Biggest division threat to the Skins (Sponsored by the boring offseason)

Shouldn't the Redskins be an option?

I like the way you think. I am in agreement with you

Giants based on winning the divsion last year and they were a good team that added some needed talent. Dallas and Philly will be bottom feeders for a few years while we duke it out at the top.

Well, the Giants are the best team we have to compete with in my opinion, so I went with them.

The thing to really tihnk about is how everyone is going to beat up on each other. I really feel that the best team in this division, might not be the team that wins this division, if that makes sense. I think we have to look into who is going to beat up on who, so I dont know if I could really point to one team being the biggest "threat", because I think they are all real threats.

Personally (and biasly), I feel like the Redskins have done enough this offseason to become the best team in the divison. However, if I had to think of the team that was closest in terms of talent and improvment, I'd say NY.

I dont think the addition of T.O. puts Dallas that much further above what they were last season.

I said Dallas. I feel that Philly is still hurting. Their offense really doesnt have a true running back who can pound it, and their receivers are mediocre. Their defense will be solid as always with Jim Johnson.

The Giants I think will actually take a step back. This all rests upon eli's shoulders though. If he starts maturing into the type of NFL QB he could be, watch out! Otherwise, I think their defense is still going to be hurting a lot in the 2ndary. Let's see if their D Ends can keep up last years production, which I'm assuming they can't.

Love him or hate him, TO is a productive receiver. The question with Dallas is their O line especially and their D line. I think that if Bledsoe can get a little bit of time, they may be someone to look out for in our division.

That said, I think the skins have a few holes, but were the most BALANCED team. A really good defense paired with what could be a very potent offense since Saunders came in.

I am the lone wolf who voted for the Eagles. I'm very concerned about them.

Their defensive line is a lot more formidable now than last season, they now have bookends at DE in Jevon Kearse and Darren Howard. The Howard acquisition is kind of flying under the radar, but that tandem rivals the Giants' Osi and Strahan. Kearse is never going to be what he once was, but he's worth 8 sacks and Howard is worth 10+. They drafted Broderick Bunkley, and can pair him with last year's first rounder Mike Patterson at DT. Makes for a scary front 4.

In the secondary, Dawkins has lost a step but he's still excellent. Michael Lewis (pro bowl 2 years ago) is healthy again at SS. And Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard are both fully healthy again at CB. The one weakness in the secondary is nickel CB.

At LB, Trotter is still there, and otherwise it was a weak unit last year. But Dhani Jones returns from injury, and they had another under the radar acquisition: Shawn Barber.

Overall I'm very scared of the defense.

The offense is going to rebound because of players returning from injury. The obvious ones are McNabb and Westbrook, but LT Tra Thomas is back and fully healthy again, which is huge. They managed to keep Runyan at RT. The interior of the line is kind of weak, which is why they can't run very well. But drafting Winston Justice in round 2 may help matters there. The receivers are still weak too, but Jabar Gaffney doesn't totally suck.

In the end, a healthy McNabb can turn even the weakest surrounding casts into a viable offense. I think the Eagles are going to get by with a mediocre offense and rely on a serious resurgence on defense.

I don't like the Giants' coaching staff. Tom Coughlin can make your team work hard, but he's not very smart. He's not going to outscheme anybody. As for the Cowboys, I think the loss of Sean Payton as offensive coordinator should not be overlooked. He is one of the great offensive minds in the game, and now he's coaching the Saints. How the Cowboys adjust is a huge question mark. I'm also not sold on their running game. I think Julius Jones is a pansy. That Marion Barber looks alright, and he could turn into something, but I'm not exactly scared of him just yet.

I worry about the Giants most, because:


Best running game in the division (duck & cover)
Little Eli groes up
Improved defensive secondary
That said, the Cowboys helped themselves with an upgrade to their O-line plus the return of Flozell Adams, who means as much to them as Jon Jansen means to us. Parcells is always tough. The universe focuses on TO, because the Eagles made the Super Bowl with Owens. They (and he) don't get that Donovan McNabb made Owens better. Well, now he's in Dallas and Bledsoe is throwing to him. Bledsoe is good, but a step down from McNabb. That will show in Owens' production.

The Eagles focused almost exclusively on their O-line and defense. I wasn't impressed at first, but the more I think about them, the more solid their moves appear. The real question is where is their head after TO?

All of these teams improved themselves and all of them could go 9-7. Any of them could take the division.

The Giants won the division and had a good offseason, so until we dethrone them they are the toughest competition.

I don't think any team is as prepared as we are. That being said, I'd say the Cowboys are the biggest threat.

The Giants will be forced to rely on Tiki again, and while I don't think he even close to being done, he's on the wrong side of 30 coming off his largest workload ever. Burress ran out of juice in the end last year, with only 1 TD in his last 6 regular season games, and a big oh-fer in the playoffs (with two attempts to him getting picked off). Shockey is... Shockey - he's very good if you let him be, but can be taken out of his game.

The Eagles are the Eagles of 2003, when they won the conference title. Unfortunately for them, they're three years older and slower where they can't afford it. Westbrook got exposed as one-dimensional last year, the defense looked atrocious, and McNabb is coming off of a season-ending injury - with no one of substance to throw to. The aura of Andy Reid took a big hit last year, when the coach didn't have the likes of Dave Campo, Jim Fassell, and an overmatched Steve Spurrier to push around.

That leaves the Cowboys, and while I'm not convinced they made themselves dramatically better in any position (except WR, which chemistry-wise may not be an overall gain), they have a coach that won't tolerate mediocrity. I expect them to either contend, or implode. I hope for the latter, of course.

NYG spent some dough to compete with us. They know the blowout game against us last year was a fluke.

Giants, aside from offensively being able to mix run/pass, Their defense went from Middle late pack, they are now a top 10 defense and young and deep, plus they trimmed all the fat of useless DB's and benching alot of starters.