As NFL football season is hours away, we’re wrapping up our season previews for each division, similar to our draft preview. Today, we take a look at the NFC East.
Washington Redskins:
The NFC East was one of the weakest divisions in football last year, with the Washington Redskins winning the division with a 9-7 record. The Skins look stronger coming into this year, than last. Last year, they were hampered by their controversy at quarterback, with Kirk Cousins being named the starter late in the preseason, while former #2 overall pick Robert Griffin III rode the bench. Cousins never relinquished the starting job, playing his way into the franchise tag and close to $21 million dollars. He also has had a whole offseason to prepare for this season, and hopes to continue on the success he had during the last weeks of the season. Cousins’ lacks help in the running game, with second year back Matt Jones struggling with injury and holding onto the ball, while speedster Chris Thompson lacks the physical ability needed to be an every down back. Rookie Robert Kelley has the chance to eventually take the job for his own, but he’s just a rookie. What Cousins is missing in the run game, he has an embarrassment of riches with pass catchers. Jordan Reed could be the second best tight end in football and is lining up next to local product Vernon Davis. Davis’ success in San Francisco speaks to his own ability and provides Cousins with two #1 tight ends. At wideout, the Redskins have the best deep threat in football in DeSean Jackson as well as one of the better possession receivers in Pierre Garcon. Behind those two is second year wideout Jamison Crowder, who caught 59 balls for 604 yards in his rookie campaign. And that doesn’t even focus on their 1st round pick this year in TCU WR, Josh Doctson. Doctson hasn’t touched the field yet, but maybe a late season boost for the Skins. Protecting the QB is Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams, who is consistently one of the best tackles in football. The Skins also hope that O-Line coach Bill Callahan, can continue to develop young players like Morgan Moses, Spencer Long, and Brandon Scherff into dominant players.
Defensively, the Skins added one of the best cornerbacks in football during the offseason in Josh Norman. Norman was in the Super Bowl last year with the Panthers and now he hopes that he and third year corner, Bashaud Breeland, and become one of the best corner duos in the league. In addition, the team hopes that the duo of Mason Foster and Will Compton will become one of the better linebacker duos. Compton is a young player with a lot of intelligence, while Foster is a veteran who played well in Tampa Bay before coming to Washington. The team lacks a pass rusher besides linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, largely due to Junior Galette injuring his achilles before the season began. DeAngelo Hall and Will Blackmon are trying to transition from Corner to Safety and continue their successful careers. Can Washington repeat as division champs?
New York Giants:
The New York Giants made headlines this offseason with the free agent acquisitions of Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins, helping to improve their defense. On the defense they have Jason Pierre Paul and his numb of a hand at defensive end opposite Vernon. If he can get comfortable playing with a club, he might be able to recapture his play making abilities. Vernon on the other hand is coming off a season in Miami where he had 7.5 sacks alone. If he can play like he did in 2013, where he posted 11.5 sacks and career numbers, then the Giants pass rush should be deadly. Their linebackers on the other hand, don’t look terribly good. Jasper Brinkley and Jonathan Casillas look to the starters at the moment, but neither have shown the potential to be more than NFL journeymen. Devon Kennard, on the other hand, is a young player who has gotten better each season in the league. Entering his third season, he has the chance to breakout as a star this year. Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins is in the same spot as he enters his fourth season, though missed last year due to injury. If these two can blossom into star defensive players, watch for the Giants to be dangerous defensively. In the secondary, the G-Men have Janoris Jenkins coming over from the Rams, back when they were in St. Louis. Opposite him is Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who’s performed well throughout career. Landon Collins and Darian Thompson join those two. Collins was a second round pick last year out of Alabama, while Thompson is a rookie from Boise State. So is the story of the Giants defense, if their youth can perform then they will be a good defensive team.
On the other side of the ball we have Eli Manning. The younger Manning brother will hope that he, and his offense can score for that young defense. Manning is a bad quarterback by any means. It’s quite the opposite; Eli Manning is a franchise quarterback, a very good one. His two Super Bowl rings can back up his talent, but like his brother often felt, Manning has no help running the ball. Rashad Jennings is a decent back, but not one that defenses will respect like an AP or Todd Gurley. At wide out, OBJ continues to be one of the best young players in the game. He is joined by a rookie Sterling Shepard and returning Victor Cruz, who missed last season and most of the previous with a leg injury. Shepard was a second round pick, and Cruz was a Pro Bowler prior to his injury, but neither are proven as of now. Protecting Manning is Justin Pugh and Erick Flowers, both first round draft picks from the past three years. The line is fairly good and will give Manning time to reach his dynamic playmakers. Will winning the offseason help Big Blue win in the regular season?
Dallas Cowboys:
The Cowboys had a poor season last year, largely due to Tony Romo missing extended time because of an injury. Welp, he’s injured again and now rookie Dak Prescott leads the Cowboys offense. Prescott looked good in the preseason, but it’s easy to look good against preseason opponents. He has a combination of speed, footwork and arm strength to succeed in the league. However, it all depends on his accuracy and decision making against real NFL talent. At running back is another rookie, #4 overall pick, Ezekiel Elliott. Zeke had a monster college career but might have been out played by Alfred Morris in the offseason. Meanwhile third string Darren McFadden could very well start on most teams in the league. Dez Bryant is a bonafide star and will help these rookies by bearing the load offensively when needed. Jason Witten is still around and somehow becomes a better threat offensively as he ages. Guarding the backfield is the best offensive line in football with Doug Free and Tyron Smith holding the tackle spots. La’el Collins and Zack Martin are at guard and Travis Frederick is a center. They are just good, no other way to put it.
On defense the Cowboys don’t have much solidified talent besides Sean Lee and Brandon Carr. The pass rush is poor at best and wasn’t helped by the suspension of Randy Gregory. The team is filled with journeymen and low draft picks who aren’t bad, but have yet to flash in their years through the NFL. Byron Jones has the potential to flourish at safety in his second season, while Orlando Scandrick will benefit from a larger role in the defense. Eric Church hopes to do the same at safety. At linebacker, Anthony Hitchens hopes to keep his starting role in the middle. Hitchens was drafted in 2014 in the 4th round, and has 142 tackles in the past two years. If he can break the 100 tackle mark for the first time in his career, the Cowboys might have a competitive linebacking core. Otherwise, watch for Sean Lee to dominate while the others pick up scraps. At tackle, the Cowboys are currently starting Tyrone Crawford, with rookie Maliek Collins behind him. Dallas drafted both. If the two can create some production, the pass rush might not be as bad as we thought. Will any of that matter without Tony Romo?
Philadelphia Eagles:
The last team in the division is the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are coming into the season with a new head coach, after firing Chip Kelly last year due to poor performance. Now, Doug Pederson, disciple of long time Eagles coach Andy Reid, is the big cheese within the Eagles coaching staff. And their offseason featured a cleansing of all players associated with Kelly, including Kiko Alonso, Byron Maxwell, and Sam Bradford. All three were traded for draft picks, with Bradford going to Minnesota this past week for a first rounder. Yes, Sam “my legs are made of fiberglass” Bradford was traded for a 1st round pick in 2016. What a time to be alive? To fill the void, the Eagles will start #2 overall pick, Carson Wentz, at quarterback. Wentz has all the physical tools to succeed in the league, but playing his college ball at the D1AA level, has led to people doubting his ability to play with NFL talent. It probably doesn’t help that he spent most of the preseason hurt with a rib injury. Should Wentz get hurt or just plain suck, the Eagles signed the league’s highest paid backup QB, in Chase Daniels. Daniels, mind you, has 464 career passing yards, with one touchdown and one interception in 5 years. Sounds like a solid use of $21 Million over three years. I digress; the Eagles have a very poor offense. Their most threatening offensive weapon is Darren Sproles, who is 5’1 and 33 years old. Ok he might be taller but not by much. He and Ryan Matthews hope to bear the offensive load while their rookie quarterback adjusts to the league. At wide receiver, Jordan Matthews is a solid receiver, but he’s not a pure talented #1 overall, and Nelson Agholor has raw talent but he’s spent too much time this offseason in the strip club. Dorial Green-Beckham, was traded for this offseason, and he might be the most threatening receiver on the roster. His deep play potential is better than anyone on the team, and he might be the best weapon for Wentz this season. Their best offensive position is tight end where Zach Ertz hopes to finally have a breakout season. His backup, Brent Celek, is a proven veteran and can provide a solid target for their ginger quarterback. Protecting Wentz is Jason Peters, an older injury prone tackle, who can dominant when healthy, as well as Jason Kelce, who is a solid NFL center. Left tackle Lane Johnson is one of the better tackles in the league, but he will miss 10 games this year due to a PED suspension. Looking at the other side of the ball and it doesn’t get much better.
The Eagles hired a new D coordinator this offseason in Jim Schwartz. He will change the defense from a 3-4 to a 4-3. His defensive tackle, Fletcher Cox is a man, a bad, bad man. The d-tackle signed a rightfully earned extension this offseason, and he is looking to prove that he’s worth it. He is joined on the Defensive Line with Connor Barwin, a free agent from 2012, who has proved his worth in his three years in Philly. Brandon Graham plays the other defensive end spot, though he has yet to live up to his first round potential from when he was drafted in 2010. Vinny Curry could take over for Graham and he should, because he’s better suited for the 4-3 system. Schwartz enjoys blitzing and expect the Eagles to do that a bunch this season. The linebacking core is young, with Jordan Hicks and Mychael Kendricks as the bright spots here. The two have potential to be solid NFL Pros, but they are not yet there. The starting secondary is a hodgepodge of differing defensive backs, none of which were drafted by the Eagles. In fact, the only defensive back drafted by the Eagles is Jalen Mills, who was drafted in the 7th round this year. Mills could be a great player, and he was thought to be a first round pick, but an arrest for battery put him in a pickle. The charges have since been dropped, but he has talent. Rodney McLeod will start at one of the corner positions, having spent 5 seasons in St. Louis before coming to Philly this offseason. Opposite him is Nolan Carroll, who came over from Miami last offseason. After spending the 2015 season on IR, he hopes to have an bigger impact on the defensive side of the ball. Behind these two are Malcolm Jenkins and Leodis McKelvin, both starting at safety. Jenkins came over from the Saints after the 2013 season; while McKelvin came over from Buffalo this past offseason. Can their defense and running game help their inexperienced quarterback flourish? Or will this circus bigger than Barnum and Bailey’s?
Asinine Predictions That Will Probably Not be True
NFC East Champs: Washington Redskins
- Washington Redskins: 9-7
- New York Giants: 8-8
- Dallas Cowboys: 7-9
- Philadelphia Eagles: 3-13
Tell us what you think?
