AFC WEST	AFC CENTRAL	AFC EAST
Denver Broncos 11-5	Tennessee Titans 12-4	Miami Dolphins 11-5
Oakland Raiders 10-6	Baltimore Ravens 11-5	Indianapolis Colts 10-6
Seattle Seahawks 8-8	Pittsburgh Steelers 8-8	New York Jets 9-7
Kansas City Chiefs 7-9	Cincinnati Bengals 7-9	Buffalo Bills 7-9
San Diego Chargers 6-10	Jacksonville Jaguars 6-10	New England Patriots 2-14
	Cleveland Browns 5-11

AFC WEST BREAKDOWN

The Broncos and the Raiders are the class of the division, but their margin is razor thin. The Seahawks have too many questions to make a serious run, but should have their moments and be better in the second half. The Chiefs just don't have the talent, and the Chargers will be better, but that isn't saying much.

The Broncos are set offensively with a great line, three pro-bowl runners and a terrific QB in Brian Griese. Receivers Ed McCaffery and Rod Smith were spectacular last year, but both are over 30 and could go down at any time. Griese has had trouble staying healthy, and if he gets hurt, all bets are off. The defense is suspect, with a young (and crappy) secondary that is bolstered only by the presence of free agent Denard Walker. Much has been made of the acquisition of Leon Lett and Chester McGlockton, but John Randle has more left than the two of them combined. The gushing stories about McGlockton always seem to start with the words "if he plays up to his ability." The truth is, he never has, and it won't start this year. Lett is overrated. The LB's are OK, but don't tackle well. Overall, if they stay healthy, they have a superior offense and a passable defense. Good enough, in spite of a tough schedule. 11-5

The Raiders are counting on a lot of older players to stay healthy and productive, and they will not have Darrel Russell for the first four games. Still, they have a strong backfield with Charlie Garner and Tyronne Weatley, and a couple of all-timers at WR in Tim Brown and Jerry Rice. Aged but durable QB Rich Gannon must stay healthy of they are to contend. Defensively, they have an OK line and a pretty good set of CB's, but they failed to seriously address needs at LB and and safety. They cannot survive injuries to Gannon, Brown or Garner, but should be a wild card team. 10-6

The Seahawks will be better, especially at QB and along the defensive line, but not good enough to crack the wild card. The OL will be the best they've ever had, with rookie Steve Hutchinson making a huge difference. With excellent depth, they can survive injuries here. The running game is well stocked with Ricky Watters and Shaun Alexander, and may rival the Broncos for productivity. But the lack of a legit deep threat will be a problem. Teams will stack the area near the line of scrimmage until the Seahawks can prove they can get deep. The problem won't be Hasselbeck, who can definitely avoid the rush and make the throws. The question is whether the receivers can shake free from tight coverage and make the catch once the ball is delivered. Hasselbeck will have as good a year as the receivers will allow. The defense will be much better, but the Seahawks may have to go to a high risk, get-to-the-QB quickly-at-all-costs scheme to protect their badly depleted secondary. It's easy to see how teams will game plan the Seahawks, throw deep, and frequently, and stack the area around the line of scrimmage and force the Seahawks to beat them deep. 8-8

The Chiefs haven't really improved at all. They will focus their efforts on a productive offense that features QB Trent Green, WR Derrick Alexander and TE Tony Gonzalez. Alexander is coming off a career year, but word is he doesn't really fit new head coach Dick Vermeil's scheme. The Chiefs still don't have a legitimate RB, and will find themselves hard pressed to as productive overall as they were last year. Much has been made of Trent Green, but consider this; last year Elvis Grbac passed for over 4,000 yards, 28 TD's and 14 interceptions. How can Green put up numbers any better than that? Especially when Marvin "snoop" Minnis is the teams second best WR? The truth is, he can't, and the Chiefs still finished 7-9 Last season. On defense, they are nothing special, with the possible exception of the safeties. The Chiefs are not any worse than last year, but they are not any better, either. 7-9

The Chargers have some good players, including ageless Junior Seau, TE Freddie Jones and DE Marcellus Wiley. But, way too much has been made of QB Doug Flutie, who had a lot more to work with during his resurgence in Buffalo. Rookie RB Ladanian Tomlinson will be good, but the Chargers still have a very bad OL and no legitimate NFL quality WR's. Hopefully, Flutie can still run. Backup Drew Brees has looked good but is not ready. On defense, again, far too much has been made of free agent CB's Alex Molden and Ryan McNeil. Neither is really very good and they are simply stop gaps. Mike Riley has shown no reason for anyone to suspect he is deserving of an NFL head coaching job. This is a 6-10 team, at best. 6-10

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AFC EAST BREAKDOWN

The Dolphins have the best defense, the Colts the best offense, and the Jets the best balance. Injuries will hamper the Jets though, and the Bills are rebuilding. The Pats are just plain bad.

The Dolphins boast a stifling defense, power running game, and went out and got themselves three speedy new receivers in free agency and the draft to boost their moribund passing game. So they will run off with AFC Eastern division, right? Maybe. RB Lamar Smith is coming off a career season, and rookie WR Chris Chambers has looked great. But, the bottom line is that QB is a weak spot for this team, and as long as Jay Fiedler is the QB this team cannot get beyond the conference championship game. Head coach Dave Wannstedt and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey insist that Jay Fiedler can lead the Dolphins to the Super Bowl. Oh, that's why they tried to trade for Matt Hasselbeck, signed Ray Lucas and traded for Cade Mcknown. Because they have so much faith in Fiedler. Wannstedt once again showed the same touch with the draft board that he had in Chicago, as the Dolphins passed on QB Drew Brees and took 5-9 Jamar Fletcher, a cornerback, in the first round. Since they already had two of the best CB's in the NFL and had spent a second rounder on Ben Kelly in 2000, this made about as much sense as the Rashaan Sallam and Curtis Ennis picks in Chicago. True to form, the smallish Fletcher has been outplayed by Kelly to date, and at 5-9 will never be anything more than a nickel back anyway. Leave it to Wannstedt to spend a first round pick on a nickel back who can't even win the nickel back job. The Dolphins have a championship caliber defense (left over from the Jimmy Johnson era) and decent offensive skill position players, except at the most important spot -- QB. If they stay healthy, a division title is about the limit. 11-5

The Colts remain a schizoid team. Loaded with talent on the offensive side of the ball, they have not a single pro-bowl caliber player on defense and did little to balance out the situation on the either free agency or the draft. Still, when you have the kind of weapons that the Colts have, you only need your defense to slow the other guys down, not necessarily stop them. Led by brilliant 4th year QB Payton Manning and WR's Marvin Harrison and rookie Reggie Wayne, the Colts have the most potent passing game this side of the Rams. The running game is led by brilliant 3rd year man Edgerrin James, who does everything. Defensively, as we said, it's another story. The line is weak and the secondary is full of young players. The Colts elected not to reach for defensive help in the draft and ended up with only a few players for their secondary. Time will tell if the strategy works but when Christian Peter and Chad Bratzke are your best defensive players, you've got problems. Overall, the Colts should be at the top of the offensive stats but the bottom of the defensive. Unless they can work wonders with the schemes, expect them to be a little better than average, but probably too limited defensively to make it to the conference title game. 10-6

The Jets looked to be the favorite in this division coming into training camp, but injuries have made a division title unlikely. DT Jason Ferguson has a torn rotator cuff, and required season ending surgery. Without him, the Jets will be hard pressed to stop the run. First round pick WR Santana Moss will miss up to half the season with torn cartilage in his knee, and the Jets had been counting on him to provide big play option in their moribund passing game. As it stands now, the Jets still have a lot of good players, but few if any great ones, and just don't seem likely to break much out of the middle of the pack. They gave up exactly as many points as they scored last year - 321 - and that can be viewed as balance or mediocrity, depending on your perspective. Overall, the Jets will be fundamentally sound but not spectacular on offense, at least until Moss returns, and very good against the pass but probably very poor against the run on defense. That translates to a 9-7 record at best in a very tough division. 9-7

The Bills always seem to contend, even though they have pretty marginal talent. The situation is no different this year. WR Eric Moulds is great and QB Rob Johnson OK, but they still have no running game and a suspect OL. On defense, the Bills were really hurt by the loss of their best player, DE Marcellus Wiley. The transition to a 4-3 will probably also complicate things. The home field and the vaunted Bill toughness is probably good for six or seven wins, but not much beyond that. 7-9

What do you get when you combine the worst coach in the NFL, a stupid owner who gave up a first round pick to get him, and the year long suspension of the teams best player in a needless confrontation created by said coach and owner? The worst team in the league, which is what the Patriots are. After spending $103 million to retain QB Drew Bledsoe, Owner Robert (cheese breath) Kraft and head coach Bill (bellicose) Bellichick promptly proceeded to give him no running game, a terrible offensive line, and then suspended his best receiver. At least when Bledsoe wakes up in the hospital after his fourth concussion of the season, he can look back fondly on his $15 million dollar signing bonus while he rehabs his broken body. This team has no offense, no defense, and hopelessly screwed up its draft, passing on future stars Kenyatta Walker, Koren Robinson and David Terrell to take DT Richard Seymour, who is third on the depth chart. This is a team in total disarray. They have no chance of winning more than one of their six games against the Jets, Dolphins and Colts, and that one-in-six chance is only if it snows at Foxboro. If they don't beat Cincinnati and Carolina their first two games, they could easily be 0-13 when they host Cleveland on December 9th. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of idiots. 2-14

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AFC CENTRAL BREAKDOWN

The Titans and Ravens will fight it out for the top spot, obviously. The Steelers, Bengals and Jags will scrape for the leftovers, but each has too many flaws to contend for a playoff spot. Even though they're better, the Browns still stink.

The Titans have great balance, even though they lack a bit in the downfield passing game. Running back Eddie George is one of the best in football, despite the occasional inopportune fumble. The receivers are weak and QB Steve McNair is average throwing the ball, but he rarely makes mistakes. The defense is tough and resourceful, and DE's Jevon Kearse and Kevin Carter are the best pair in the NFL, and should make each other even better. Defense and running win in the playoffs, and that is what the Titans have. 12-4

Ravens head coach Brian Billick isn't too concerned about not having Jamal Lewis for the season, because he thinks Elvis Grbac can control the ball with the passing game. He's wrong. The Ravens do not have the kind of receivers to pull that off, and Billick will find that he needs a 1,000 yard rusher to win in the playoffs. Grbac may have another good year, but the Ravens don't have anybody that even approaches Derrick Alexander or Tony Gonzalez. Grbac got away with a lot of marginal, high risk throws last year, and he may find that his new group are not as adept at pulling the ball out of the hands of defenders. Expect his TD/INT ratio to be closer to 50/50 than last years 28-14. The defense remains as good as any in the NFL, but are they still hungry? (insert your favorite Tony Siragusa/ Sam Adams joke here). No. 11-5

The Steelers have improved, but with Kordell Stewart at QB and 1st round busts Plexico Burress and Tory Edwards at WR, expect the Steelers to run the ball a lot. This puts a lot of pressure on aging Jerome Bettis and the offensive line, which is going to face a lot of stacked fronts until they prove they can throw the ball. DT Casey Hampton and LB Kendrell Bell will be among the best rookies in the league, but they are not enough to get the Steelers into the playoffs. Expect a solid, but not spectacular season. 8-8

The Bengals will be one of the most improved teams in the league, especially on offense, where former Seahawk Jon Kitna is a major upgrade over Akili Smith. Rookie second round pick Chad Johnson is even better than #4 overall pick in 2000 Peter Warrick. Corey Dillion is one of the best RB's in the league, and the OL is solid. The rest is up to Kitna. Playing in a system that he is more comfortable with and for a coach who wants him, Kitna will flourish, especially in the second half of the season. The problem is the defense, which has few quality players. The annual holdout of the Bengals first round pick, in this case DE Justin Smith, will hurt the development of the defense. But the offense should be fun to watch. 7-9

Some people actually think the declining Jaguars will be pretty good this year, but they won't. Such predictions are always predicated on RB Fred Taylor staying healthy, but that is not going to happen. The OL was decimated in the salary cap purge, and little was done to bolster it in the draft. The Jags passed on LT Kenyatta Walker to take overrated DT Richard Seymour, and then failed to do much else in the draft. Top defender Tony Brackens is out for a substantial chunk of the season, making things look even bleaker. Hard-line head coach Tom Coughlin has pretty much worn out his welcome, and anything short of the playoffs will pretty much seal his fate. Bye Tom. 6-10

Now that geniuses Carmen Policy and Dwight Clark can no longer blame the Browns ineptitude on former head scapegoat (uh, coach) Chris Palmer, things are likely to be tense in the dog pound. How long will it be before people figure out they haven't drafted a good player yet? Expect new coach Butch Davis to get more out his players than Palmer did, but it is the old blood and turnip story here. Rookie Gerrard Warren is good, but not likely a superstar, and they won't have last years #1 overall selection Courtney Brown back for several weeks. If 1999 overall #1 QB tim Couch doesn't get off it (the couch, get it?) the Browns will suck in new ways not yet imagined. But, no matter how good he is, he'll never be as good as Culpepper, McNab, or for that matter Aaron Brooks. They still have no running game, and the receivers are non-descript. It will seem like this season is two years long in dog years. 5-11

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NFC PREVIEW

The AFC may be the best overall, but the top teams may be in the NFC. The Rams and Saints will be very tough for completely different reasons, and the Buccaneers are a lot of people's preseason picks to win it all. I like the Vikings, in spite of the death of OT Korey Stringer, to make it back to the title game. If there is a surprise team, it will be the 49ers. The division champions will be the Rams, Vikings and Eagles, and the wild cards will be Bucs, Saints and 49ers. The Rams meet the Vikings in a shoot out at the RCA dome, and the Rams go on to win their second title in three years over the Titans, again.

NFC CHAMPION - ST. LOUIS RAMS
The best offense in a generation and a much improved defense set up a rematch of Super Bowl thirty-four. The Bucs will make a run, but Brad Johnson will miss at least part of the season, and Shaun King will not get them over the hump.

OFFENSIVE MVP - MARSHALL FAULK - RB - RAMS
The touchdown machine will just keep rolling.

DEFENSIVE MVP - WARREN SAPP - DT - BUCS
Sapp is coming off maybe his best year, and he's not done yet.

OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - MICHAEL BENNETT - RB - VIKINGS
A lot of people think the Vikings will sorely miss Robert Smith. They won't after Bennett turns his first 5-yard dump off into a 65 yard TD run.

DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - DAMIONE LEWIS - DT - RAMS
Packers will regret passing on Lewis for Jamal Reynolds for years to come.

BREAKTHROUGH PLAYER - JAKE PLUMMER - QB - CARDINALS
This was a close call between Plummer and Michael Vick, but Jake will finally begin to realize the promise he showed in 1998.

PREDICTED FINISH

NFC WEST	NFC CENTRAL	NFC EAST
St. Louis Rams 13-3	Minnesota Vikings 11-5	Philadelphia Eagles 11-5
New Orleans Saints 12-4	Tampa Bay Bucs 11-5	New York Giants 10-6
San Francisco 49'ers 10-6	Green Bay Packers 8-8	Arizona Cardinals 8-8
Carolina Panthers 6-10	Detroit Lions 7-9	Washington Redskins 6-10
Atlanta Falcons 5-11	Chicago Bears 4-12	Dallas Cowboys 3-13

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NFC WEST BREAKDOWN

The Rams have the offense, the Saints have the defense, and the 49ers are the up and coming team. The Panthers made a mistake with George Siefert, who has not shown a penchant for putting a team together. Some "experts" think the Falcons will be good. Please.

The Rams have one of the best offenses in the history of the NFL, with a strong armed and phenomenally accurate quarterback in Kurt Warner, a blazingly fast and elusive RB with great hands in Marshall Faulk, and two big, fast, sure-handed receivers in Tory Holt and Issac Bruce. The key will be protecting Warner, since they don't have Trent Green to fall back on this year. He's never been very mobile, so he needs to get rid of the ball sooner this year. On defense, the Rams are not only better than last year, they are better than most people realize. Rookie DT Damione Lewis is a future star, fellow #1 pick Ryan Pickett is going to contribute right away, and recently signed DE Chidi Ahanatou is still very good against the run. The LB's, with rookie Tommy Polley mixing in with veterans like Mark Fields and London Fletcher, will be very quick, and the secondary will also be much better. Add the veteran experience of Kim Herring and Anneas Williams, and this is an exceptionally strong and balanced team that has Super Bowl written all over it. 13-3

The Saints will also be very strong, but not as good as some people think. Young QB Aaron Brooks has shown promise, yes, but that is very different than leading his team to the Super Bowl.  Receivers Albert Connell and Joe Horn are coming into the season banged up, but should be OK in a few weeks. The running game is well stocked with Rickey Williams and first round pick Deuce McAllister. Still, Rams have the edge at virtually all the offensive skill positions. On defense, the Saints are a solid, veteran group, but I still like the Rams talent better overall, especially by the latter stages of the season. Nagging injuries to DT Norman Hand and CB Kevin Mathis should be worrisome. The Saints special teams have improved with the addition of rookie return man Michael Lewis, who may have a Michael Bates type impact. Coach Jim Haslett and GM Randy Mueller have done a terrific job, but the Saints aren't quite there yet. 12-4

The 49ers are in position to be the surprise team of the NFC. They've got some excellent players on both sides of the ball in QB Jeff Garcia, a pro-bowler last year, WR Terrell Owens, DT Bryant Young, LB Julian Peterson and rookie DE Andre Carter. With the return of RB Garrison Hearst and the addition of rookies like Jamie Winborn, the team should be even stronger this year. Throw in a veteran and talented offensive line, and they will win more games than you might expect. Steve Marriucci is one of the better coaches in the league, if he can them on a roll early, there is no telling what a confidence boost can do for this young team. They key may be the suspect secondary, which was torched at times last year. But it will be an interesting season in SF for the first time in a few years. 10-6

The Panthers are a horribly mis-managed team that just can't decide what they want to be. If coach GM George Siefert was going to purge the roster in youth movement, the time to do it would have been when he arrived in 1999, not two years into his rebuilding project. Even though they rebuilt their horrid offensive line, the Panthers just aren't good anywhere. With rookie Chris Weinke starting, their QB situation is shaky. With Tsishimanga (don't call me "Tim") Biakabatuka holding down the starting RB spot for his usual eight to ten games (before his annual injury), they can't depend on being able to run the ball. And the receivers are OK, with Mushin Muhammad, Donald Hayes and TE Wesley Walls providing veteran production, but they are toothless with a rookie QB. If ever there was a team that should have signed Trent Dilfer, the Panthers are it. The defense is very non-descript, with rookie Dan Morgan being the only guy really worth watching. Will he be this year's Brian Urlacher? One things for sure, Siefert won't be around to care. 6-10

I can't believe some people think the Falcons will be a .500 team or better. With all due respect to Chris Mortensen, they stink. If they are to be good, they must depend on a 29 year old running back one year removed from a catastrophic knee injury, a 35 year old "deep threat" at WR, and a 35 year old QB who hasn't played a full season since he wore purple and gold for the University of Washington. Combine that with a rookie back-up QB (albeit a talented one in Michael Vick), no real stars on defense (with the possible exception of LB Keith Brooking and another 30-something in CB Ray Buchanan) and the trade of their fastest offensive player (Tim Dwight) to get Vick, and this team is at least two years away from being respectable, much less good. The whole situation is complicated by Dan Reeves, who keeps spending high draft picks on TE's. In desperate need at WR, he ignored Chad Johnson and Chris Chambers to take his 3rd TE in four years. Reeves seems obsessed with re-creating what he had in Denver with Shannon Sharpe. Earth to Dan -- He's a once or twice in a decade kind of player. Move on. 5-11

NFC CENTRAL BREAKDOWN

Contrary to popular opinion, the Minnesota Vikings aren't going away anytime soon. They will edge the Bucs, who I believe will wilt under the pressure of high expectations and the weak body of Brad Johnson. The Packers have regressed with a bad draft, and the Lions and Bears are ... well, the Lions and Bears.

Despite what a lot of "experts" think, the Vikings are the best team in the Central division. the combination of wide receivers Randy Moss and Chris Carter, the running of rookie Michael Bennett and the passing running combination of third year QB Daunte Culpepper is an irresistible force that most teams cannot cope with. Culpepper is better than most people think. His understanding of defenses, accuracy and arm strength are unparalleled. Add in his incredible size and running ability and Culpepper has a chance to be not just the best QB of his generation, but the best ever. Far too many football people assume that Carter and Moss make him look good, without considering the degree to which it is the other way around. Fully recovered from nagging knee and ankle injuries that hobbled him in the playoffs, there is no limit to how good Culpepper can be. The defense will be better, led by a young group of DT's. 2000 first round pick Chris Hovan, teamed with second year monster man Fred Robbins and rookie run stuffer (hell, he's a brick wall) Shawn Worthen will make the Vikings very tough up the middle. New DB coach Willie Shaw will shore up the secondary, and the Vikings will be in the top 20 on defense. That's all they'll need to make it to the NFC title game. One more good draft on defense and the Vikings may have their elusive Super Bowl. 11-5 (Division winner on tiebreaker)

The Buccaneers will disappoint. I see the same problems with them that we saw emerge with the Redskins last year. Too many people are glossing over the obvious flaws as they look at the team on paper. Savior QB Brad Johnson hasn't been able to stay healthy yet, and he won't this year either. While Johnson throws a beautiful deep ball 95 percent of the time, the other five percent always seems to come in a big game or on an important drive. Even if they can keep him healthy, he is not the answer. WR Keyshawn Johnson is overrated, as is small but quick RB Warrick Dunn. He will not be able to run wild as he did last year against the Rams, and the Bucs have about given up on fumble prone RB Mike Alstott. The vaunted defense, led by DT Warren Sapp, showed some cracks last year as well, as teams figured out that if they just kept pounding away with the run, they could wear Sapp & co. down by the fourth quarter. Expect more of this tactic this year. Head coach Tony Dungy must also resist his tendency to sit on leads, as one blown lead early in the season could be costly in terms of confidence. The pressure is on, and the betting here is that the Bucs don't have what it takes to overcome it. 11-5 (wildcard on tie breaker)

The reputation of GM Ron Wolf will take a big hit this year. After getting rave reviews (from everybody but SHB) for his latest draft, it now seems clear that he blew it. The Packers, like the Patriots, invested over $100 million in QB Brett Favre, then failed to upgrade his weaponry. After giving QB Matt Hasselbeck to the Seahawks simply to move up to the 10th spot, Wolf passed on the on both WR Freddie Mitchell and the best DL in the draft, Damione Lewis, to take skinny Jamal Reynolds. Reynolds has shown nothing in preseason, as blockers stick to him like glue, while Lewis is poised to have a huge rookie year. Wolf compounded this by blowing it when he finally got around to getting Favre another receiver. He passed on local star Chris Chambers to select raw Texas A&M product Robert Fergusen, who has looked like anything but a legit NFL receiver while Chambers has been the star of the Dolphins preseason. Thank god wolf has had Seahawks GM Mike Holmgren to trade with, or the Packers would really suck. 8-8

What can you say about the Lions? They have been one of the NFL's most colorless franchises for over a decade, but especially since they let coke-head coach Wayne Fontes go. They have average players everywhere, and they get average results. RB James Stewart, QB Charlie Batch and WR Germaine Crowell are, well, average, and the same goes for DT Luther Ellis, LB Chris Claiborne, and DB Bryant Westbrook. At least new GM Matt Millen is entertaining, but how can you get excited about his choice for head coach, Marty Mornhinweg? He just seems -- you guessed it -- average. 7-9

The Bears might get better if they'd stick with one plan longer than two years. The constant change in front office personnel and the yawn inducing coaching of Dick Jauron has left the team right where they started when Jauron came three seasons ago -- nowhere. It's hard to get excited about the Bears personnel, but QB Jim Miller was pretty good before his Achilles gave out, and Marcus Robinson and David Terrell should make an interesting receiving duo, if Robinson's back is healthy. Of course, the Bears are starting Shane Matthews, not Miller, so how can the passing game be any good? With James Allen leading the way, the running game isn't going anywhere either. Expect a repeat of some of the ugly games from last year where the offense doesn't cross the 50 for an entire half. LB Brian Urlacher is the teams only real talent of note, but he needs a lot more help than Phillip Daniels, Karon Riley and Ted Washington are likely to provide. Again, just not enough good players anywhere. 4-12

NFC EAST BREAKDOWN

This is a two team race between the Eagles and the Giants, but the Cardinals could surprise. The Redskins will drop back, and the Cowboys will be thankful that the Pats are around to spare them from being the worst team in the league.

The Eagles are a very popular pick this year, and well they should be. With a solid defense, a great young quarterback and a decent running game (with the return of Deuce Staley), they should be able to surpass the Giants, who won't go easily. The Eagles are high on their top three receivers, James Thrash, Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell, an SHB favorite. With Donovan McNabb making plays and throwing the ball, the Eagles will score a lot more quick touchdowns this year. The defense is very good, led by DT Corey Simon, DE Hugh Douglas and another SHB fav, Derrick Burgess. The Eagles will face a stiff challenge right out of the box in the Rams, so expect to see what they are made of right away. The only real drawback will be if the terror turf at Veterans stadium causes a rash of injuries. But they haven't beaten the Giants in how long? 11-5

The Giants are coming off a Super Bowl year, but getting almost no respect. A very good defense, bolstered by the drafting of CB's Will Allen and Will Petersen and the free agent signing of DE Kenny Holmes should keep them in most games. Few observers are believers in QB Kerry Collins, but with Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber to hand the ball off to, expect the Giants to be workmanlike and efficient on the offensive side of the ball. That won't be enough to keep the Eagles at bay over the long haul of the season. 10-6

The Cardinals are an interesting team. Erratic QB Jake Plummer has looked good in preseason, and with David Boston ready for a breakout year, the emergence of RB Thomas Smith (last year's #1 pick) and the return of veteran WR Rob Moore, the offense is poised to be very productive. The offensive line will be among the best in football, so there is reason to think that the Cardinals will be fun to watch. The defense is supposed to be terrible, but may not be. Rookie second round pick Kyle Vanden Bosch has looked great in preseason, as have tackles Mario Fatafeh and Marcus Bell. The Cardinals could surprise, but probably won't. 8-8

Redskins UberGruppenFuhürer Marty "I'm a genius" Schottenheimer proved to everybody that he was in charge early on. He forced his star QB Jeff George to throw for him outside in freezing temperatures last winter in an effort to show him who was boss. George protested, claiming that the cold weather would damage his arm. Schottengenius insisted, since he is evidently the only person in football who doesn't know that Jeff George can throw the ball really, really hard. Guess what? George's arm is damaged. All you need to know about the Redskins this season is summed up in Schottenheimer's choice of of Rod "Sundial" Gardener in the first round. He drafted him over other receivers because of how well he blocks, not how well he runs or catches. This season is going to be so long that it will make the Monica thing seem like a fastest finger question on "Who wants to be a Millionaire." 6-10

The Cowboys. Ugh. At least they aren't as bad as the Patriots. "Now on the clock with the third pick in 2002 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys ..." 3-13