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The Vikes are the chic pick for the SuperBowl this year, but until somebody knocks them off, the Eagles still look like the class of the NFC. The only team that can compete with the Vikings in the NFC North is Green Bay, and Favre has taken a real pounding the last few years. If he goes down, the Packers aren't going anywhere. Detroit and Chicago just don't look like they're ready to compete with either one of the them.

In the NFC East, nobody is going to catch the Eagles, at least this year, but look for the Redskins, Dallas, and the Giants to be better. Gibbs has cleaned up most of the damage inflicted by Steve Spurrier, and if he can keep Dan Snyder(i.e. Steinbrenner, Jr.) from meddling, they're capable of 8-9 wins. As for the Cowboys, everything rides on what Drew Bledsoe does. He can't be any worse than Vinnie Testaverde was last year. The Giants will probably finish in the cellar because Eli Manning is not his brother, nor does he have Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James to help the offense.

NFC West is completely up for grabs, with the Rams, Seahawks and Cardinals all claiming a realistic shot at the title. Right now, I'd give a slight edge to the Rams, because they went 3 for 3 against Seattle last year, but I don't see any of these teams actually making it past the second round of the playoffs.

NFC South has Atlanta, Carolina, and New Orleans vying for number 1, and you can't discount Tampa Bay either. The Bucs still have problems with age, and they basically sold out the present and near future for that Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Their D isn't what it used to be, and the offense was never all that great to begin with. Atlanta won't make it to the top until Vick learns how to throw the ball, and not just run every other play. I also suspect last season was a bit of a fluke. The defense played way over their heads, and I look for them to come back down to Earth. They could win anywhere from 6 to 10 games. The Saints are the same way. The only reason Aaron Brooks and Jim Haslett aren't collecting unemployment checks right now is because New Orleans finally started playing up to their potential at the end of last season, and almost snuck into the playoffs, where nobody in the NFC wanted to play them. The problem is, Brooks is so schizophrenic on the field, you never know what will happen. He can be brilliant on one play, then a complete idiot the next. This is the make or break year for both of them. So that leaves Carolina. I think they'll win the division simply because they have the fewest question marks and the most solid team.

Pre-Training Camp NFC Predictions(no wildcard picks):

NFC East
1. Philadelphia
2. Dallas
3. Washington-until they can actually beat Dallas now and then, this is where they'll stay...
4. NY Giants

NFC North
1. Minnesota
2. Green Bay
3. Detroit
4. Chicago

NFC South
1. Carolina
2. New Orleans
3. Atlanta
4. Tampa Bay

NFC West
1. St. Louis
2. Seattle
3. Arizona
4. San Francisco