Bad play is on the way in NFC today

By David Mullen

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the defending NFL Champions. It took a former AFC legend to lead them to the ultimate treasure. Anchored by the ageless Tom Brady, the Buccaneers came together late in the season and pillaged their way to a Super Bowl victory. 

They didn’t even win their division. In fact, Tampa Bay hasn’t won the NFC South since 2007.

Mediocrity reigns supreme in the National Football Conference, which could easily stand for “Not For Consideration” in their quest of the Lombardi trophy.

The NFC East Champions went 7-9 and hosted a playoff game. Each year, a team’s goal is to dominate their division, get a bye week, secure a favorable home playoff schedule and enjoy two weeks in the Super Bowl spotlight. Only a few teams — San Francisco, Green Bay, Seattle and possibly Tampa and Los Angeles — can even consider playing in Super Bowl LVI in LA. The other teams live in La La Land.  

With the 44-year-old Brady, the Bucs should win the AFC South. They retained every starter from the Super Bowl winning squad, which is no small achievement in the free agency era. 

The Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints used to breeze through the division. But the Saints are without QB Drew Brees, who retired in the offseason. They will struggle, especially with the fate of their New Orleans home uncertain due to Hurricane Ida.

In the 2016-17 season, the Atlanta Falcons went 13-5 until blowing a 25-point, second half lead in Super Bowl LI to lose in overtime to Brady and the New England Patriots. They have been 28-36 since. New head coach Arthur Smith takes over a team without WR Julio Jones. The Carolina Panthers will feed the kitty with new QB Sam Darnold. Expect a whimper and not a roar from the Panthers under former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule.

In Green Bay, 1265 Lombardi Ave. is the end of the line. It is where Lambeau Field is located. And for this year’s Packers, home is where the heartbeat is. 

Under head coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are 26-6 in the regular season, regularly beating up on NFC North opponents. This still may happen in 2021, but the end is near. QB Aaron Rodgers is 37, but as grumpy as a codger. Jordan Love seems the heir apparent at QB, but Rodgers won’t wait around to see if Love is in the air.  

The Chicago Bears have found the future of the franchise in QB Justin Fields. It is up to head coach Matt Nagy to recognize Fields’ talent. Nagy has wrongfully committed to former Cowboys QB Andy Dalton as starter, which means another unexceptional season. The coach may end the season flipping “cheezborgers” at the Billy Goat Tavern even if the Bears defense keeps them in games. The Minnesota Vikings regressed from last season, and the Detroit Lions — under first year coach Dan Campbell — gave up before the season began by trading Highland Park’s Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles. With Campbell’s rants, Lions press conferences will be more interesting than their play on the field.

As bad as the NFC looks overall, the best division in the NFL is the NFC West. The San Francisco 49ers, hit with an inordinate number of injuries last reason, return with a healthy squad full of athleticism. They may be the most balanced team in football. The Los Angeles Rams have defensive stalwarts Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey and traded for Stafford to greatly improve at quarterback. Their running game must match their passing game. 

The Seattle Seahawks, 12-4 and division winners last season, return with QB Russell Wilson and head coach Pete Carroll. And the Arizona Cardinals, the NFL’s most exiting team with QB Kyler Murray, have one more year of valuable experience as a contender. This is the division to watch.

The division not to watch is the NFC East, where the local team resides. The Dallas Cowboys just don’t look fluid and not just because head coach Mike McCarthy seems like Lt. Commander Queeg leading the USS Caine. He does nothing to inspire a team looking for leadership. 

That said, high energy players like QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliott and WRs Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb can put points on the board. But the Cowboys defense will give up points as quickly as the offense can score. The good news for Dallas fans is that the rest of the division has more holes than Pinehurst.

If you split up the offensive and defensive teams remaining in the division, the Washington Football Team has a good defense. 

The other five lineups — the WFT offense and Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants offense and defense — could use a laugh track. WFT QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, 39 in November, is on his ninth team. If he were a cat, he would be dead.

With the Giants offense, QB Daniel Jones will be as befuddled as a tourist visiting Manhattan for the first time. And the Eagles are simply awful. If they played Alabama this season, I would take the Crimson Tide and the points.

The WFT started last season 1-5 and still won the division. They don’t face the Cowboys until Sunday, Dec. 12. The two top division teams don’t face each other until week 13! Go figure. A 7-9 record won the NFC East, but it won’t happen again only because this is the first 17-game season in NFL history. A 7-10 or 8-9 division winner is not only possible, but also likely. 

Last season, I chose Philadelphia, New Orleans, Detroit and Seattle to win their divisions and Dallas, San Francisco and Atlanta to make the playoffs. With a 2-5 record, I learned what it was like to play in the NFC East.

This year, I predict Tampa Bay, Green Bay, San Francisco and Washington to win their divisions with Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago as the Wild Card teams. The 49ers will beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl LVI. The Dallas defense will keep them out of postseason play. If they could just find a way to win eight games, the Cowboys fortunes could change from bad to middling.