This is my second of eight NFL division previews. While there are still a couple months until training camps, most of the rosters are complete. There could be a few minor changes after some June 1st cuts. There could be some injuries prior to the opening of training camp. However, this is how I see things playing out after the free agency period and the draft. My plan is to focus on one division every Wednesday until I complete the 8 divisions in the NFL. Here are the links to the other divisions that have already been completed.
The NFC East is probably the most competitive division headed into the 2008 season. The New York Giants are the defending Super Bowl Champions. The Dallas Cowboys won 13 games and had the number one seed in the NFC. The Redskins won their last 4 games to make the playoffs as the final wildcard. Finally, the Eagles finished strong and were a very dangerous 8-8 team at the end of the season that did not qualify for the postseason. The only other division that has a claim to being as competitive as the NFC East would be the AFC South, which also had 3 teams qualify for the playoffs in 2007.
Here is how I see the 2008 season playing out in the AFC East.
1)Dallas Cowboys
07 Record: 13-3
Points Scored: 455 (2nd)
Points Allowed: 325 (13th)
Playoff Result: Lost in Divisional Round
2008 Strength of Schedule:134-122 (.523) (13th (t) in NFL)
Strengths: The Dallas Cowboys had a very impressive start to their 2007 season. In their first 13 games they went 12-1 with their only loss being to the New England Patriots. In their first 12 games they outscored their opponents 395-248, or by an average of 12.25 points per game. After their 37-27 victory against 10-1 Green Bay they looked poised to be the NFC favorite to take on the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. However, things didn’t go according to plan. They went 2-2 in their last 4 games and were outscored 60-77. Then the Cowboys were upset in the playoffs, by the eventual champion NY Giants, 21-17. It was a very disappointing end to a season that looked destined to end with a Super Bowl appearance.
The Cowboys had a load of talent on their roster in 2007. They sent a record 11 players to the Pro Bowl, 7 of which were starters. The number one strength on the Cowboys was the offensive line. 3 of their 7 Pro Bowl starters came from that unit, Flozell Adams, Leonard Davis and Andre Gurode. With Tony Romo given plenty of time to throw the ball and the numerous great weapons they had on offense the Cowboys put up points with great ease. Tony Romo threw for 4,211 yards and 36 touchdowns in his first full year starting. Jason Witten had a career year at tight end with 96 catches for 1145 yards and 7 touchdowns. Terrell Owens had 81 catches for 1355 yards and 15 touchdowns. Marion Barber posted 975 rushing yards and 282 receiving yards to go along with his 12 touchdowns. Nick Folk made the Pro Bowl as the NFC Kicker.
What it adds up to is an offense that dominated the NFC. Furthermore, their only key loss on offense was Julius Jones, who signed with Seattle. The Cowboys have taken care of that loss. They added RB Felix Jones in the first round and TE Martellus Bennett to play opposite Witten in the second round.
The only need the Cowboys did not address this season was wide receiver. TO is still an elite NFL receiver, but he is going to be 35 years old. Terry Glenn was hurt until the final game of the season. He is going to be 34. Patrick Crayton had a solid year filling in for Glenn, but still has a ways to go.
It is obvious the Cowboys would be in trouble if TO missed significant time. Teams don’t have backups that can produce at the same level as him. He is an elite wide receiver. Still without him in the lineup they go from scary to below average at the receiver position. He must find a way to stay healthy and play as close to 16 games as possible, something he hasn’t done since 2001.
Weaknesses: The defense was the major issue with the Cowboys in 2007. The Cowboys had a great front 7. They were able to finish 6th in rushing yards allowed. Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware was named a starter to the Pro Bowl. He had 14 sacks. That was another area the Cowboys excelled at, finishing 3rd in the NFL with 46 sacks. They also did well forcing turnovers. The Cowboys finished 6th in the NFL with 19 picks. Ken Hamlin and Terrance Newman were chosen as Pro Bowl reserves. Both started for the Cowboys in their secondary.
What the Cowboys didn’t do is stop the pass very well. They finished 13th in the league in that regard. As a result of the yards they gave up in the passing game and the 19 interceptions that Tony Romo threw the Cowboys gave up 20.3 points per game, which ranked 13th. For all the great plays Tony Romo makes he needs to cut down on the interceptions if the Cowboys are going to be playing February football.
I’m not saying the Cowboys were horrible on defense. They did a lot of things well and their weaknesses are not that bad in the whole scheme of things. However, if the Cowboys want to reach their desired destination as Super Bowl Champions, they need to sure up those areas.
The Cowboys tried to do that this offseason. They made their second first round pick a corner in Michael Jenkins. They also traded for PacMan Jones. If he can stay out of trouble and gain reinstatement from the NFL, he should be able to help this team. The signing of Zach Thomas could be big as well. If he can stay healthy, he will be a nice veteran presence in the middle of the Cowboy’s Defense.
Prediction: It is either the Super Bowl or bust in 2008. The Cowboys have made the playoffs each of the last 2 seasons, only to lose in the first round of the playoffs. As an organization, they haven’t won a playoff game since 1996. Combined with the talent they bring back and the new talent they acquired via 2 first round draft picks, Zach Thomas, and PacMan Jones; expectations will be through the roof. Chemistry will be a big issue in 2008. While the talent of the Cowboys is not questioned, how that talent will interact in the locker room still is. Also Tony Romo needs to cut down on his distractions off the field. There is nothing wrong with him using his celebrity to his advantage, but it shouldn’t be spilling onto the football field. He has to minimize those things as much as possible.
The Cowboys always have a brutal divisional schedule. They get 4 playoff games in the division and the Philadelphia Eagles who beat them at the end of last season in Dallas. Their out of conference schedule appears to be a little tougher than 2007. While the Patriots and Packers were very tough, those were the only two-playoff teams they faced outside the division. This year they get Green Bay, Seattle, and Tampa Bay. It is difficult to say if those teams will be as good in 2008 as they were a year ago. Pittsburgh and Cleveland also provide some competitive games. I think the Cowboys will have roughly the same record as they did in 2007, but I don’t expect them to jump out to the 12-1 start they did a year ago. If the Cowboys can cut down on their turnovers and stop the pass better in 2008, there is no reason this team will not finish as the NFC’s number one seed for the second year in a row.
2008 Strength of Schedule:133-123 (.520) (15th (t) in NFL)
Strengths: The Eagles have been the most dominant team in the division since 2000. The Eagles have won the division 5 times and made the playoffs 6 times. Prior to 2007 the Eagles had missed the playoffs only once, which was in 2005 during the season of the TO circus.
However, last season the Eagles finished in last place in the NFC East and failed to qualify for the playoffs. Still the Eagles had a number of good things working for them. Most last place teams finish 4-12, not 8-8. The Eagles finished the season strong and had it not been for a 3 game losing streak to end November and begin December the Eagles could have made the playoffs.
On offense, Brian Westbrook quietly had a 2,104 all-purpose yard season. He also scored 12 touchdowns. Considering his quarterback was coming off a serious knee injury in 2006 and the Eagles did not have a dominant receiving core; Westbrook should be applauded for his productivity in 2007. He is the most complete running back in the NFL not name LT.
Donovan McNabb did fairly well coming back from knee surgery. He started 14 games and had 19 touchdowns and 7 interceptions to go with his 89.9 QB rating. Kevin Curtis and McNabb had good chemistry at times. Curtis was able to finish with 1,110 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns.
However, as usual the main strength of the Eagles was their defense. Under Jimmy Johnson the Eagles have been a mainstay in the top rankings of the NFL’s defenses. The Eagles 300 points allowed ranked 9th in the NFL. They also ranked 10th in yards allowed, and 7th in rushing yards allowed. Trent Cole registered 12.5 sacks.
Weaknesses: The Eagles had 3 main weaknesses in 2007. The first was a lack of quality playmakers. Other than Brian Westbrook, there is no one on the Eagles that keeps defensive coordinators up into all hours of the night game planning.
Some will point to Kevin Curtis and suggest that he has the potential to be a number one receiver as evidenced by his 1,110 yards and 7 touchdowns. That is blindly looking at stats and not looking at how they were obtained. In week 3 Curtis had the game of his life. He had 11 catches for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns. That means in the other 15 games he averaged 4.4 catches for 59.3 yards and 1 touchdown every 5 games. That just is not acceptable from a number one receiver. Reggie Brown also regressed in 2007. He went from 8 touchdowns in 2006 to 4 in 2007 and his yards dropped from 816 to 780. He did not have the breakout year he was hoping for. The Eagles did add DeShaun Jackson to provide depth in the return game and at the 3rd receiver spot. However, they were not able to obtain that impact wide receiver this offseason.
The second problem was their return team. The fumbles they had in punt return game against Green Bay alone cost them that game. They needed to find a quality return man as Westbrook is to valuable to risk injury at that position. Jackson should be an immediate impact in that regard.
The final weakness was in the secondary. The Eagles ranked 18th in yards allowed and their defense finished tied for last in the NFL in interceptions with just 11. Part of that was due to the rash of injuries they suffered in their secondary at the beginning of the season. That was the motivation for landing the prize of the 2008 free agency period in Samuel. He is a great playmaker that should fit into the Eagles secondary. If Brown, Shepherd, and Dawkins can stay healthy the Eagles have the potential to make a lot more plays in the secondary. It will also give Jimmy Johnson more flexibility to blitz knowing he has the secondary to cover the receivers in one-on-one coverage. That should be a big boost for the Eagles in their team sack numbers.
Prediction: The problem with picking the Eagles to do anything is you never know if Donovan McNabb is going to play a whole season. 2004 is the last season he stayed healthy. Since then he has missed 15 of a possible 48 games with injury. If he is not able to play 13-16 games it is difficult to imagine that the Eagles have the necessary parts in place to survive in a brutal NFC East.
Regardless, you can always count on Andy Reid and Jimmy Johnson to keep the Eagles ship steady and that starts with their strong defense. I don’t see McNabb returning to his 2004 numbers. I don’t believe the Eagles have the offensive weapons in place to do so. However, they don’t need him to do that. If he could just get back to his 2000 and 2001 production when he threw in the low 3,000 yard range and low 20 touchdown range the Eagles should be in great shape, given the emergence of Brian Westbrook as an elite NFL playmaker and a defense that is capable of stopping people. Donovan McNabb completing passes and taking care of the ball is enough for this team to win. That is something he is very good at as his interceptions per attempt is one of the best in NFL history. He started to look more like his old self at the end of the season.
Last year was expected, as he was coming off a serious ACL tear. Now that he is one year removed, he should be able to relax more, play with more confidence, and take the Eagles back to the playoffs. While I don’t believe they have enough offensive weapons to win the division, I would think that 10 wins are well within their reach.
Philadelphia Eagle’s Record: 10-6 – NFC East 2nd Place; NFC #5 Seed
3)New York Giants
07 Record: 10-6
Points Scored: 373 (14th)
Points Allowed: 351 (17th)
Playoff Result: Won Super Bowl
2008 Strength of Schedule: 133-123 (.520) (15th (t) in NFL)
Strengths: The NY Giants were the most unlikely of Super Bowl Champions. At 10-6 they were the 5th seed in the NFC and were faced with having to win 4 games away from home. They had lost 2 of their final 3 games of the season, but seem to gain momentum with their strong performance against the Patriots in the season finale. Still #5 seeds are not supposed to win Super Bowls.
However, the Giants had gone 7-1 in the regular season on the road, losing their only road game in the opener. The NY Giants rode that road dominance to 11 straight road victories and the Super Bowl trophy.
The strength of the New York Giants is their front 4 on defense. Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Fred Robbins form one of the best defensive front fours in the entire NFL. The NY Giants generated to most pressure on the quarterback in 2007 generating an amazing 53 sacks.
At the beginning of the season the linebackers and secondary could not cover anyone. As the season progressed, the Giants got better in that regard. Sam Madison, Aaron Ross, and Corey Webster became much better at covering the pass in the second half of the season. While the Giants did lose Gibril Wilson to the Raiders in free agency, they also drafted Kenny Phillips to come into the organization and compete for the starting safety spot.
The linebacker spot is the unit on defense with the most questions. Pierce is still a strong middle linebacker and Mathias Kiwanuka should be ready for the start of the season. He was injured toward the end of the 2007 regular season. This is a unit that did not begin to gel until later in the season, but once everything came together the defense was able to carry the Giants to the Super Bowl title. Mitchell and Torbor were loss to free agency, so they will have to replace them in 2008.
On offense, the strength of the team was their running game. The NY Giants finished 4th in the NFL with a host of running backs. Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Reuben Droughns all contributed at times in 2007.
Eli Manning had a very average regular season. He had a 73.9 rating and 20 interceptions to go with his 3,336 yards passing and 23 touchdown throws. But was able to put everything together and lead his team to the Super Bowl. Plaxico Burress is a fantastic wide receiver and had 12 touchdown catches. Jeremy Shockey is a good tight end, but was the subject of trade rumors this offseason after the NY Giants offense didn’t miss a beat in the wake of his injury. He is still very talented and will help an offense that features Toomer, Smith, Tyree, and rookie Mario Manningham.
Weaknesses: The NY Giants have a couple of big question marks headed into the season. 1) Which Eli Manning is going to show up in 2008? The one that killed his team with a poor completion percentage and 20 interceptions or the one that started playing after the NY Giants lost to the Patriots in the season finale. If the Giants are going to excel in the regular season, Eli has to take care of the ball for an entire 16 game season. While I don’t expect him to play as well as he did in the playoffs, I don’t think he will return to his 2007 regular season numbers. I expect something in between the two. I would think that he would get 3,500 yards, 25 touchdown throws, and 12-15 interceptions.
The second question is whether Michael Strahan is going to retire or comeback for another season. Personally, I think he would be unwise to come back in 2008. He will be 37 in November and what better way to go out than win a Super Bowl in your final game. He is nowhere close to catching Bruce Smith for the NFL record in sacks and now that he is a champion he has nothing left to prove. Anything short of repeating would be a disappointing season.
If he doesn’t comeback, how is that going to affect the dynamics of the Giants front 4? Similar to the Packers who are losing Favre, there is a lot of talent in that front 7. However, because none of those players have played without Strahan, it is unclear whether or not the Giants defense will be as dominant without him. The Giants do not have a good record in recent years when he doesn’t play.
Prediction: The Giants are a difficult team to predict for 2008. They basically played 2 seasons in 2007. Week 1-15 where they turned the ball over too much and had problems stopping downfield passing offenses and Week 16 through the Super Bowl where they were difficult to move the ball against and took care of the ball. Regardless, they averaged 21.25 points per game in the postseason, so if anyone thinks this offense is going to evolve into the 2007 Patriots, I think they are going to be in shock. This is a team that is going to run the ball, take their shots downfield, and rely on their defense to win games. I think as their younger receivers develop, we may see them put a few more points on the board.
As I stated earlier, the big key is going to be the decision of Michael Strahan and whether or not he wants to return in 2008. If he does they will be a formidable opponent and will challenge the Cowboys for the division. If he doesn’t they still will be very good, but probably in the running for the final playoff spot. I don’t think he is going to comeback, and therefore I am predicting about the same record in 2008 and the #6 seed for the defending champions.
NY Giants Record:9-7 – NFC East 3rd Place; NFC #6 seed
4)Washington Redskins
07 Record: 9-7
Points Scored: 334 (18th)
Points Allowed: 310 (11th)
Playoff Result: Lost in Wild Card Round
2008 Strength of Schedule: 134-122 (.523) (13th (t) in NFL)
Strengths: In 2007 the Redskins looked like a ship that was sinking fast. After a 5-3 start to the season, they lost 4 games in a row and were sitting at 5-7. Sean Taylor was tragically shot dead in his home. When the Redskins lost to the Bills largely on a timeout mishap that gave the Bills a field goal that was 15 yards closer to win the game the season looked to be lost. However, the Redskins won their last 4 games of the season guided by the veteran backup Todd Collins, they were able to sneak into the playoffs as the # 6 seed before losing to the Seattle Seahawks in what would be Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibb’s last game.
Jim Zorn is inheriting a strong cast of players. Clinton Portis was able to stay relatively healthy in 2007 and rushed for 1,262 yards and 11 touchdowns. Jason Campbell was able to make good strides, despite not having much help at the receiver position. Todd Collins is a solid backup.
On defense the Redskins finished 4th against the run and 7th in rushing touchdowns allowed. Their front 7 set the tempo for this defense. Andre Carter had 10.5 sacks.
The secondary was fairly average. LaRon Landry looks like the real deal at safety and Rodgers, Springs, and Smoot are solid corners. The Redskins ranked 16th in passing yards allowed. Some games they were brilliant, such as Tampa Bay and Detroit when they allowed less than 100 yards passing. Other games like the road games against Dallas and New England they allowed way to many yards. The Redskins will have to find a way to replace Sean Taylor in their secondary. While I hate to talk Xs and Os when there was such a human tragedy involved, the fact still remains that the Redskins were a much tougher pass defense when he was starting. Replacing a player that was as talented as he was is difficult.
Weaknesses: The Redskins really struggled to move the ball threw the air. Part of that was Jason Campbell entering his first year as the full time starter. Anytime a team puts a young quarterback in the line up there are going to be up’s and downs. However, the fact remains that he had one touchdown pass or less in 10 of his 13 starts. That number has to improve.
A lot of that has to be blamed on the receivers. Portis had 11 touchdown runs and tight end Chris Cooley caught 8 touchdowns. However, no receiver caught a touchdown until James Thrash did in Week 10 against the Philadelphia Eagles. That is unacceptable. The Redskins overhauled the receiver position this offseason by drafting Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas in the 2nd round. I really liked the draft approach by the Redskins to get younger and bigger at wide receiver. Both are bigger receivers and should be better targets in the redzone.
Still, rookie receivers rarely make a big impact in their first year. While Randy Moss exploded into the league in Year 1, even great receivers like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne took a few years to blossom. If this unit is going to be viable in 2008, Santana Moss must step up to the plate. The Redskins have to score more than 334 points playing in a division with Dallas, New York Giants, and Philly.
Prediction: The Redskins are in the unfortunate position of being in a very tough division. Jason Campbell is a nice quarterback that in a division like the NFC North would be in the running for the best quarterback in the division or in the AFC East would be in the running for best quarterback in the division not named Tom Brady. Here he is clearly the 4th quarterback in this division. Portis may be the 3rd best back in the division. Cooley made the Pro Bowl and isn’t even the best tight end in the division. The Redskins still lack the players at the skill positions to score enough points on a consistent basis to win the tough games they will have to play in the division. I like the moves they made in the draft and graded them very high. Still, those players will take a couple years to develop.
The schedule doesn’t set up as nice for the Redskins in 2008. In addition to the division, they have to travel to Seattle and play Pittsburgh and Cleveland at home. New Orleans is going to be a tough game. When you combine that with the 6 games they play in the division and I see them taking a step back in 2008.
Washington Redskin’s Record:7-9 – NFC East 4th Place; No Playoffs
That is how I see the NFC West playing out in 2008. I am taking my summer vacation around July 4th and will resume releasing articles sometime in the middle of July. I plan on releasing my playoff predictions and Super Bowl winner on Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Thank you to everyone that has followed these previews. You have made writing these a lot of fun.
As always these articles and many not released on my blog are available at www.fantasyfootballmaniaxs.com. I look forward to reading your comments about what you expect from your favorite team.
Wow I noticed that how come the blogs no comments come up about Cameragate but on the normal article millions do? Does that mean the people who actually pay attention to sports give less of a rat #### about it? Seriously I'll say what I want about the NFC East.
Dallas: One of the main reasons that this team collapsed in December is because like Peyton Manning is Mr. October, Romo is Mr. November. Dallas was the most overrated team in the league last year. They didn't deserve 11 people going to the Pro Bowl. 3 O-Line starting in Pro Bowl, Dallas hype. Mason Crosby should have been the kicker in the Pro Bowl. Folk only got it due to the double 50 yarders against Buffalo. Crosby was the better performer. Roy Williams only got in due to the murder of a player. Heck the Pats with their 16-0 season didn't get as much.
Team wise. Julius Jones was the odd man out due to Barber. Wide receiver is a concern but they need to get that secondary fixed first. It was due to all the blitzing that helped them a lot. If you want to have a great team, wide receiver is the last thing that is fixed.
Before Dallas can even think Super Bowl, they need to win a playoff game. That's pathetic that since 96, "America's Team", and I use that sarcastically, hasn't won a playoff game. Also Dallas fans can't use Jessica Simpson as an excuse for Romo's #### performances. Rumor has it that they broke up.
Philly: Hmm. Brian Westbrook is the man. He does whup #### and that end-game slide in front of the end zone was awesome. McNabb did do well coming off the injury. Defense has been great for years. Playmakers? yeah. I thought that game against Detroit was awesome but he disappointed me the rest of the year, especially considering that Detroit allowed an NFL of opponent passing completion %, over 70% to be precise, on them. What in the hell happened with Reggie Brown? Did he benefit from Stallworth when he was there?
I thought they fixed the return game after that gaffe against GB?
Secondary? I remember Dawkins and Shephard missing time. That hurt them.
Giants: Annoys me they won it all but I'm over it. #### like that happens.
Defensive Hogs were insanely good. was scary. That road record help them. That shows you how NY are complete #### holes. Heck Road teams had better faith in that team then them. Running was good but not great. Just did enough for the job.
I'm still stunned how another Trent Dilfer type of player won an SB.
Eli must be a caretaker. Which is not bad because they usually win SBs. Fancy Stats can kill you. Strahan will come back if he thinks he can pull an Elway.
Redskins: I'm in Northern VA so I have to be all Redskin mania over here. I don't know who's worse Dallas or Skins fans with arrogance. LOL. Ok seriously.
Strength and Weakness for Redskins is the same. They have Balance on their team. This is good because if they lose some the same effectiveness will come with the next guy. Huge flaw is that because of this they don't have any knock out punch of players. Remember 12 out of 16 games were decided by 8 points or less. Nothing scary about them. They went on that 4 game win streak not due to Sean Taylor but when Campbell went down. Skins fans and players want to make people believe that was because he was watching from heaven. Reason I say no is because of the Bills game. He was already gone by that time. Defense played great, offense sucked. They lose Campbell against Chicago. They do better. I bring this up because of a feeling in 2005 that is becoming true. Campbell isn't a franchise QB. Skins fans believe so but I don't. According to John Riggins, actually during that debacle of an interviewing process, he doesn't say who (I guess confidentiality) but one of the reasons one person (I'm guessing Jim Fassell since he was the favorite supposedly) didn't get hired was because he said he didn't believe Campbell wasn't a Franchise QB. I don't see Collins being reliable either. Even though I dissed Campbell right now, I think the one reason Collins did well is because of the system he was in for six years now. Zorn is going to put in another system and Collins will be in trouble.
I don't like Jim Zorn. People may love the way he handled the Fred Davis issue of oversleeping but I didn't. I didn't mind him talking to him or maybe bringing it up with his teammates but the second he called Davis's mom about it that is when he went too far. Other bosses, who are by the ####s, don't pull #### like this. That is just total humiliation. #### like that makes players hate coaches.
Have no idea how defense will be with Greg Blatche. Most likely will regress. Tight end wasn't a issue. They needed a safety after Sean Taylor. Reed Doughty is the only holdover of free safety from last year and only decided to go safety with their last pick in the draft. Bad move.
Those receivers did stink. I said that Brandon Lloyd was a bad move since day 1. That was the only offseason move in 2006 that had me scratching my head. How do you bring in a receiver, not named Randy Moss, from the 32nd ranked offense? Reason I said Randy because everyone knew Randy could play due to his previous teams. Lloyd didn't have the benefit of the doubt. Of course his stinking it up in 2006 was blamed on Brunell, who somehow when traded was Redskin Public enemy #1. It wasn't until last season did I get apologies from Skins' fans for him stinkin'. Randel El is decent but not a playmaker for receiver. He's great for gadget plays though. Santana Moss's overhyped career was started just because of one game against Dallas who thought the game was over. He couldn't due no wrong after that for Skins' fans even though he fumbled at critical times and that won games without him last year.
Dehbashi - Thanks for the comments. Way too much material for me to address all at once. Couple key things I saw:
Dallas: I don't think it is fair to call Tony Romo Mr. November, because he has only started one year. If they have a smiliar start and collapse at the end of the year, that title could gain legitimacy. Now it is too early as he is only 0-2 in the playoffs.
Philly: I thought the Eagles fixed their problems in the return game as far as holding onto the ball after GB, but I think that Jackson gives them a great weapon that will get more return yards. Otherwise we seem to agree they have a good shot at making the playoffs.
NY Giants: I agree with all that you said, except that NY Giants running game was good, but not great. Statistically it ranked 4th in the league, which was stunning given all the game their running backs missed.
Washington: Good points about Collins maybe not being as effective in a new system. I think Zorn may end up being a fine NFL coach. It is just that he is bringing in a new system and having to develop rookie WR. Going to take some time to learn, which will be hard. This is too tough of a division to learn on the job.
Last edited by StreetCred on May 15th at 10:32 AM.
Sorry you are right about Giants running game. Was reading team defense rushing by accident. 4.6 YPA is really good. What actually hurt them from being even higher is Rueben Droughns's 3.2 YPA. I look at effectiveness not total yards when I look at how good something is. For example, Steelers and Giants. Giants rushing yards: 2148. Steelers: 2168. By total yards, Steelers look better but actually Giants were the better rushing team. Steelers TDs and YPA: 9, 4.2. Giants: 15, 4.6. Catch my drift. Steelers ran the ball more while the Giants were able run it more effectively.
Zorn may turn out to be a fine coach but at the rate he's goin', he may be become more hated then Belicheck. Seems he has given the Skins too much leeway. Heck, seems like during the minicamp, Portis and Landry had a race to see who was the fastest. Also, Sellers was talking about how they didn't have as much leeway under Gibbs while gushing about it. We'll see maybe I'm wrong about this guy. I just have a feeling this guy would be like Schotteheimer was in 2000. As was Schotty was there as a stopgap until Spurrier completed his Florida contract, I think the Skins are using Zorn as the stopgap for Cowher.
Dehbashi - You obviously are reading up more on Zorn than I am. I'm just looking at how the Seattle offense did while he was there. That could be a product of Mike Holmgren, although a lot of his assistants have gone on to be very good head coaches. The Cowboys were saying the same stuf about Phillips last year and they did well in the regular season. Time will tell if he has what it takes to coach at that level.
CHFF has a great website, but there are a lot of things I don't agree with. They were the ones that nicknamed Favre Old Yeller and never thought he had a year like 2007 left in him. Then they ranked him the 10th best QB of all time, which I thought was a joke too. I regress.
I just don't understand how you can call a QB that has started 4 seasons in the league, 26 starts, and 2 playoff games Mr. November. It's not like I am a Cowboy or Romo fan, I just think a little more body of work is needed to make that claim, even if it is the CHFF that is asserting it.
Well I have the Washington Post where I am and also sports stations here talk about the Redskins all the time. Wade Phillips is a different. That guy had been a coach. He just is one that will boneheaded decisions, like the infamous benching of Doug Flutie, near the end of the playoffs. Zorn, I admit we don't know squat. That makes it harder to trust him.
I've been reading CHFF since it first came out in 2004. I don't have an ID. I just read the forums and Trolls' articles. Even though I got kinda what they saying with Old Yeller, I sent an e-mail at that saying that what they did was really messed. I told them that I saw their point that he should have retired long ago but that Old Yeller was not cool. I admit I didn't think Farve had that 2007 year left in him. It threw me off guard as well. No one would think that 38 would be his best year in 6 years.
I agree with their list actually. You should be glad he got 10th though. You do know that they said that if it wasn't for 2007, he wouldn't have made the top 10.
Yeah it's a little premature for them to put Romo as Mr. November but I've trusted them from the beginning. I've used them and most of the users there to bring my case up with others.The way these guys bring out information is ridiculous.
Dehbashi - I am not happy they put him number 10. In my opinion he is one of the top 5 quarterbacks in the history of the game. For them to pretend he was on the cuspe of breaking the top 10 up until this season is in my opinion absurd.
That list was done soley on championship performance. Young (8), Manning (9), and Favre(10) all had one ring. Everyone higher had at least two. If winning in the postseason in the sole measure, how is Young ahead of Favre when Favre stomped his #### in the postseason for 3 straight years?
There is a lot more that goes into winning a championship than having a great quarterback. If that's all it was Dilfer would have 0 rings and Marino would have 1.
I agree, in terms of postseason performance, Favre is on the cusp of the top 10 postseason quarterbacks of all time. I just think there is a lot more that goes into evaluating a QB than whether his team won or lost in the playoffs.
Oh right sorry QCisco. My bad. Heh even worse. 1/4 of the Pro Bowl Squad is Cowboys? The whole point was that Dallas was so overhyped that it wasn't funny.
StreetCred, I'm not sure how to say it exactly. I have to shoot down that championship theory of yours. If that was true, Manning, Young, and Farve would have been kicked off that list. The empty spots would have been Terry Bradshaw (4 rings), Troy Aikman (3 rings) and Jim Plunkett (2 rings). Also, the list would have looked like this from 1st to 10th: Otto Graham, Bart Starr, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Johnny Unitas, Jim Plunkett, Sammy Baugh.
They did factor in regular season as well. Sure Farve beat Young 3 times in a row but I think the stats were factored in as well. Remember Young was a dual threat QB, legs and arm. Farve wasn't. Young holds the Career record Passing rating and lead in Passing rating 6 times. Farve never lead in passing rating and is 19th overall. They both lead the NFL in TD passes 4 times. The cannon arm QB of all time is actually Young. Adjust YPA after sacks, etc., Young in #1 all time, Farve is in the 40s. Young let the NFL twice Passes INTed % and a career of 2.6% (9th all time). Farve is 3.3 (45th). Farve has the advantage of 4 seasons having a higher # of pass attempts being TDS but Young leads career wise with 5.6% (23rd) of his attempts being TDs while Farve 5% (51). Also consider that Young was 2 years in Tampa and sat 4 years in SF behind Joe Montana. So excluding the career-ending concussion that made him only play 3 games in 99, Young has only 8 years being a true starter. If Young had 16 years as a Starter as Farve, he may have passed Farve in the career passing marks. I think that is how they graded that Young was a better QB than Farve.
Qsico - I was counting players that were selected on the Pro Bowl roster the night it was announced. Because none of the starters end up going, every player ends up playing in the game. I don't consider Jeff Garcia a Pro Bowl QB, even though he ended up playing over there after no one else wanted to go. Williams and Ellis were not selected for the original roster.
As for Dallas being overhyped, I think they were in the sense that the Patriots should have sent the most people to Hawaii and they didn't.
On the other hand, they were the best team in the NFC. About the only players I would think you could argue that someone else should have gone was Barber, seeing he didn't even start for his own team and Folk, as I too thought Crosby was the superior kicker.
Dehbashi - We always end up discussing things that have nothing to do with the division on here, but seeing you made the arguement for Young, I will make the arguement for Favre.
While Young was more efficient and had a higher rating, he got to play with Rice, Taylor, Owens, Jones, Waters, Rathman, and a fantastic offensive line. There is no doubt he was the more efficient QB, but that in part explains his higher rating and lower intercpetion totals.
He stepped into an offense that had been the best in the NFL. Furthermore, he played with a top 10 defense 6 times in his 8 years starting in San Fran.
Favre stepped into one of the worst situations in the NFL and was a major part of turning that franchise around, which hadn't been competitive since the 60s. He played with no future Hall of Famers on offense and only one on defense. While he did play with a top 10 defense 7 times in his 16 years starting, he did so only twice after Holmgren left. He did not have skill players even comprarable to the talent of Young at any time in his career.
Favre won more MVPs (3 to 2), one just as many Super Bowls (1 each), has 442 TD passes to 232, more 30 touchdown pass seasons (8 to 2), has 61,655 passing to 33,124 and was much more durable starting 253 regular season games in a row to Young's 143 starts.
(cont) - What it comes down to me is that while Young was great from 1992 to 1998, you could argue Favre was just as impressive in those years, evidenced by the fact that he was selected to the NFL All 90s team and Young was not. When you combine that with the longevity that Favre had and the career numbers that blow Young away, I think Favre was the better QB.
Yeah I apologize for going off topic. It happens with me in the heat of the moment.
The receivers you pointed out were good points. Rathman wasn't even there when he won the SB but he did make life easier. Watters left in 95 but yeah he was a great receiving running back. Good point on offense but I don't think defense matters on how a QB performs but that's my opinion. But yeah Young was under less pressure, even with the Montana #### on his back, then Farve had with turning a franchise. Funny the way you are comparing them is exactly the way I compare Brady vs. Peyton. I bring Peyton's team talent compared to Brady's for years. Farve was definately from 95-97 completely ustoppable. He did deserve those MVPs. I'll won't bring in total starts because of what I said of Young's circumstances but Farve was still more durable than Young. As Matt Hasselback back said once, Farve played with two broken feet one game and threw for over 300 yards and 3 TDs. I didn't know that Young wasn't elected to the 90s team. Does give Farve a big advantage.
You know what for fun? Let's put up CHFF's article here on a separate blog here and let's have a debate with the community on what they agree and disagree with. Would be fun and will let you do your predictions without any of this on there.
Street Cred
I don't know that the Giants'll regress that much. And as unexpected as their victory in the Superbowl was. I for one think that there'll be a renewed confidence throughout the franchise. However they're going to have a target on their back from the very outset.
As to the Cowboys this'll definitely be a make or break season for the team. Romo has to live up to the fat contract and at the same time he's in the glare of the spotlight 'cause he's got the etheral bimbo on the end of his arm. Let's just hope that she's well worth it in the bedroom for his sake. I'd hate to think that they're using one another just for show.
The Phillies as of now may well be the dark horses within the division. And you can never really know what to expect of the team as they now stand. McNabb may well feel that he's got a great deal to prove from the getgo. So he'll do whatever it takes to prove us all wrong in saying that he's on the downside of his career.
The Redskins with first year coach Jim Zorn are another altogether. And with a meddlesome owner in Daniel Snyder and more likely than not very little input coming from Gibbs. I can see that they'll be in for a really hard time.
The NFC East has always and will always be a very contentious division !
Last edited by rampantfanatic on May 16th at 1:32 PM.
Street Cred
I've an NBA post up titled High Hopes We Got High Hopes....!
Let me know what you think as to the merits of the piece ? I'll look forward to reading your comments.
Street,
Liked the blog, the breakdowns were very well thought out and sensible. Only prob I (a Giants fan) have is the trap that you are not seeing from the cowboys. They have 13 probowlers but don't seem like a team. Like the recent yankee teams, all the talent doesn't mean you win. Football is the commsumate team sport and the boys don't seem like a team. I say look out for the Eagles to have a real big bounce back year.
Padcubed - Thanks for the post and sorry I missed it. I try to respond to everyone. I agree with your assessment of the Cowboys, but they won 13 games last year. I'm not sure who to pick from the NFC, but just because I picked them to have a great regular season record doesn't mean I think they automatically make the Super Bowl as we saw last year.
I agree, look out for the Eagles. I expect them to have a nice bounce back season.
Are you serious ? you are predicting the Redskins last in the NFC East? Well I guess you didn't see many Redskins games and how competitive we were in the division. We were competitive with a very conservative coach who would not let his offensive coordianator utilize his 700 page playbook or throw the freaking ball down field, we had a make shift offensive line , and the starting receivers were either unable to practice or not on the field together until week 8 or 9.
Zorn will open his playbook up and throw down field. He has a better understanding of the game in my opinion because he played quarterback. He can teach Campbell the nuiances of the game.
I guess the #### Redskin fan who wrote a post indicated Campbell is not a franchise quarterback has no idea the struggles or the growing pains new quarterbacks go thru..When Mcnabb got in to the league he was horrible, Eli Manning, horrible it takes time but if you surround Campbell with playmakers and they stay healthy it makes a difference
Portis is now healthy and so is the offensive line, we now have depth atthe receiver positon we will average more then 16 points a game when it is all said and done.
Dirty 30 Laron Landry is a year wiser but brings intensity and fear on the defense . I think the scheme and role playes we aquired will initiate a better pass rush ..Redskins 11-5 ..My fair weather Redskin fans are so fickle they do not understand things like chemistry, or having a young quarterback, or injuries etc..Hail to the Redskins
Thebeatdontstop - Thanks for the post. Sorry I am late responding on this. Campbell is entering that magic 3rd year, so he is by no means a bust. He has played solid at times and has a promising future.
The problem is that the Redskins play in a brutal NFC East. They were only 3-3 against the division, so I'm not sure I agree they have played the division competitevly. If competitive means average, they did that.
Redskins were a 5-7 team last season that caught fire at the end of the year with an unlikely hero in Collins. We'll see if that translates into another good season. My guess is they come up a bit short.
I live in Chicago, but am originally from Wisconsin. I am a disgruntled Green Bay Packer fan that now loves the Jets. My favorite sports are Football, Basketball, and Baseball. Hockey and soccer are at the bottom of my list. I would rather watch the Spelling Bee than either of those sports. My favorite athletes of all time are Brett Favre and Michael Jordan. While I like debating many sports, NFL Football is by far my favorite topic to discuss.
In addition to this blog I am also a writer for the Fantasy Football Maniaxs. It is quite an honor to be writing with a group of knowledgeable football fanatics. The address is http://www.fa ntasyfootball maniaxs.com. I hope you enjoy the blog.
