2013 NFC East Projections

For years the NFC East has been one of the glamor divisions in the National Football League as from 1982-1995, the Super Bowl Champion came out of this division eight times. In the past six seasons, the New York Giants have been the team to carry the mantle as they have won the Super Bowl twice. With four of the largest media markets in this division and four high-profile ownership groups, who will win this division in 2013?

Last season it didn’t take Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III that long to leave a lasting impression on the NFL. In just his first professional game, Griffin made his mark as he torched the New Orleans Saints for 320 passing yards and two touchdowns. Griffin helped the ‘Skins rebound from a 3-6 start to win seven straight games and win their first division title since 1999. Griffin also rushed for 815 yards last season and with that he took his fair share of bumps and bruises along the way. Griffin has spent the off-season rehabbing from injuries to his ACL and LCL, but Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan expects him to be ready once the regular season begins.

With Shanahan led teams you can expect a powerful running attack and that was once again evident in 2012 as Washington boasted the top rushing offense in the NFL. Running back Alfred Morris ran for 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns as a rookie as he and RGIII give the Redskins a tough combination in the backfield.

Last season the Redskins were 28th in total defense and 20th in sacks with 33. Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett expects those numbers to improve this season with a healthy Brian Orakpo at outside linebacker. Orakpo’s 2012 season was cut short due to a pectoral injury, but along with outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan they give the Redskins a terrific pass rushing duo.

The Redskins should be able to weather the storm early, but the real test will come in the final five weeks of the season when three of their last five games are against NFC East opponents including two against the New York Giants. 

The New York Football Giants are a football team that will leave you scratching your head. The Giants can defeat any team in the NFL and turn around and look horrible all within the span of two games. That is why Giants general manager Jerry Reese has put the onus on his team heading into the 2013 season. The Giants have won two out of the last six Super Bowls, but they have missed out on the playoffs in three of the last four seasons.

Last year was the first time since 2008 that Giants quarterback Eli Manning did not pass for more than 4,000 yards and it was also the first time since 2007 that his completion percentage was under 60 percent. Manning is a two-time Super Bowl MVP and even at the age of 32, he can still improve. 

The Giants running game took a blow last year when running back Andre Brown suffered a broken leg late in the season. Brown recently suffered a partially broken leg again that will sideline him for four to six weeks. The Giants are hopeful that a matured running back in David Wilson will improve the Giants running game as he will have to carry the load until Brown returns.

The Giants have one of the most explosive groups of wide receivers in the NFL with Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, but second year wide receiver Reuben Randle is due for a breakout year this fall. In limited action last season, Randle caught 19 passes and recorded 3 touchdowns, but he is poised to step out of the shadow of Nicks and Cruz.

The Giants franchise has made its name of defense and if they are going to get back into playoff contention, the defense must reign supreme again. The Giants were 31st in total defense last season as there were situations where they simply looked lost. The success of the Giants defense starts with the defensive line as defensive ends Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Damontre Moore, and Mathias Kiwanuka will attempt to get back to wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. When the defensive line gets pressure up front, it makes the job easier for the Giants secondary. The Giants secondary, (mainly cornerback Corey Webster) is looking to rebound from a tough 2012 where they surrendered 4,068 passing yards which was 29th in the NFL.

The schedule hasn’t been easy of late for the Giants which is evident by them opening the regular season on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, but for Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, he is one of the better prepared coaches in the NFL and he will have his team ready for another long and grueling season.

There was a time when teams had fear when they would face the Dallas Cowboys. Those days are a distant memory as the Cowboys have not recorded a winning season since 2009. AT&T Stadium is the home of the Cowboys and since it opened in 2009, the Cowboys are only 17-15 there as the club like atmosphere at the 100,000 seat playpen of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn’t daunting. For the past several seasons the Cowboys have simply been a mediocre football team which doesn’t cut it in Texas.

Jones further added to that notion this off-season by rewarding quarterback Tony Romo with a six-year, $108 million extension to remain as the team’s starting quarterback. Romo is coming off of a season where he led the NFL in interceptions with 19 and he has only won a single playoff since becoming the team’s starting quarterback in 2006. As the starting quarterback of the Cowboys, Romo is treated like a rock star, but if he wants to have his name mentioned in the same breath as former Cowboy quarterbacks such as Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, he must get this team back to the playoffs and ultimately lead them to a Super Bowl Championship.

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett believes in his running back DeMarco Murray, but in his two years in the NFL, Murray has been unable to stay healthy which has hurt the Cowboys running game.

Dallas has plenty of depth at the receiver positions, but will tight end Jason Witten along with wide receivers Dez Bryant and Miles Austin deliver in the clutch when needed?

The Cowboys offensive line has been in shambles the past few seasons and this one will be no different with Doug Free and Tyron Smith penciled in as the opening days starters at the tackle positions which means that Romo will be running for his life.

Jones didn’t like the fact that the Cowboys defense didn’t force enough turnovers in 2012. The Cowboys were minus-13 in turnover margin last season, but most of that can be attributed to Romo who accounted for 25 turnovers himself. Jones subsequently fired Rob Ryan as the team’s defensive coordinator and he has replaced him with Monte Kiffin. Kiffin is the former defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders as he primarily runs a Cover 2 defensive scheme. It will be interesting to see how defensive end DeMarcus Ware adjusts to being a down defensive end in the Cover 2 as he has been a stand-up edge rusher for his entire NFL career in the 3-4.

The Cowboys do not face a playoff team from last season until Week 5 when they host the Denver Broncos. The first quarter of the season pivotal is for Dallas as they attempt to end their playoff drought.

The Chip Kelly era has officially begun in Philadelphia as he is the new head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelly is looking to install his uptempo offense that was so successful at the University of Oregon. The fancy posters that were common in Eugene to display the incoming plays have not traveled to Philly as the NFL has let
Kelly already know that the game officials will need time to spot the ball properly between each play.

When the season begins, the Eagles will have three quarterbacks on the roster and you can expect all of them to see playing time this season which is a train wreck waiting to happen. Quarterback Michael Vick will be the Eagles starting signal caller, but Vick has only had one NFL season in which he made all 16 regular season starts. Kelly expects his quarterbacks to run which is Vick’s specialty, but his body cannot take the punishment that defenders dish out on him. Second year quarterback Nick Foles started six games for the Eagles last season in Vick’s place and he went 1-5. More than likely if and when Vick gets injured it will be Foles who will be the next man up. Eagles rookie quarterback Matt Barkley will take this season to learn and adjust to the game speed of the NFL, but if Philadelphia falls out of playoff contention, expect him to become the team’s starting quarterback.

The Eagles receiving unit took a hit as wide receiver Jeremy Maclin suffered an ACL inury that will keep him out for 2013. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson is one of the fastest men in the NFL and he should flourish in Kelly’s system; if the porous Eagles offensive line can protect whoever the quarterback is long enough to get the ball to him. Eagles rookie tight end Zach Ertz should fill a void for Philadelphia as he was a good pass catcher and blocker while in college at Stanford.

In four seasons as the head coach at Oregon, Kelly only lost 7 games. He will find out real quick that the NFL is a little bit tougher than college football.

X-Clinched Division