NFC East--Terrell Owens

The Eagles’ loss is the Cowboys’ gain.  Or is it the Eagles’ gain and the Cowboys’ loss?  The story of the NFC East this season is Terrell Owens.  He could be the piece that gets finally gets the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl.  He could also rip them apart like Flozell Adams tearing into a double cheeseburger.  On the other side of things are the Eagles.  Will dumping Owens let a now-healthy Eagles team regain their Super Bowl form of 2004, or will the loss of Owens doom their inefficient offense to the same fate as last season?

NFC North--Scrap Heap Signal-Callers

Can anybody in the NFC North throw the football? In Detroit, an aging John Kitna is backed up by Josh McCown, a quarterback who one day could be as good as Kitna if all goes well (Lions fans aren’t quite celebrating).  In Minnesota, 58-year-old Brad Johnson is backed up by Mike McMahon, the youngest journeyman in the history of the NFL.  In Green Bay, the biggest question is how many interceptions Brett Favre has to throw before Aaron Rodgers gets a chance (40? 50?).  The Bears do have two young quarterbacks who have had some success, although Kyle Orton's drinking and Rex Grossman's injuries make them both look like they're 40.  Four teams, not a single bona-fide #1 QB. Should make for a low-scoring division.

NFC South--Fleet Feet

Every team in the NFC South boasts at least one potentially game-changing running back, but every team faces serious question about those backs.  Can Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister share the backfield in New Orleans?  With T.J. Duckett's role decreasing in Atlanta, can an aging Warrick Dunn carry the full load?  Can Cadillac Williams be more consistent (and not run for less than 30 yards in a third of his starts again)?  Will anybody from the Panthers trio of DeShaun Foster, DeAngelo Williams, and Eric Shelton make it through September healthy?  All of these teams hope to base their offense on a solid, consistent running game--only some of them will get it.

NFC West--Year of the Cardinal

It's been eight years since the Cardinals played a playoff game.  This year they have a marquee running back and a solid veteran quarterback with his (finally under contract) heir apparent behind him.  They have a young, improving defense, one of the best receiving corps in the league, and the infallible Neil Rackers booting the ball through the uprights.  Not to mention a brand-new stadium. This is most definitely a make-or-break year for the Cardinals.  This is the year to shed the collar of laughingstock of the league.  Will they be able to challenge the Seahawks for the division title, or will 2006 be another season lost to disappointment?

AFC East--Challenge to the Throne?

The Patriots have owned the AFC East, winning it the last three seasons and four out of the last five.  However, at the end of last season there were some chinks in the armor as an aging, mistake-prone team was knocked out of the playoffs by Denver.  Since then they've lost veterans Adam Vinatieri, Willie McGinest, and David Givens.  On the flip side, the Miami Dolphins won their last six games of 2006, and in the offseason they added the recovering Daunte Culpepper.  Will a healthy Culpepper lead the Dolphins to the top of the division, or will his reconstructed knee give him problems as a resurgent Pats team takes the AFC East title?

AFC North--Quarterback Health

Mental health that is.  For Carson Palmer, there are a lot of questions surrounding his return from the knee injury he suffered in the first round of last year’s playoffs.  From his offseason remarks, Palmer sounds like a man who believes that if he hadn’t gotten hurt, he easily would have won the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, Tour de France, and ESPY for best golfer.  Will Palmer be able to keep himself from coming back too early?  And when he does come back, will he be the emerging star of last season, or a wild gunslinger trying to win the Super Bowl with every throw?  Bengals fans can only hope he’s under control and not the deranged lunatic he has sometimes sounded like over the last few months. Ben Roethlisberger faces similar questions as he comes back from his motorcycle accident.  Physically, Roethlisberger says he's fine, but nobody knows how he'll be able to react to the contact and speed of the game once he's under center, staring down defenders who would love to take his head off.  Even the Ravens have questions about the mental state of their quarterbacks.  When Steve McNair is inevitably injured, will Kyle Boller be able to step in and go back to being a regular bad quarterback, or will his demotion affect him so much mentally that he plays like a terrible quarterback.

AFC South--Offense Wins Championships

Offense is the big question mark in the AFC South this season.  The thing on everybody's mind is how the departure of Edgerrin James will affect the Colts.  Either Joseph Addai or Dominic Rhodes will step into his place, but it remains to be seen whether the Colts offense will run as smoothly without James.  Will the new backs be able to pick up blitzes with the same skill as James, and more importantly, will defenses respect the Colts running game enough for receivers to find space down the field?  For the Jaguars, offense has been the thing that's kept them from being a true Super Bowl contender.  Byron Leftwich now enters his fourth season with a receiving corps stocked with three consecutive first-round draft picks.  If the Jaguars can develop a more dangerous passing game, they may finally be able to surpass the Colts and become true contenders. The Texan's passing game will once again depend on whether the offensive line can give David Carr any time.  If new center Mike Flanagan can anchor an improved line, the Texans passing attack can’t be that bad.  If the line continues to have problems, the Texans can expect another tough decision of who to draft with their top-5 pick.

AFC West--There's no D in KC

Kendrell Bell, Patrick Surtain, Derrick Johnson.  Those are three of the big names the Chiefs added last season with the hope of improving their porous defense.  That defense finished the season ranked 25th in the league in total yards, and the Chiefs missed the playoffs.  This year they've added Ty Law and rookie Tamba Hali, who joins budding star Jared Allen on the defensive line.  The Chiefs defense is loaded with big names and big money, and they will be the unit that makes or breaks the team’s season.  If the defense can improve enough from last season, it could give Larry Johnson and Trent Green the help they need to get the Chiefs their first playoff victory in 13 years.

Eric Horowitz is regular contributor to Atomic Sports Media, as well as SI.com and the WBRS Sports Blog. Eric currently lives in Washington D.C. and is a big fan of revenue sharing, onside kicks, the NHL All-Star Game, and Johan Santana's changeup. He can be reached at eric.horowitz@atomicsportsmedia.com