NFC Post-Season Preview: Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans and Seattle Rule NFC

....As Predicted

For starters, if you picked the Cowboys to rule the NFC East you are either A. a total liar, since you really, REALLY didn't believe Drew Bledsoe would be riding the pine in Big D; B. a fraud, since Terrell Owens does not have more yards or touchdowns than compadre Terry Glenn, yet you put T.O. on your fantasy football team anyway, because you just had a feeling; and C. an absolute optimist like me, a fan whose hopes have been crushed for many a year, including the moment when Joe Montana found Dwight Clark in the corner of the end zone with 56 seconds left.

Now Tony Romo, a little known quarterback out of Southern Illinois and Marlon Barber, the shifty running back who has supplanted Julius Jones much the way that Romo outed Bledsoe, lead Dallas into a new era. The Cowboys have basically ruled the roost from beginning to end this season, though the New York Giants are closing the gap. The Philadelphia Eagles fell out of the tree once Donovan McNabb went down with a season-ending knee injury, though by grace of God and some decent quarterbacking from Jeff Garcia are still at .500 and we don't even want to talk about the Washington Redskins, who should just kick Joe Gibbs to the curb, though they won't because he is a Hall of Fame coach in his golden years.

Below is a list of teams in the East who still have a shot at making the playoffs, because in the NFL this year, one thing is certain: It's nothing like it was last year and many teams are still in the hunt, including at least four .500 teams and even five who are sub-.500.

NFC EAST (OR THE NFC LEAST)

Dallas (8-5)