First of all, a couple links:
NFL.COM
NFL POWER RANKINGS
I was kind of surprised to see no thread had ever been started on the NFL, or even football in general. So...
I like my Panthers chances this year. Jake Delhomme has had Tommy John surgery, which is more common in other sports, like pitchers in baseball. He was having a great year before he went down last season. He's recently spoken out, saying that his elbow has been bothering him for years, though us fans never knew. He says since this surgery, he's able to put more strength on his throws and is in no pain compared to what he used to go through everytime he'd release the ball. The receivers have all noticed the change as well, and have spoken accordingly.
We got back Muhsin Muhammad this year, which to any other team may not seem like much, but he was with us the year we made it to the Super Bowl. He's had a tremendous influence on our younger receivers, particularly helping them in the blocking game.
I'm a bit worried about giving up our first round pick next year in this year's draft. It seems we're putting everything into winning NOW. Here's hoping.
I'm an NFL fanatic and go through withdrawls every February-September. So, as I know there are other fans out there, I'll give my division picks:
NFC South
Panthers - Okay, I'm biased, but as I described above, I have many reasons to be hopeful about this season.
NFC East
Eagles - The Cowboys or Giants are the easy picks here, but I can't see the Cowboys having another year like last year, and expect T.O. to only keep the peace for so much longer. The Giants are a fickle team. They'll do well, but a healthy McNabb and Asante Samuel on D gives me confidence in this pick.
NFC North
Vikings - Bears are a mess. Packers lost Favre. Lions are the Lions. Well, there's only one left!
NFC West
Seahawks - I still hate this team since the Panthers got slaughtered a few years ago in the Conference Championship, but Hasselback is a winner. Plain and simple. Plus, there's not much competition.
AFC South
Colts - I'll pick them every year till Manning retires.
AFC East
Patriots - My hate for the Seahawks is nothing compared to this. And when a team wins as much as the Pats have, a lot of toes get stepped on. I'm not the only person with a distaste for them and their cheating ways. Man, was that a great Super Bowl.
Their division, however, is garbage.
AFC North
Browns - It's finally their time. They'll be neck and neck with the Steelers the whole way, but I'd take Cleveland.
AFC West
Chiefs - Kind of a yucky division these days, but with the draft they had, I'll take a chance on Big Red.