NFL Predictions: NFC East
Our final division of predictions: the NFC East. This concludes our series of NFL previews which most recently featured the NFC North (links to other divisions there).
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Aaron wrote:
ReplyDelete"So I left the NFC East for last, because it's going to be incredibly competitive in an ugly way. (you like how I did the good the bad, and the ugly with the NFC West, South, and East, respectively?)
Most Power Rankings currently have the Giants and the Eagles among the top five teams in football. The Cowboys, along with the Chargers might have the best team on Madden (I am going to use Madden to replace the term, 'best team on paper' because it is a little more realistic, practical and up-to-date). They have talent at every position, regardless of how they come together as a team. And as always, the Redskins are overpaying free agents to try and get into the playoffs. They always overpay for the best players, an if Jason Campbell can develop a little confidence, then they could be dangerous.
That being said, I called this the ugly division, because they all have some major flaws. The Giants are going to be seriously hamstrung at wide receiver, and it has yet to be seen if Eli Manning can step up and be a great QB. A good QB will get the ball to his playmakers, not make mistakes, and win games. A great QB will make average players look great. They will still run the ball and rush the passer, but they better figure out a passing game. Although I do enjoy how "Shooting yourself in the leg" has replaced "Shooting yourself in the foot" as an idiom.
Donovan McNabb tends not to get credit for being a great QB, and I think I would vote him into the Hall of Fame if I had a vote. Brian Westbrook keeps getting older and frailer, but I'm not going to count him out yet. The biggest losses were Brian Dawkins, Lito Sheppard, and the late Jim Johnson, their defensive coordinator. The combination of Johnson and Dawkins, meant the opposing offense never had any idea what Dawkins was going to do and that made him incredibly dangerous. We'll have to see how the defense recovers from the loss of one of the greatest coaches in the NFL.
The Cowboys lost Terrell Owens and Jessica Simpson, probably the two biggest distractors. Tony Romo is probably a great guy to hang out with, but I don't see him or anyone else stepping up and bringing all the parts together to produce something greater than their sum.
Finally, the Redskins have had the talent to compete for many years, but they do so through free agency rather than the draft. This tends to lead to a lack of depth and the inability to make up for mistakes by the front office and injuries. There are a lot of factors and a lot of things falling into place for them to make the playoffs, but I'll say they are in the exact same boat as the Jaguars, in that the majority of their success will be dependent on their young QB playing better than he has in the last few years."
Yes Aaron, I like how you did the good, the bad, and the ugly with the NFC divisions...
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Cowboys and Eagles are probably going to have down years. From a fantasy perspective I like the Cowboys offense, but I can't imagine they're an elite team again.
Donovan McNabb is a player where I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop - the inevitable injury, or mistake in a clutch moment, or whatever. Is the Eagles defense really good though? Or am I just remembering their reputation?
I like the Giants the most for some reason, I feel like their offensive line is really good. They had 3 running backs who did well last year, that's gotta be the line more than the players. Bradshaw and Jacobs should continue to produce and Eli can just spread the ball around. He did win a Super Bowl, so it's hard to detract too much at this point.
Do you think the Giants can return a stud defense with everyone healthy and really dominate this division?
Does Michael Vick make any kind of impact on the Eagles, for that matter?
Final note - I love the term "best on Madden" to replace best on paper. To anyone of our generation you instantly get the metaphor.
Also, shot in the leg is a fun reinvention of shot in the foot. I'm excited we learned about that from Plaxico.