Every NFL season is full of surprises. Good teams always get bad, bad teams always get good, and Joey Harrington always gets a job.

The reason for the fluctuation in talent is because the NFL has strived to achieve parity in the league over the last 15 years or so. Bad teams get higher draft picks and a chance to build with veterans through free agency while good teams are forced to eventually part ways with big names because of salary cap limitations.

As a result, players like Joey Harrington get frequent opportunities because, well, actually there is no answer for that one. Anyways, this year has been no exception.

On any given year, flipping the previous season’s standings upside down would be a pretty good indicator of how the current season is going. Since the upside-down standings method is not exactly fool-proof, we’ve prepared a division-by-division NFL update for anyone who, instead of following football, was busy watching the Cubs’ season end with just as many playoff wins as the Brewers.

NFC East
The Cowboys are back as one of the elite teams in the NFL and should be the team that the Packers crush in the NFC Championship.

Wisconsin native Tony Romo has drawn comparisons to Brett Favre, and although it looked like Romo might break the all-time interception record last Monday night before Favre even got the chance, the comparison isn’t accurate.

Still, Romo is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, and the Cowboys should have no trouble fending off the Eagles, Giants, and Redskins for the division crown.

NFC North
The Packers are awesome and will win it all, everyone knows that. So here’s what you might not know about the other teams in the division.

Lions quarterback Jon Kitna predicted that the team would win 10 games this year, and despite a fast start, they’ll be lucky to win seven. Vikings quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcomb and Brooks Bollinger are all equally terrible and this team won’t be a threat for another 10 years. Lastly, the Bears still suck.

NFC South
The Saints are blowing like a hurricane (too soon?), leaving the division wide open to mediocre teams like the Panthers and Buccaneers.

The Bucs get the slight edge, not because Jeff Garcia is their quarterback, but because David Carr is the Panthers’ quarterback.

NFC West
It looks like we’ll have another 9-7 or 8-8 division winner from the West.

Whoever makes the playoffs between the 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks and Rams will be there by default.

It’s not that these teams are bad; it’s just that they aren’t very good. In the end, look for the Seahawks to edge out the Cardinals for an undeserved playoff berth.

AFC East
The Patriots have spied their way into first place in the East, but the rest of the division is nothing to look at.

Possible 2008 NFL Draft order: 1. Dolphins, 2. Bills, 3. Jets.

AFC North
The Steelers are winning, Ben Roethlisberger is keeping his helmet on, all is well in Pittsburgh. After them, it’s a crap shoot.

The Ravens are the worst good team in NFL history, and the Bengals are so bad that I’m not even going to take the time to think of an ‘all of their players get arrested’ joke.

The Browns really could end up in second.

AFC South
If the Colts weren’t so good, more people would be paying attention to the way the Jaguars, Titans and Texans have been playing.

But the Colts are good, so nobody is paying attention. One or both Wild Card teams could come out of this division, though.

AFC West
Lastly, the division nobody seems to want to win. The Chargers started terribly, already losing more games than they did in all of last year, but they’ll win 10 games in this division.

Second Place? The Raiders. Yes, really.

There you have it, you’re now up to speed. Enjoy the last 11/17ths of the regular season.

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