When I was a kid, the NFC dominated the Super Bowl with teams like San Francisco, Dallas, New York and Washington crushing whoever the AFC managed to send (usually the Bills or Broncos). Times have changed. Whoever wins the NFC this year stands a very good chance of being on the losing end of one of those historical Super Bowl beatdowns. That’s why there’s no Super Bowl favorites category. The NFC lacks the clear hierarchy of the AFC, so we’ll just go with three simple categories.

Image Credit: Erik Hartberg

The Good

These teams have talent, and any one of them could get hot and earn a chance to get smoked in the Super Bowl by New England or Pittsburgh:

New York Giants

QB Eli Manning greatly enhanced his reputation in 2007 when he led the Giants to an upset Super Bowl win over the juggernaut New England Patriots. They have a bruising rushing attack, and their defense is stout and they can pressure the QB. Losing Plaxico Burress could haunt them in the playoffs, though.

Philadelphia Eagles

Everyone will be buzzing over the addition of Michael Vick, but this team still revolves around Donavan McNabb. He should continue to put up numbers with RB Brian Westbrook and WR Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson. The defense won’t be quite as scary without defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who passed away in the offseason.

Dallas Cowboys

Which Cowboys team will it be? The 13-3 powerhouse of 2007, or the disorganized bunch of 2008? This is a team with a lot of talent in place, but QB Tony Romo and company have yet to prove they can win in the playoffs. They could go 12-4, they could go 7-9.

Chicago Bears

Everyone is going to jump on the Bears bandwagon. They were good enough to make it to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season without a quarterback, and now they have one. Still, it will take time for QB Jay Cutler and the team to mesh. Other than TE Greg Olson, who is Cutler going to throw the ball to?

Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers waited patiently for years behind Brett Favre, and last year he got his chance, only to watch his team go 6-10. Rodgers played well, but he often did so by himself. The defense has been overhauled and converted to a 3-4. If they can stop people, and RB Ryan Grant can recapture his 2007 form, Green Bay could surprise a lot of people.

Minnesota Vikings

I hesitate to put them in this category. They have a great running game led by Adrian Peterson. They have a nasty defense. The only gap was at QB, so they signed you-know-who. We all know what’s going to happen here, because it happened in ‘08 in NY and ‘07 in Green Bay. The Vikings will be cruising along, and then either 1) Favre’s arm will stop working, like last year or 2) Favre will throw a crushing, inexplicable interception, like the Ice Bowl in 2007.

Arizona Cardinals

You can’t say a team isn’t a playoff contender when they went to the Super Bowl last year, and almost pulled off an upset for the ages. Still, it’s hard to catch fire two years in a row. Their defense wasn’t all that good last year, and QB Kurt Warner is fragile. As long as he’s throwing to All-World WR Larry Fitzgerald (and very good WR Anquan Boldin) the Cards will have a chance.

Atlanta Falcons

They made a surprise playoff run last year with rookie QB Matt Ryan. They have a strong ground game with RB Michael Turner, and added veteran TE Tony Gonzalez from the Chiefs (who were attempting to eliminate anyone who might accidentally catch a pass). On the other hand, they play in the volatile NFC South, where teams have a habit of going from last to first and first to last.

Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme is solid. They have a solid defense and a solid running game. They are a solid team who should have a solid year. That said, they’ll probably go 6-10.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints have tremendous firepower on offense, with QB Drew Brees nearly breaking Marino’s single season passing yardage record last year. The Saints will score from everywhere on the field, and that’s without Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey in top form. If either of them gets going, this team could break records. And they’ll have to, because their defense can’t stop anyone. If the D somehow finds a way to slow people down, the Saints could have a big year.

The Bad

Not really the bad. More like the mediocre. The bad just fits the categories better:

Washington Redskins

New York has a quarterback. So does Philly and Dallas. Washington may not. QB Jason Campbell has struggled, and without a QB, Washington can’t hope to compete in the cutthroat NFC East.

Seattle Seahawks

They were devastated by injuries last year. With QB Matt Hasselbeck back to health, this team could return to respectability. Remember, they went to the Super Bowl just four seasons ago. It seems like a lot longer, doesn’t it?

San Francisco 49ers

Can Mike Singletary will his team to victory just by glaring at players with his wild middle linebacker eyes? Maybe. It’s actually a better plan for victory than some teams have (Al Davis developing a scheme involving mind control lasers). It’s not as good as having a great quarterback or a vicious defense, but so it goes.

The Ugly

These teams make fans want to avert their eyes. Teams should pay the fans money if they manage to stay for a whole game:

St Louis Rams

Only Detroit’s incredible 0-16 kept the Rams from being the worst team at 2-14 (tied with the Chiefs- is it something about Missouri?). Marc Bulger is actually a decent quarterback, but he spends most of the game staring up either the roof of a dome, or the pretty clouds floating by against the cerulean sky. That’s unlikely to change this year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers They fired Jon Gruden for going 9-7. I think they would be glad to have that record this year. They don’t have a quarterback. They drafted Josh Freemen out of Kansas State, even though he wasn’t very good in college. QB’s who are bad in college are usually bad in the pros too. Detroit Lions There’s nowhere to go but up.

This article also appears at Manzine.