Optimism runs high that the NFL owners and its players can come to terms on a new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) over the next week or so in order to avoid any disruption to the start of the 2011 season. <\/p>\n
Once the player lock-out is finally lifted, all 32 teams will need to quickly make up for lost time in order to prepare for a run at Super Bowl XLVI. The following is a look at all 16 teams in the NFC. <\/p>\n
Arizona Cardinals +2500<\/strong><\/p>\n It is hard to believe that this team was one play away from winning the 2009 Super Bowl after dropping to 5-11 last season with one of the most anemic offenses in the league. It just goes to show how good QB Kurt Warner really was.<\/p>\n Atlanta Falcons +650<\/strong><\/p>\n The Falcons were the best team in the conference during the regular season in 2010 with an overall record of 13-3. They are also one of the most balanced teams with a scoring offense and defense that was ranked fifth in the NFL last year.<\/p>\n Carolina Panthers +5000<\/strong><\/p>\n The Panthers will need a heck of a lot more than Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton to climb out of the NFC South basement this season. This team set a new low for futility in scoring last year with an NFL-low 12.2 points per game.<\/p>\n Chicago Bears +1200<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bears won the NFC North last season with an 11-5 record, but there are some serious question marks with a team that was ranked 30th<\/sup> in total offense and 28th<\/sup> in passing yards behind QB Jay Cutler. The defense was ranked fourth in points allowed, but 20th<\/sup> against the pass.<\/p>\n Dallas Cowboys +750<\/strong><\/p>\n The 2010 season was one to forget for America\u2019s Team after a 6-10 campaign, but the return of QB Tony Romo to the starting lineup along with a healthy Dez Bryant, should have the Cowboys right back in the thick of things in the NFC East.<\/p>\n Detroit Lions +2000<\/strong><\/p>\n This team continues to get better on both sides of the ball through low picks in the draft, especially on the defensive line with this year\u2019s first round pick Nick Fairley, joining last year\u2019s \u2018defensive rookie of the year\u2019 Ndamukong Suh.<\/p>\n Green Bay Packers +325<\/strong><\/p>\n The defending Super Bowl Champions are in excellent position to defend their title with the bulk of their roster back from a year ago along with a healthy Jermichael Finley at TE and Nick Barnett at LB as long as they can avoid the typical letdown that has plagued Super Bowl winners in the past.<\/p>\n Minnesota Vikings +1600<\/strong><\/p>\n Rookie QB Christian Ponder could very easily find himself as the starter come opening day as there is no one else on the roster set to replace Brett Favre, who finally retired for good, we think and Tavaris Jackson, who does not appear to fit into the Vikings\u2019 future plans.<\/p>\n New Orleans Saints +700<\/strong><\/p>\n The Saints took a step backwards after winning it all in 2009 with the 28th<\/sup> ranked rushing offense in the league. The addition of RB Mark Ingram from Alabama in the first round of the draft could be just what New Orleans needs to get back on top in the NFC South.<\/p>\n New York Giants +850<\/strong><\/p>\n The Giants remain solid across the board with most of the key pieces returning from an offense that was ranked fifth in the NFL in total yards and seventh on defense in total yards allowed. They will need to find a way to get past Philadelphia, which has beaten them six straight times.<\/p>\n Philadelphia Eagles +650<\/strong><\/p>\n Michael Vick is firmly established as the Eagles starting quarterback and should benefit from first round draft pick OL Danny Watkins, who was brought in to protect the left-handers blind side. A couple of free agent signings on defense especially in the secondary could be enough to get them back to the NFC championship game. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n San Francisco 49ers +2000<\/strong><\/p>\n The 49ers head into this season with a new head coach in Jim Harbaugh and no clear direction at the quarterback position. This one of those teams that could be really hurt by the extended player lockout, as they will start off far behind the curve as compared to some of the veteran teams in the conference.<\/p>\n Seattle Seahawks +2500<\/strong><\/p>\n The Seahawks are another team with issues at the quarterback position as it looks like Matt Hasselbeck will not be back as the starter in 2011. The NFC West is still as wide open as ever, but it is doubtful that another 7-9 record will be good enough to win the division this season.<\/p>\n St. Louis Rams +2000<\/strong><\/p>\n This could be a sleeper team this season, especially in the very mediocre NFC West. The Rams won more games last season (7) than they did in the last three seasons combined. Sam Bradford appears to be the real deal, and could have this team in the playoffs he continues to develop as the team\u2019s starting QB.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Buccaneers +1600<\/strong><\/p>\n The big question facing the Buccaneers is can Head Coach Raheem Morris and QB Josh Freeman get this team to take another step forward after last year\u2019s 10-6 effort or will they stayed buried in the division behind Atlanta and New Orleans.<\/p>\n Washington Redskins +2500<\/strong><\/p>\n It looks like Head Coach Mike Shanahan is ready to part ways with QB Donovan McNabb and hand the starting role to journeyman Rex Grossman. The results could be another five or six win season, especially with an offense that was ranked 25th<\/sup> in scoring last year.<\/p>\n The nfl lines<\/strong><\/a> makers have instilled last year\u2019s Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers as the odds-on-favorites to win it all again this season.<\/p>\n Dave weighs in with his 2011 NFL team by team NFC Conference projections. Here is a look at each team and their chances to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":32483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[28750,50395,50396,31184,466,8855,50397,15489,15492,50394,1537,49546],"class_list":["post-40342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-28750","tag-2011-nfc-conference-lines","tag-2011-nfc-lines","tag-bet-on-nfc-teams","tag-free-nfl-predictions","tag-nfc-championship-odds","tag-nfc-conference-future-lines","tag-nfc-picks","tag-nfl-season-preview","tag-odds-to-win-2011-nfc-conference","tag-projections","tag-super-bowl-xlvi-odds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40342"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40372,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40342\/revisions\/40372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}**CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR NFL EXPERT PICKS & WEEKLY SELECTIONS**<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"