Thursday, November 3, 2011

NFL Midterms....NFC Edition

One of my favorite sports broadcasters and ESPN legend Chris Berman often says, "And that is why they play the game."

Such an appropriate saying to describe the 2011 season thus far. So many failures but so many surprises. We are halfway through the season, which means one week closer to the day two teams will battle for the Lombardi Trophy. Superbowl XLVI will be held in Indianaplis, IN this year. So who will be there from the NFC?

Coming into the season, my division leader picks were simple. NFC North- Packers, NFC South- Falcons, NFC East- Eagles, and NFC West- yeah as the weakest division in football, that could have been a toss up. But, records have shown that anything can happen on any given Sunday in the game of professional football. So that leaves us with a diverse group of front runners for the 2012 playoff picture. Packers, Lions, SanFran, Saints, Tampa, Falcons, Bears, Giants, Eagles, and the Cowboys. There are six playoff spots. Four division leader spots, two wildcard spots. If the season ended today, it would be in order: Packers, SanFran, Giants, Saints (Division Leaders) with Detroit and the Bears in the two wildcard spots.

Let's start with the NFC North.

North: Surprise Surprise, the Detroit Lions are sitting pretty at 6-2. In the beginning of the season, everyone predicted the Lions would have a decent season due to their offseason trades, their superstar young QB Matthew Stafford and the "Megatron" himself Calvin Johnson. Many Detroit fans are hype and the media is in uproar about the potential playoff hopes for the Lions. Not so fast.  The Lions have a tough schedule this second half of this season. They still have to play the undefeated divisional rival in the Packers twice and  two road games against the physical teams in the Bears, the Saints and the Raiders. They will not win all those games. Should be an interesting battle in the NFC North. As of now, the Packers are the only team front runner. But Detroit and the Bears will have to fight for the second spot.

South: Arguably they strongest division in the NFC, the Falcons, Saints, and the Bucs are in a race for the post season. After an embarrassing loss to the Rams last week, the Saints could not have slipped up at a better time for Atlanta and Tampa. Atlanta plays the winless Colts this weekend, then three straight home games after and the Saints and Tampa play each other this week. I'm 99 percent sure that the game will not end in a tie, so one of those teams will lose. There is a positive chance that Atlanta will win against the Colts. As a Falcon fan, if we lose against the Colts, we don't deserve to be in the playoffs anyway. Just saying. Saints 5-3, Tampa 4-3, Atlanta 4-3. As an Atlanta native, I will give props to Cam Newton, he is having a great rookie season and has revived veteran Steve Smith's career but sorry Panthers, not this year. This division is one to watch, it will come down to the last few games of the season. I won't pick who, but it will not Tampa be in the playoffs.

EAST- Another NFC division that will be a fight to the finish. As of now, the 5-2 Giants would be the only team to make it in the postseason. The Eagles, Redskins, and the Cowboys are all 3-4. Let's be honest, they all have to play each other in the second half of the season, but these three teams won't make it past the Saints, Falcons, Lions, Bears and Tampa. Giants win this one.

WEST: There is nothing to say about this division except for the 49ners will be in the playoffs, point blank period. Alex Smith, has finally shown thyself approved to be in this league after so long of being an NFL Flop for seven years. FRANK GORE. He is having a great year. There is no need to discuss the other teams in this division. Seahawks, Cardinals, and Rams, start thinking about your draft picks. However, as a Falcons fan, I must thank the Rams for last week.

Should be an interesting second half. I'm excited. Are you?

Post Your comments, let me know your picks!

1 comment:

  1. Hold up! Theres no argument...the NFC North is def better than the south. If the playoffs started today, 3 out of the 4 teams would make it. When all is said and done, I think the 6 teams will be Packers, Saints, 49ers, Eagles, Bears, and Lions. The Bears are the only team I'm iffy on, but only the Falcons could possibly catch them

    ReplyDelete