Ahhh, it’s that time of year again. My first (cash) FFL draft of the year is tonight. So far, I’m signed up for four cash leagues (three at $20-25 pp, one at $100, not counting one confidence pts league for another C-note). Since one of the leagues is a blogger/reader league, I won’t post my drafting strategy yet (I know many of you print up my draft-day hints as a cheat sheet, much like you print Mel Kiper’s college draft stuff).

But I can regale all five of my regular readers with my fearless NFL preview:

NFC East – Ummm, Philly again, with the rest of the division 5-11 or 6-10. The Cowboys have an outside chance of making .500, but the Giants and Skins are well on their way to suckitude. Philly will have the division clinched by Halloween, with or without TO.

NFC Norris – Everyone seems to like Minnesota this year. Me, I like Detroit to get to ten wins and take the division. Two big reasons: 1. Everyone seems to like Minnesota, and 2. Tice is a tool. Minnesota has enough talent to make the wildcard though, regardless of who is coaching. Green Bay is poised for a tidy little 7-9 season, with the Bears struggling for four wins.

NFC South – An amazing division. Most casual fans don’t even know there IS an NFC South, and they’ve been in the Super Bowl two of the last three times. Carolina will win, simply by being the most solid team here. Atlanta will again be in the wildcard hunt, entirely dependent on Vick’s health for their chances. If X = number of games started and finished by Michael Vick, Atlanta’s wins will be (X/2) + 1. So assuming sixteen starts, they’ll win nine games; twelve starts, seven games. New Orleans (are they still in the league?) and Tampa Bay will both hover around 6-7 wins.

NFC Worst – Why does everyone suddenly like the Cards? Isn’t this the team that single-handedly helped the Niners avoid the fate of the Yuckaneers? Take my word for it, the Lambs will win this division with the Seadogs scuffling at .500. The Cards and Niners will combine for ten wins tops (might be 8-2 or 5-5, but ten will be the number).

The playoff road heads through Philly this year. IF TO is playing for Philly come playoff time, they win the NFC easily. The only team that can beat TO-less Philly in Philly is… Carolina. Solid ground attack, good defense, adequate passing. The question is when those two teams meet will determine the NFC representative, since Detroit, Minnesota, and St Louis can beat Carolina in Carolina in the projected conference championship game.

So, put simply, if TO is still in Philly green for the entire playoffs, Philly goes to XL.

But he's still an ass.