NFC EAST = THE NFC 'BEAST'!

TESTING ROSTER KNOWLEDGE/TEAM HISTORY by Joseph Zatarga

6.  How strong is your team’s division? How will it affect the team’s playoff chances?

The defending NFC East champion New York Giants face a tough test in 2009, as they attempt to find a new identity within their clubhouse.   For the Giants of 09’ to come anywhere near expectations for similar results of the past two years they will need a lot of breaks.  Even though this year the Giants have a fantastic draft class to showcase in terms of players with raw talent, the rest of the NFC East teams were right there building with them.

                Beginning in September of 2008, the Giants carried their momentum from that incredible upset of the Patriots directly into the season to essentially run away with the division.  Rival teams Dallas and Philadelphia each struggled all season long to maintain a record of .500.  Each team was compounded with many internal problems of their own in the early parts of the 2008 year.  The Giants overcame quite a few deficits of their own to run away with the divisional title by week 14.   The early severe training camp hole that the loss of Osi Umenyiora  presented on defense could have crippled that unit from very start.  As we know veteran leaders such as Antonio Pierce and Justin Tuck helped keep this elite unit in the high rankings in pressuring the quarterback and creating turnovers.

                The three other teams that call the “NFC Beast” home will push the Giants throughout the season and hard down the stretch for the divisional crown.  First off, Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles have used last April’s draft to add an array of new useful weapons for Donovan Mcnabb & Co. Brian Westbrook now has a nice complement in LeSean McCoy , and I guarantee this new tandem will only make matters worse for newly appointed Giants defensive coordinator, Bill Sheridan. 

Philadelphia’s first four picks of the draft were all offensive skill positional players.  Jeremy Maclin, the Eagles first round draft pick, should certainly help round out one of the deepest Wide Receiver sets that McNabb has ever had to work with.  Along with the breakout rookie sensation DeSean Jackson, Maclin will compete with veteran Kevin Curtis as well as Jason Avant, who showed great poise and connected with McNabb throughout last year’s playoffs.   

It really is not an argument that needs much thought when one says that the Eagles will compete within their division, as Andy Reid’s career record has proven.   Jim Johnson and that swarming defense acquired a marquee player in DB Ellis Hobbs to replace the departed CB Lito Sheppard, who signed this off-season with the N.Y. Jets.  We all remember what this team has done the past two seasons, once catching fire under Jeff Garcia to make a great playoff run, and the other being last season after Donovan was benched we watched the Eagles get hot, run the table, and bounce the Giants right out of the playoffs.  I foresee the Eagles  as the main threat to the N.Y. Giants repeating as NFC East Champs in 09’.

The Washington Redskins do not deserve nearly as much attention as the Eagles because they will again be a mediocre football team in 2009.  Jason Campbell still stands behind center, which means that the offense as a whole will stagger and sputter often for being too protective and not taking enough chances on big plays down the field.  One can argue that Washington made a big splash when landing Albert Haynesworth to a record contract this off-season.  They also used the draft to bolster a defense that may or may not improve this season.  Much of the Redskins success this season will be whether or not young rookies such as Brian Orakpo, their first round pick out of Texas, can help anchor a defense with Haynesworth and so many new faces.  I foresee Washington enduring a year of rebuilding and winning 7 games at most under Jim Zorn this upcoming season.

Zorn had these guys off to a fast start last year, but they faded hard when their workhorse Clinton Portis got nicked up and the injuries began to take their toll on his YPC.  Santana Moss can only do so much damage when being doubled as often as he is.  Moss desperately needs someone to help him out aside from Chris Cooley if the Skins’ ever would like to take the next step in their west coast offense.   Dan Snyder will once again be scrambling by season’s end for a new head coach, as all this man does is spend money and give his coaches the quick hook.

Lastly, that leaves “America’s Team”, the Dallas Cowboys, as the last real team that poses a potential threat to the Giants success.  Dallas took their fair share of lumps last season between Tony Romo’s thumb injury and the side show created by disgruntled ex-WR Terrell Owens.   2009 is a new year, and Jerry Jones’ squad will look to take a step forward this year rather than backward with great balance existing on both sides of the ball.   Veterans like Keith Brooking will attempt to lead a defense that really began to hit their stride late in the year when the Cowboys offensive unit needed them the most.  It was Dallas’s superb depth at the tailback position as well as strong defense that allowed them to even compete for a wild card berth after such a down season.

Dallas may have found their own 3-headed monster when Tashard Choice showcased his skills late in the season.   The Cowboys should consider themselves blessed to have an asset like Choice to add to the dynamic running tandem of MBIII and sophomore Felix Jones.

The Giants fate in 2009 will largely be determined by how Eli Manning can utilize his two new rookie Wide Receivers into an offense that needs to be based on pounding the ball with Jacobs and the running game.  Whichever team controls the clock usually wins.  Tom Coughlin’s style of pounding the ball on offense and allowing your defense to win games with field position should not have to be altered with much in 2009.  This year I could see the Giants easily winning ten games and being competitive down the stretch for a playoff push.