NFC Obituary - Dead after Week 6... the Lions and Panthers

With the season 6 weeks deep now, let's start to whittle away at the NFC teams that are pretty much no longer threats to occupy playoff berths.  We'll be updating every week:

Dead and buried:

The Lions, although perhaps one of the most improved teams in the league, find themselves at 1-5 (should be 2-4), despite having a +6 point differential.  They'll win some games this season, but their playoff hopes are done.

The Panthers stink.

On life support:

Oh, how sweet it is to see the Cowboys sitting at 1-4.  They're 2.5 games behind both the Giants and Eagles in the NFC East, and are a complete mess.  I can't kill them off yet though.

The NFC West is the worst division in football, which is the only thing keeping the 49ers alive at 1-5.

Bad teams with respectable records:

The Rams, Seahawks, and Cardinals all have a legitimate shot at winning that terrible division, as do the aforementioned Niners.  So unfortunately, one of these garbage teams will occupy a playoff berth.  The Buccaneers have looked spry at times with Josh Freeman at the helm, but let's not kid ourselves about them.

Overachieving:

Based upon record alone, the Bears, at 4-2, probably fit this category better than the Redskins.  The Redskins have impressively knocked off 3 teams that are more talented than them - the Cowboys, Eagles, and Packers.

Underachieving:

The preseason favorite Packers and Vikings are disappointments so far, sitting at 3-3 and 2-3, respectively.

The Enigma:

I really have no idea what to make of the Falcons, and I won't try.  They've won a few games lucky, and looked downright awful yesterday.  But still, they're 4-2 and have plenty of talent, so it's tough to put them lower than this.

Alive and Kicking:

The Giants, Eagles, and Saints (in no particular order) are the 3 teams that seem to be playing the best football in this lousy NFC so far this season.

From here on out, a full obituary will be written for every team that dies.  I think it might be fun to have our community members write up the obits for each team (something short and succinct that sums up their crappy season - about 2-3 paragraphs).  You can choose the team you wish to eulogize (first come, first serve - choose your team in the comment section), and when I feel that they're done, I'll email you letting you know it's time to get to work.  We'll also continue it through the playoffs.  I call the Cowboys!