NFC Half Season grades

Here are my NFC Half Season grades.

NFC East

Washington Good run gm but not much else. A very soft schedule has given them 5 wins B-

Philadelphia This is not where the Eagles expected to be. 4 losses have put this team in a must win.B-

Dallas Offense is way down this year & Defense has not been good for a long time. D

New York Giants Defense is actually better than the Offense. Coaching staff it the problem. D-

NFC North

Chicago Trubisky is playing better than last yr & the defense is outstanding. B+

Minnesota Keenum is fine but the Offense is down from last yr. So is the defense. B+

Green Bay Rodgers is great but no run gm, OL & do defense. C

Detroit Last place in a very strong division. Have Stafford and little else. C

NFC South

New Orleans Brees is outstanding but run gm that was so good last yr is down. Defense is down well. A-

Carolina Newton is better this season. Run gm is fine but Defense is giving up pass yds. B+

Atlanta Ryan is the O. Good thing he scores a lot because Defense gives up points in … Read more at FryingPanSports

NFC Playoff predictions

And you thought your NFL NFC team had a chance to get to the playoffs this year? You are probably wrong. Here are my NFC Playoff predictions.

NO CHANCE
NFC East
NGReally hard to predict this team but they won’t make the playoffs.
WAQB Smith has less to work with than he did in KC.
NFC North
DTAll Stafford has is his arm. No OL, no WRS and a bad D.
CHHeading in the right direction but not sure if they have the right QB
NFC South
CRCam is a question mark but the D is fine. That is not enough to get them into the playoffs
TBJameis Winston starts the season with a 3-game suspension in the worst part of the schedule for TB and the D is not good enough to rescue the O.
NFC West
AZThey find out how much they miss Mathieu and fail to make the playoffs.
Teams that are in the playoffs
PHThe D will keep PH in the race no matter who is QB
MNKirk Cousins has much better targets than in WA. He and the D will get it done.
NOBrees and
Read more at FryingPanSports

NFC South starting lineup grades

They are coming out quickly now, getting ready for opening weekend. Here is the NFC South starting lineup grades.

Atlanta Falcons
QB Matt Ryan is often overrated, but mostly gets the job done. Most mistakes come from trying to do too much. His contract extension was sizable but structured well. B+
RB Devonta Freeman Speaking of overrated…though his ceiling tops out well below that of Ryan. How much does Freeman really have in the tank? B-
WR Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and R Calvin Ridley. Drafting Ridley was an odd choice for a team with 2 solid receivers and a lot of defensive issues. Still, this group will help Ryan put points on the board. B+
TE Austin Hooper, Logan Paulsen. Hooper has some potential but makes a lot of critical mistakes. Paulson was a nice veteran FA addition and is a solid blocker. C+
OL LT Jake Matthews LG Andy Levitre C Alex Mack RG Wes Schweitzer RT Ryan Schraeder team is returning all 5 starters, but Brandon Fusco may push Schweitzer for the RG job. Mack is an All Pro. Levitre is an excellent run blocker but is coming off an injury. B-
DL Takkarist McKinley, Terrell
Read more at FryingPanSports

Top 5 Questions facing the NFC South teams

Falcons
The O fell off badly last yr. That put a lot of pressure on the over-rated D. That did not go well.
5 DT Dontari Poe left. Who will be able to stop the run gm?
4 Can the D play better this year as they did last year?
3 Will RB Devonta Freeman be healthy and return to a 1000 y season?
2 Jones had his worst season since he was a rookie. Can the WR group get the O running smoothly again?
1 Can Matt Ryan get back to his level of play in 2016?
 
Panthers
The biggest asset is also the biggest question. The D is solid & will be better in 18 but depends on the O to get to a SB.
5 Will the addition of W Torrey Smith give CR the speed that they lacked last season?
4 Will the rebuilt OL be better than the old version last year?
3 Christian McCaffrey was good in pass gm but not running. Can the Run game survive the loss of Jonathan Stewart?
2 Can the D stay healthy this year?
1 Will Cam Newton stop pouting & get his guts back?
 
Saints
A young
Read more at FryingPanSports

Top 5 questions facing NFC South teams

AT       5Can the run game become a force to balance the O?
4Can HC Quinn get AT to play more physical FB?
3Can Matt Ryan have another Super Bowl season?
2Can Quinn get the D cover anybody or was the SB game an indcation they are overmatched?
1Can AT mentally  overcome the Super Bowl Loss?
CR      5After a bad 16, can CR get back to the playoffs this year?
4Can the CR run game help balance the O with someone other than Newton carrying the load?
3Will the O line be able to protect Newton better than last year?
2Will the D get back to playoff level play? Pass D was at the bottom of the league last year.
1Can HC Ron Rivera get QB Cam Newton‘s head out of his posterior?
NO      5Did NO do enough to help the pass D by adding CB Marshon Lattimore & S Marcus Williams?
4Will Brees have anyone to throw to with Cook traded?  Michael Thomas, Willie Snead, Brandon Coleman,
3Is this the year that RB Peterson rolls over and plays dead?  MN thought so and let
Read more at FryingPanSports

NFC Win projections from NNR podcast

NFC EASTAFC West     
NFC WestDNAET
DA W6@AT GB433111
WA W5@NO MN22217
NY W8@TB DT422210
PH W10@CR CH22228
  12996 
NFC NorthAFC North     
 NFC SouthDNAET
GB W8@DA SE543113
MN W9@WA LR 422210
DT W7@NG AZ31105
CH W9@PH SF01113
  12874 
NFC SouthAFC East     
 NFC NorthDNAET
AT W5@SE DA433010
CR W11@AZ PH32218
NO W5@LR WA32229
TB W11@SF NG21216
  12894 
NFC WestAFC South     
 NFC EastDNAET
SE W6@GB AT434112
AZ W8@DT TB423211
LR W8@MN NO22206
SF W11@CH CR10001
Read more at FryingPanSports