NFL Season Preview: NFC East

By TLarner 

Now that we’ve finished previewing the AFC, let’s take a look at the NFC, beginning with the East.

“If it was easy, soccer players would be doing it!”

Dallas Cowboys

Strength-While it hurts me to admit it, the Cowboys have become one of the top teams in the NFC. Their offense has matured into a serious threat behind quarterback Tony Romo and his plethora of weapons. In 2009, Dallas was second in the league in total offense with 399.4 yards per game. Romo had career highs in pass attempts, completions, yards, and a career low in picks last year. He was tied for first with Aaron Rodgers and Donovan McNabb with 17 passes of over 40 yards. The ground game was led by Marion Barber. He posted 932 yards and seven touchdowns. Felix Jones managed to hold a 5.9 yard per carry average with 685 yards. Don’t forget Tashard Choice, Dallas’ third option in the backfield. Receiver Miles Austin had a breakout year in ’09. He led the NFC with 1,320 yards receiving. Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten was second on the team with 1,030 receiving yards. Along with receivers Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, and first round draft pick Dez Bryant, Dallas will have a potent set of small skill playmakers in 2010.

Weakness-While their skill position players may be among the best in the NFC, their offensive line may rate among the bottom feeders in the conference. First of all, two of Dallas’ starting linemen have gone down with knee injuries. Right tackle Marc Colombo just underwent surgery to remove loose particles in his knee. He’s expected to be out until the season opener. Left guard Kyle Kosier recently tore is MCL. He’ll miss at least a month to six weeks, meaning he may miss the first couple regular season games. Center Andre Gurode and right guard Leonard Davis return after starting all 16 games last season. Gurode is 32, and Davis will be 32 after Week 1. At left tackle, the Cowboys released Flozell Adams, who started 178 games for them since 1998. In an attempt to get younger on the line, 26 year old Doug Free will get the starts at Romo’s blindside. Former Ram Alex Barron was expected to compete with Free, but has shown very little to the coaches so far at camp. Dallas has one of the largest lines in the league, but they may be cut short by age, injury, and inexperience. In 2009, Romo was sacked a career high 34 times, and hopes he can find better protection this year.

Biggest Question- Can the Cowboys’ defense create more turnovers in 2010? Dallas finished ’09 with a +2 turnover differential. This means they forced two more turnovers than they lost. The secondary only picked off 11 passes, which was tied for the fifth fewest in the league. Along with 10 fumble recoveries, Dallas had 21 forced turnovers. Compare that to Green Bay, who led the league with 40 turnovers. Luckily, Romo only threw nine interceptions, his lowest as the Cowboys’ QB. Corner Mike Jenkins led the Dallas defense with five interceptions last season, and Terence Newman followed with three. If the defense wants to do any favors for the offense, the front seven will strip the ball more, and the secondary will take a few more passes away from opposing quarterbacks.

 New York Giants

Strength- Unlike their foes from Texas, the Giants have had a strong and consistent line. The same five guys have been the starters for the past couple years now. Having a line with such continuity is vital in the NFL. Starting at left tackle for every regular season game since 2003, David Diehl anchors Eli Manning’s blindside. Left guard Rich Seubert has only missed two starts since 2007. Center Shaun O’Hara has only missed five games since taking over the job for New York in 2004. Chris Snee has proven he is among the best linemen in the NFL. He is 80 for 80 in games started since 2005. Right tackle Kareem McKenzie has missed seven starts since becoming a full time starter for New York (2002-’04 for the Jets, ’05-Present for Giants). These giant Giants have plowed through defenses together for years, and look to do so again in 2010.

Weakness-The New York Giants’ defense was rather porous last season. The 427 points they allowed was 30th in the league (26.7 points per game). They allowed 21 rush touchdowns, and another 31 through the air. If they want to return to the Super Bowl, improving the red zone defense is a must. In their final two regular season games in 2009, New York was outscored 85 to 16 (41-9 loss against Carolina & 44-7 loss at Minnesota). All star end Justin Tuck only recorded six sacks last season, half his 2008 total. Former captain Antonio Pierce retired this offseason after missing seven games with a neck injury. He would have needed surgery to continue playing. To replace him, the Giants signed 10 year pro Keith Bulluck, formerly of Tennessee. Bulluck started every game for the Titans since 2002, and made over 1,000 tackles, 18 sacks, 19 interceptions, and 14 forced fumbles. The addition of safety Antrel Rolle should improve the secondary. Rolle had four picks in ’09 with Arizona. Rookie defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul looks to add another dimension to the pass rush.

Biggest Question- Will Eli Manning continue to improve in 2010? Peyton’s younger brother will forever live in the shadows of his future Hall of Fame sibling. However, he made a name for himself with his improbable victory over New England in Super Bowl XLII. Manning’s numbers were a lot better in 2009 than 2007. He had career highs with a 93.1 passer rating, 27 scores, 4,021 yards, and a 62% completion rate. The area I would like to see Eli improve the most is his accuracy. His career 57% completion rate is far below where a all-star QB should be. With better accuracy, naturally his interception numbers will fall. Manning has started 87 games since 2004, and has thrown 88 picks. Receiver Steve Smith (not the Steve Smith from Carolina) had his first season with over 1,200 receiving yards, and second year pro Hakeem Nicks is coming off a solid rookie campaign, giving Manning two reliable targets.

Philadelphia Eagles

Strength- Donovan McNabb will start for Washington this year. Without him, the Eagles offense is surprisingly young and still loaded with talent. Kevin Kolb is the man under center now. In his two starts last season while McNabb was injured, Kolb threw for 741 yards, four touchdowns, and completed 64% of his passes. He’s actually the first QB to throw for over 300 yards in his first two career starts. Second year running back LeSean McCoy should take over the majority of the carries this year. He ran for 637 yards and four touchdowns in 2009. “Action” DeSean Jackson will continue to make big plays at wide receiver. He has caught 2,068 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons. Tight end Brent Celek tripled his 2008 total in catches and yards. He finished ’09 with 76 catches for 971 yards and eight grabs in the end zone. One of Philadelphia’s best lineman is left tackle Jason Peters, acquired in a trade last offseason from Buffalo. In a lineman camp I attended put on by former Bills’ line coach Jim McNally, he said Peters was the best lineman he’d coached since Anthony Munoz in Cincinnati. The oldest of the athletes mentioned is Peters, who is currently 28 years old.

Weakness-The Eagles secondary may be questionable going into 2010. At one corner is pro Bowler Asante Samuel, who led the team with nine interceptions in ’09. He can match with some of the bests receiver’s in the league. However, the other starting corner, and former Pro Bowler himself, Sheldon Brown was traded to Cleveland. Ellis Hobbs will replace Brown. Hobbs did start all 16 games for New England in 2007-’08, but only played in eight games last season. Philadelphia has struggled to find a replacement for Brian Dawkins at free safety. Now in Denver, Dawkins was the team’s defensive leader and had knockout power as a tackler. The Eagles signed defensive back Marlin Jackson this offseason, but the injury plagued Indianapolis Colt is now on Philly’s injured reserve list with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Rookie Nate Allen, taken in the second round, now will get the start at free safety. Veteran Quintin Mikell also returns at strong safety.

Biggest Question– How well will the Eagles’ two quarterbacks play this year? The previously mentioned Kevin Kolb will be the full time starter, with Michael Vick coming off the bench in some wildcat-type plays. I believe Kolb showed a lot in his first two starts last year. Had he been given an entire offseason to work with the starters, he probably wouldn’t have thrown the three picks in the loss to New Orleans (he did throw for 391 yards against the would be Champs). He came back strong against Kansas City with two scores and no turnovers. Head Coach Andy Reid hopes to see Kolb enter the West Coast offense with no problems. Vick threw a few passes last season, his first back from suspension. His big game came at Atlanta when he went 2 for 2 with 48 yards and a touchdown. He also added 95 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in 2009. Vick has another offseason of work under his belt, and may see an expanded role in the offense.

Washington Redskins

Strength- One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. In the case of the Washington Redskins, Donovan McNabb is that treasure. While McNabb’s numbers haven’t declined in recent years, Philadelphia went in a new direction with Kevin Kolb, and McNabb was traded for two draft picks, one being the second round pick used on safety Nate Allen. In 2009 with the Eagles, McNabb had a 92.8 passer rating. He threw for 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and 3,553 yards. In his career, he has totaled 32,873 yards with 216 TD’s. While he ran often early in his career, age and injuries have slowed McNabb down, but he still flashes signs off his youth given a chance. So far in his 11 seasons, he has ran for 3,249 yards and found the end zone 28 times. He is one of only four players to have 30,000 yards passing, 200 touchdowns and 3,000 rushing with 20 touchdowns (John Elway, Fran Tarkenton, Steve Young). Among Eagles franchise records, he holds career wins with 92, and is all-time leader is completions, yards, and scores.

Weakness-McNabb has some weapons to throw to, including Santana Moss and Chris Cooley. However, he might not have a quality back to hand off too. The Redskins’ ground attack last year was a group effort. Clinton Portis led the group with 494 yards and one touchdown, only the second time in his eight years he ran for under 1,200 yards (523 yards in 2006). New to the group this year are Larry Johnson and Willie Parker. Johnson had career years in 2005 and ’06, but only ran for 581 yards in Cincinnati last season. He had a miserable 3.2 yards per carry and no scores. Parker has also seen his stats decline greatly. After rushing for just under 5,000 yards in his first five seasons with the Steelers, Parker only managed 389 yards in 2009. Some teams like having two or three good running backs, but not having all three coming off career lows. New Head Coach Mike Shanahan was able to produce some great runners in his time with the Denver Broncos. Portis ran for over 1,500 yards and had 29 touchdowns in his first two years in Denver before coming to Washington.

Biggest Question-Can Donovan McNabb take this team to the playoffs before his window of opportunity closes? McNabb was able to do that a lot with the Eagles. He led them to five NFC Championships and one Super Bowl. Many times, he did it without having good receivers or running backs. The weapons McNabb has around him now in Washington are as good if not better than the Todd Pinkston’s and Freddie Mitchell’s in Philly. He also has a good line in front of him, including former Saint Jammal Brown and first round pick Trent Williams at the tackle positions. It’s not the line or receivers I’m worried about, it’s Donovan. How many more years can he put up over 3,500 yards and over 20 touchdowns? He is 33 years old now, and will be 34 in November. With the injuries he has suffered in recent seasons, McNabb has shown he is no Brett Favre. If Washington wants to win, they have about three seasons left before they’ll be searching for a new franchise quarterback.

Division Prediction-­The teams I pick to win these Division Predictions are the teams I feel have a better chance of making the playoffs, not the teams I personally like. That’s why it hurts me to make this year’s NFC East prediction. This will be the first season in a long time I’m unable to pick Philadelphia as an outright winner, mainly because of the uncertainty of the Kolb era. New York has a good team, but I don’t think they have quite what it takes to win the division, maybe a small chance at a wildcard spot. Washington, with McNabb, has improved greatly, but are still a few pieces away. To all you Dallas fans, I hope this is the only season I have to say the Cowboys will win the NFC East.