ROLLASON: Breaking down the NFC races

There would possibly be a rise in crime and certainly a rise in boredom. Not something I want to see happen.

But just in case there is a season, here are my predictions on how the NFC will turn out, division-by-division:

Lets start in the NFC East. Year in and year out this is one of the toughest divisions in all of football, and this year is no different. I see the Philadelphia Eagles winning the division again this year — but not by much.

The Dallas Cowboys will be a close second and will get into the playoffs with a wildcard spot. Tony Romo should have a good year and the Cowboys should be back to their winning ways.
Coming in third is the New York Giants, followed by the Washington Redskins coming in last in the division.

Next is the NFC South. What is starting to become one of the most highly contested divisions in all of football. This division features three playoff quality teams, unfortunately only two of them will make it to the playoffs.

So how about we start from the bottom with this division. I think it’s pretty clear that the Carolina Panthers will be coming in last place this year. There may be a bright future for the Panthers, but they are still years away from competing, especially in this division.

So how about the divisional champion? Well, it was tough, but I have the Atlanta Falcons winning the division for a second straight year. When it comes down to it the Falcons are simply too talented to not win this division, plus the addition of Julio Jones gives Matt Ryan another weapon. The pick simply has to be the Falcons.

This leaves the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fighting for the final wildcard spot in the NFC. Although I love the Buccaneers, I think they are still one more year away from the playoffs. The Saints snag the wildcard, but not by much.

Moving on to the worst division in all of football, the NFC West. I think that this year there will be a team with a winning record, the class of this division for 2011 is the Arizona Cardinals. I feel they will be able to win this division, but it will still be painful to watch.

Coming in second place is the St. Louis Rams, I think one more year for Sam Bradford and the Rams will be in the playoffs. Third place will be the San Francisco 49ers and the fourth place team will be the Seattle Seahawks.

This finally brings us to the NFC North, a division highlighted by the best team in the league, the Green Bay Packers.

I think it is pretty obvious that the Packers will take this division rather easily. They showed last year that even with numerous injuries, they are still an incredible team. And unless Aaron Rogers gets hurt for multiple games, I don’t see them having any problems winning the North.

My next call might surprise some people. I have the Minnesota Vikings coming in last place in the North. Oh, not a surprise?

I actually meant the surprise to be that the Detroit Lions would finish in second place in the North. Although the Bears are the defending division champions, I think the Lions will have a surprisingly successful season that will put them in second in their division, and just short of a wildcard spot.

That covers the NFC for 2011. Should be a fun race, let’s just hope that we have a season.

Tyler Rollason is a Winder-Barrow High School graduate and mass communications major at the University of West Georgia. You can e-mail comments about this column to trollason@yahoo.com.