NFC East Projections

For years The NFC East has been one of the glamour divisions in The
National Football League. The Washington Redskins rivalry with The
Dallas Cowboys was built in the 1970s through historic battles led by
head coaches George Allen (Redskins) and Tom Landry (Cowboys). This
division won four straight Super Bowl Championships from 1990 to 1993
while producing numerous Pro Football Hall of Famers such as Darrell
Green (Redskins) and Lawrence Taylor (Giants). Now the division is home
to the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, but they cannot
rest as three teams are nipping at their heels in the always tough NFC
East.

Pro Bowl quarterback Eli Manning is the third most talked about
quarterback in New York City behind Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez of The
New York Jets which is fine with Manning. Critics laughed last year when
Manning considered himself an “elite” quarterback. Manning threw for
4,933 yards while winning his second Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
Award over New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Manning has two deadly wide receivers in Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks
who are the best receiving duo that The Giants franchise has ever had.

Defensively,
The Giants boast the best pass rush in football. Defensive ends Justin
Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Osi Umenyiora all have different skill sets
as far as rushing the quarterback which makes it difficult for them to
be blocked. Each player has the ability to record double-digit sack
numbers in a season while single-handedly taking over a football game.

The Giants have not been receiving the amount of press since winning The
Super Bowl that a champion generally receives which should work as
motivation for them to return to the big game in February. 

Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)

The Philadelphia Eagles entered 2011 with all of the makings of a
high budget Hollywood film that failed to meet expectations at the box
office. The Eagles were referred to as a “Dream Team” by backup
quarterback Vince Young in training camp before coming out of the gates
at 1-4. The Eagles finished the season with a record of 8-8 and they
watched their division rival Giants hoist up The Lombardi Trophy.

This season, The Eagles will play with heavy hearts for head coach Andy
Reid who lost his eldest son Garrett Reid during training camp.

The
Eagles were able to put everything together in spurts last year, but
they will need to do it for a full season. It starts with the offensive
line being able to protect Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick. Vick’s
aggressive style as a runner has not allowed him to stay healthy
throughout his career which has only seen him make all 16 starts in a
regular season on one occasion. The Eagles boast one of the more
explosive offenses in football with running back LeSean McCoy and wide
receiver DeSean Jackson. Jackson wanted a new contract and he received a
five-year, $51 million deal to keep him in Philadelphia, now it is time
for Jackson to put his potential on full display.

Defensively, as much heat as defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and his
unit took last season, they still finished as the eighth ranked
defensive unit last year. The Eagles have two off the best edge rushers
in football in the form of Trent Cole and Jason Babin. Babin had the
best year of his career last year when he totaled 18 sacks and he will
look to build off of that in 2012.

The Eagles historically have started off slow under Reid while finishing
hot. To contend for a playoff spot this year, they will need to have a
better start.

Dallas Cowboys (7-9)

The Cowboys were in position to
win The NFC East last season until they faltered down the stretch. The
Cowboys lost four out of their last five games which included two losses
to The New York Giants. The Cowboys finished the season with a record
of 8-8 and it was another offseason of questions at Valley Ranch. Dallas
was 23rd in defending the pass last year and Cowboys head coach Jason
Garrett along with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan have concentrated on
improving the unit.In four losses last season to The Giants and Eagles,
The Cowboys gave up 1,318 passing yards which averaged out to 329 yards
per game. Dallas signed free-agent cornerback Brandon Carr from The
Kansas City Chiefs while they traded up to the sixth overall pick in The
NFL Draft to take cornerback Morris Claiborne from LSU. Garrett and
Ryan know that they need all the help that they can get it the secondary
in order to cover wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin of
The Eagles and Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz of The Giants.

On the offensive side, The Cowboys will only go as far as quarterback
Tony Romo takes them. Romo has earned a rep of folding in crunch
situations, but it was more of a team effort in the category last year.
Dallas lost five games last season in which they had leads in the second
half of the contest. The Cowboys must do a better job of running the
football this year as a healthy DeMarco Murray should provide some
relief in that category. Murray was on pace to gain 1,000 yards rushing
until he suffered a broken ankle in a week 14 loss to The Giants.

  
It won’t be easy for The Cowboys to get back to the playoffs for the
first time since 2009. The Cowboys open the season on the road at
MetLife Stadium against The Giants. Week 2 will see them travel to The
Pacific Northwest to take on The Seattle Seahawks which has quickly
become one of the tougher places for a road team to win a game in The
NFL. Another season without a playoff win will put more pressure on Romo
and Garrett.

Washington Redskins (7-9)

The Redskins made one of the
biggest splashes at The NFL Draft by trading up to the second overall
selection to draft Baylor University quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan has put all of his cards on Griffin
III after winning only 11 games in his first two seasons in Washington.
The Redskins will try to keep a trend going in The NFC East. Since 2009
each team in the division has won a division title except for Washington
who haven’t won The NFC East since 1999. Since that time, The ‘Skins
have had 13 different starting quarterbacks and it isn’t a surprise that
they have only made the playoffs two times since ’99.