Dan's View On The World

American Football Conference

East
Probably the most evenly-matched division in football, the AFC East has 3 legitimate contenders for the division title. The Patriots are on a roll in recent weeks, but their roster is held together by bubble gum and scotch tape. Rodney "The Human Cheap Shot" Harrison is the only guy left in their secondary I could pick out of a lineup. The Bills have tremendous potential and a lot of talent on offense, but the fact that they look better with Eric Moulds in street clothes is a big red flag. If the Dolphins begin their annual slide early, is there a possibility they'll snap out of it by playoff time? The Jets absolutely blow. Any other team could win this division and they might even sneak in a wild card if Denver falls apart.
North
The weakest division in football. The Ravens are leading the pack at 3-3. Anyone remember that Tommy Maddox guy who looked so good when he took Kordell Stewart's job? What ever happened to him? Pain is only temporary, Ray, but being a relic on a team that mortgaged its future to buy a Superbowl is forever. What do you think Butch Davis would give to be back on Miami's sideline? Do they even play football in Cincinnati any more? Look for the winner of this division to get annihilated in the wildcard game by the loser of the Colts-Titans divisional race.
South
The AFC South is the class of the NFL, but it's also the league's most fragile division. Steve McNair is undisputedly the league MVP to this point. If he goes down (and he averages more than 3 rushes per game), however, the Titans are in big trouble due to their complete lack of a running game. (Has a player ever been more over-rated over a longer period of time than Eddie George?) I'm not sold on the Colts at all. Both Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy have a history of starting strong and flaming out late. There could be a dangerous multiplicative effect here. The Jags and Texans deserve at most one word between them, so here it is: terrible.
West
As long as Priest Holmes stays healthy, the Chiefs will run away with this division and probably land a first round bye. But, like the Titans, the Chiefs are one injury away from being painfully average. Their second leading rusher is Wide Receiver Johnnie Morton, who has 65 yards on 2 reverses. The Broncos have attained a dubious distinction, once thought impossible, by making thousands of NFL fans actually care about Jake Plummer's health. The Raiders are a complete disaster, seemingly intent on challenging the 1998 Florida Marlins' record for the worst year-over-year decline in a professional sports franchise. Maybe the Redskins were right about Marty Schottenheimer.

National Football Conference

East
The Cowboys are an enigma to me. Granted I wouldn't hire Dave Campo to run a lemonade stand and Bill Parcells is probably one of the greatest football coaches of all time, but up to this point the Cowboys have been the beneficiaries of a cake-walk schedule and a veritable buffet of awful divisional opponents. Their upcoming games against the Bucs and the Panthers should be revealing. Everyone in Philly is desirous of seeing any quarterback do well, black, white or otherwise, but it isn't going to happen until they bring in some sort of supporting cast on offense. If the Giants held onto sandwiches they way they've been holding onto the football this season, they would have starved already. I waver back and forth between believing it's incompetence and believing it's pure malice that's motivating Spurrier's apparent desire to get Patrick Ramsay killed.
North
The Vikings are another team that's tough to figure out. Unlike the Cowboys, they have beaten three teams of substance. Maybe it's just the way he used to stand on the sideline last year and look hopelessly lost, but I'm really struggling to believe that Mike Tice is the guy who finally solved all of the Vikings' inter-personal issues. The Packers are standing in about the same spot that the Dolphins were in 6 years ago. Their fans/owners would never tolerate a decision to abandon Brett Favre, but even John Madden isn't kissing his ass quite as enthusiastically these days. If they make the playoffs, it's only because the Bucs or the Rams implode. The Lions are a bad team on their way to being better. The Bears are a bad team on their way to being worse.
South
Strangely, at the end of last season this looked like the toughest conference in football, with the Panthers being the only weak team. Things have changed, but they may yet change again. Tennessee drew a map this week for every team that plays the Panthers from here on out. Their running game has been spectacular, but if teams put eight guys in the box, Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad are going to be hard-pressed to beat you. The Bucs haven't dealt particularly well with having the target on their backs that all Superbowl champions wear, but they can still go out and dominate a team when they're properly motivated. The Saints' total demolition of Atlanta demonstrated that they can still play ball on occasion. Without Michael Vick, the Falcons are truly awful. They would practically have to run the table at this point to have a shot at the playoffs.
West
Mike Holmgren has turned the Seahawks around, but they're not a team that really strikes fear in anyone. Shaun Alexander is a force, but Matt Hasselbeck just isn't Pro Bowl material. Having finally placed Kurt Warner atop the Mark Rypien Memorial Dust Heap, the Rams are scaring people again. The biggest question mark in St. Louis is whether getting Marshall Faulk back will be a good thing or a bad thing, given how well the offense has been clicking without him. Regardless, I feel certain that Mike Martz will make the worst possible decision. Nobody can feel sorry for the 49ers. It isn't like there was any reason to wonder what effect Dennis Erickson would have on a team that already had severe chemistry problems. As for the Cardinals, well, I look forward to seeing Anquan Boldin in a few years when he's starting somewhere else.