NFC East Report

By Dale Sims & Kurt Schumacher

This may be the toughest division in the NFC all of the teams could be dangerous to the rest of the division but any one of them could easily end up being most dangerous to themselves.  They play the NFC North and the AFC East, which will present some unevenness depending upon the home and away breakdown, Dallas for example catches both New England and the Jets at home.  Dallas has the talent edge in the division particularly on defense, which gives them the nod in our 2007 NFC East preview, but there are many things that could go wrong (or right) with any or all of these teams.

Dallas                           13-3

Philadelphia                   10-6

Washington                   6-10

New York Giants            5-11

Dallas

Dallas has to hate the way the last season ended.  The defense was somewhat inconsistent and the offense fell off at the end of the season, the muffed field goal attempt in the playoffs was somehow fitting.  This season they should have a somewhat more active defense, still vulnerable over the top but also more capable of making the big defensive play.  The offensive line will see some changes, Leonard Davis, an underperforming tackle with Arizona, will play right guard and Kosier will be taking over at the other guard spot.  If those changes go smoothly, the offense should be quite productive.

Of course, things might not go smoothly.  There is always the Owens factor to consider, if things go well on the offense things will probably be fine.  If he starts down the path to team deconstruction can Phillips get him reined in?  The change in coaching staffs can also be a distraction.

Philadelphia

The Eagles improved their defensive line depth and should be better against the run.  They may have found additional value with Spikes if healthy; it is not unusual for it to take two seasons to recover from an Achilles’ tear.  The secondary is still suspect, which in this division has to be a concern, though the defensive scheme has always been more about pressure on the quarterback rather than coverage.  Offensively they have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL.  The loss of Stallworth will not be very significant to their passing game having added Curtis and having depth there to begin with.

Can McNabb stay healthy through an entire season; if not, can Feeley step in at the same level of effectiveness that Garcia displayed last season.  Of course, they still have the issue of their power running game, or lack thereof. 

Washington

Washington is a very talented team and if you just look at their first team players, there is plenty of reason for optimism.  Looking at the rest of the roster however is somewhat concerning; they have no depth, which also affects their special teams play.  Their pass rush last season was the leagues worse by a wide margin, while they might scheme to improve this but that is likely to expose them elsewhere.  Their depth along the offensive line is also likely going to be an issue before the season is over.  Campbell is still learning his craft and the offensive line will be undergoing some adjustments, his on the job learning curve had better be quick.  The coaching here is first rate, perhaps they will stay healthy and figure out a way to work around their issues, or perhaps too many cooks do spoil the broth.

New York Giants

The Giants start the season with five games that could see them standing one and four.  The Giants will be rebuilding a bit and are going to have problems saving their coach's job if they get off to a slow start.  Given the natural propensity for this group to start agitating in the locker room, things could fall apart here in a hurry.  Replacing Barber will be an issue more because of his leadership than his versatility as a running back.  The offensive line has to settle the question of who will be the left tackle and generally play more consistently than last season.  Defensively Ross will start immediately but rookie cornerbacks usually struggle and in this division that rates to be the case; the linebacker corps is thin and the Giants could have trouble holding up against the run. Expect an up and down season.

Summary

The NFC East is a scary group to try to figure out; there are many strange possibilities here.  Any of these teams are capable of losing this division, although not necessarily of actually winning it, except perhaps by default.  The win/loss order given seems to be reasonable for “normal” fortune for the individual teams but considerable variance is possible and perhaps even likely.  It will probably take some time into the regular season before the fate of some of these teams becomes clear.  Implosion seems to be a lively possibility for the Giants, and any team with Owens on it can be a candidate for in-season turmoil.  If the Redskins stay healthy, and their quarterback continues to mature, they could surprise a few people.

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