The quick and sudden turnaround for the defending AFC East champions may be short lived however, as not only will their 2009 schedule get significantly tougher from a year ago, but the hated New England Patriots will see the return of Tom Brady along with a slew of other roster moves that should make them the team to beat yet again.

However, this is not a team short on talent, as Bill Parcells has quietly assembled a roster filled with young playmakers at just about every position. It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if the Dolphins were to contend in the AFC, but they need a lot of things to break their way yet again—particularly at wide receiver, where the team looks to be without a reliable go to target for Chad Pennington.

The Dolphins will make plenty of highlight reels with their fun “Wildcat” offense, they will however not make the postseason due to a stronger schedule and generally strong AFC.

2008 Summary:
Entering 2008, the Falcons figured to be in rebuilding mode. They were fresh off a horrifying 2007 season that saw the cornerstone of their franchise be imprisoned for dog fighting; a rotation at quarterback that featured Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich, and Chris Redman at the helm; and if that weren’t fun enough, their head coach quit on them in the middle of the season to head back to the college ranks.

So it was easy to see why no one expected much of anything from the Falcons in 2008.

But what a difference a great offseason can make.

The draft brought the Falcons a franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan, along with a solid offensive tackle Sam Baker, linebacker Curtis Lofton, and wide receiver Harry Douglas. Free agency brought them running back Michael Turner, who had played primarily in the shadows of perennial All-Pro LaDainian Tomlinson, and place kicker Jason Elam.

All these pieces would come together and become instrumental to the Falcons success in 2008, especially Ryan and Turner.

But maybe we all should have seen the Falcons improvement coming when Matt Ryan’s first pass as a pro was a 62 yard touchdown and Michael Turner’s first game as a starting running back in Atlanta saw him rush for 220 yards and two scores.

Still, the Falcons flew under the radar for much of 2008, and many were wondering when the wheels would come off and when the young Falcons would finally show their youth and inexperience.

It never really happened.

After the Tampa Bay Bucs defense gave Ryan a quick lesson in Week 2, the eventual Rookie of the Year would lead the Falcons to victory in three of his next four starts, including a road victory over the Packers in Week 5 and a thrilling come from behind home victory over Chicago the week after.

Entering the bye week, the Falcons, a team left for dead by everyone, were 4-2 and tied for first place with a rookie quarterback at the helm.

And yet…no one believed in them.

The week after, critics felt relieved when the Philadelphia Eagles beat them 27-14. But even then the Falcons were only down by six late in the fourth quarter. A sign this team, despite the eventual loss, was growing into a legitimate threat.

A week later Atlanta would go into Oakland and run all over a hapless Raider squad en route to a 24-0 shutout victory. The victory would carry the Falcons record to 5-3 on the season and would begin a stretch where the Falcons would win four of five games including a blowout victory over Carolina, and convincing wins over New Orleans and San Diego.

Following a close loss to New Orleans in the Superdome, the Falcons would rattle off three consecutive victories to close out the season and clinch the 5th seed in the NFC Playoffs—and in the process nearly clinch the NFC South—finishing one game behind the eventual division champion Carolina Panthers.

The storybook season would finally come to a close in the first round of the playoffs when the Falcons would run into an Arizona Cardinals squad that was getting hot at the perfect time. Ryan finally looked like a rookie quarterback and was outplayed by the veteran Kurt Warner, but the Falcons could hold their heads high as they went toe-to-toe with the eventual NFC Champions for much of the game.

Following this surprising season, the Atlanta faithful figure to have a lot to look forward to.

2009 Free Agency Additions:
LB Mike Peterson (Jacksonville)
C Jeremy Newberry (San Diego)
C Brett Romberg (St. Louis)

2009 Trade Acquisitions:
TE Tony Gonzalez (Kansas City)

2009 Offseason Departures:
CB Domonique Foxworth (Baltimore)
LB Michael Boley (New York Giants)
LB Keith Brooking (Dallas)
DT Grady Jackson (Detroit)
DT Rod Coleman (New Orleans)
QB Michael Vick (Waived)
S Lawyer Milloy (Unsigned)

2009 NFL Draft:
1-24. Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss
2-55. William Moore, SS, Missouri
3-90. Christopher Owens, CB, San Jose State
4-125. Lawrence Sidbury, DE, Richmond
5-138. William Middleton, CB, Furman
5-156. Garrett Reynolds, OT, North Carolina
6-176. Spencer Adkins, OLB, Miami, FL
7-210. Vance Walker, DT, Georgia Tech

2009 Outlook:
Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith enter their second season hoping to build off of a 11-5 season from a year ago that culminated in the teams first playoff appearance since the 2004 season, when Atlanta would fall a game shy of the Super Bowl.

Once again, Matt Ryan will be in control of the Falcons offense, coordinated by Mike Mularkey. Ryan will have the potent dual rushing attack of Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood behind him. Turner proved to be the best free agent acquisition in 2008, as he carried the Falcon offense with nearly 1700 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. Norwood was also a reliable change-of-pace back for Atlanta, as he averaged over 5 yards a carry and had over 800 yards of total offense.

Ryan’s development also seemed to help out the young Falcon wide receiving corps of Roddy White, Michael Jenkins, and Harry Douglas. White really came into his own in 2008, and instantly became Matt Ryan’s favorite target. The talented receiver posted career highs across the board when he caught 88 passes for 1382 yards with 7 touchdowns. Jenkins also burst onto the scene by posting the best numbers he’s had as a Falcon with 777 yards and three touchdowns as well.

But Dimitroff also noticed that defenses began to figure out the Falcons offense down the stretch in 2008, especially in the playoff loss to Arizona. He went out and got his young quarterback veteran Tony Gonzalez, in hopes of giving his bright young quarterback a reliable target over the middle to keep defenses honest to the play-action pass.

On the Falcons offensive line, Sam Baker will resume his spot protecting Ryan’s blind side at left tackle. Tyson Clabo will start again at right tackle, and only surrendered 2.5 sacks in 2008. The Falcons are also strong on the inside with guards Justin Blalock and Harvey Dahl. Center Todd McClure should return, but was rumored to be considering retirement. In the event that occurs, Dimitroff went out and signed two veteran centers in Jeremy Newberry and Brett Romberg.

Defensively, despite the Falcons finishing 11th overall in points allowed, the team still struggled at stopping opponents from moving the ball. Their rush defense in 2008 was miserable, as they finished the year ranked 28th at stopping the run. Defending the pass wasn’t any prettier, as they finished 21st as a unit and gave up 7 yards per completion.

Still, they were able to constantly bend and not break a year ago, but will be tested much more in 2009. This coming season the Falcons will have a new starting defensive tackle with rookie Peria Jerry taking over on the front line where he will join starter Jonathan Babineaux. Jerry’s addition is important given Rod Coleman and Grady Jackson both leaving in free agency. John Abraham returns at right defensive end, and led all Falcon defenders with 16.5 sacks in 2008. Abraham will need help getting to the passer however as Jamaal Anderson, the Falcons starting left end, has gotten to the quarterback about as frequently as the last Jamal Anderson to suit up in Atlanta did.

The linebacking corps will look noticeably different as Keith Brooking and Michael Boley both left in free agency. Curtis Lofton will remain in the inside and be joined by former Jaguar Mike Peterson and the rotation of Coy Wire and Robert James.

A very young Falcons secondary will be headlined by corners Chris Houston and Von Hutchins, with safeties Erik Coleman and Thomas DeCoud also in the mix. Rookie William Moore could very well wind up starting for the Falcons defense sometime in the 2009 season however.

Jason Elam will return as place kicker for the Falcons, and is coming off of a great first season in Atlanta as he connected on all but two kicks in 2008.

2009 Schedule:

But while this was a great story, lost in all of this is just how beneficial a weak schedule was to the Falcons cause. Atlanta drew the luxury of playing two of the weakest divisions in football (the AFC West and NFC North) and used that greatly to their advantage as they went 7-1 against the two divisions. They also beat up on a Rams team with no real drive to play in Week 17 of the season, and that gave Atlanta 8 of their 11 victories in 2008.

2009 should be a different story in terms of strength of schedule. The Falcons schedule will have them play the AFC and NFC East, as well as a tough six games versus their division that features the explosive Saints and still dangerous Panthers.

While Atlanta was definitely one of the feel good stories in 2008, they may be brought back to reality somewhat in 2009 as a weak defense from a season ago seemingly did little to improve itself in the offseason.

Matt Ryan is definitely on the brink of becoming something special, but he will have to wait at least another season before he gets his shot at redemption in the postseason.

Predicted Finish: 7-9, 3rd NFC South

But that all came crashing down in Super Bowl XLII, when the New York Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets in modern day sports history. Led by a tenacious pass rush that disrupted the aerial circus all evening and a strangely poised Eli Manning, the Giants ended the Patriots quest at perfection with a 17-14 victory that will go down in the annals of history as one of the best games ever.

Entering the 2008 regular season, many believed the Patriots would end the string of teams that seemingly couldn’t shake the heartbreaking championship loss just months prior. Fans called this the so-called “Super Bowl Loser Curse” and unlike many superstitions, this one seemed to hold water.

Only the 2006 Seahawks had been able to make the playoffs following a loss in the Super Bowl this decade, but when you looked at the level of competition in the Patriots division and a roster that was loaded from top to bottom, the Patriots return to the playoffs seemed like a foregone conclusion.

Then, relatively unknown Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard changed that a mere seven minutes and change into the first quarter of the opening day game when an unfinished block by the usually reliable Kevin Faulk led to an unfortunate low hit on Tom Brady’s knee.

Brady’s knee was ripped to shreds, the Patriots season suddenly took a new look. The Super Bowl loser curse appeared to have struck yet again.

But the Patriots would not go down without a fight, as should be expected from a team coached by Bill Belichick. Untested quarterback Matt Cassel would become the starter the rest of the season, which became a new role for him.

Cassel hadn’t started a game since his senior year of high school, but as the weeks passed by and as Cassel became more and more comfortable with Josh McDaniels offense, the longtime backup to Tom Brady started to look the part of an NFL starting quarterback.

After doing just enough to get by the Brett Favre led Jets, the Patriots hosted the Dolphins and were ripped to shreds by a new offense that no one had seen before. The ‘wildcat’ outsmarted Belichick’s defense all afternoon as Ronnie Brown ran for four touchdowns and threw another during Miami’s 38-13 pounding of New England.

The loss sent shockwaves all throughout the NFL. The Patriots from last year appeared to be dead and gone. Writers and pundits from all over were ready to christen New England’s season as an afterthought and began looking at other teams in football as the new favorites.

Maybe that’s what fueled New England long enough for them to stay alive in 2008. Because following the loss to Miami the Patriots would win four of their next six contests and were tied at the top of the AFC East with the New York Jets at 6-3.

And as fate would have it, the Patriots would just so happen to have a game scheduled with those New York ‘Bretts’ in Week 11 of the season. At the time, it seemed like the game would determine who would be in the drivers seat the rest of the way.

Matt Cassel put together the game of his career, and outgunned the legendary Favre by throwing for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns including a touchdown pass to Randy Moss that would send the game into overtime with one second left in regulation. The Patriots erased a 24-6 deficit and tied the game at 31.

However, the Patriots defense would not be able to hold the Jets again, and a Jay Feely field goal in overtime would send the Jets to the victory and put the Patriots a game out of first place.

Cassel and the Patriots would get their revenge over the Dolphins a week later with a 48-28 beat down at Dolphins stadium. Cassel became the fifth quarterback since the merger to throw for over 400 yards in back to back games, and the Patriots were sitting at 7-4 in the division, still a game behind the Jets. The Dolphins were 6-5 and an afterthought in the division.

But that afterthought wouldn’t lose another game for the rest of the regular season, and the Jets would begin to free fall. The Patriots were in the unfortunate situation where winning out wouldn’t even guarantee them a playoff spot due to the strength of the AFC as a whole.

A date with the Pittsburgh Steelers loomed on the horizon, and the Steelers were looking for blood after being torn to pieces a season ago. Matt Cassel had not yet experienced a defense as tenacious and relentless as the Steel Curtain, and after posting back to back 400 yard, 3 touchdown performances he was grounded with only 169 yards and two interceptions.

The Steelers went on to win 33-10, leaving the Patriots with a huge loss down the stretch.

Cassel and the Pats would go on to post a perfect 4-0 mark in December, but it wouldn’t be enough. The Colts would finish 12-4, with one of those wins being a late game victory over the Patriots back in Week 9, and the Ravens would also finish 11-5 but held tiebreakers over New England which assured them of the final playoff spot in 2008.

And so the Super Bowl losers curse took it’s batting average to 8 of 9 this decade, and the Brady-less Patriots were left watching the postseason from the comfort of their own homes despite finishing 2008 with three more victories than the AFC West champion Chargers.

2009 Free Agency Additions:

Brady will once again inherit an offense with a ridiculous amount of talent at wide receiver. Randy Moss may once again claim the title of best receiver in football with Brady’s return and Wes Welker is without question the most dangerous slot receiver in football.

While the Patriots again appear to be the team that spreads it out via the pass, they would like to assimilate some sort of a running game and will deploy a running back by committee approach in 2009 led by Laurence Maroney and free agent acquisition Fred Taylor.

The Patriots offensive line returns in tact from the team that went 18-1 in 2007 with Matt Light and Nick Kaczur starting at tackle, Logan Mankins and Stephen Neal starting at guard, and Dan Koppen starting at center.

Defensively, the Patriots lost veterans Rodney Harrison (retirement) and Mike Vrabel (traded with Matt Cassel to Kansas City) in the offseason, but replenished their roster with young talent in the draft.

The linebacking corps will be headlined by 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jerod Mayo and longtime vet Tedy Bruschi. The Patriots will also see the return of Adalius Thomas, who missed a large part of last season with a broken forearm.

The Patriots secondary will be without Ellis Hobbs after he was traded to Philadelphia, and the aforementioned Rodney Harrison, but they added Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs to a relatively young defensive backfield.

As is usually almost always the case, Bill Belichick and company continued to add key cogs to an already explosive team and will once again be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Of course all of this is with the assumption that Brady’s knee is indeed healthy and that he will be able to start all 16 games in 2009. If Brady were to miss any extensive period of time again this year, the Patriots will not be as lucky as they were with Matt Cassel stepping in to keep the Patriots in the thick of the AFC Playoff Picture.

I’ll go out on a limb and say Brady will return to form, and that this Patriots team can very well be better than the one we saw two seasons ago – although they won’t run the table, which in the long run will probably be better for them anyway.

The run to Miami will go through Gillette Stadium in the AFC. And whether you love them or hate them, the New England Patriots are back.

Predicted Finish: 13-3, 1st place AFC East

And for good reason.

The Vikings were loaded with talent on the offensive line and had the most explosive young player in the game in Adrian Peterson. They had just added speedy Bernard Berrian and a raw but talented playmaker to play alongside him in Sidney Rice.

However, they could not fill the one position that they absolutely needed to take the leap from average playoff team to bonafide championship contender. They desperately needed a quarterback, and it would be shoddy play from this position that would wind up ending the Vikings season prematurely come January.

This would become clear from the early point of the season when Tarvaris Jackson played miserable in the first two contests, but the Vikings still barely lost the games. Out of the gate they were 0-2 but they felt like they should have had that record reversed. Coach Brad Childress decided to make a change.

Out was Tarvaris Jackson, in was journeyman quarterback Gus Frerotte. And while the experiment to sit down a young quarterback in development for the veteran quarterback paid off huge dividends in Arizona, it didn’t fare out as well in Minnesota.

Initially when Frerotte was named the starter, the Vikings split their next two games and subsequently fell to a 1-3 start. The call for Brad Childress’ job grew louder and louder. It was only one month into the season and the media darlings to make a run at the Super Bowl were only a game ahead of the worst team in professional football in the standings.

This would set up a very pivotal Monday Night matchup with the New Orleans Saints. If the Vikings lost, they would drop to 1-4 and have a long path just to get back to .500, but if they won suddenly they are 2-3 with the Lions awaiting them the following week.

And despite Reggie Bush returning two kicks for touchdowns and Drew Brees throwing for 330 yards—the Vikings somehow won. They did this by scoring 30 points, which would be a number that almost equaled Adrian Peterson’s rushing production on the night.

Instead the Saints beat themselves with two fatal mistakes on special teams, and a bad call that helped keep a fumble ruled as a fumble led to the Vikings saving their season.

From there, the Vikings picked up momentum. The Vikings would rattle off wins in seven of their next nine games. Adrian Peterson would punish defenses on a weekly basis, and despite the average quarterback play they were getting from Gus Frerotte and Tarvaris Jackson—they were winning ballgames.

But despite all of this, the slow start nearly cost the Vikings the division title. The Chicago Bears were still hanging around and with a win and Vikings loss to the New York Giants in Week 17—they would start the postseason on the road in Chicago.

Ultimately, the Bears would lose on the road to a hot Houston team, rendering the performance in Week 17 moot. But in the finale, played primarily against the Giants backups, the Vikings looked anything but like a playoff contender.

And like Bill Parcells famously said, “You are what you are.” The Vikings struggled with the 2nd and 3rd stringers from the Giants, and really struggled with the Philadelphia Eagles first teamers in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Eagles would finish off the Vikings season by the count of 26-14, leaving Brad Childress to wonder how the season would have gone had they had a playmaker at their most important position.

After the Jets would wind up free falling, the door was now open for Brad Childress to get his man, and all signs are pointing to a former Vikings killer becoming the new starting quarterback in 2009.

But when put like that, it’s no wonder Brad Childress wants Favre.. after all Tarvaris Jackson has done that his entire career.

All jokes aside, it appears much of 2009 will circle around Favre. Even if he doesn’t come back and wind up playing in Minnesota, the questions will still be asked about how the season would have gone with No. 4 at the helm.

Should Favre decide to comeback, he would become the starting quarterback almost by default and offseason acquisition Sage Rosenfels would be regulated back to clipboard duty. This would give the Vikings four quarterbacks, likely leaving Tarvaris Jackson as the odd man out as John David Booty is younger and cheaper than Jackson.

Whoever is at quarterback for opening day against the Browns in Cleveland will have the luxury of handing the ball off to the reigning rushing champion and best overall back in the game now Adrian Peterson.

At wide receiver, the Vikings will add first round pick Percy Harvin to their wide receiving corps, giving the Vikings another very fast playmaker on the outside. Bernard Berrian will again be the top wide receiver in Minnesota and is one of the best deep threats in the division, and Sidney Rice continues to develop into a good wide receiver and could start opposite Berrian with a solid camp.

The Vikings offensive line will remain strong with Bryant McKinnie and Steve Hutchinson blocking on the left side of the line. Center Matt Birk left free agency to join the Ravens and will be replaced by John Sullivan in the starting lineup. On the right side of the line, Anthony Herrera will remain at right guard and second round pick Phil Loadholt should start at right tackle for the Vikings.

Defensively, the Vikings front four is as good as it gets in football. Kevin and Pat Williams will anchor the middle of the defense which was the best in the league a season ago at stopping the run.

The Vikings linebacking corps is also a solid unit, headlined by inside linebacker E.J. Henderson. Henderson will be flanked by outside linebackers Chad Greenway and Ben Leber, and looks to bounce back after missing most of last season due to injuries.

In the Viking secondary, Antoine Winfield returns at left corner. Playing alongside him will be Cedric Griffin and free agent addition Karl Paymah. At safety, the Vikings will deploy the same starters as they did a season ago when Madieu Williams and Tyrell Johnson take the field.

But the black hole sized void at quarterback cannot be ignored. Even if the Vikings sign future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre to a one year deal, or just start Sage Rosenfels, I still think the Vikings have many question marks surrounding this key position.

Favre’s health is unclear, and he will turn 40 in October making him the oldest starting quarterback in the league. Sage Rosenfels career is best known at this point for his late game choke job in Indianapolis as a member of the Texans a season ago, and really doesn’t look like someone that will be exceptionally better than Gus Frerotte or Tarvaris Jackson.

With that said, the NFC North has greatly improved from a season ago. The Packers are loaded on offense and are slowly retooling a defense that constantly let them down in 2008. The Bears made the most talked about move of the offseason when they traded for disgruntled Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, and should be healthier in 2009 than they were a year ago.

All these moves or a lack thereof from the Vikings point of view, are catching up to them. They had the luxury of a soft schedule and soft division in 2008, they won’t have that in 2009.

Even with Brett Favre at quarterback.

Predicted Finish: 7-9, 3rd place NFC North

2008 did little to remind Bengal fans of the anomaly that was the 2005 season, as the franchise became the butt of many jokes around the league in regards to their inability to stay out of the daily police blotter.

The season couldn’t have started any worse for the Bengals than it did a year ago. The Bengals got a tough break with two of their first three games on the road against Baltimore and the defending World Champion Giants, and had a game with 2008’s best overall team in the regular season, the Tennessee Titans, sandwiched in between.

Not to mention, the health of Carson Palmer gradually went from bad to worse, in the first two starts the Bengals most important player threw for 94 and 134 yards respectively, while posting ratings of 32 and 43 in each contest.

After tough losses on the road to the Giants, Browns and Cowboys – all games in which the Bengals had a shot to win – the Bengals would go on to start the 2008 season 0-8, before finally squeaking by the Jaguars in Week 9 for their first win of the year.

Behind the play of backup Ryan Fitzpatrick and free agent pick up Cedric Benson, the Bengals offense was never a threat to do much of anything. The star wide receiving tandem of T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Ochocinco would only be a solo performance as Houshmandzadeh still performed admirably in 2008, posting 92 receptions for 908 yards and 4 touchdowns while a disgruntled and seemingly disinterested Ochocinco would have his worst season since his rookie year, only posting 53 receptions for 540 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Defensively, the Bengals were actually not that bad a squad. The team posted a 12th overall defensive ranking in 2008, including the 15th overall ranking against the pass and a 21st overall ranking against the run.

With all of their struggles, the Bengals did manage to end the season on a three game winning streak to raise their record from 1-11-1 to their final tally of 4-11-1.

The biggest move the Bengals can hope for next year is the re-addition of franchise quarterback Carson Palmer to the starting lineup. Palmer will be without his favorite target T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who left in free agency to Seattle, so he will rely heavily on Chad Ochocinco to bounce back from his worst season as a pro.

The rushing attack will be paced by Cedric Benson, who finally showed flashes of what the Bears hoped they would get when they drafted him 4th overall in 2005. Kenny Watson will resume his role as the change of pace back and third down specialist.

Maybe the biggest moves of the offseason for the Bengals centered around their offensive line. The Bengals waived former first round pick Levi Jones and were not able to retain Stacy Andrews so in April they selected Andre Smith with their 6th overall pick in the 2009 Draft. Depending on how quickly Smith is able to sign a contract and get into camp, he should be the starting left tackle for the opener.

Defensively, two former Cowboys were brought on board to try and shore up weaknesses on an overall decent defense a year ago. Roy Williams will compete to be the starting safety and Tank Johnson will look to play as the teams starting defensive tackle. Michael Johnson, a third round pick out of Georgia Tech, could be a surprise on the Bengals defensive line as the teams pass rusher.

The draft also brought over USC sensation Rey Maualuga to be the teams middle linebacker, and he will be paired with 2008 first round pick and fellow Trojan alum Keith Rivers in the Bengals linebacking corps.

2009 Schedule:

And while the 2009 season likely will not bring a playoff appearance, it could very well begin a transitional period for the Bengals who are slowly turning things around with their personnel.

All that said, two things the Bengals cannot afford will be the two things most people keep an eye on this season (and offseason for that matter as they are the featured franchise on HBO’s Hard Knocks) – Carson Palmer’s health, and whether or not he will be able to resume playing like he had made a name for, and the teams chemistry given the cast of characters on the roster.

Look for Palmer to stay on the field this year, but still struggle minus a consistent running attack, and for the chemistry of this team to become shaky as the year goes on. The Bengals may turn things around, but it will be another year before we really see the progress.

And for one Marvin Lewis—that one extra year may not happen.

Predicted Finish: 4-12, 4th AFC North

With a disappointing loss to the Giants, coming off of the 13-3 regular season, the Cowboys figured to be just as dangerous in 2008.

And at the beginning of the season, it looked like they were going to live up to the billing. The Cowboys started the season 4-1 and looked just as potent on offense as they did a year before that.

Following the loss, in an effort to keep the offense going and make it even more potent would Romo would return, the Cowboys would complete a rare midseason trade with Detroit to bring talented receiver Roy Williams over to Big D.

Romo would return in time for Dallas to run off 3 straight wins and be in the thick of a very competitive NFC Wild Card race.

But when the Cowboys were sitting at 8-4, the distractions that doomed this team a season ago would resurface when anonymous reports would come out about Terrell Owens having rifts with teammates.

It was a very disappointing finish to a season that began with so much promise and no shortage of hope.

The season also wasted one of the best individual efforts by a defensive player in recent memory as DeMarcus Ware recorded 84 tackles, 20 sacks, and 6 forced fumbles in 2008.
But this was a microcosm of the Cowboys season in a nutshell.

And in the end, it left the Cowboys well shy of their lofty expectations.

With Owens gone, the Cowboys hope the circus that comes with him with leave town as well.

With that being said, Phillips will inherit a roster that looks noticeably different from a year ago, and it’s not just the departure of Owens.

The defense will once again revolve around one of the most complete players in football in DeMarcus Ware.

In the secondary, the Cowboys will be led by Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins at the cornerback position. At safety, Dallas will start Ken Hamlin and free-agent acquisition Gerald Sensabaugh. Draft pick Michael Hamlin (no relation to Ken) will provide depth at the position with Pat Watkins.

Offensively, the keys to the Cowboys and subsequently the spotlight will be turned over to Tony Romo. With Terrell Owens now in Buffalo, Dallas hopes to get a much better season out of the other Roy Williams, who struggled mightily in his first season as a Cowboy.

In the running game, the Cowboys discovered they have three solid tailbacks following injuries last season. Marion Barber will once again be the starter but will rotate with explosive back Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Once again, the Cowboy offensive line will be highlighted by big Flozell Adams and Leonard Davis.

Dallas definitely did one thing very well in the offseason; they upgraded the team’s chemistry and got rid of many of the main sources of their distractions the past two seasons.

With that being said, there are still fair questions about the play of Tony Romo when the games take on a much greater scale of meaning.

But even if it does, the Cowboys play in a very difficult division with a tough schedule and may be the odd team out in the NFC for a second straight season.

Which isn’t exactly the way you would like to open a new billion dollar stadium.

Predicted Finish: 9-7, 3rd place NFC East

Last year, the Bucs were soaring high, winners of nine of their first 12 games and en route to yet another division title before the bottom fell out.

All great things eventually come to an end, however, and it appears the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will begin a transitional period under the heralded, but still very young, head coach Raheem Morris.

When Freeman starts will be a major question for Morris, with some believing it could be as soon as the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

As a result, the Bucs figure to have a rough start out of the gate, and likely will see their record take a hit because of it.

Predicted Finish: 5-11, 4th NFC South

Offensively, few teams in the NFC can really match up with the personnel the Packers will field in 2009. Aside from Arizona with Anquan Boldin playing, there is really not a wide receiving corps top to bottom as good as Green Bay’s in this conference. This passing attack makes the Packers a very difficult team to match up against – when the defense does its job.

I am a believer that sometimes all a team needs is a change of viewpoint. Dom Capers track record speaks for itself, as more often than not he turns around defenses and does so quickly.

It should not go without saying just how close this Packer team was to having a much different season than they wound up having. What wound up being 6-10 very easily could have been 10-6 or 11-5 had the Packers been able to close out games.

There will likely be growing pains given the youth and inexperience at some of the Packers key positions on that side of the ball, but a really favorable schedule and a dynamic offense can, and in my opinion will take this team to a wild card berth.

Predicted Finish: 10-6, 2nd place NFC North – Wild Card