Who Will Top the NFC in 2006?
By Bobbie Brewskie
DCFU Staff
The top of the NFC has seen a few faces. The teams that seem to hit #1-#3 most often are the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers. There are many factors that determine which team will finish above the other (i.e. last year, free agency, the draft, returning players [from injury and player progression). both of these teams had great 2005 seasons, they both made big free agent acquisitions and had big drafts, there are even some big name players coming back from IR.
Roster Breakdown and Comparison:
Offense
Quarterbacks:
Drew Bledsoe proved, last season, that he still had "the gun" in him as he was well-off on the road to the Pro-Bowl, until LT, Flozell Adams, went down early in the season. Jake Delhomme on the other hand is a very young QB who has shown that he can be a "franchise QB" and that he still has it in him. Since this is not about the future, and it is more about finish ing out this one season, im going to give the edge to bledsoe.
Running Back:
Julius Jones has shown his flashes of excellence, but his major issue is making it onto the field, he has a solid backup in Marion Barber who is a solid receiver, blocker and short yardage back, he should prove to be a good 3rd down and situational back for Julius Jones. Deshaun Foster didnt make it on the field all to much last year as Stephen Davis was still a big part of the team. Foster finally saw the field late in the season and in the playoffs, after Davis was injured. He showed flashes, but much like jones, the question is can he last a whole season? Nick Goings after Foster went down, he came in and proved to be solid against teams that werent worried about him. this is a close one, but since MBIII > Nick Goings i will give Dallas the edge once again.
Tight End and Fullback:
this obviously goes to the Dallas Cowboys . . . Jason Witten is a perennial pro-bowler who has proven that he is among the best in the league. now with the new 2TE set the cowboys have in some sense eliminated the FB position and Lousaka Polite is being forced to make a tough transition to a so called "F" position, while Anthony Fasano - a 2nd round draft pick this past draft is going to have to step up to start opposite of Witten. now the Panthers are a bit weak at the TE and FB position, but they make up for it having 4 solid WRs in Steve Smith, Keyshawn Johnson, Ricky Proehl and Keary Kolbert. once again the edge goes to the cowboys.
Wide Receiver:
These 2 receiving corps rank among the top 5 in the NFL, ill even go ahead and say top3. Terrell Owens is among the best WRs in the league right along with Steve Smith. Both of them vary in style, Owens is much bigger and uses his size to his advantage and is a threat all over the field. Smith - a much smaller WR, uses his quickness and speed to make plays, a lot like TO he makes the plays all over the field, often times turning short routes into big plays. now the #2 receivers were a pretty mean group that played together last season Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson. they are almost opposites, but will prove to be GREAT compliments to their respective #1 WRs (Smith and Owens). Glenn was a great deep threat, making big plays downfield all day and finally playing a full 16 games. Keyshawn Johnson on the other hand is a powerful threat across the middle and has amazing hands. last season he proved to be a strong target for bledsoe, making clutch grabs in coverage all day long. now the #3 and #4 WRs are not highly spoken of but all 4 of these guys are quite impressive #3-#4 targets. Dallas has a solid option in Patrick Crayton - a guy who runs very strong routes and makes big plays across the middle and can turn a small catch into something big, next to him is Skyler Green - a player who was brought in mainly to be a RS, but he has potential to turn something small into something big. the Panthers have a solid options in Keary Kolbert and Ricky Proehl - both well-rounded #3 options, much like Crayton. id say this is very close, Dallas has stronger starters but Carolina has better depth.
Offensive Line:
Wont say much here, Carolina cleary wins this one as they have 5 returning starters who all playeed 16 games last season and they added a strong C in Jeff Hartwig to add depth to the enitre OL. The Cowboys do not have much of a starting lineup other than Adams as the rest of the team is quite average. the cowboys have solid depth, but that is only because their starters arent anything special. i will give the Oline clearly to the Panthers.
Defense:
Defensive Tackle and Nose Tackle:
Maake Kemoeatu and Kris Jenkins make up one of the best set of Interior Lineman in the NFL. last season Kris Jenkins was dearly missed by the panthers and without him the entire defenses production went down. The Dallas Cowboys on the other hand lost their best interior lineman or should i say their best DL overall in La'Roi Glover and he is being replaced by Jason Ferguson - a "Parcells Guy" who has proven to be a good rotator NT for Glover, but has never had to be the #1 guy in a 3-4 scheme and he is backed by Montavious Stanley - a 6th round draft pick who is big enough to take on double teams to free up LBs, but with his lack of experience Ferguson is going to have a tough time in there. this obviously goes to the Panthers.
Defensive End:
one name sums up who wins this and that name is Julius Peppers, he might be the best DE in the NFL and is definately a top10 overall player, he is a freakish athlete with an amazing first step, strength and an incredible swim move. opposite him is Mike Rucker - he is a solid DE who some say is a product of Jenkins and Peppers, but last season we saw that, that is not the truth since without Jenkins he still had 7.5 sacks and a set of forced fumbles. the cowboys on the other hand, they have a very youthful group of DEs who all have potential to be atop the league, and some are calling 4th round draft pick Chris Canty the breakout player of the year while others have their money on 1st round pick Marcus Spears. the best DE that this team had last year was actually Greg Ellis and he has produced mainly out of the nickel set and not the 3-4 anymore, he is a demanding player who wants to be payed for being average? i dont get this, but he is a part of the team and i will say he is solid. carolina still has the edge here once again.
Linebackers:
With the Panthers owning up on the cowboys in the battle of the front 4, the tides turn here. The Panthers lost one of their best linebackers, maybe their best one in Will Witherspoon and have tried to make up for it with the additions of Keith Adams and Na'il Diggs. they should have a solid LB corps that will be lead by star MLB, Dan Morgan and will have a solid backup in Chris Draft. Now the Cowboys, they have a very strong and young LB corps that is still emerging behind veteran leaders Akin Ayodele and Bradie James (the two tackle machine MLBs). now Demarcus Ware has been said to play a lot like "Lawrence Taylor" atleast thats whay Bill Parcells said, and he is a tough pass rusher and will prove strong off the edge. now for the SOLB position the cowboys have a few options, but 1st round draft pick Bobby Carpenter will most likely have the starting job early in the season . . . he is a big boy that has proven in his college days to be able to rush the qb, play the run AND play the pass. ill give the cowboys this one with starters and depth.
Secondary:
The Cowboys have argueably the best secondary in the entire NFL. this unit is lead by the heavy hitter, Roy Williams, who is among the best SS in the league and acts almost as a hybrid LB/S. at FS, they are looking a bit weak, but they have depth and of Marcus Coleman, Pat Watkins, Keith Davis or even Justin Berriault could start. Coleman has been said to play both FS and CB, Davis and Berry-o can do both SS and FS and rookie Watkins along with Davis can play STs as well. at CB they have shutdown corner Terence Newman and Anthony Henry (held out of pro-bowl due to injury) opposite of him. now in the NB spot they have Aaron Glenn who proved to be atop the league at his respective positon. now the panthers have Mike Minter a solid FS, and opposite him they lack as their starter will most likely be Thomas Davis - who is this again? now their CBs are solid in Ken Lucas, Chris Gamble but the loss of Ricky Manning forces them to start 2nd round pick Richard Marshall. Cowboys take the edge once again.
Teams Drafts:
Dallas:
1. Bobby Carpenter
2. Anthony Fasano
3. Jason Hatcher
4. Skyler Green
5. Pat Watkins
6. Montavious Stanley
7. EJ Whitley
8. Pat Mcquistan
Carolina:
1. Deangelo Williams (RB)
2. Richard Marshall (CB)
3. James Anderson (LB)
4. Rashad Butler (OT)
5. Nate Salley (S)
6. Jeff King (TE)
7. Will Montgomery (C)
8. Stanley Mcclover (DE)
i have a feeling that on the cowboys side of the draft will all make immediate impacts, Carpenter will become the starting SOLB, Fasano will start opposite Witten, Hatcher will make it into the DE rotation, Stanley will rotate with Ferguson and Watkins will contribute on special teams until he wins the FS job.
now for the panthers draft: Williams might challenge foster for the starting RB spot, but with what foster showed near the end of the year, he will win out (so long as he doesnt get hurt). Marshall will probably play a lot in the nickel and dime packages as the Panthers lost starting NB, Ricky Manning (thanks doc lol) . . . Anderson was not brought in to ease the loss of witherspoon as he is a SOLB, he is said to be able to start in the nickel packages and might even make it as the teams starting SOLB. Salley will probably compete for the starting FS job. McClover will probably not make it onto the field much as Peppers and Rucker are 2 of the best ends in the game. and the 2 OL that they drafted are here to provide depth.
so between 2 top teams, who both play tough football and put on a great showing vs. eachother last season here is what it looks like:
cowboys: 4
Panthers: 3
i disregarded the ones that were very close calls.
so lets find out, when they play 2 times next season, yes 2 times, once during the season and once in the NFC title game!
DCFU Staff
The top of the NFC has seen a few faces. The teams that seem to hit #1-#3 most often are the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers. There are many factors that determine which team will finish above the other (i.e. last year, free agency, the draft, returning players [from injury and player progression). both of these teams had great 2005 seasons, they both made big free agent acquisitions and had big drafts, there are even some big name players coming back from IR.
Roster Breakdown and Comparison:
Offense
Quarterbacks:
Drew Bledsoe proved, last season, that he still had "the gun" in him as he was well-off on the road to the Pro-Bowl, until LT, Flozell Adams, went down early in the season. Jake Delhomme on the other hand is a very young QB who has shown that he can be a "franchise QB" and that he still has it in him. Since this is not about the future, and it is more about finish ing out this one season, im going to give the edge to bledsoe.
Running Back:
Julius Jones has shown his flashes of excellence, but his major issue is making it onto the field, he has a solid backup in Marion Barber who is a solid receiver, blocker and short yardage back, he should prove to be a good 3rd down and situational back for Julius Jones. Deshaun Foster didnt make it on the field all to much last year as Stephen Davis was still a big part of the team. Foster finally saw the field late in the season and in the playoffs, after Davis was injured. He showed flashes, but much like jones, the question is can he last a whole season? Nick Goings after Foster went down, he came in and proved to be solid against teams that werent worried about him. this is a close one, but since MBIII > Nick Goings i will give Dallas the edge once again.
Tight End and Fullback:
this obviously goes to the Dallas Cowboys . . . Jason Witten is a perennial pro-bowler who has proven that he is among the best in the league. now with the new 2TE set the cowboys have in some sense eliminated the FB position and Lousaka Polite is being forced to make a tough transition to a so called "F" position, while Anthony Fasano - a 2nd round draft pick this past draft is going to have to step up to start opposite of Witten. now the Panthers are a bit weak at the TE and FB position, but they make up for it having 4 solid WRs in Steve Smith, Keyshawn Johnson, Ricky Proehl and Keary Kolbert. once again the edge goes to the cowboys.
Wide Receiver:
These 2 receiving corps rank among the top 5 in the NFL, ill even go ahead and say top3. Terrell Owens is among the best WRs in the league right along with Steve Smith. Both of them vary in style, Owens is much bigger and uses his size to his advantage and is a threat all over the field. Smith - a much smaller WR, uses his quickness and speed to make plays, a lot like TO he makes the plays all over the field, often times turning short routes into big plays. now the #2 receivers were a pretty mean group that played together last season Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson. they are almost opposites, but will prove to be GREAT compliments to their respective #1 WRs (Smith and Owens). Glenn was a great deep threat, making big plays downfield all day and finally playing a full 16 games. Keyshawn Johnson on the other hand is a powerful threat across the middle and has amazing hands. last season he proved to be a strong target for bledsoe, making clutch grabs in coverage all day long. now the #3 and #4 WRs are not highly spoken of but all 4 of these guys are quite impressive #3-#4 targets. Dallas has a solid option in Patrick Crayton - a guy who runs very strong routes and makes big plays across the middle and can turn a small catch into something big, next to him is Skyler Green - a player who was brought in mainly to be a RS, but he has potential to turn something small into something big. the Panthers have a solid options in Keary Kolbert and Ricky Proehl - both well-rounded #3 options, much like Crayton. id say this is very close, Dallas has stronger starters but Carolina has better depth.
Offensive Line:
Wont say much here, Carolina cleary wins this one as they have 5 returning starters who all playeed 16 games last season and they added a strong C in Jeff Hartwig to add depth to the enitre OL. The Cowboys do not have much of a starting lineup other than Adams as the rest of the team is quite average. the cowboys have solid depth, but that is only because their starters arent anything special. i will give the Oline clearly to the Panthers.
Defense:
Defensive Tackle and Nose Tackle:
Maake Kemoeatu and Kris Jenkins make up one of the best set of Interior Lineman in the NFL. last season Kris Jenkins was dearly missed by the panthers and without him the entire defenses production went down. The Dallas Cowboys on the other hand lost their best interior lineman or should i say their best DL overall in La'Roi Glover and he is being replaced by Jason Ferguson - a "Parcells Guy" who has proven to be a good rotator NT for Glover, but has never had to be the #1 guy in a 3-4 scheme and he is backed by Montavious Stanley - a 6th round draft pick who is big enough to take on double teams to free up LBs, but with his lack of experience Ferguson is going to have a tough time in there. this obviously goes to the Panthers.
Defensive End:
one name sums up who wins this and that name is Julius Peppers, he might be the best DE in the NFL and is definately a top10 overall player, he is a freakish athlete with an amazing first step, strength and an incredible swim move. opposite him is Mike Rucker - he is a solid DE who some say is a product of Jenkins and Peppers, but last season we saw that, that is not the truth since without Jenkins he still had 7.5 sacks and a set of forced fumbles. the cowboys on the other hand, they have a very youthful group of DEs who all have potential to be atop the league, and some are calling 4th round draft pick Chris Canty the breakout player of the year while others have their money on 1st round pick Marcus Spears. the best DE that this team had last year was actually Greg Ellis and he has produced mainly out of the nickel set and not the 3-4 anymore, he is a demanding player who wants to be payed for being average? i dont get this, but he is a part of the team and i will say he is solid. carolina still has the edge here once again.
Linebackers:
With the Panthers owning up on the cowboys in the battle of the front 4, the tides turn here. The Panthers lost one of their best linebackers, maybe their best one in Will Witherspoon and have tried to make up for it with the additions of Keith Adams and Na'il Diggs. they should have a solid LB corps that will be lead by star MLB, Dan Morgan and will have a solid backup in Chris Draft. Now the Cowboys, they have a very strong and young LB corps that is still emerging behind veteran leaders Akin Ayodele and Bradie James (the two tackle machine MLBs). now Demarcus Ware has been said to play a lot like "Lawrence Taylor" atleast thats whay Bill Parcells said, and he is a tough pass rusher and will prove strong off the edge. now for the SOLB position the cowboys have a few options, but 1st round draft pick Bobby Carpenter will most likely have the starting job early in the season . . . he is a big boy that has proven in his college days to be able to rush the qb, play the run AND play the pass. ill give the cowboys this one with starters and depth.
Secondary:
The Cowboys have argueably the best secondary in the entire NFL. this unit is lead by the heavy hitter, Roy Williams, who is among the best SS in the league and acts almost as a hybrid LB/S. at FS, they are looking a bit weak, but they have depth and of Marcus Coleman, Pat Watkins, Keith Davis or even Justin Berriault could start. Coleman has been said to play both FS and CB, Davis and Berry-o can do both SS and FS and rookie Watkins along with Davis can play STs as well. at CB they have shutdown corner Terence Newman and Anthony Henry (held out of pro-bowl due to injury) opposite of him. now in the NB spot they have Aaron Glenn who proved to be atop the league at his respective positon. now the panthers have Mike Minter a solid FS, and opposite him they lack as their starter will most likely be Thomas Davis - who is this again? now their CBs are solid in Ken Lucas, Chris Gamble but the loss of Ricky Manning forces them to start 2nd round pick Richard Marshall. Cowboys take the edge once again.
Teams Drafts:
Dallas:
1. Bobby Carpenter
2. Anthony Fasano
3. Jason Hatcher
4. Skyler Green
5. Pat Watkins
6. Montavious Stanley
7. EJ Whitley
8. Pat Mcquistan
Carolina:
1. Deangelo Williams (RB)
2. Richard Marshall (CB)
3. James Anderson (LB)
4. Rashad Butler (OT)
5. Nate Salley (S)
6. Jeff King (TE)
7. Will Montgomery (C)
8. Stanley Mcclover (DE)
i have a feeling that on the cowboys side of the draft will all make immediate impacts, Carpenter will become the starting SOLB, Fasano will start opposite Witten, Hatcher will make it into the DE rotation, Stanley will rotate with Ferguson and Watkins will contribute on special teams until he wins the FS job.
now for the panthers draft: Williams might challenge foster for the starting RB spot, but with what foster showed near the end of the year, he will win out (so long as he doesnt get hurt). Marshall will probably play a lot in the nickel and dime packages as the Panthers lost starting NB, Ricky Manning (thanks doc lol) . . . Anderson was not brought in to ease the loss of witherspoon as he is a SOLB, he is said to be able to start in the nickel packages and might even make it as the teams starting SOLB. Salley will probably compete for the starting FS job. McClover will probably not make it onto the field much as Peppers and Rucker are 2 of the best ends in the game. and the 2 OL that they drafted are here to provide depth.
so between 2 top teams, who both play tough football and put on a great showing vs. eachother last season here is what it looks like:
cowboys: 4
Panthers: 3
i disregarded the ones that were very close calls.
so lets find out, when they play 2 times next season, yes 2 times, once during the season and once in the NFC title game!
posted by The Gryphon at 11:18 PM
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