NFC East Rankings| Judging Trends

[drtdrums]

The NFC East is widely considered the toughest division in football, and I don't think anyone here will really argue that fact. The East is probably sending two teams to the playoffs this year, so it's important for us to have a clear picture of what we face. Once we reach the playoffs, anything could happen, so I'm not even going there with this thread.

The Redskins, depending on their offensive production, could be the best team or the worst (I personally think it's somewhere between #1 and #3...I'll explain why in a moment). But it really does hinge on their offense, which scored around 16 ppg last year (a touchdown below league average). So with that in mind, here is how I see the rankings of teams and the trends of their respective offenses and defenses.

1. Giants: Offense trending down (not by much), Defense somehow trending up despite being horrifyingly good already.

2. Redskins: Offense trending up (because it simply couldn't get much worse. An extra year of learning the system and having a few more targets will help also). Defense trending up with major additions.

3. Eagles: I can't call this one. Someone help me out. One moment I see them trending up in both categories, and the next time I blink they look exceedingly average.

4. Cowboys: Offense is trending down in all likelihood, but running attack could be scary. Defense is also trending down.

Schedule:

While anything is possible, I think a realistic view of our NFC East schedule has us somewhere between 2-4 and 4-2.

That leaves ten games that I'll split into two categories (should win, dog-fight [no Vick jokes plz =p]).

Should win: Lions, Bucs, Rams, Chiefs, Raiders (Best case: 5-0 Worst Case: 3-2)

Dog-Fight: Panthers, Chargers, Broncos, Falcons, Saints (Best Case: 4-1, Worst Case: 2-3)

Looking at the schedules of our NFC East rivals, we come out ahead and I have us trending toward at least a #2 slot.

What I'd love to hear is thoughts from all of you regarding whether our NFC East rivals are going to be trending up or down and where that puts us respectively in the division.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[GibbsFactor]

The Broncos will suck this year, we match up well with the Saints.

The Giants will be good as long as that offensive line stays healthy.

[skinsbosoxheels]

Caught a break playing Chargers last game of season. In all probability, the Chargers will have their division wrapped up and will play this game like a preseason game.

[ST is my boy]

Giants

Offense - Will be much of the same. They are going to run the ball, and run it well. Eli excels at not having to do much. He wont have to.

Defense - Will once again be a force to be reckon with. This team is going to win the division.

Eagles

Offense - Trending up. Improved offensive line(not as much as people are making it out to be). Jackson and Maclin are going to be VERY tough to cover all game long with Westbrook coming out of the flats.

Defense - Trending down. No Jim Johnson, No Dawkins, No Bradley. They will be down, but they will still be a solid unit led by there secondary.

Cowboys

Offense - Trending down, but not really by much. They will have a good running game, and a decent passing attack. Its all on Romo.

Defense - Same. They will pretty much be the same solid unit as last year. Good pass rush, beatable secondary.

Redskins

Offense - Same. I would say trending up but I dont think it would be enough to mention it. I think we will be somewhere inbetween the first 8 games, and the last 8 games.

Defense - Trending up. This SHOULD be the best D the skins have had in years. They should create more turnovers then we have seen in some time with this D.

All that said I dont think the division is going to go much different than usual. Every team fighting all year......but sadly in the end the same teams at the top (Giants, Eagles), and the same team at the bottom (skins...)

[BigMike21]

Giants

Offense - I don't think the run game will hurt with the loss of Ward and the rookie that just got injured. Brandon Jacobs is a force to be reckoned with when he is healthy. Granted his running style makes him prone to injuries Bradshaw is going to be a top of the league backup. Obviously as everyone knows the question is the passing game. If Eli can mesh with the receivers this could be a very efficient championship offense.

Defense - They will trend upwards. The line is sick, just sick. If Boley gets healthy he is really going to help in the flats especially when playing the Brian Westbrook types. I also think Kenny Philips is going to have a breakout year at safety.

Eagles

Offense - Trending up definitely. Brian Westbrook is starting the season relatively healthy with a fresh rookie RB to spell him. McNabb is still at the top of his game and with a new offensive line might really make some damage. Desean Jackson is a star in the making but maybe Maclin can contribute like Jackson did as a rookie. And of course with Michael Vick just being there the coaches have to at the very least spend time planning for him during the week.

Defense - Trending down a little bit but not too much. The loss of Jim Johnson won't hurt as much as people think because I bet the Eagles knew he wasn't coming back even before his sad passing. I would be more worried about the loss of leader Dawkins then anything else on the defense. But their cornerbacks are pretty top notch and I'm sure they will still blitz great.

Cowboys

Offense - I actually think this is trending up. I think the RB core is going to be sick.....and it makes me sick. Felix Jones will be a playmaker which will allow Barber to go back to the effective player he was before he was "the man" last year for the running attack. The loss of T.O. hurts but if Williams stays healthy Romo will be fine. He obviously has great repore with Witten and this Bennet kid could be something special as well.

Defense - I think their defense will be about the same...which is still pretty good. Great pass rush and front seven defense with a weak secondary. One of the young cornerbacks need to step up and help Newman on the outsides.

Redskins

Offense - Geez I dunno. The same I guess. THe only way it can be worse is if the running game never gets close to how it was during the first half of last season. Obviously it's all about Campbell, the line, and the young receivers.

Defense - Trending up.....they should be better based just on the addition of Albert. I'm a little concerned about the cornerbacks. I felt like we cut Shawn Springs to keep Jason Taylor but that didn't pan through. If we still had Springs I'd feel a lot more comfortable.


I honestly thing any team could win the division but if I had to pick right now my money would be on the Giants.

[HA1LV1CT0RY]

Watching the panthers giants game, the way their O-line brushed people aside and opened holes, made my mouth water. I can't wait to see what happens vs our D-line.

[txkid]

The Broncos and Saints are not that good. The Broncos are rebuilding and the Saints have no D. The Raiders could surprise this season.

[jflow78]

3. Eagles: I can't call this one. Someone help me out. One moment I see them trending up in both categories, and the next time I blink they look exceedingly average.

I think the Eagles had a great run last season and got hot at the right time, but I don't think that's going to happen again this year. It was like the Giants the year before, they were awful to start the season and everyone was calling for Coughlin and Eli's heads. I remember someone saying Coughlin had half a season before he was out, Mike (the big one) from Mike & Mike called their season over after game 2. Then what happenned, they got insanely hot and ended up beating the undefeated Pats in the SB.

Even Norv Turner's Skins team made a deep playoff run, not saying Turner is anywhere near Reid, but it happens. The Eagles were on a downward slump until their playoff run (remember Philly fans calling for Reid and McNabb's heads last season), and I think they'll return to the downward slide this season. Maybe not, but that's just my opinion.

Jason Peters is garbage and I can't wait to watch Carter (with Big Al next to him) play against him.