NFL Eastern Promises: Previewing the NFC East in 2011
After an NFC East season filled with drama all across the board, including: The benching of Donovan McNabb (twice), the resurgence of Michael Vick, the firing of Wade Phillips, the Desean Jackson punt return against New York, and the Eagles being eliminated from the playoffs on a late Vick interception, it is time to move forward and take a look at what is awaiting the East in 2011.
The Eagles staked their claim to the NFC East after Dallas lost four of their first five and then losing Tony Romo for the season during their sixth game.
The Giants blew their season in one quarter against the Eagles after being ahead the entire game and allowing Desean Jackson to return a punt for a touchdown on the final play of regulation.
And the Redskins...well they were the same old Redskins with a flashy ego-driven new coach.
Now, introducing the 2011 NFC East...
Washington Redskins
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The Redskins finished tied for last place in the division in 2010 with a 6-10 record. The Redskins continued their trend of having a flashy offseason that didn't equivalate to much on the football field.
With Donovan McNabb and Mike Shanahan coming to town, Redskins fans thought they had finally found their head coach-quarterback combo. That combination lasted all but eight weeks, when Washington walked into Detroit and got trumped by the Lions.
Washington Redskins: Expectations Of Free Agency
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Potential Key Free Agents:
The Redskins don't have many players who are expected to hit the market as unrestricted free agents outside of Jammal Brown, Santana Moss, and Carlos Rogers.
Jammal Brown came on late for the Redskins this season and I expect the Redskins to lock him up long-term to ensure that they have two good tackles on this roster with Brown and Trent Williams for years to come.
The Redskins will probably look to re-sign Santana Moss, as well, but only if the price is right. Moss will likely be replaced with a more elite free agent receiver (i.e. Chad Ochocinco or Sidney Rice) if he commands too much money.
Carlos Rogers is probably the most likely of the three to be wearing a different uniform next season. Rogers was not happy with the Redskins for signing him to a tender last season and has often voiced displeasure in Washington. Rogers seemed happier this season than he was in the past, but the drama of the locker room may be enough to force Rogers out of town.
Washington Redskins: On The Clock
3 of 16The Redskins are expected to let Donovan McNabb walk free or trade him once the league and union can come to an agreement on a new CBA.
Look for the Redskins to resign Rex Grossman without much competition and he will likely start training camp as the starting quarterback.
With that in mind, expect the Redskins to look long and hard at Cam Newton and Ryan Mallett in the first round of the NFL Draft.
As Mel Kiper and I have both predicted, look for the Redskins to select Cam Newton with their first round selection. Newton has all the attributes that you look for in a star, the Redskins will hope he can sit for a year behind Grossman and learn the system before throwing him under the gun.
With their second round choice I would expect the Redskins to go a number of directions, it could be either receiver, running back, interior offensive lineman, or cornerback (depending on which needs they fill in free agency).
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Washington Redskins: How They Perform in 2011
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The Redskins will use free agency to make some high profile signings that could include Davin Joseph and Michael Bush to add youth and talent to this team.
Look for them to improve on their 6-10 season, but don't expect them to make the playoffs just yet, if Cam Newton can learn the offense and the system fast enough he likely will be entered into the lineup by Week 10.
With a year under Shanahan's belt look for the offense to improve, and the front office to get the pieces they need to operate in the 3-4, this team should be moving up in the standings, not down.
With or Without a new quarterback, expect the Redskins to improve by two games on their 2010 record and finish the year 8-8.
Dallas Cowboys
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Dallas went through an emotional roller coaster this past season. They entered the season hoping to play in the Super Bowl in their home stadium.
That didn't work out too well as Tony Romo broke his collarbone and went out for the season during Week Six. Wade Phillips departure from Dallas followed Romo's injury by just a couple of weeks.
It is now time for Jason Garrett to take control of the Cowboys and see if he can lead the team back to the Super Bowl.
Dallas Cowboys: Expectations Of Free Agency
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Potential Key Free Agents:
The Cowboys have some key potential free agents on the offensive line in Doug Free and Kyle Kozier. The Cowboys let Flozell go after last season in hopes that Doug Free would be their future LT. Free did a solid job this year, however, he was not as consistent as Flozell Adams was in the past.
On the defensive side of the ball the Cowboys have three key defensive ends who will be hitting free agency in Marcus Spears, Stephen Bowen and Jeremy Clark, along with Alan Ball and Gerald Sensabaugh hitting the open market in the secondary.
Of these players, the least likely to return would be Kyle Kozier, Gerald Sensabaugh, and either Jeremy Clark or Stephen Bowen.
The Cowboys will need a strong free agent and draft class to fill the losses of these players.
Dallas Cowboys: On The Clock
7 of 16The Cowboys desperately need help in the secondary and would love to have Prince Amukamara fall to them, in reality though that will probably not happen so they likely are going to be forced to trade up a couple picks to land the stud cornerback.
With Amukamara in the fold, the Cowboys secondary is immediately improved by giving Dallas two shutdown corners in Newman and Amukamara.
In the later rounds of the draft, Dallas will focus on replacing Kozier at guard and attempt to boast their defensive line.
Dallas Cowboys: How They Perform in 2011
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Dallas will once again emerge as a competitor in the NFC East, however, they will not return to being a Super Bowl contender.
Tony Romo should add some consistency that the offense was lacking in 2010, but Romo will be 31 this season and has yet to really prove himself in big time games.
The defense was inconsistent at times last year, especially in the secondary and that will likely remain the same in 2011.
If Dallas can bring in some key free agents that fit their team mold (i.e Dawan Landry, Eric Weddle, and Davin Joseph) they may be able to compete for the top spot in the division.
Without those players look for a 9-7 finish out of the Cowboys, as their offensive line and their safeties will continue to struggle.
New York Giants
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The Giants struggled down the stretch in 2010, they appeared to be running away with the division with just six weeks remaining, then everything fell apart.
Eli Manning had a great statistical year, until his 25 interceptions happened, Ahmad Bradshaw also had a stellar year, until his 12 fumbles (8 lost) occurred.
The Giants defense was very inconsistent toward the end of the season, especially in the fourth quarter of the Eagles game, and the offensive line was horrendous at times.
New York Giants: Expectations Of Free Agency
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Potential Key Free Agents:
The Giants have a couple big names that could hit the free agent market once a new CBA is reached. The biggest names are Ahmad Bradshaw and Steve Smith.
Traditionally, the Giants have done a very good job of keeping their talent at home, that won't change here as both of these guys will get the money they are looking for and stay in New York.
The biggest name free agent that won't be suiting up for the Big Blue next season is Mathias Kiwanuka. The Giants drafted Jason Pierre-Paul last year and love his upside, they will likely give hiim a shot to make the starting lineup in 2011.
Other free agents that the Giants will hope to re-sign include: Kevin Boothe, Danny Ware, Kevin Boss, and Barry Cofield.
New York Giants: On The Clock
11 of 16The Giants first round selection will be a no-brainer, they need to get a cornerstone LT. David Diehl gave up half of the sacks that the entire team gave up this past season and neither him nor William Beatty is the answer.
The Giants will likely land either Anthony Castonzo or Derek Sherrod with the 19th selection in the draft, whichever one the Giants front office feels can come in and start from day one.
In the later rounds of the draft the Giants will look to upgrade their depth at linebacker, cornerback, and defensive tackle.
New York Giants: How They Perform in 2011
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As long as the Giants can keep their talent at home they will be a force once again in the NFC East. The Giants continually hurt themselves this season with self-inflicted wounds, so a big key in their season will be limiting those wounds.
Eli needs to protect the ball better, and Bradshaw might be best served calling up Tiki Barber and asking him how he corrected his fumbling problems.
Look for the Giants to learn from their mistakes this season and recover to land a playoff berth in 2011 as they finish with an 11-5 record.
Philadelphia Eagles
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The 2010 season will go down as a successful one for the Philadelphia Eagles as they performed effectively down the stretch to win the NFC East.
The loss to Green Bay in the playoffs probably doesn't hurt as much knowing that they played the Packers better than anyone else has to this point.
As everyone knows, the big headline out of Philadelphia this season was the return of Michael Vick. Most of the football world was happy to see Vick put his life back together and dazzle the league, once again.
Hidden under the shadow of Vick was the emergence of future All Pro running back, Lesean McCoy. McCoy broke out this season both in the passing and the running game, helping the Eagles offense put up electrifying numbers.
Philadelphia Eagles: Expectations of Free Agency
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Potential Key Free Agents:
Since Michael Vick is technically an unrestricted free agent he has to be listed here, but it is no secret that he will be back in Philadelphia next year as long assuming the franchise tag is still in play in 2011.
The players who will actually hit the market for the Eagles would include Stewart Bradley, Max Gean-Jiles, Quintil Mikell, Dimitri Patterson, and Ernie Sims.
Of those players the two most likely to be out of Philadelphia would be Ernie Sims and Dimitri Patterson. Ernie Sims has underperformed in Philadelphia but he did improve down the stretch and it is possible someone else finds his services more valuable. The Eagles have been known to let good corners walk in the past, but they will most likely keep Patterson.
I don't see any chance of the Eagles letting Gean-Jiles or Bradley go anywhere as they are both essential assets to this team, and Mikell probably won't have as much value outside of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Eagles: On The Clock
15 of 16The Eagles will likely be selecting the best player available in the draft and will not be drafting based on need as they do not have that many holes. Adding another corner to the mix would be a good strategy for the Eagles, as would adding a defensive tackle or an offensive tackle.
However, the biggest need for the Eagles is outside linebacker. With the 23rd selection in the draft I expect Justin Houston to still be on the board and for the Eagles to swoop him up and bring him to Philly.
Houston had 19.5 sacks this past season with the Georgia Bulldogs and would immediately improve the Eagles pass rush.
Philadelphia Eagles: How They Perform in 2011
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The Eagles will finish the 2011 season with the same record as the New York Giants, 11-5. Michael Vick can be up and down at times as we saw toward the end of the year this season, but 11-5 is a very respectable record in what will be a competitive NFC East with the Cowboys and Redskins both finishing at .500 or above.
The Eagles, behind the arm and legs of Michael Vick will win the division for the second straight year with the tiebreaker over the New York Giants and host a home playoff matchup.
The Eagles could very well be a Super Bowl contender next season and should be suiting up in the NFC Championship game next year.
Get your popcorn ready to watch Aaron Rodgers and Michael Vick battle it out in the NFC Championship game in January of 2012, however, expect the same result again as the Packers will appear in back to back Super Bowls.
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