NFC East
This division is the enigma as each team has questions that could derail their seasons and strengths that could carry them to the top. Philadelphia’s season hinges on the development of Carson Wentz and their offense. The Cowboys got good news when Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension was put on hold with a restraining order but they have a number of suspensions on defense and lots of new faces in the secondary. The Giants have a good defense and a good receiving corps but they failed to address an offensive line that just isn’t very good. Washington brought back QB Kirk Cousins on another franchise tag but he lost a number of important weapons and the defense isn’t setting the world on fire. It’s a coin toss (if you can find a three-sided coin) between Philly, Dallas and New York but I’m going with the upside in Philly.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles clearly found their QB of the future and the present last year in Carson Wentz. His development is key to the future and so they went out and got him two new WRs in Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith to go along with holdover Nelson Agholor. TE Zach Ertz took a little time to develop but he’s a pretty solid weapon for Wentz. They also grabbed RB LeGarrette Blount to take over as the power back and replace the now departed Ryan Mathews. Blount won’t have to do it himself as the team has Wendall Smallwood and the ageless Darren Sproles is still around to do his thing. The offensive line can be a strength but they are counting on 35-year old Jason Peters to hold up at LT and that is a gamble. If Peters goes down or is ineffective RT Lane Johnson can move over (he eventually will when Peters calls it quits) but the team isn’t prepared to replace Johnson at RT if he has to move now.
The defensive line should be a strength built around DT Fletcher Cox. While his new interior partner Tim Jernigan wasn’t great in Baltimore, hence the reason he was traded, he is surrounded by top talent and the Eagles are hoping a change of scenery gets him going. They are deep at DE with starters Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry, veteran backup Chris Long comes over after winning the Super Bowl with New England last year and rookie Derek Barnett should be a solid situational pass rusher. The LBs; Jordan Hicks, Mychal Kendricks and Nigel Bradham are nothing special but they will hold their own behind a good defensive line. The secondary took a hit in week 1 when Ronald Darby, who came to Philly in a trade during the preseason (for WR Jordan Matthews) injured his ankle (he’s out 4-6 weeks). The Philly CBs leave a lot to be desired and Jalen Mills just got a battlefield promotion to #1 CB. In a division that has Odell Beckham and Dez Bryant this could be a problem. Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins do a lot of the heavy lifting in the secondary and make a pretty good safety tandem. Every team in the division has flaws and I feel better about Philadelphia’s upside and less concerned about their issues than the other teams.
Dallas Cowboys
QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott led the Cowboys offense last year as rookies and they look to build on that foundation. Elliott’s suspension has been put on hold while he takes the NFL to court. I could say a lot about how a guy should certainly be suspended for domestic abuse but I could also say a lot about a league administration that can’t seem to hold a fair hearing for anyone and undermines its own process. Roger Goodell is an incompetent fool when it comes to his discipline process. For now, Elliott plays whether you like it or not and that’s good news for the team. Prescott has weapons in Dez Bryant, Terrence Williams, Cole Beasley and the future Hall of Famer Jason Witten. He knows how to use them and Elliott and that makes this team dangerous. The Cowboys have had the best offensive line in the league for several years but there are a few changes. RT Doug Free retired and OG La’el Collins will move to RT to replace him, Collins may be an upgrade over the aging Free but it hurts them inside. They also lost some depth when OG Ronald Leary signed in Denver so it’s now Chaz Green and Jonathan Cooper fighting for the LG spot. The good news is LT Tyron Smith, RG Zack Martin and C Travis Frederick are arguably the best players at their respective positions in the entire league.
The Cowboys defense has as many suspended DEs (Randy Gregory, David Irving and Damontre Moore) as it has healthy ones. Demarcus Lawrence got off to a hot start and they like rookie Taco Charlton but their depth will be tested (BTW, Gregory is unlikely to play again, ever, he’s a train wreck). Stephen Paea and Maliek Collins are solid if unspectacular at DT. The linebacking corps is dealing with an injury to Anthony Hitchens and the return to playing of Jaylon Smith after missing last year with a horrific knee injury. Sean Lee is his solid self but his age and his injury history are going to slow him down sooner rather than later. The secondary is where the real issues could arise. The team lost CB Morris Claiborne, CB Brandon Carr, S JJ Wilcox and S Barry Church and their replacements are suspect. Orlando Scandrick, Anthony Brown and Nolan Carrol are the top three CBs and that’s not reassuring. Byron Jones returns at safety but he’s now paired with Jeff Heath, things could get ugly. If you pair an unreliable pass rush with an unreliable secondary, things can go downhill fast. This team overcame issues on defense last year as they played better than people thought but now they have taken more hits on that side and it will have an effect. I don’t believe Dak and Zeke can overcome it all and this team will take a slight step back. They can still be a playoff team but they will have a fight on their hands.
New York Giants
QB Eli Manning, WRs Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard and TE Evan Engram, that’s the good news on offense. LT Ereck Flowers, LG Justin Pugh, C Weston Richburg, RG John Jerry and RT Bobby Hart, that’s the bad news on offense. Manning has plenty of weapons to throw to (once Beckham comes back from his injured ankle) but will he have the time to get them the ball. They return last year’s offensive line and that’s not a good thing. Flowers shouldn’t be a LT, he might be fine on the right side but he gets beat like a snare drum at LT. Bobby Hart should be a backup OT or play inside at OG. C Weston Richburg is fine but he’s only one man. RB Paul Perkins would be a decent player behind the Cowboys or Raiders offensive lines but behind this group he’s well below average. He simply isn’t a guy that can create yards for himself. This is unfortunate for the team because they may be wasting the last few good years of Eli behind a terrible offensive line that may usher in the end of his career sooner rather than later.
It’s also a travesty that the offensive line could undermine the entire offense and in turn waste a phenomenal defense. Last year the Giants spent money in free agency to fix a shaky defense, they signed DT Damon Harrison, DE Olivier Vernon and CB Janoris Jenkins and they re-signed Jason Pierre-Paul and all of those signings worked out well. It also helped that S Landon Collins made the leap from good early round draft pick to elite Defensive Player of the Year candidate and became the superstar they knew he could be. The team still lacks elite playmakers at LB but when you have a dominating defensive line and a deep and talented secondary they can make up for a lot. The defense is going to keep them in just about every game no matter what but they still need points and Eli Manning is going to find those hard to come by while in a heap behind his offensive line with a defender laying on top of him.
Washington Redskins
The Redskins and the Giants should combine their offenses, take the Giants WRs and Eli Manning and combine them with TE Jordan Reed and the Redskins offensive line, neither teams’ RBs are worth mentioning but the passing game would be scary. The Redskins should be better considering how many players they have in the prime of their careers but not as many of those guys are on offense. LT Trent Williams is an elite player but he’s 29 and he won’t be around forever. The right side of the line, RG Brandon Scherff and RT Morgan Moses, along with C Spencer Long should grow together as a very good unit as they are all still early in their careers. QB Kirk Cousins is a solid starter but the team has undermined his ability for success by letting WRs DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon go and only bringing in Terrell Pryor as a replacement. WR Jamison Crowder was good last year but that’s because Jackson and Garcon took all the attention to the outside and Crowder was left alone to do his damage, that won’t be the case this year. TE Jordan Reed is fantastic when he’s healthy but he too will see more coverage without the two outside WRs. RBs Rob Kelley and Chris Thompson look like a great thunder and lightning combination on paper but it doesn’t seem to translate as well on the field. They were hoping rookie Samaje Perine would make some noise but so far, he’s been pretty quiet.
The Redskins have a number of good players on their defense but they lack elite talent. Out of all of their starters CB Josh Norman is probably the only guy that rates in the top 10 of his position group in the league and he wasn’t always great last year. OLB Ryan Kerrigan is good but he’s pushing 30 and his effectiveness could slip any time. DT Ziggy Hood, DE Stacy McGee, LB Mason Foster, LB Zach Brown, CB Bashaud Breeland and FS DJ Swearinger are all solid players but they don’t dominate the game. Rookie DE Jonathan Allen can be a dominant player but he’s going to need some help from somewhere. OLB Preston Smith needs to get back to where he was two years ago and build on that as a pass rusher. The other guy that could really help is Allen’s Alabama teammate OLB Ryan Anderson, he has pass rushing skills that could come in handy. I think Cousins looks like a decent QB this year because he doesn’t have the talent around him to elevate his play and he’s not really the type of QB that makes the guys around him better. The Redskins are going to struggle in a competitive division because they don’t have the elite talent the other three teams have.
The Hott Read 