Why The NFC East Is The NFL's Black Hole

A black hole, as defined in Webster’s Dictionary, is a celestial object that has a gravitational field so strong that light cannot escape it.
What goes in, does not come out and while a black hole is invisible to the naked eye, its existence is confirmed by interaction with other matter.
The NFC East is the black hole of the National Football League.
Year in and year out, the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys beat each other into pulpy renditions of their pre-season identities. Helmet-rattling hits, unforgiving defenses, hard-nosed offenses and deep-traditioned teams battle it out all year for intergalactic supremacy, only to find out after 16 games, that what goes into a black hole can never come out.
Of course, at least one team does emerge from the NFC East annually to represent the division in the quest for the Lombardi Trophy, but as evident by the 2008-09 season, the four teams are too good for their own interests.
Heading into last season, the NFC East was heralded as the best division in the NFL. The Eagles, Giants, Redskins and Cowboys were all said to be capable of winning Super Bowl XLII and for many, especially after New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady went down with a season-ending injury, it was a foregone conclusion that one of those teams would be hoisting the trophy come February.
Of course, that was not at all the case. With each team having to face all three divisional rivals twice, by the end of the 16-game regular season, the NFC East was a mess. All four teams were too strong, too fast and too good for their own good that essentially, the division absorbed itself into a field of mediocrity. No team was able to break away from the pack. The Redskins, Giants, Cowboys and Eagles struggled simply because they had to play each other and in the end, after 16 games of NFL football, none of the teams were capable of winning the Super Bowl.
Injuries to defensive end Osi Umenyiora (New York Giants), quarterback Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys), Clinton Portis (Washington Redskins running back) highlight the struggles of playing in such a tough division and by the end of the regular season, the last team standing is either all the better for it (2007-08 New York Giants) or physically exhausted (2008-09 Philadelphia Eagles).
That is why the NFC is such an enigma. Heading into each season, it’s hard to tell which scenario will begin to play out come the end of the season, but if the Eagles can maintain the wear-and-tear of another draining year in the league’s toughest division, they will be the team to beat in the playoffs. Philadelphia is a tough city and the Eagles are a reflection of the community for which they represent. The Eagles have the hard-nosed identity necessary to survive the deep division, but whether they have the resolve to fight through the playoffs is another question all together.