St. Louis Rams -
Curt - 1st - Depending on how well the defense has been revamped, the Rams could be on a head-on collision with the Bucs again this year. Their offense is still going to be one of the best in the league, led by Warner and Faulk. I look for them to break the points in a season record this year. If they sign Cortez Kennedy like they are wanting to, all I can do is pray that Jeff Garcia gets out of the way, because that guy is scary.

Eric - 1st - Final score of the Super Bowl…Bucs 55 Rams 54…..They are well on their way to the big dance. Cedric Jones was signed on defense, and the huge acquisition of Kevin Carter, the drafting of Lewis, Archuleta, and Pickett, make this defense look great. But the Rams offense is so quick and so explosive, the defense is out there more than most teams defense. They get tired by the end of the game and get rocked. So this team lacks the depth to make it all the way to win the Super Bowl. But, what a great looking team!

San Francisco 49ers -
Curt - 2nd - Now, don't get too excited about seeing our boys in the 2nd slot on this list. In all honesty, I think that with the current state of affairs we are going to be just above a .500 team. As I look at the team AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW, we are going to be hurting in a couple of areas. For once, though, I can say that I'm pretty happy where our defense is. We went out and got what we needed to complete our front 7, and the DB's are not looking too bad, especially now that the safeties are signed. Our problem is going to be on offense. Jerry and Charlie are gone this year, and that is going to spell big trouble (you can smell what Charlie's cookin…). The only WR we have is Owens. Now, this is subject to change, depending on how J.J. Stokes handles himself this season. I think that unless he picks it up this year, he'll be packin out when it's over. There HAS to be that 2nd explosive receiver, and if Stokes or Streets doesn't do it, Owens will be double and triple teamed all year long. Now, the 1 bright side IF it happens is going to be Garrison Hearst. If he comes back like he's supposed to, I'll be pumped and will even say that I think we can make the playoffs. Otherwise, I think that we will miss it by 1 game, more than likely the Central will have 3 teams going to the playoffs and/or the Giants from the East.

Eric - 2nd - At the time of writing this, this is the only pick I've changed due to listening to Curt's reasoning. We have 2 big if spots, but we have players waiting to kill the talk. First, RB. If Hearst comes back and is healthy, hold on to your seats. If not, then we have issues, but not irresolvable issues. Barlow, Lewis, and Smith are waiting for a shot. Then comes WR. After Owens, we have Stokes…who claims he's the man and needed to get out of Rice's shadow. Rice has cordially stepped aside to let the man do what he can do. It's show time big boy, better step up or step out. If Streets can return to form, he's our speedster we need. Where is Derrick Mayes these days, I'm sold on trying to pick him up!!! This Carter, and Allen kid we got from NFLE and UDFA look like solid players looking to contribute too. If our defense can endure another season of gelling and growing pains, and we don't get hosed (see Green Bay and Oakland games), we are set.

New Orleans Saints -
Curt - 3rd - Now, the Saints were not a fluke last year, but I think many teams underestimated them. This will not be the case this year. Ricky Williams will get his 1000 yards this year as long as he's healthy (not like a 1000 yard rusher means much anymore), and I think their defense will keep them in most games, but I don't think that winning a few extra games last year and even winning the division is anything for them to squawk about. They are still an unproven team, and unless they can figure out how to keep their starters healthy and string together more than 2 wins, maybe I'll become a believer.

Eric - 3rd - This team surprised a lot of people, and snuck in the back door of the playoffs. No sneaking around this year…daddy locked the back door. Thus, this team will see a lack of success they had last year, but still are very talented. My long shot prediction is that Williams and McAllister get into it. Too much ego at one position.

Carolina Panthers -
Curt - 4th - Now that Dr. Steve Burelein is gone, maybe the 9ers will be able to beat them. I say DR, because every year he comes in and performs surgery on the 9ers secondary. Now that he's gone this team has pretty much written off any playoff hopes it once had. Their running backs are always hurt, their QB's are all unproven, and their defense is very old. I just can't see them doing much of anything this year.

Eric - 5th - This is going to be a hard thing for the Panthers to deal with. They have nobody anywhere. 29 year old rookie Chris Weinke will probably get the reigns to this team, but he's accustomed to having Peter Warrick and Marvin Minnis to throw to. Solid Receivers and backs to throw to. After Muhammad, he has nobody, and his RB can't stay healthy.

Atlanta Falcons -
Curt - 5th - Dan Reeves is putting his entire coaching career on the line this year. Trading up to get Vick could have been a good idea, but I'm not so sure. The really bad part is, everybody is saying, "Oh, he's going to learn under Chandler." Is this such a good thing? Eric Zeier is the #2 guy, yikes. I think Vick will be a good NFL QB, but he's going to have to learn like the great ones did: on the field. He's going to have to do it like McNabb, and Favre did, on the field, with those mammoths rushing at him. He's going to have to learn how to take a big hit, and how to read some difficult defenses. Luckily for him, Chandler will likely be out with a concussion by week 3, so he'll get his chance this season to see a lot of action. The Falcons will take their lumps this year, but if Vick doesn't start hearing footsteps, he'll season next year.

Eric - 4th - I think that Vick could come in and surprise a lot of people, but he won't. Everybody is making a big deal that Chandler will teach Vick….but a good point was made my ESPN analyst draft day. Do you really think Chandler is going to sit down and teach Vick how to take away his job? Help him learn everything, just to lose his job to the guy? Vick won't get his shot until Chandler gets hurt or retires. Thus, these are the same Falcons from last year, except the defense didn't get help. Besides, neither Vick nor Chandler has any quality to throw to down field anyway, and Anderson is not the same RB he used to be. Atlanta's stadium should be burnt down anyway, after what happened to Hearst there. Luckily, the Panthers got worse instead of better and will help Atlanta rise out of the cellar.