout of the St. Louis Rams, and even though the Rams are pretty bad, the Eagles were able to dominate them on both sides of the ball.  Defensively the Eagles looked even better, and they may be back to playing the same type of defense that got them to four straight NFC Championships.  The NFC East is looking like it may be the toughest division in Football.

3. Green Bay Packers: Arron Rodgers isn’t Brett Favre, but he certainly got the job done Monday night against a very tough Vikings defense.  The Packers still have that very talented nucleus that got them to the NFC Championship game last season, and I expect them to go deep into the playoffs again this season.

4. Chicago Bears: As much as I hate the Bears, I thought they looked excellent in their Sunday night win against the Colts.  Yeah the Colts were a little rusty, but they would of had their hands full even if they were playing the Bears in week 10.  Kyle Orton fits the Bears style of play perfectly, he’s not going to wow you with his arm, but he’s not going to make any mistakes either.  Matt Forte looked impressive as well.

5. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers travel out to San Diego without Steve Smith, and beat the Chargers on the last play of the game.  Obviously I’m a little biased, but the Panthers showed they should be considered amongst the elite teams in the NFC.  We’ll have to see how they do against the Bears this weekend, because the Chargers have been known to blow games in the first month of the season, and then get it together.

6. New Orleans Saints: The Saints offense looked even more potent with the addition of Jeremy Shockey, and Reggie Bush showed signs of that he’s returned to his 2006 self.  Defensively the Saints also may be a little better than expected, which I thought was going to be their major problem entering 2008.

7. Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings went out and got $80 million worth of free agents over the offseason for the main purpose of overtaking the Packers for the NFC North division title,  but they failed to win, or even keep the game close in the fourth against the Packers on Monday.  I think they should be able to get things together, they’ve got a great running back in Adrian Peterson, and a very stout defensive line, and should be able to make the playoff this season.

8. New York Giants: Okay, the Giants have a tough road ahead without Micheal Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, but they are the Super Bowl Champions, and deserve some recognition.  Eli Manning looks to be a little bit more relaxed with the constant scrutiny from the New York media removed.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL, and although they were able to somewhat contain the Saints, Jeff Garcia looked a like an old quarterback throwing to an old receiver.

10. Arizona Cardinals: Kurt Warner was able to lead the Cardinals to a victory, but that division is pretty weak, and San Francisco isn’t much of a opponent.  It will be interesting to see how the quarterback situation pans out.

11. Seattle Seahawks: With all three of their top wide receivers out, the Seahawks offense is dead.  Seattle probably would be able to win their division if their defense can hold, but games were they give up 34 points like they gave up against Buffalo, just won’t cut it.  Seattle may finaly be over topped in the NFC West.

12.  Atlanta Falcons: Both Matt Ryan and Micheal Turner had big games Sunday, and the Falcons look like they may finally be getting over the whole Michael Vick Saga.  The only thing is, they beat Detroit, and a lot of mediocre teams can look good against Detroit.  If Matt Ryan can play well against a defense like the Eagles or the Panthers, then I’ll reconsider.

13. San Francisco 49ers: With J. T. O’Sullivan at quarterback San Fran just isn’t going to contend.  Alex Smith needs to step up and reclaim the reigns and show why he was drafted number one in 2005.  Frank Gore is a great running back, and has the ability to carry that offense, but the defense needs to play better than they did last week.

14. Washington Redskins: The Redskins have looked awful, both in preseason and against the Giants.  With blowouts against Carolina and Jacksonville during the preseason, and a poor performance in the opener, the Redskins need to get their stuff together. Maybe with Jason Taylor’s return we’ll see some improvement, but Taylor isn’t going to help all of those missed tackles by the defense.

15. St. Louis Rams: The Rams got blown out against the Eagles, and looked absolutely terrible.  A lot needs to happen on both sides of the ball if the Rams are going to win more that six games this year.

16. Detroit Lions: The Lions are playing like the Lions, enough said.

1. New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees is by far the best QB in the division. No argument. Year after year, he produces big numbers in a pass-oriented Saints offense and look for that to happen again this year.

2. Carolina Panthers

Jake Delhomme was on pace to have a career best year when injury stuck him. It’s hard to tell how he’ll bounce back from the season ending surgery, but his arm in better shape then ever according to him and that is enough for me to put him above the slowly rotting Jeff Garcia. He is a great leader and knows what it takes to lead a team to the Super Bowl.

3. Tampa Bay Bucs

Every year seems like its going to be the last for Garcia and it’s been like for as long as I can remember. Somehow, he is still the most mobile QB in the south and should have a nice year, maybe not as productive as the last, but better than Chris Redman. The fact that the Bucs showed that they were willing to push Garcia out of the way to clear the path for Favre means if they aren’t confident in him, how can I be?

4. Atlanta Falcons

It is obvious why they are last. Chris Redman should be the starter, but if he’s not, Matt Ryan will be bullied for his Rookie year. They should save Ryan’s career by starting Redman. It’s not like they can win a game anyway. Starting Ryan changes nothing but their future.

RB:

1. Atlanta

Michael Turner get’s no credit for his success behind LaDainian Tomlinson. Michael Turner could possibly be the best back in this division, which will be figured out by the end of the season. He has more big play possibility than any other running back in the division.

2. Carolina

Both running backs have looked sharp in camp and preseason and are both young could be a scary tandem and will tear apart defenses in the 2nd half because Stewart is a bruiser back and Williams will perfectly in the 4th quarter role running around tired defenses.

3. Tampa

Just because they have 141,785 running backs does not mean they are the best. Earnest Graham looks as old as Greg Oden and he will not have nearly as much success in this pitching rotation like backfield featuring Graham, Warrick Dunn, Cadillac Williams, Michael Bennett and you just know they’ll pick up Cedric Benson, Shaun Alexander, Najeh Davenport, Ron Dayne, Mike Bell, etc. to complete the backfield.

4. New Orleans

Deuce Mcallister’s career is coming to an end. He does not have much time left and either does Reggie Bush before he is labeled “BUST”. I know, every Saints fan has made the argument that yeah, he’s a good receiver out of the backfield, blah blah blah, he makes the plays when we need em’, blah blah blah. He is not an every down back, he is not what he way supposed to be. The Saints didn’t draft him so they could have a back who could average 3.7 yds per carry or average 5.7 yds per catch even if he does catch 73 passes. Case closed.

WR/TE:

1. Carolina

Steve Smith is the best receiver in the division, and D.J. Hackett produces more than any other player in the divison when healthy besides Smith of course. Muhsin Muhammad left returns to Carolina for his first time since putting up 1405 yds and 16 tds a long 3 years ago. He’s healthy and the Panthers have the best top 3 in the divison by far. Oh, and hey have Jeff King, Gary Barnidge and Dante Rosario.

2. New Orleans

Marques Colston is the 2nd best receiver in the south. David Patten is their no.2 receiver and who’s their number 3 receiver? Exactly, that’s why they can’t be number 1. Jeremy Shockey isn’t half bad though.

3. Atlanta

Roddy White is very underrated and will have a good career and I like Laurent Robinson and he’s not too bad of a no.2 receiver, better than Ike Hilliard. And that brings is to number 4.

4. Tampa

Joey Galloway is fast. Joey Galloway is old. Ike Hilliard is old too. Not so fast though. Alex Smith is young and so is Ben Troupe. Sooooooo…..what does that mean? I’m not sure, but they’re not weak in recieving.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Even though the Bucs won the division last season, I think that they have some areas that still need to be adressed. Even though the Bucs didn’t go out and purse any big name free agents, they managed to to a great job in deepening their roster through small free agent pickups. What’s most impressive is how far they are under the cap they are, about $25 million. I don’t really agree that is the best way to go, but the Bucs do look solid. Even though Jeff Garcia is 38, he should be able to run Tampa Bay’s offense just fine, though not putting up Peyton Manning numbers. The one glaring weakness that I see with the Buccaneers is that they aren’t very strong at the wide receiver position, lacking a true number one wide out.

3. New Orleans Saints- With Deuce McAllister tearing his ACL last season, the Saints were left without a good pounding runner, something Reggie Bush needs in front of him in order to really be affective. With McAllister gone, Bush had to step in an carry the workload, but never really flourished. This lack of a running game really hurt the Saints even though Drew Brees had over 4,000 passing yards. The poor running game combined with a shaky defense put them at 0-4 at the quarter mark of the season, but the fact that they were able to battle back and reach a 7-9 record does show a lot about the team. I think the drafting of Sedrick Ellis should go a long way to help solidify their defense as well, but there are still some holes.

4. Atlanta Falcons- I’m predicting a break in the NFC South’s tradition of the team that finishes last in the division will win the division the next season. Sure Atlanta made some big signings in Michael Turner and drafting Matt Ryan, but those two guys alone are not going to turn the team around, Troy Aikman went 0-11 in his rookie season with the Cowboys, so I wouldn’t expect Matt Ryan to do much better, the learning curve for rookie quarterbacks is just too high. Outside of Ryan and Turner, the Falcons look dismal, trading away their star defensive back DeAngelo Hall to the Raiders was a questionable move as well. It is going to take a couple of seasons for the Falcons to dig themselves out of the Michael Vick hole.