With tonight's Steelers-Titans tilt, the NFL season gets underway. All 32 teams begin the season with high hopes, and a lot of times, those hopes are quickly dashed. That's especially true if you're favorite team has a lot of questions about the upcoming season and no answers.
So, here's a question about each NFC team.
NFC East
New York Giants: Can anyone takes Plax's place? I don't care what's been said, but they did miss him last year...and that might spill into this year.
Philadelphia Eagles: Will anything short of a Super Bowl appearance save Andy Reid's job? Similar to the Chargers dilemma from yesterday's questions, huh? I feel the same here.
Dallas Cowboys: Is Tony Romo really a leader? I don't think this gets asked enough and if former Cowboy great Emmitt Smith is bringing it up...
Washington Redskins: Could Jason Campbell actually be a bust? He's not shown us much since coming out of Auburn, but he's never had a coaching staff in place long enough to actually learn.
NFC North
Minnesota Vikings: How secure is Brad Childress' job? The answer does involve "you know who".
Chicago Bears: Can Jay Cutler be as good as we think or will he miss the targets he had in Denver? The Bears aren't as deep at WR.
Green Bay Packers: How much improvement will new defensive cordinator Dom Capers bring? If it's a lot, the Pack could win this division.
Detroit Lions: Is Matthew Stafford the right choice...now? This will be interesting because the Lions have more actual questions than any team.
NFC South
Carolina Panthers: Can QB Jake Delhomme bounce back from his disastrous playoff performance? I know it was months ago, but sometimes things can linger in your mind.
Atlanta Falcons: Will QB Matt Ryan suffer the "sophomore slump"? He has a lot of weapons around him, so he really shoudn't.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: What has Raheem Morris gotten into? It's one thing to purge a roster on your own, but to have someone do it before you get there and you have no control...
New Orleans Saints: Can the defense stop anyone? That's why the Saints didn't make the playoffs in '08. They can score a ton.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: Will a rushing attack exist? They drafted Beanie Wells. Let's see what happens.
San Francisco 49ers: Is Shaun Hill the answer at QB? The Niners did win a couple with him last year.
Seattle Seahawks: Is the injury bug gone? They were decimated by injuries in '08 and their record reflected it.
St. Louis Rams: How will RB Steven Jackson hold up? The new offense is centered around Jackson and he has a tendency to get nicked pretty easy.
Predeictions:
NFC East: New York Giants
NFC North: Minnesota Vikings
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons
NFC West: Seattle Seahawks
Wild Card: Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers
NFC Champ: Minnesota Vikings...provided the Williams' can play the whole season. If they both have to sit 4 games, it will be a tall order. This is left in the court's hands.
So, my Super Bowl is San Diego-Minnesota and I have the Chargers finally getting a ring and the Vikes will still be longing for one.
In a strange twist, Brett Favre will retire after the NFC Championship but decide to come back before the game.
Enjoy your 2009 NFL season.