Much like the AFC, the NFC has also had surprises during the first four weeks of play.
NFC East:
On top of this division so far has been the New York Giants. Relegated to almost second team status as the rest of the New York and national media fawned over the Jets and rookie Mark Sanchez, the Giants have taken advantage of their surprising anonymity and sprinted to a 4-0 start. Two division wins including one at Dallas will be key for them as they target the division crown and home-field advantage in the playoffs. The defense looks superb and with the depth available to them they have been able to allow players to recover from injury completely before coming back into the lineup. As long as Eli Manning can stay healthy and keep the offense rolling, this is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
If Eli Manning can stay healthy, the Giants could be on the road to another Super Bowl in January.
Dallas has been a huge disappointment so far and their problems have been far more than Tony Romo’s underwhelming play. While Romo’s 3 interceptions certainly were a major cause for their 33-31 defeat at home to the Giants the defense looked atrocious being carved up through the air by Manning and his young receiving corps, specifically on the final drive of the game.
Their inability to come up with key stops continued in Denver, where after being dominant for the majority of the game they allowed Brandon Marshall to make a huge run for a touchdown with under 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. While Romo certainly needs to come through in end-of-game situations, it would be nice if the defense was also held to the same standard. DeMarcus Ware has yet to get his first sack this year.
The Redskins showed a pulse in a comeback against Tampa Bay last week. Then again it was Tampa Bay and though they sit on a 2-2 record, their two wins came against teams with a combined 0-8 record so far. One of their losses was to the 1-3 Lions who hadn’t won a game in 19 weeks. Jason Campbell receives a ton of criticism, but outside of his nightmarish first half against the Bucs in which he threw 2 first half picks, he’s been fairly solid. Head coach Jim Zorn looks like a dead man walking and if owner Dan Snyder’s past history is any kind of indication, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t fired at the conclusion of the year.
In Philadelphia the Eagles are 2-1 coming off of a bye week. With 3rd year quarterback Kevin Kolb starting the past two games in place of the injured Donovan Mcnabb the Eagles are 1-1 and Kolb has looked very good, throwing for over 300 yards in each. Their loss came to New Orleans who steamrolled them for over 400 yards, but in the other two contests the defense has looked very good. If the offense can continue to put points on the board and also get a healthy Donovan McNabb, the Eagles can make a run at the Giants for the division and could be a real Super Bowl contender.
NFC North:
Minnesota has started off the season strong and their defense has been outstanding so far, with Jared Allen piling up the sacks by taking advantage of both Kevin and Pat Williams’ ability to collapse the pocket on the opposing team’s quarterback. Adrian Peterson continues to lead their dominant running attack and Brett Favre has played superbly the last two weeks while still gaining a rhythm with his wide receivers. Minnesota looks and has played like a possible Super Bowl contender.
If Jay Cutler can avoid making costly mistakes, the Bears could make some noise in the playoffs.
Chicago is sitting nice at 3-1, but they are making a habit of getting off to a slow start which could become a problem as the season goes on. Jay Cutler has been tremendous after his forgettable 4 interception debut in Green Bay. Cutler must continue to make good decisions, take care of the ball and not force it into tight windows. The Bears defense has been solid even in the absence of linebacker Brian Urlacher.
The key to their success will be to get the run game going, which they were able to do last week against Detroit. Then again it was Detroit. The Bears will challenge for a playoff berth, but their ability to pass Minnesota in the division hinges on the legs of Matt Forte.
Green Bay is 2-2 and were it not for Cutler’s Week 1 stink bomb could easily be tied with the Lions at the bottom of the division at 1-3. Their biggest problem so far has been their inability to provide Aaron Rodgers with any kind of protection. Against the Vikings on Monday night they gave up 8 sacks. Unless they can give Rodgers more time it is going to be a struggle for them to qualify for the playoffs given that they use the pass to set up their running game.
Detroit is once again destined for a top-10 pick, but this team bears little resemblance to Lions teams of past. The scores in their losses so far have not been indicative of how competitive this team has been. They had a 10-7 lead on the Vikings at the half in Week 2 and last week were tied with the Bears in Chicago to start the third quarter after beating Washington in Week 3. While things won’t turn around this year, Stafford has shown he certainly has the ability to become a top-5 NFL quarterback. The Lions must address both their offensive and defensive lines this off-season in order to continue to make progress.
NFC South:
New Orleans has emerged as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Their offense has shown that not all rests on the shoulders of Drew Brees as both Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell have run the ball very effectively this season. With the emergence of a defense that has so far been successful in creating turnovers and in the last two weeks has demonstrated the ability to shut teams down. If they can continue their surprising defensive play, big things are in store for them.
The Falcons need to get RB Michael Turner going in order to get back to the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Atlanta started off the season strong, with wins against Miami and Carolina, but dropped their Week 3 game on the road in New England. Matt Ryan has been impressive throwing only 1 interception so far this year, but it is critical they get Michael Turner going. Unless teams are forced to stack the box against them, they will begin to find it harder to put up points on the board through the air and while their defense has been solid, they are certainly not capable of carrying the Falcons to victories without any support.
Tampa Bay and Carolina have been terrible this season. Tampa Bay now has Josh Johnson starting for them at quarterback after Byron Leftwich failed to impress. They have not been able to run the ball, putting them in deep holes to begin games which they lack the ability and talent to come back from. Their only competition is Carolina who must be regretting re-signing Jake Delhomme this off-season. The Panthers have been awful on both sides of the ball and head coach John Fox may finally get the boot after this season.
NFC West:
The 49ers look like they are well on their way to reclaiming the division title. They possess a dominating defense led by linebacker Patrick Willis and an offense that has been carried so far by running back Frank Gore with help from Shaun Hill and tight end Vernon Davis, who looks like he is ready to deliver on his pre-draft hype. San Francisco would be undefeated were it not for Favre’s miracle at the end of their clash with the Vikings, but their performance in Minnesota opened eyes and while they may lack explosiveness, this is a team that will not beat itself.
WR Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals will need to catch lightning in a bottle again if they want to defend their NFC crown this year.
Following up on their surprising run to the Super Bowl last year, the Cardinals have been anything but impressive. They shot themselves in the foot in their opening game against the 49ers with turnovers and have continued to be careless with the ball already committing 7 turnovers on the season. It would be great if that was the extent of their problems, but they have also been unable to stop the run and like last year they have not been able to run the ball on their own. Their run to the Super Bowl last year was miraculous and while they still have time, it does not look like they will be able to catch lighting in a bottle twice.
Seattle appears lost and with Matt Hasselbeck stuck on the sidelines nursing injuries that trend should continue. They have ran the ball effectively when they have had the chance too, but have had to abandon it in two of their losses as they fell behind early. The defense has been decent, but the combination of a mediocre offense and defense does not point to any kind of long-term success. It may be time to officially begin rebuilding at the conclusion of the season for the Seahawks.
St. Louis is a team in dysfunction. The only certainty on their team is Stephen Jackson who is killing fantasy teams around the country (including mine) in his search for his first touchdown of the year. Their passing game is non-existant, the line play on both sides of the ball has been atrocious and looking up and down the roster, their seems to be little hope for any immediate improvement. Marc Bulger, much like Hasselbeck in Seattle, may be nearing the end of the road and St. Louis looks like an early favorite to land the top pick, where Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford could well be the pick.
With a quarter of the season gone, the NFC looks top-heavy with little depth. It will be interesting to see which teams prove themselves in the coming weeks in a conference with little parity.