Team: Arizona Cardinals
Division: NFC West
Strengths: The Cardinals defense is still a strong unit and they have some good weapons at receiver as always.
Weaknesses: If Carson Palmer goes down or is ineffective (considering he's going into his age-36 season and coming off a torn ACL, it's highly probable he'll struggle a bit), there's no guarantee the offense won't spiral downward like it did last year. Drew Stanton is the number two, but he played terribly last season before his own season-ending injury, and the newly-acquired Matt Barkley is unproven at the NFL-level.
The Cardinals also boasted the worst running game in the NFL last season, and Chris Johnson as the guy doesn't give me a good feeling about that unit improving much. If this were five years ago, maybe. But now? Not so much.
Overall: Even with all the above-mentioned things working against this team, plus the fact that they play in a tough division with the Seahawks and pesky Rams, I still think this team can make bank. Their schedule outside of the typical NFC West matchups isn't terribly difficult, and they get some worrisome teams at home. All in all, I think the Cards have what it takes to challenge for the division title, but will definitely push for a playoff spot.
Divisional Rank: Second
PLAYOFFS?!: Yes, but only if Palmer can stay healthy and/or they get off to another hot start.
Division: NFC South
Strengths: If there was any doubt that Matt Ryan is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, the fact that in the last two seasons he completed nearly 67 percent of his passes for 54 touchdowns and more than 9,000 yards, despite the team around him being dreadful, should dispel that argument.
Weaknesses: Both lines are pretty well terrible, with the O-line allowing 75 sacks in the last two seasons, and the D-line unable to generate any kind of pressure. The defense in general is one of the worst in the league thanks to years of bad signings and draftees. Any good players the Falcons had have been dealing with injuries, like to Roddy White and Julio Jones.
Overall: Dan Quinn has much to do to get the Falcons back to their pre-2013 form, but the team benefits from playing in the worst division in the league. If Ryan can be better protected than in years past and his receivers stay healthy, the Falcons might have just enough to make hay in the NFC South, even with a work-in-progress defense.
Divisional Rank: First
PLAYOFFS?!: Yes, they'll benefit from playing in a terrible division.
Division: NFC South
Strengths: The Panthers have one of the best defenses in the league.
Weaknesses: They lost Kelvin Benjamin for the season, a problem since he was one two consistent pass catchers the team had last season. Now the Panthers have Greg Olsen and not much else. Unless Devin Funchess can replicate Benjamin's rookie numbers, the Panthers will be tough to watch on offense (they'll probably be tough to watch regardless).
Overall: The defense may be great, but aside from Cam Newton there are too many holes on offense to make me think the Panthers will be three-time NFC South champions.
Divisional Rank: Second
PLAYOFFS?!: No, they'll probably finish a game behind the Falcons.
Team: Chicago Bears
Division: NFC North
Strengths: The Bears have a general manager who actually has experience in a front office. So that's progress. John Fox is a decent-enough coach. Vic Fangio is probably going to work wonders in rebuilding the defense into something resembling an actual defense.
Weaknesses: Kevin White, who according to reports looked really good in training camp, will miss much of the season with an injury. Bad news, particularly because the offense needs as much help as it can get after last year's anemic unit. Also the defense is still going to be horrendous, at least for another season.
Overall: The Bears, contrary to what USA Today wrote, will NOT be the worst team in the league this season. That doesn't mean they'll be anything close to good, though. They're the weakest team in the division for sure and will likely have a top-ten pick in the 2016 Draft, but they won't be the worst team. Take that for what it's worth.
Divisional Rank: Fourth
PLAYOFFS?!: No.
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Division: NFC East
Strengths: Tony Romo is an underrated quarterback and the offensive line is one of the league's best.
Weaknesses: The best part of last season's team, DeMarco Murray, is now playing for the Cowboys' division rival the Philadelphia Eagles. That means the other running backs still on the roster have to pick up the slack. That's unlikely to happen, so that puts more pressure on Tony Romo, whom historically performs terribly under pressure. And the defense still blows.
Overall: Even with all the weaknesses, there are still a lot of question marks for the other NFC East teams. The Cowboys, by comparison, have clear strengths. This team isn't great, but they might be good enough to win the division.
Divisional Rank: First
PLAYOFFS?!: Yes, surprisingly.
Division: NFC North
Strengths: The offense is likely to one of the more potent units in the league, with Matthew Stafford at QB, Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate at WR, and promising-rookie Ameer Abdullah at RB.
Weaknesses: I don't care how hard the team spins this, but losing Ndamukong Suh in free agency is going to hurt the Lions. The defense is still talented, but Suh is an all-world defensive lineman and his presence will be missed. Also, Jim Caldwell-coached teams often fall off after the first season (see post-2009 Colts and post-Super Bowl Ravens).
Overall: The Lions have talent, but I'm not the biggest fan of Jim Caldwell as a coach. While the NFC North isn't as ball-bustingly loaded as the NFC West, I still think it's going to be a pretty tough division. The Lions definitely aren't as good as the Packers, and as for the Vikings, well, see below.
Divisional Rank: Third
PLAYOFFS?!: No, they'll just get edged out.
Team: Green Bay Packers
Division: NFC North
Strengths: They have Aaron Rodgers under center. I could just stop there, but they also have Eddie Lacy in the backfield. That one-two punch will make the Packers perhaps the most formidable offense in the league.
Weaknesses: The defense is still is a cause for concern, but not as much as in years past. The loss of Jordy Nelson for the year might hurt them in some games.
Overall: The Packers are honest-to-God Super Bowl contenders. They'll be competing with the Seahawks once again for the top seed in the playoffs. No matter what happens, the Packers are in position to go deep in the playoffs for the second-straight year.
Divisional Rank: First
PLAYOFFS?!: Yes, easily.
Team: Minnesota Vikings
Division: NFC North
Strengths: Teddy Bridgewater is coming off a decent rookie season and has looked good in the preseason. The Vikings get Adrian Peterson back. The defense looks to be one of the strongest up-and-coming units in the NFL.
Weaknesses: The team is still green and I don't know how well the receiving corps is going to do. There's clear talent with Mike Wallace and Cordarrelle Patterson, but Wallace hasn't shown much of anything since leaving the Steelers and Patterson still has ball-control issues. The offensive line is a bit worrisome as well.
Overall: I really like where the Vikings are headed. This is a team on the rise and I think they'll be a playoff contender sooner rather than later. Soon meaning this year.
Divisional Rank: Second
PLAYOFFS?!: Yes, in a surprise jump from the last couple years.
Team: New Orleans Saints
Division: NFC South
Strengths: Drew Brees. End of discussion.
Weaknesses: Holy God is that defense bad. The Saints will likely hemorrhage points once again this season. And I'm not sure who Drew Brees is going to be throwing to.
Overall: Brees is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but man does this team have holes. The Saints will likely be competitive thanks to Brees, but with a terrible defense and a remade offense, they're not going to sniff the playoffs.
Divisional Rank: Third
PLAYOFFS?!: No, another terrible defense will sink them.
Team: New York Giants
Division: NFC East
Strengths: Tom Coughlin's a really, really good coach. But that's not really a strength anymore.
Weaknesses: For the audience, keeping them awake. God this team is so damn boring.
Overall: This team is the definition of mediocre. They have some good players, but aren't anything special as a whole. They'll win some games, lose far more, and not make the playoffs or come close.
Divisional Rank: Third
PLAYOFFS?!: No. Just stop.
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Division: NFC East
Strengths: DeMarco Murray is an excellent running back whom gives the Eagles the one-two punch of a consistent running game and taking a consistent running game away from the Cowboys.
Weaknesses: These aren't weaknesses per se, but differences from last season. And there are A LOT of differences. Nate Allen, James Casey, Trent Cole, Bradley Fletcher, Nick Foles, Todd Herremans, Jeremy Maclin, Evan Mathis, Casey Mathews, LeSean McCoy and Carey Williams are all gone. That's three-fourths of their starting secondary, two starting linebackers, the starting running back, a starting receiver, both staring guards, and the starting quarterback.
Foles' replacement is former first-overall-pick Sam Bradford, who when he's played has been pretty good. Unfortunately, Bradford hasn't played in the regular season since October 2013 due to tearing his ACL in back-to-back seasons. There's no telling what he's going to look like, good or bad.
Overall: There are too many unknowns for this team for me to make a definitive statement on them. On paper, they are the most talented team in the division and one of the better teams in the league. In execution, who knows? I wouldn't be surprised if they won the NFC East, but because of the aforementioned questions I'll play it safe.
Divisional Rank: Second
PLAYOFFS?!: No, but just barely.
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Division: NFC West
Strengths: Their offense might still be decent. And NaVarro Bowman is awesome. Um... that's it.
Weaknesses: Here's a list of names the 49ers lost this offseason, in alphabetical order: Chris Borland, Michael Crabtree, Perrish Cox, Chris Culliver, Anthony Davis, Vic Fangio, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Iupati, Frank Gore, Stevie Johnson, Andy Lee, Jonathan Martin, Greg Roman, Aldon Smith, Justin Smith and Patrick Willis.
That's 14 Pro Bowlers, 7 1st Team All-Pro selections, a Coach of the Year winner, and two great coordinators since 2011. To say that the remaining pieces are unproven or shaky is a gross understatement.
Overall: The 49ers lost 13 players which were key contributors last season. Plus their head coach whom got them to the NFC Championship three years in a row and the Super Bowl once. Plus the two coordinators they've had for the last four years. And they still play in a tough division. If the 49ers go 8-8 for a second year in a row, they should be over the moon. As it is, they probably won't go 8-8. Not even close.
Divisional Rank: Fourth
PLAYOFFS?!: No, they lost half their team.
Division: NFC West
Strengths: Are you kidding? The defense; it's still one of the most fearsome units in the NFL with perhaps the best secondary in the league. Plus the offense will likely still be good enough to give other teams fits.
Weaknesses: The Seahawks have played 56 games in the last three years, the most in the league over that span. Fatigue might be a real issue for this team.
Factor in the fact that both Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman are coming off offseason surgeries and that Kam Chancellor and the Seahawks are still (as of this writing) at an impasse financially, and there might be some trouble in the best section of the defense.
This isn't so much a weakness as a difference, but with Dan Quinn as the head man in Atlanta, the Seahawks lost their Super Bowl-winning-and-contending defensive coordinator. His replacement is Kris Richard, who's been the DB coach the last few years. The defensive backs are sure to like him and play hard for him, but he's still unproven as a coordinator.
Overall: The Seahawks are still one of the most top-heavy teams in the NFC, if not the entire NFL. They are also far and away the least flawed team in the division with the fewest question marks. Whatever issues there might be, they won't be felt in the regular season.
Divisional Rank: First
PLAYOFFS?!: Yes, they still rule the West.
Division: NFC West
Strengths: The Rams have a defense which could potentially wreak havoc. Their front seven in particular could be awe-inspiring, featuring Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, James Laurinaitis, Chris Long, Alec Ogletree and Robert Quinn, plus offseason acquisitions Akeem Ayers and Nick Fairly. I mean, that's a ton of talent right there.
Weaknesses: As mentioned in the Eagles section, the Rams swapped Sam Bradford for Nick Foles. Foles has one spectacular season and one rather-lame season under his belt as a starter, so there's no telling how he'll play. The offense in general has question marks all over either because of injury history or shaky play (or both).
Overall: This might be the year the Rams shake off the mediocrity, with the 49ers reeling. But are they better than the Seahawks or Cardinals? Probably not. As a result, even if they show marked improvement, they still probably won't make the playoffs due to how tough the division is.
Divisional Rank: Third
PLAYOFFS?!: No, they still play in the NFC West.
Division: NFC South
Strengths: They have a shiny, new quarterback in Jameis Winston, and all that comes with him. Whenever a rookie quarterback is described as a strength, you know things aren't going to end well. But the Bucs do have good receivers in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans, so there's that. Gerald McCoy is the best player on a terrible defense.
Weaknesses: Just about everything not mentioned above is a weakness. The defense other than McCoy and the offense other than Doug Martin and the starting receivers. That accounts for 18 weak spots between offense and defense. Plus, Winston isn't guaranteed any kind of success, so he's a question mark as well.
Overall: The Bucs will be bad and only slightly better than last year's sorry team. Don't expect them to be a quick turnaround.
Divisional Rank: Fourth
PLAYOFFS?!: No, they aren't going to make the playoffs after being so bad last year.
Division: NFC East
Strengths: Alfred Morris is pretty good. Yup.
Weaknesses: Jesus, this team is a mess. Here are the most recent stories on the team from Deadspin. That's assuming something ridiculous doesn't happen involving this team in the next couple days. I don't care who the players are or how good they may or may not be. No one can succeed in this environment. No one.
Overall: Beyond the fact that this team is talent deficient and would struggle to win even with sane ownership, they're such a freaking disaster that they'll be lucky if they can equal their win total from last year (which was only four games, by the way). They'll be like a car crash in a nitroglycerin plant all season.
Divisional Rank: Fourth
PLAYOFFS?!: No, this team is a tire fire.
***
Most of the roster transaction stuff was obtained through various SB Nation articles.
Most of the player data was obtained through pro-football-reference.com.
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