Sunday, September 02, 2007

NFL Preview, NFC East

Holy crap! It's football in less than a month! You know what that means? That's right! It's time to lose most of my baseball fan readers by doing a whole lot of preview posts! 9 of them, to be exact! With even more exclamation points! ! !!!!!

The NFC East may be the most overhyped division in all sports. They get the most attention on Fox every year and they are depressingly mediocre and have been the past couple of years. (I think I've mentioned now that every team in the NFC is mediocre, and I think that's a very efficient summary.) It definitely has something to do with "East Coast Bias" but then again, Dallas isn't quite on the East Coast. I'm not sure I entirely understand.

Philadelphia Eagles: People getting paid to do previews seem to be putting their eggs in the Cowboys basket, but I'm not sold. We'll explain the Cowboys thing later, but the Eagles have a quarterback, which can't be said about most of the teams in the NFC, and if they can use Brian Westbrook effectively, their offense should overcome their weak receiving corps. The defense won't be as strong as it's been in recent years after losing Jeremiah Trotter, but Takeo Spikes should ensure a still decent set of linebackers to keep offenses honest. Actually, you know what? I like the Eagles this year. If Donovan McNabb can avoid injury, then I am fully on their bandwagon.

Dallas Cowboys: How often does it happen? The Cowboys find a guy that has a couple big games, and they crown him the next king of the Metroplex. Tony Romo recently took the throne from Quincy Carter, but it won't last. The botched extra point last year was the first chink in his armor. His weaker arm and slow recognition would be the others. His taste in women is fine. His running backs are pretty wobbly, with Julius Jones never reaching his potential and Marion Barber drastically underused. The coaching staff is all new, and frankly, if Bill Parcells couldn't straighten this team out, I don't think Wade Phillips can either.

New York Giants: There is certainly a dropoff from second to third in this division. The Giants didn't get any better this offseason and lost one of the best running backs in their history, as Tiki Barber is now rubbing shoulders with Matt Lauer. The defense will get a huge boost from Michael Strahan, but it will take a while for him to get into game shape, if he ever gets there this season, seeing as he skipped most of training camp. Tom Coughlin doesn't have the respect of the team, and this is a nightmare waiting to happen.

Washington Redskins: The 'Skins have a cohesive unit, led by a respected coach, and they have two decent running backs in Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. Sounds like they should be finish better than the Giants? Well, let's look at what the G-men have that the 'Skins don't. Talent. Skill. Rather important.

The Eagles and Cowboys will make the playoffs out of this division, making everyone comment on how great the NFC East is again. Well, until the Panthers and Seahawks smoke them, respectively, in the first round.

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