2011 NFC East Predictions
Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
Vince Young may have gone a little too far saying the Eagles are a Dream Team, but the talent is there to win the NFC East. Philadelphia vastly improved upon their 12th ranked defense of a year ago with some key additions.
The biggest addition is CB Nnamdi Asomugha, arguably the top cover corner in the NFL. Joining him in Philly is Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in a trade that sent Kevin Kolb to Arizona. Those two added to a secondary that already had Asante Samuel (42 career INT) will make passing on the Eagles extremely difficult.
Philadelphia went even further by adding an extra 19.5 sacks to their defense in lineman Jason Babin (12.5) and Cullen Jenkins (7); both help run support as well. Add in promising rookie MLB Casey Matthews, and this defense looks real scary on paper. Casey is a two-time All-Pac 10 Conference selection at Oregon and brother of Packers star LB Clay.
Michael Vick was the comeback player of the year in 2010 and rightfully so, his 3,018 yards and 21 TD passes were both career highs. Teams will have a better idea how to attack him in 2011 since Vick has only played all 16 games in a season once, durability may be an issue.
Besides Vick, the Eagles have firepower on offense. Receiver DeSean Jackson is a match-up nightmare and Ronnie Brown comes from Miami to help run the wildcat; something only he and the Dolphins could do correctly. Vicks health will determine the Eagles fate in 2011.
New York Giants (8-8)
The Giants took a big hit this pre-season when CB Terrell Thomas tore his ACL and was lost for the season. The 9th ranked defense versus the past in ’10 will drop a bit this year. Thomas was a gritty player that led the Giants last season with 101 tackles as well as grabbed 5 INT; his leadership will also be missed.
Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck combined last season for 16 forced fumbles and 23 sacks. They sandwich 300+ pounders Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty on a deep defensive line. They will need to put even more pressure on QBs to help the now suspect secondary.
Quarterback Eli Manning is the perfect example of inconsistency, his 25 INT were a career high, but so were his 31 TD. You never know what to expect from Eli and his 58% career completion mark; Peyton he is not.
Ahmad Bradshaw and his 1,235 yards and 8 TD are back to run alongside 240+ pound Brandon Jacobs. These two will be key in taking pressure off of Eli and the passing game.
The Giants defense is still pretty good but any more injuries (also lost MLB Jonathan Goff, ACL) and they won’t win much. Eli has to cut down on the interceptions as well if they want to compete in the East.
Dallas Cowboys (7-9)
QB Tony Romo is back! Only time will tell if that will make that big of a difference in the win column. The O-line has 14 years of experience between the 5 and Kyle Kosier is responsible for 9 of those. Romo may just end the season on the DL again.
Felix Jones needs to show he can be an every down back now that Marion Barber is in Chicago. Backup Tashard Choice has some minor knee issues which may linger and really put pressure on Jones to produce. Jones is an explosive runner but I don’t think he can carry the load by himself.
The defense is average, aging and has a line that combined for just 6 sacks a year ago; not impressive at all. Linebacker DeMarcus Ware and his 15.5 in 2010 and 80 over 6 seasons can’t play defense by himself.
Tony Romo has some good weapons at his disposal in receivers Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, and TE Jason Witten; but can’t throw to them if he’s on his back.
Washington Redskins (2-14)
Perhaps coach Mike Shanahan has hopes of drafting Stanford’s QB Andrew Luck in in the 2012 NFL Draft. Why else would he not try to sign or even draft a QB this past offseason? Rex Grossman is going to be the opening day starter coach? Really? I think he’s trying to lose games on purpose don’t you.
I feel sorry for Washington fans because something is wrong with Shanahan. He handled the Albert Haynesworth and Donovan McNabb situations last season horribly. Kind of like how the Redskins will play this season.
I am going to make a prediction that the Redskins could be the second team in NFL history to go 0-16. And I’m going to finish their review like coach in that I have nothing more to say.
Sources: nfl.com,espn.com