Out of the four divisions in the NFC, the East easily looks the strongest. With three teams that earned playoff berths last year including the defending Super Bowl champions, it's not a long stretch of the imagination to expect the NFC East to be competitive once again.
Team Overviews
1. New York Giants
It's hard to not set the bar high for the returning Super Bowl champions. Their defense played exceptionally well down the stretch; and the offense, led by Brandon Jacobs and Eli Manning, proved it was able to make plays when necessary, although perhaps I should credit David Tyree for that.
Still, I have my reservations about the Giants. With the exception of their Wild Card game against the Buccaneers, I did not feel that the Giants were the better team in any of their playoff games. But still credit is due to the Giants for keeping the game close to the end and winning when it counts.
I have a few concerns regarding the Giants. First off, although in many people's minds Eli Manning has validated himself as a good or even great quarterback in the NFL, I remain unconvinced. Not because I'm an Eli-basher, I'm not, in actuality I felt he was unfairly criticized early on in the season.
What stands out in my mind is that Eli for the most part was only a game manager. True, he played well during the playoffs with the world's eyes on him, but I need to see a little bit more out of him before I completely jump on the bandwagon.
My other concern is the number of valuable players the Giants lost in the off-season. However, if they continue to draft well and play with the same kind of spirit that they did last postseason, then I'll probably be eating my words not too far down the road.
2. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys once again found themselves bitterly disappointed at the end of the playoffs, and some might blame Tony Romo.
I've heard people call him overrated and overhyped, and although I myself have hung the moniker Tony Homo upon him, I find him to be a very good player and unfairly criticized.
Although calling him "The Next Brett Favre" seems a bit presumptuous to me (a Packer fan) his style does bear resemblance to No. 4's. Sure, Romo does make some reckless throws, but he also makes plays and throws a ton of TDs.
Although Marion Barber was the more respected and hyped back out of the the Jones-Barber tandem, I do think that the loss of Julius Jones could be detrimental to the Cowboys' offense.
The trend in the NFL has been two-back systems, and the Cowboys had a good tandem. Unless the Cowboys can find a quality back to compliment Barber, I have doubts that Marion Barber will carry the load as effectively without another back to help him.
3. Washington Redskins
A coaching change, an unproven quarterback, a good but wacky running back, and a good defense seem to be the Redskins in a nutshell.
One of the biggest questions is the coaching change and how the transition from Joe Gibbs to Jim Zorn will end.
If it turns out the way the Wade Phillips and Norv Turner hirings went, then the Skins should be okay. Conversely, if it ends up like the Bobby Petrino fiasco then Skins fans won't be sitting as easily.
4. Philadelphia Eagles
Despite being fourth in the division in 2007, the Eagles still managed an 8-8 record. The Eagles also lost a close game to the AFC Champion New England Patriots, and a tight game to the Green Bay Packers. If those games went the other way, the Eagles would have been 10-6 and in the playoffs instead of the Redskins.
Quarterback Donovan McNabb has been criticized the last few years in Philadelphia. McNabb is an excellent quarterback, and even if the Philly media is not always indicative about how the fans feel, I still think that McNabb is unfairly criticized.
It's my belief that this year McNabb will play back up to his normal Pro Bowl level and that Andy Reid's Eagles will make a push for the division championship.
The biggest question marks are whether the Eagles do get production out of the quarterback position, and how effective recently acquired cornerback Asante Samuel can be.
Samuel has proven himself to be a more than capable cornerback. The only reason I still hold doubts about just how well he will perform is because of the team he's coming from. The Patriots seem to have a great defense year in and year out and have the ability to plug in players and get production out of them.
The same thing happened with Ty Law. He was very productive with the Patriots, but his play dropped off in the years after he left the Patriots.
Predictions
Division Winner: Dallas Cowboys
The 'Boys have a talented roster and a great QB. Unless injuries hamper the Cowboys or the running game doesn't perform, I'm willing to bet the Cowboys win 12 games or more.
Second Place: New York Giants
I toyed with the idea of putting the Eagles here, but I just couldn't push myself to do it in the end. For me, I think that the Giants will be a slightly improved duplicate of last year's regular season team.
My predictions are 10-6 or 11-5 for their win-loss record and I expect the Giants to make an appearance in the playoffs. I'm sure Giants fans will disagree with me, and I understand where they're coming from, but the Giants just don't impress me that much.
Third Place: Philadelphia Eagles
I feel that McNabb and Reid can't be held down for that long, I see them rebounding and winning 10 games or so in the process and, making it into the playoffs as a wild card.
Fourth Place: Washington Redskins
Washington got into the playoffs on an emotional high and overcame several hardships, including the unfortunate passing of safety Sean Taylor.
A coaching change, the loss of a very good defensive back in Sean Taylor, and the question of how productive Jason Campbell can be lead me to think that the Redskins can't survive in such a competitive division.
Let me know how you think the division will turn out.
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6 months ago
I think the Giants will have another 2-halfs-2-stories season - one in which they do great in the first half of the season and choke up in the second half. I like the Eagles to finish second but I think that, once again, the NFC East will send 3 teams to the playoffs.
6 months ago
Yeah, I take it you don't see the Redskin making the playoffs next year then?
6 months ago
the giants dont need to impress anyone, we are gonna be beating piss out of alot of teams again and we will be there in january AGAIN. the hell with the cowboys, they're gonna win the division as long as romo is healthy but with a 10 win record, we will have 9 wins tied with the eagles but we own the tie breaker for a better division record. and my boy eli will be in the playoffs again like he has ever since he started a season and the best of eli is still to come!
from 6 months ago
It's definitely plausible...the Giants proved to be better post-season pressure performers.
6 months ago
Trying to predict the NFC East is like trying to make sense of the plot of Star Trek. The closer you look at it, the wackier and more erratic it becomes.
6 months ago
In my mind the Eagles are definitely finishing first. Not even the Cowboys and definitely not the Giants can stop that.
from 5 months ago
For that to be in your mind you must be a die-hard Eagles fan, but its a really really far stretch unless they pick up some good players and get their act together this season....I dont see them being Division leaders for the NFC East for a long time to come....Sorry
6 months ago
At this point, I think it is premature in selecting a division winner. Right now, I think any team can win the division. Although because of Dallas' talent, I think they are the favorites to win the division.
Devlan,
I think you are off base with your judgments.
Giants: The Giants lost valuable players? As a Giants fan, I think Wilson, Torbor, Mitchell are all replaceable.
Eli played very good in the playoffs. He did not manage the game. With enormous amounts of pressure on him, he led the Giants to a Super Bowl winning touchdown drive.
For Eli to be labeled an elite QB, I think he needs to play consistent at a high level.
Cowboys: I think RB Marion Barber is a future star in this league. If the Cowboys players executed Coach Phillip's game plan, I think they beat the Giants. Clearly, Dallas was the better team. Unfortunately, if you are a Dallas fan, they commited too many penalites 11 for 84 yards, poor tackling, bungled snaps, mental errors, and dropped passes.
If they stay healthy, Dallas is my favorite to win the division.
Eagles: The Eagles need more playmakers on offense. Other than the fantastic RB Brian Westbrook and TE L.J. Smith, the Eagles have no other offense player who scares opposing defenses.
Samuel was acquired because he makes plays. We will see how he performs this year. If the Eagles defeat the Packers, Patriots, Giants, and Seahawks, I think they would have been in the playoffs.
Redskins: If QB Jason Campbell can mature and play consistently well each game, I think the Skins have a shot at the division. I think they have a very good ground attack and a solid defense.
from 5 months ago
Good comment, I would agree with you that it's somewhat premature to predict the division winners. I think it's a real up in the air kind of situation, it's my feeling that the Giants, Cowboys, and Eagles could all win the division...and who knows maybe the Redskins will surprise me? I thought it was interesting what you said about Wilson Torbor and Mitchell, to tell you the truth I wasn't very knowledgable on their importance but I had heard about them losing starters. You're right about Eli he played excellent in the playoffs, and I like him, but in my opinion he still has room to improve and has to play consistently to really impress me. Gun to my head I'd say he will be a star.
Again good comment, you said you felt I was off base, was there anything in particular you wanted to emphasize?
5 months ago
Devlan,
Why do you ask? I think you were honest, sincere, and intelligent in response to my comment.
from 5 months ago
Thanks for the add, I was just asking to see if there was anything specifically I may have been off on.
5 months ago
Thank you Tabitha, I am a die-hard Eagles fan! Honestly, I don't either see them as division leaders in the '08 season, but I think they do have a chance for the second place. As for years to come, I don't know, it depends on whether they get a good offensive play maker.
5 months ago
Glen, I agree with your comments, I think its totally premature to predict the division winners. I'm a skins fan, but I agree that Dallas seems to be the favorites for the division, and for second could be anyone Giants, Redskins and Eagles have good shot. NFC EAST is the toughest and most competitive division.
Though I think the Skins Offense will excel this year because we drafted 2 big targets on offense with Malcom Kelly and Devin Thomas 6-4 and 6-2 and the TE Fred Davis 6-4 who is very talented fast, strong and athletic , like having two players in one because he can easily be like a WR and go for those jump balls on the red zone, which is what Campbell needed. Not to mention how important its to have a coach in Zorn who was a QB and definetely will help Campbell take his game to the next level.
Don't sleep on the skins could be an interesting one, make shock some, but not us, we have a very talented team, blew leads in some close games last year that should had put us in the playoffs way before making that suffering 4 game run, the lack of agressiveness by our legendary coach Gibbs caused us to loose games that we had in our pocket, with Zorn and his west coast offense I feel confident that he can put his foot on the throat when he has to in order to finish games, such as the Giants vs skins on that week 3 game where we had a 17-3 lead. Hopefully things change with our new staff.
GO SKINS!
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