NFC East Preview

[KrazyCatFan]

NFC East: Can Eagles rule the roost again?
By David Fischer
Special to NFL.com

Football's NFC East hasn't quite been that stable these last four years -- but the top line of the division standings hasn't changed since 2001, when the Philadelphia Eagles won the first of what is now four straight division crowns. In the modern NFL, where the draft order, strength of schedule and salary cap all exert a powerful gravitational pull on top teams, Philly has successfully thumbed its nose at Isaac Newton.

Can the Eagles five-peat in 2005? No run lasts forever, but given the seven-game gap that separated Philadelphia from its division foes in Dallas, New York and Washington last season, the strong presumption here is that it will soar again -- with or without Terrell Owens. While the disgruntled receiver has provided a summer's worth of distractions, this veteran-heavy team is unlikely to let the bad vibes linger too long. Even perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb -- a target of numerous T.O. barbs since last February's Super Bowl loss -- probably realizes that what Owens brings on the field is worth putting up with his antics off of it.

With no major personnel losses from last year's conference champions, a widely praised draft crop this past April and a relatively soft schedule, including only six 2004 playoff opponents, it's unlikely that anything short of a debilitating run of injuries will keep Philadelphia from another double-digit win campaign and another division title.

If the NFC East is to produce more than one playoff qualifier, the Cowboys are the most likely to step forward. New York looks to be better after two dismal seasons, but perhaps not quite ready for primetime. As for Washington, the Redskins might prove a pleasant distraction from concerns over the deficit, Iraq and nuclear proliferation. Or they might not.

Movers and Shakers
Given the anemic offenses of the three divisional also-rans (Dallas 14th, New York 23rd, Washington 30th), it's no surprise that the Giants, Cowboys and Redskins all looked to add firepower this offseason. New York and Washington brought in pass catchers, with the Giants signing former Steelers receiver Plaxico Burress to support second-year quarterback Eli Manning, and the 'Skins importing two new wideouts late of the AFC East, ex-Jet Santana Moss and former Patriot David Patten.

Dallas, already boasting three prime targets in receivers Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn and tight end Jason Witten, hopes to improve on the supply side of the passing game by reuniting coach Bill Parcells with his former New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe. The Cowboys -- who spent a total of approximately $27 million on free-agent deals this year -- also signed several new defensive starters, including nose tackle Jason Ferguson and cornerback Anthony Henry. With the additions of first-round draft picks Demarcus Ware and Marcus Spears, Parcells will likely send out a defensive unit that has turned over about half its regulars from last season.

Linebacker Antonio Pierce, a rising star with the Redskins last season, travels up I-95 to join the Giants.

What to Expect
The Eagles versus the curses: As if dealing with T.O. wasn't enough to worry about, Philadelphia has to contend with a number of difficult-to-quantify, but nonetheless distressing, factors in their quest for a fifth straight division title.

First, there's the seemingly inevitable post-Super Bowl letdown: The "Losers' Curse" has kept five of the last six Lombardi Trophy runners-up home the next postseason. (The one exception was the 2000 Tennessee Titans, who went 13-3 but lost their first playoff game.) Reasons why have varied, from roster aging (2000 Giants, 2002 Raiders) to unforeseeable injury epidemics (2003 Panthers) to the rapid decline of key players (2001 Rams).

In his usual focused way, coach Andy Reid has focused on the problem, and he thinks staying healthy is the biggest key. Unfortunately, the Eagles have already lost starting receiver Todd Pinkston for the year and are concerned about the health of running back Correll Buckhalter, among others. Perhaps even more disturbing is the image of McNabb on the cover of "Madden 2006," the popular video game whose past featured players have tended to decline in their year of prominence on the game box.

But we're confident Philadelphia fans -- a notoriously sober and rational bunch -- won't go overboard reacting to these hexes and will instead concentrate on the return of all but three starters (Pinkston, lost to the IR, and departed free agents Jermane Mayberry and Derrick Burgess) from last year's 13-win team. The returning talent should be enough to carry Philly back into meaningful January football.

Dallas rides again: In his first three coaching stops with the Giants, Patriots and Jets, Parcells delivered great things in his second season at the helm -- the Tuna's teams improved by an average of nearly five wins from his debut season. But Year 2 of the Parcells era with the Cowboys saw big disappointment in Big D, as the team fell from 10-6 and a playoff berth to 6-10 and an early offseason.


Some of Drew Bledsoe's best seasons have come under Bill Parcells.
A dive into the free-agent waters landed the 'Boys seven players at a total price tag of nearly $27 million. The most prominent addition is Bledsoe, slated to be Parcells' third starting quarterback in as many years. Both lines should be better as well, thanks to the arrival of Ferguson and guard Marco Rivera.

But the Cowboys' playoff hopes really rest on second-year tailback Julius Jones, a bright spot last season who averaged better than 100 yards per game, and a revamped 3-4 defense. Arguably the league's best defense in 2003, Dallas slipped to 16th last season while allowing 25.3 points per game. A return to the top 10, coupled with at least league-average performance from Bledsoe and Jones, avoiding both a sophomore slump and the trainer's office (he missed eight games in 2004), should put the Cowboys back in the saddle.

Giant steps for Eli and Big Blue: In New York, a former Parcells protégé has his own work cut out for him.

After imposing a strict regimen that, by some reports, nearly sparked a mutiny among Giants veterans last summer, second-year coach Tom Coughlin returns with a slightly mellower outlook and a franchise quarterback, Eli Manning, who the coach thinks is ready to start living up to the hype.

Manning won only the last of his seven starts in 2004, but made unmistakable progress as the season went on. Now he's got a new weapon in Burress, plus new blockers Bob Whitfield and Kareem McKenzie, who should strengthen an offensive line that allowed 52 sacks in 2004. Returnees Tiki Barber, coming off a superb 1,500-yard season rushing the football, and tight end Jeremy Shockey, reportedly in the best shape of his career, could speed up Manning's maturation process.

On the defensive side, the Giants will hope for better health from two key veterans, defensive end Michael Strahan and linebacker Carlos Emmons, and greater consistency from cornerbacks Will Peterson and Will Allen. New middle linebacker Pierce, who helped key the excellent Redskins defense from a year ago, has already impressed Coughlin and his staff as a superior on-field leader.

Controversy in the nation's capital: For the first time in recent memory, the Washington Redskins weren't the undisputed champions of the offseason in 2005. If anything, the moves made by once-and-again coach Joe Gibbs inspired more head scratching than adulation.

Gibbs traded disgruntled wide receiver Laveranues Coles (90 receptions in 2004) back to his old team, the New York Jets, for Moss, who had just 45 catches last year. Then Gibbs selected Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell in the first round of the April draft, just months after pledging himself to fourth-year signal-caller Patrick Ramsey.

Long considered an offensive mastermind, Gibbs is more likely to rely on a stalwart defense that coordinator Gregg Williams crafted into a top unit in 2004: The Redskins allowed just 267.6 yards per game, third best in the league. The question is whether that defense will suffer with the losses of linebacker Pierce and former starting cornerback Fred Smoot. Top draft pick Carlos Rogers, Smoot's presumed replacement, has been hobbled with an ankle injury throughout the summer.

When Washington has the ball, running back Clinton Portis is likely to be the key man once again after a feast-or-famine 2004. Though Portis had four games in which he rushed for 147 yards or more, his per-carry average dropped to 3.8 after two straight years averaging 5.5 with the Broncos.

If Portis doesn't step forward and new wideouts Moss and Patten don't stretch the field for a Washington offense that produced just 24 touchdowns last season, D.C. could be the scene of a three-way quarterback controversy between Ramsey, Campbell and veteran Mark Brunell, who started eight games last year.

[JMarkJohns]

Philadelphia: 12-4
Dallas: 10-6
Washington: 7-9
New York: 7-9

[bleedzgreen]

Eagles...the rest dont matter nor will they make the playoffs with teams in the South taking the wildcards and the Cards.

[tstein7240]

I think the Cowboys are one year away. They might sneak into the playoffs, but I see an 8-8 record... maybe 9-7. In theory, there are three groups on a winning team...

A good group of old guys
A good group of 28-31 year olds
A good group of young ones

Cowboys have some decent senior leadership via free agency
I think they have a really nice corp of young guys

But they are missing that middle group. Their drafts 3-5 years ago yielded nothing. That is the group they should be relying on now more than ever.

One player to watch out for... Demarcus Ware. This guy has the potential to be a major superstar. Still raw... but fast and a playmaker. In the game the other night he had a sack, 2 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery... and most impressive a diving interception... all in the first half. Not bad for a guy playing LB after playing the line at a small college.

[TopCat]

I've been very slowly getting back into the preseason hype for the Redskins, not that there's been much.

I will say that the defense should be awesome again this season. The defensive front looks solid, the linebacking corps, especially with a healthy Arrington, will be very aggressive, and the secondary looks solid except for the one cornerback position. Last season they were the #3 defense in the NFL, and set a modern era record for yards per carry against the run, all while missing several key members to season ending injuries. Look for the Redskins to be one of the premiere defenses in the NFL.

There's hope for the offense. It looks like the offensive line is extremely solid, especially with Jon Jansen back. I like what I've seen from the new receivers, something that was a serious question mark going in. It all depends on what Gibbs does with the play calling, and whether Ramsey is patient and smart enough to put the ball in the right spot.

If the offense can just average 21 to 24 points a game, with their defense, Washington's going to be a tough out.

[VirginiaCat]

Originally Posted by TopCat

I've been very slowly getting back into the preseason hype for the Redskins, not that there's been much.

I will say that the defense should be awesome again this season. The defensive front looks solid, the linebacking corps, especially with a healthy Arrington, will be very aggressive, and the secondary looks solid except for the one cornerback position. Last season they were the #3 defense in the NFL, and set a modern era record for yards per carry against the run, all while missing several key members to season ending injuries. Look for the Redskins to be one of the premiere defenses in the NFL.

There's hope for the offense. It looks like the offensive line is extremely solid, especially with Jon Jansen back. I like what I've seen from the new receivers, something that was a serious question mark going in. It all depends on what Gibbs does with the play calling, and whether Ramsey is patient and smart enough to put the ball in the right spot.

If the offense can just average 21 to 24 points a game, with their defense, Washington's going to be a tough out.

We are SOOOO Back!!!!

Rev up the skins bandwagon....here they come!!!!

[tstein7240]

Originally Posted by VirginiaCat

We are SOOOO Back!!!!

Rev up the skins bandwagon....here they come!!!!

Love pre season... everyone has a chance! Cowboys 16-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JMarkJohns]

Washington will be good if they abandon every QB not names Ramsey.

He's a good prospect and when you have Portis and Moss around you, you only need to be decent.

[bleedzgreen]

Ramsey wont cut it past this year...I wouldnt be surprised if he gets pulled mid season....why else draft a QB in the first round.?

Tstein, I was very surprised to see the record you gave the boys...about the same record I would give em for the same reasons you did. Ware is scary...so far.

[bleedzgreen]

boy, did ramsey prove me right tonight...

[JMarkJohns]

Originally Posted by bleedzgreen

boy, did ramsey prove me right tonight...

Huh? He went 12-19 for 141 vs. the top ranked defense, throwing just one interception. his team put up 10 points to the Steelers 10 points in the same amount of time.

He's not near as bad as some make him out to be.

Compare to 'berger's 6-15, 57 yard, interception effort vs. the average 'skins defense.

[chisox85]

I know it was only a preseason game but the Eagles offense looked damn good. If TO and McNabb can set aside their ego they'll be just as good if not better then last year leaving no chance for any other NFC team.

Mcnabb - 14/23 256 yards 3 TD 0 INT
TO - 5 REC 131 Yards 1 64 yard TD

Also good to see not one turnover in the entire game that's good news for Eagles and Bengals fans.

[TopCat]

Originally Posted by JMarkJohns

Compare to 'berger's 6-15, 57 yard, interception effort vs. the average 'skins defense.

That would be last season's #3 defense which set a modern franchise record for allowing the fewest yds/carry average against the rush at 3.1, best in the NFL by .5 yds. When you put that in context with how bad the offense was last season, an astute football fan would recognize the Redskin's defense as one of the premier defenses in the NFL. And that was done with Arrington only playing in 4 games all season.


bleedzgreen,

Ramsey looked pretty sharp last night, and made a nice comeback after the interception. In fact, the offense moved the ball pretty effectively against the Steelers throughout the first half. With the addition of Patton and Moss, the Skins are specifically looking to stretch the field this season. Ramsey's the QB with the gun to make that happen. He just needs to learn not to force the ball.

[KrazyCatFan]

Ramsey did look crisp last night. You really cant base the effectivness of a starting QB on a preseason game. Only throwing 1 int while going 12-19 is a decent out put. i dont think ramsey is that terrible of a QB but i do think the skins have room to improve at at that spot.

[TopCat]

Originally Posted by KrazyCatFan

Ramsey did look crisp last night. You really cant base the effectivness of a starting QB on a preseason game. Only throwing 1 int while going 12-19 is a decent out put. i dont think ramsey is that terrible of a QB but i do think the skins have room to improve at at that spot.

Yeah, he's no Joe Montana, that's for sure.

Hopefully, this season will be different. From what I've seen so far, Gibbs is opening the offense up more, but has much better blocking schemes in place. In Ramsey's three years in Washington, he's taken a hell of a beating. Spurrier left him sitting out there just waiting to get hit. Then last season the offensive line had some key injuries so the pass protection was shoddy at best.

This year, if the offensive line stays relatively intact, Ramsey will have excellent protection and a lot more time to distribute the ball. Ramsey's a great passer if you give him time, but if he's rushed he makes mistakes. He picked up a bad habit under Spurrier of throwing off his back foot, mostly because he was going down under a defensive lineman most of the time. The guy's tough though, and will stay with it regardless of whether he's going to a big hit or not. His teammates appreciate that, and it sounds like the players have a lot of confidence in him.

They're also going to structure the offense to get Portis working in space more. Between Portis and Betts, and the offensive line, the Redskins should have a pretty potent running attack. Letting Ramsey operate out of play action situations will help him a ton as well.