Prusa Power: NFL Preview
My friend Phil Prusa provides the inside track on the NFL season. Take it away Phil!:

Time to take a look at how I see each team finishing out the year. How will your favorite team fare? Find out from a guy that has absolutely no authority on the matter! By the way, was there ever a better opening game than Thursday (which completely slipped my mind or I would have done this earlier)? My projected record for each team is in ( )
Wildcard - *

AFC EAST

Patriots (11-5)
Bill Belicheck has been a head coach in the NFL for 10 years, yet has never been to the playoffs in back to back seasons. That streak ends in 2004. New England starts the season as a clear favorite to go back to the Super Bowl

Jets (8-8)
Outside Chad Pennington, there just isn't a lot on this team to distinct itself. And yes, Pennington is the team. When he got hurt in the preseason last year, the team fell apart.

Bills (7-9)
This season might be Drew Bledsoe's last hurrah. Was anyone else scratching their head when Willis McGahee demanded a trade if he wasnt named the #1 running back for the Bills? For those keeping score, McGahee has not played an official NFL down to date.

Dolphins (6-10)
Let's see....Ricky Williams retires unexpectedly, David Boston is signed to solve the wide receiver issue and he's injured and out for the year, and Dan Marino is hired for a front office job and leaves a few weeks later. Am I leaving anything out? What the....HURRICANES?!?!
This is going to be a rough year...

AFC NORTH

Ravens (9-7)
As always, this team will rely on the defense...which is not a bad idea considering Jonathon Ogdon has a bum leg, Kyle Boller has yet to prove being a first round draft pick, and Jamal Lewis has that little legal issue he's got to deal with.

Bengals (7-9)
Carson Palmer might expirence a few growing pains in his first year on the field, but he'll be fine. I'd be more worried about their pass defense, their run defense, and pretty much any defense that supposedly stops the opposing offense.

Browns (6-10)
Time for the defensive line to carry it's weight as there are 3 first round draft picks (Brown, Warren, Lang) on it. Everyone raves about the drafting of Kellen Winslow Jr, but I think the best signing this team made was fullback Terrelle Smith.

Steelers (6-10)
Good: Pittsburgh is re-dedicating their focus to running the football. Bad: The defense is still as soft as wet tissue paper. Joey Porter had on off year in 2003...time to see if he has fully recovered from the gunshot wound he suffered.

AFC SOUTH

Titans (12-4)
Personally, I don't think there has been any team as under-rated than Tennessee. Head coach Jeff Fisher consistantly has this team in the playoffs. This could be the final year for this team to hit the Super Bowl before the window closes on them.

* Colts (11-5)
Could be the last year of the trio of Manning, James, and Harrison. Could snag the divisional title from the Titans, but defense will be a concern in the playoffs.

Jaguars (8-8)
Not sure when this team became the cinderella pick for the Super Bowl, but in the same division with the Titans and Colts, they'll be hard pressed just to make a .500 record. The Hugh Douglas experiment lasted a whopping year before he got cut....symbolizing the bad decisions the club has made on personal as of late.

Texans (7-9)
Could possibly finish in 3rd place this year in their division. Defense will be the key to their success but QB David Carr has to make the next step in his development. Looks like 2005 is the year they will target for contention.

AFC WEST

Chiefs (11-5)
Same situation the Colts are in....offense will power them to the playoffs but the defense keeps them out of the Super Bowl. Much has been made with new defense coodinater Gunther Cunningham, but he has pretty much the same players from last year.

* Broncos (10-5)
Loss of running back Mike Anderson hurts this team, as does question marks in the wide receiver corps. Still should be able to make the playoffs though.

Raiders (8-8)
After the disaster that was 2003, Raiders need more than one offseason to reload. Still too old to realistically contend this year.

Chargers (4-12)
Maybe the Manning family was on to something refusing to have Eli play in San Diego. Even with a 2,000 yard rushing season by LaDainian Tomlinson, this team would be lucky to win 6 games tops.

NFC EAST

Eagles (11-5)
They got Javon Kearse and Terrell Owens, but it seems like the Eagles are desperate to get over the hump. Kearse has a history of injury problems, and Owens gets to the playoffs, but doesn't do all that much once he's there.

Cowboys (9-7)
Bill Parcells always does better with his team the 2nd year he's there. Problem is the 2004
Cowboys could be better than last year's team and still miss the playoffs. And a 40-year old Vince Testaverde as your QB doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Giants (6-10)
Last year, the Giants opened the season with dreams of the Super Bowl. This is with an eventual rookie QB at the helm and a new head caoch, New York just wants to survive the season.

Redskins (5-11)
Rumors that owner Dan Synder tries to lure Lawrence Taylor and Stephen Baker out of retirement are completely unfounded at this point.

NFC NORTH

Packers (11-5)
One thing for Tim Couch not to make this team. It's something else if he can't beat out career clipboard holder Doug Peterson for the #2 QB. Still, as long as Bret Farve is around, Green Bay will contend.

* Vikings (10-6)
Offense is there for contention, but I daresay that no team chokes more in the big game than Minnesota. Ask Cardinal fans about that.

Lions (6-10)
Don't laugh, but the Lions could be a scoring machine this year. Joey Harrington has to justify his first round draft status (which has been hard to do his first two years in the NFL with a bad Detroit team) and the Lions must learn to win on the road.

Bears (4-12)
Lovie Smith may prove to be a great NFL head coach. But he just doesn't have the talent on the roster this year to do much of anything this year.

NFC SOUTH

Saints (10-6)
Here it is: my season upset special. Saints have fiddled with the .500 with the past few years. Now it's time for Aaron Brooks to get over the hump and lead this team to the playoffs. Having Deuce McAllister and Joe Horn helps his cause.

Panthers (9-7)
I like Carolina and their defense style of football. But the questions on the offensive line (including up to 4 new possible starters), keeps me from picking them to have a repeat season. The Panthers lived dangerously on the edge last year and might finally fall off it.

Falcons (8-8)
Michael Vick could very well be the most exciting player in the NFL, which is Atlanta's curse. If he goes down, so do the Falcons. Too many question marks in the defense make it hard to see this squad contend for the playoffs.

Buccaneers (7-9)
Things have not gone well for coach Jon Gruden since his first year with Tampa Bay when the Bucs won the Super Bowl. Since then, questions have formed as to whether or not is was Gruden or former coach Tony Dungy who should get the credit. This year, it would be tough for any head coach to win with this squad.

NFC WEST

Rams (11-5)
My least confident pick for a division winner. I'm banking on the offense to carry them this year, but even with Orlando Pace ending his holdout, the offensive line is a big question mark for the season.

* Seahawks (10-6)
A big bandwagon team for 2004, but Seattle has a brutal start to the season where they could start 0-2 or 1-3. That would be a tough hole for any team to get out of.

49ers (6-10)
Look at the bright side...Barry Bonds is going for another MVP award this year from the San Francisco Giants...

Cardinals (3-13)
Too many injuries in the offseason and too little talent is not the best combination to have this year. Probably a good thing that the new stadium for Arizona doesn't open until 2006. Dennis Green's prediction of playoffs seem a tad immature.