NFC DIVISIONAL PREVIEW

2006 predicted order of finish ...

West

* 1. Seattle: The Seahawks got oh-so-close last season, outplaying the Steelers throughout the first half of the Super Bowl before letting the game slip away from them in the second half. Seattle has a smart and effective quarterback in Matt Hasselbeck, and the defending league most valuable player in running back Shaun Alexander. Losing guard Steve Hutchinson hurts, but the offensive line is still one of football’s best and is anchored by dominating left tackle Walter Jones. The defense is very good too, led by linebacker Lofa Tatupu.

* 2. St. Louis: With quarterback Marc Bulger, receiver Torry Holt and running back Stephen Jackson, the Rams shouldn’t have problems putting points on the board. It’s keeping points off the board that’s the challenge. The St. Louis defense finished 30th in yards given up last season, and 28th in takeaway/giveaway differential. The addition of defenders La’Roi Glover and Will Witherspoon should help, but losing safety Adam Archuleta to Washington is another problem. That said, his replacement, Corey Chavous, is a capable player who studies film like crazy and knows personnel as well as any general manager in the league.

* 3. Arizona: The Cardinals are putting the pieces in place. They have an outstanding running back in Edgerrin James, a top receiving tandem in Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, and a defense that seems to be on the rise. Kurt Warner can be good, as his two MVP trophies suggest, and backup Matt Leinart has promise. Then again, we’ve seen the Cardinals do a face-plant before. The schedule sets up nicely, however, with first-half road games at Green Bay and Oakland, who were a combined 8-24 last season.

* 4. San Francisco: Judging by his track record, Norv Turner is better suited to be an offensive coordinator than a head coach. In his latest assignment, he’s charged with bringing along second-year quarterback Alex Smith, who looks far more comfortable in Turner’s system than he was in Mike McCarthy’s. Now, Smith also has an outstanding safety-valve receiver in rookie tight end Vernon Davis. Still, expectations aren’t too high. After all, the 49ers failed to score an offensive touchdown in eight games last season.

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North

2006 predicted order of finish ...

* 1. Chicago: The Bears have all 22 starters back from a team that was 11-5 last season and won the division. There’s no reason to believe they will slip, especially now that they have a safety net in backup quarterback Brian Griese. Chicago’s division rivals are in rebuilding mode with new coaches. That’s very good news for a Bears team looking to make a deep push into the playoffs. On defense, Brian Urlacher gets most of the attention, but don’t overlook weak-side linebacker Lance Briggs, who had 107 tackles to Urlacher’s 121.

* 2. Minnesota: Say this about new Coach Brad Childress: He knows what he wants. Shortly after getting the job, he sent Daunte Culpepper to Miami and named Brad Johnson the starting quarterback. In the months that followed, the Vikings added 10 veteran free agents, among them Seattle guard Steve Hutchinson, one of the best in the business. The team recently dumped troubled receiver Koren Robinson, who made the Pro Bowl as a kick returner last season. The Vikings added former Green Bay kicker Ryan Longwell, who shouldn’t have trouble making field goals in cold road games.

* 3. Green Bay: Does Brett Favre have one more good year in him? How about Ahman Green? The answers to those questions will go a long way toward determining how well the Packers fare. Green Bay should do better than last season’s 4-12 finish, but that depends on Favre, who’s coming off the worst season of his career. His 29 interceptions were a dozen more than any other NFL quarterback. Of course, he didn’t get much help from a depleted offensive line.

* 4. Detroit: The Lions should be more disciplined under new Coach Rod Marinelli than they were under Steve Mariucci. But will that translate into victories? Probably not. Detroit has a new offensive coordinator in Mike Martz, although it’s unlikely he’ll be able to replicate the “greatest show on turf” pyrotechnics he brought to St. Louis. After all, he’s dealing with quarterback Jon Kitna, who’s a great backup but leaves something to be desired as a starter. Could this be the year the Lions get value out of their three first-round receivers: Roy Williams, Charles Rogers and Mike Williams? Don’t bet on it.

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South

2006 predicted order of finish ...

* 1. Carolina: The Panthers have bulked up their offensive and defensive lines in hopes of at least reaching the NFC championship game for the third time in four years. They should make another strong run at the Super Bowl on the heels of last season’s 13-6 finish. Quarterback Jake Delhomme is coming off his first Pro Bowl, and receiver Steve Smith might be the most explosive player in the league. If DeShaun Foster can get and stay healthy, he’s always a threat for a monster game. If there’s a weakness on Carolina’s defense, it’s at linebacker, where the only returning starter is Dan Morgan.

* 2. Atlanta: Key to the Falcons’ success is how well Michael Vick makes the transition from scrambler to pure passer. He had his troubles last season, finishing 25th in passing efficiency with a 55% completion rate. Atlanta led the league in rushing, getting 1,416 yards from Warrick Dunn, who made the Pro Bowl. The real push this off-season involved improving the defense. The Falcons added two stars to the line: Simeon Rice from Tampa Bay and John Abraham from the New York Jets. They also upgraded at safety with the additions of Lawyer Milloy and Chris Crocker.

* 3. Tampa Bay: The Buccaneers, the last NFC team to win a Super Bowl, don’t have much time to pull off an encore. Their vaunted defense is aging fast -- though it was No. 1 in the league last season -- and doesn’t have much time to wait on Tampa Bay’s young offense. Quarterback Chris Simms and running back “Cadillac” Williams, last season’s offensive rookie of the year, are teeming with potential. The Buccaneers are hoping receiver Michael Clayton returns to his rookie form instead of a repeat of last season’s sophomore slump.

* 4. New Orleans: Everyone’s waiting to see what Reggie Bush can do as a pro. He’ll split time at running back with Deuce McAllister, and sometimes they’ll be on the field at the same time. Expectations are high for the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, not so for the Saints. New Orleans has a new quarterback in Drew Brees and a new coach in Sean Payton, but the Saints are average on the offensive and defensive lines and their linebackers and defensive backfield are mediocre at best.

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East

2006 predicted order of finish ...

* 1. New York Giants: Quarterback Eli Manning has made 23 NFL starts, and now’s the time the Giants will really determine whether he can be as good as his big brother, Peyton. Eli looked very poised at times last season, but he came unglued down the stretch with four touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his last six games. Still, the Giants have more than their share of offensive weapons, beginning with Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey. They also have Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan, who combined for 26 sacks last season.

* 2. Philadelphia: Was last season’s 6-10 nightmare just a bump in the road or the first crumblings of an NFC powerhouse? A lot of things hinge on quarterback Donovan McNabb and how he recovers from the physical and emotional spin cycle he endured last season. He won’t have a star receiver this season, and running backs Brian Westbrook, Ryan Moats and Bruce Perry are all smallish and fast but not power backs. The defensive line is retooled with the addition of former Saints end Darren Howard and a stout rookie defensive tackle in Brodrick Bunkley. Now the Eagles need to find some linebackers.

* 3. Dallas: Just about everyone expected the Terrell Owens experiment to blow up. It just seems to be happening sooner than anticipated. If the Cowboys can defuse the latest dust-up, though, they stand a good chance of having one of the NFC’s more productive offenses. Running back Julius Jones should be solid, providing he isn’t slowed by injuries the way he was his first two seasons. The defense is bigger, especially at linebacker, and in the eyes of Bill Parcells, bigger is better.

* 4. Washington: Joe Gibbs turned things around last season, following a 6-10 stinker with an 11-7 finish and the first trip to the playoffs since 1999. The Redskins have spent a lot of money in upgrades this off-season, and their offense should improve with new coordinator Al Saunders. But Washington has an old quarterback in Mark Brunell, who might not last the season. The defense should benefit from the addition of Andre Carter and the departure of LaVar Arrington, who had become a distraction.

-- Sam Farmer