The Monday night game does not play a factor because if Carolina wins, they'd still lose in the tie-breakers.1. Chicago Bears2. Seattle Seahawks3. New Orleans Saints4. New York Giants5. Philadelphia Eagles6. Atlanta Falcons(Dallas misses out due to tie breaker rules)Week 1 Matchups:New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta FalconsNew York Giants vs Philadelphia EaglesBears & Seahawks have a bye.
Still in the HuntEast: Giants (6-3), Cowboys (5-4), Eagles (5-4)North: Bears (8-1), Vikings (4-5), Packers (4-5)South: Saints (6-3), Falcons (5-4), Panthers (4-4)West: Seahawks (6-3), Rams (4-5), 49ers (4-5)Wow....<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Notes of Interest~ With their victory over the Giants, the Bears have seperated themselves as the clear Number 1 in the NFC.~ The Saints get the second seed thanks to a 5-1 NFC record. The Giants and Seahawks each have a 5-2 record.~ The Giants are below the Seahawks via their head-to-head loss.~ The Eagles hold the 5th seed over Dallas because of their head-to-head win. Also, the Eagles have a better NFC record than Dallas and Atlanta, and potentially Carolina (4-3 to 3-3 for all three).~ The Giants closest threat is the Eagles. The Giants have a 3-0 division record, while Philly has a 2-1 record. Dallas needs to make up two games to get the division lead, they hold a dismal 1-3 divisional record.~ The South is crowded as well. The Saints have the lead by a game. Assuming Carolina wins, that would leave Atlanta and Carolina at 5-4. The Falcons have beat the Panthers, while the Panthers have beaten the Saints. The Saints have beaten the Falcons.Carolina and the Saints would be at 3-1 in the division with Atlanta at 2-1. The Saints have an advantage in NFC record, sitting at 5-1. The Falcons and Panthers would both be at 3-3. This is a tangled web.~ The NFC North and West may have already been won. The Bears closest "threats" are Minnesota and Green bay. Both are at 4-5. Seattle has swept the Rams, and hold a two-game lead over the 49ers. The 49ers must win both games against Seattle to have a shot.</div>My thoughts1) Not just are the Bears going to win their division, they are going to be the #1 Seed. They have heads-up wins over the Giants and Seahawks already, a 2 game lead over all of the other division winners, and a soft schedule. The Road to the Super Bowl in the NFC is going through Chicago.2) I just cant see the 49ers, Rams, Vikings or Packers making the playoffs. Especially when the Rams have lost 4 games in a row, and the 49ers, Vikings, and Packers have a tendency to look great one week and terrible the next week. Because of that, I see the Seahawks winning the division, even with Alexander and Hasselbeck on the shelf right now. 3) The NFC East and South are both up for grabs completely, the schedule seems tough for all of those teams. Both of the Wildcards and Divisions are coming from those 6 teams. My prediction would be that the Eagles (They don't play well against good teams so far) and the Falcons (Michael Vick and his inconsistancy....) just miss the playoffs. My predictions1) Chicago Bears (13-3)2) New Orleans Saints (11-5)3) Seattle Seahawks (11-5)4) New York Giants (11-5)5) Dallas Cowboys (10-6)6) Carolina Panthers (10-6)_______________________7) Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)8) Atlanta Falcons (9-7)9) St Louis Rams (7-9)10) Minnesota Vikings (7-9)11) San Francisco 49ers (6-10)12) Green Bay Packers (6-10)
I'll take 7-9.. especially the way things are looking right now.. and our schedule isn't really getting much easier.
