Are You Ready For Some Football: Who's The Beast In The NFC East

The beasts in the east are ready to mix it up again. Let's take a look at one of, if not the toughest division in the NFL. With a tumultuous off-season full of free agency, trades and the recent draft this division once again presents some nightmares for coordinators in the rest of the NFL.

The biggest spectacle on EARTH is always Jerry's KIDS.

There are no more excuses left for Romo and company. GONE, Holla back to T.O., Pacman, Tank and Roy Williams(SS). United we stand and divided we fall.                 Chris Canty well we'll get up. Zach Thomas and Greg Ellis are beyond their prime even though both had productive seasons last year. RESULT: No Mas. 

Key accquisitions Keith Brooking and Gerald Sensabaugh should make up for some of these loses in their 3-4 defense. Coupled with DeMarcus Ware and Bradie James their linebacking unit is one of the best in the NFL.

Their version of a draft may have been one of the biggest debacles since Crystal Clear Pepsi.

With no first round pick and the trade of their second round pick to the Bills fans anticipated some big moves in upcoming rounds. What they got was one of the top players in the Gateway Conference and a quarterback with a torn labrum who only started three games his senior season.

 3 GEMS: COUNT EM: 1, 2, 3: Robert Brewster, Victor Butler, and Brandon Williams.

• Brewster should be able to come in and play right away on the O line with his massive 6'4 325 frame. A starter by next year.

• Butler may be a little undersized for OLB, but his speed off the ball should allow for him to be able to keep up with TE's and RB's in the flat.

• Williams is small for a linebacker, as well, but has great footwork. I don't think any of these guys will be stars, but role players are probably better for Big D these days.

As for the rest of their draft... Well, rather unproductive would be putting it mildly. It will be up to the coaching staff to get the most out of these guys.

Final analysis for the boys is a decent 9-7 or 10-6 season at best. Is Roy Williams gonna be able to pick up for T.O.? Can Felix Jones stay healthy enough to run for nine yards per all season (like he did before he got hurt)? Will J Witt be able to produce with extra coverage being thrown at him?

But the biggest question is can Romo make a push in December to put the Boys in the playoffs. If not Brett Favre may still need a job.

After a 6-2 start last season the hogs were in prime position to make a deep playoff run. 265 total points on offense ranked a dismal 27th in the league. This is the main reason the skins placed last in the division and missed the playoffs.

You would think they would go out and bring in an explosive receiver to open up the offence since the RB and TE positions have carried the offence. Well, Dan Snyder and the hogs deep pockets went in a different direction. Instead, a cool $100 million to Albert Haynesworth and $54 million to DeAngelo Hall is going to tie up a lot of cap room for years to come.

Jason Campbell showed signs of maturity in his first season in the west coast offense. Let's see how he does knowing he can be replaced because front office flirted with Jay Cutler and mark Sanchez. Way to boost the young man's ego and nurture his first really productive season. We all know we can be replaced at some time but Campbell was really making progress.

So where does that leave us?

Brian Orakpo is going to need some work before he can accumulate the totals he got down their with the Horns. The Skins need to give him stability by deciding to put him at either DE or LB. Getting him a 13th may have been a steal. Or did other teams see his chronic injury problems as signs of things to come?

The Skins only gave up 18.5 a game. That was good enough for 6th in the league. The only problem: they only scored a pitiful 16.6 a game.

 Final analysis: The defense will keep the Skins in some games, but based on their schedule I see a 6-10 season at best. The offense doesn't have enough fire power to compete. Could Anquan Boldin or T.J. Who's your mama been a better choice than Haynesworth? In my opinion that's an astounding yes.

Two season's removed from their incredible Super Bowl run the Giant's are on the doorstep once again.

Key vets such as Derrick Ward, Plaxico Burress and Amani Tommer received their pink slips. A healthy dose of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs should be the recipe until young receivers are able to gain some consistency. This way Eli won't have to shoulder the offense with his arm.

Hey, he's already got enough pressure being Peytons' little bro.

Speaking of pressure, the D is  rejuvenated with the return of Osi Umenyoira. Even if Osi isn't 100 percent right off the bat Mathias Kiwanuka showed he can fill the void. With Justin Tuck anchoring the left side the Giants have a dominant defensive line.

When you couple that with a strong, quick linebacking corp and an underrated secondary the G-men's D will be frustrating offensive coordinator's everywhere.

Rookie receiver Hakeem Nicks should be able to produce immediately considering the pro style offence ran in Chapel Hill. While Ramses Barden will be a huge(literally) threat in the red zone. At 6'6 230 lbs my 86 year old grandma could hit him on a fade route in the corner for six. Eli will use all of his target's to distribute the ball seeing that no one caught for over 600 yards last year.

What it boils down to is 11-5 or 12-4 and a playoff berth. All the pieces are there to make a push. The one thing that scares me is they don't have a home run threat. There is still time to sign maybe a Marvin Harrison who is still really productive.

In February things didn't look good for the Eagles. Losing in the fourth quarter only a few weeks earlier Jeffrey Lurie and Andy Reid decided to clean house. Vet's such as Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan were sent packing as well as others.

Eagles fans didn't realize the vision management had.

How about this for starters:

• 6'7 340 lbs. Stacy Andrew who can play at guard or tackle. A six-year veteran signed to a six-year deal. This is a steal from Cincinnati who doesn't have a chance in its division.

•  Then they traded for Pro Bowl tackle Jason Peters from the Buffalo Bills for a first, fourth and sixth round pick. Great move for three picks because normally two of those picks won't even make the team. Another six-year contract and the Eagles are sitting pretty at offensive line.

• Add veteran cornerback Ellis Hobbs from the Pats for two fifth round picks for a little added depth. Just in case Sheldon Brown won't show or is lackluster when he does you got some backup.

 • Then the Birds hit it big when wide receiver Jeremy Maclin fell in their lap with the 19th pick. He only led the nation in all purpose yards (2,833) which ranks fifth all time in NCAA history. In his two seasons at Missouri he was First Team All American Both seasons. 

• LeSean McCoy only was only second in NCAA scoring at 9.7 a game. As a freshman at Pitt he broke Tony Dorsett's freshman records for points and td runs. He will give Brian Westbrook needed rest especially late in the season where Westbrooks' numbers tend to fall off. At the 53rd pick the birds had to take this guy which some analysts had going in the late first round.

• In the fifth round the Eagles nabbed tight end Cornelius Ingram from the University of Florida. If he can come back from an acl injury suffered last season he may be what the Eagles looked for in L.J. Smith. With his background at quarterback will Andy Reid open the playbook for the wildcat? Don't hold your breath.

A good mixture of vets and rookies with speed and power should set the Eagles ahead of the curve. Barring any major catastrophic injuries they are the best on paper in the NFC East. But, last season most would say the Cowboys were the best on paper and we all saw how that worked out. The Eagles will probably finish around 12-4 and win the division.

This division is always one of the toughest year in and year out. This year I believe they are head and shoulders above the rest. Look for the Eagles and Giants to make the playoffs and possibly the big game. But the Cowboys and Skins will be better than half of the league. Too bad they can't pick which division they play in cause the NFC West would be a lot more competitive.