Peter King Picks Dallas/New England Super Bowl

I think ramsey -> collins is hardly an upgrade... more like a wash at best. Lavar -> Mcintosh is a clear downgrade, at least for this year since rocky is going to have to deal with rookie lumps and lavar (though slow) actually played pretty well down the stretch.

we also upgraded our coverage and return units again. mcintosh, havner, doughty, chijioke and possibly a guy like lumsden could all really help there. Not to mention:
--KR/PR = Antwaan Randle-El ( >>>>>>>>>>>> Antonio Brown)

which is important not to overlook... too bad we didn't fix kicker/punter :( , maybe next year.

I am concerned about our ROLB, but that's really it.

My point was - Can the Cowboys really say that there is not a single position at which there are question marks? Who do they have backing up Drew Bledsoe? Henson/Romo? Do they really have fewer question marks than the Skins? I just don't understand the argument that they have filled more holes in the offseason than the Skins.

Maybe somebody who knows the Cowboys a bit better can weigh in about their holes (not just WR, yeah yeah we know that one) and how they fixed them. Sure, they get TO, they pick up some help on the Oline (while also losing Larry Allen), and then Vanderjagt. I'm supposed to believe these are the only holes on the team?

Being a Redskins fan, I'm used to getting slapped in the face by the media. I'm over that. I'm just trying to understand the argument.

P.S. I have been wondering this offseason what the reason is for all the personnel changes in Washington. You guys did well last year and were a sloppy performance in Seattle away from going to the NFC Championship and maybe the Super Bowl.

Why so much upheaval?

Upheaval?

Not really, more like aggressively addressing our weaknesses.

Monk Maniac

I don't think that Dallas filled more holes than Washington, rather I think that the holes Dallas had were so obvious and glaring that when they got upgraded it seems like the 92/93 Cowboys all over again.

ST - Our Kicking game was horrible. Our PR was in the bottom half of the league. Optimists say that with a better kicker we could have gone 12-4. I don't think that is true but ....

WR - oh sorry..

SOLB - Demarcus Ware was getting a constant Chip or Double team because we did not have a threat on the Strong side last year - especially when Al Singleton went down. Bobby Carpenter will start in that position before game 5 and represents an upgrade in terms of being a threat to get to the QB. Carpenter and the FA Akin Ayondele help the Defense get bigger at LB in general and completes the switch to the 3/4.

QB - You are right. After Bledsoe, Jerry Jones might as well call me because we have nothing there. But Drew is Durable. He got Mashed last year Game after game but played every snap.

OL - Can we talk about something else? Okay they couldn't be worse. So we did pick up Fabini, Kosier (who was sought after by a few teams), and Columbo who was a former 1st round pick. What do you want me to say? if Parcells can get this line to work then just put him in Canton right away.
This is definately the biggest ?uestion mark this year. If they give Bledsoe protection, we will do well. if not.....

DL - Very strong here and got stronger - great DLine rotation that will help to cut down the amount of time those little recievers have to get open.

I truly believe that any team in our division could come out on top. It'll be interesting if a new offense and a ton of new players work. I think the biggest problem is we're going to run 4-5 wide a lot and the teams in this division don't have the secondary to cover the type of speed we have at WR.

That said, I think New England doesnt have any sort of shot at a super bowl, and I think Dallas could make it, but I also don't think any NFC East teams gets to the Super Bowl for one reason. We're going to beat each other up and have close records within the division. This will hurt the chances for home field for all four teams. In the playoffs, not having to travel is huge.

Daseal I agree with you in your assessment on how much our division is going to hurth any of the teams chances, but in the other side if 1 of the teams in division comes on top I really see them going all the way because of the tought competition during the season it will help them during the playoffs.

Now last year with Pitts playing all the playoffs away from home and winning the SB we know is really hard but not imposible and at least 1 of the teams in the division is going to get 1 home field game in the playoffs.

Monk Maniac

I don't think that Dallas filled more holes than Washington, rather I think that the holes Dallas had were so obvious and glaring that when they got upgraded it seems like the 92/93 Cowboys all over again.

ST - Our Kicking game was horrible. Our PR was in the bottom half of the league. Optimists say that with a better kicker we could have gone 12-4. I don't think that is true but ....

WR - oh sorry..

SOLB - Demarcus Ware was getting a constant Chip or Double team because we did not have a threat on the Strong side last year - especially when Al Singleton went down. Bobby Carpenter will start in that position before game 5 and represents an upgrade in terms of being a threat to get to the QB. Carpenter and the FA Akin Ayondele help the Defense get bigger at LB in general and completes the switch to the 3/4.

QB - You are right. After Bledsoe, Jerry Jones might as well call me because we have nothing there. But Drew is Durable. He got Mashed last year Game after game but played every snap.

OL - Can we talk about something else? Okay they couldn't be worse. So we did pick up Fabini, Kosier (who was sought after by a few teams), and Columbo who was a former 1st round pick. What do you want me to say? if Parcells can get this line to work then just put him in Canton right away.
This is definately the biggest ?uestion mark this year. If they give Bledsoe protection, we will do well. if not.....

DL - Very strong here and got stronger - great DLine rotation that will help to cut down the amount of time those little recievers have to get open.

Thanks for the insights, 5RINGS.

This may be just me playing logical semantics, but:

1) If Dallas did not fill more holes than Washington; and
2) Dallas was 9-7 last year, did not make the playoffs, and was swept by Washington; and
3) Washington was 10-6 last year, reached the second round of the playoffs, and swept Dallas...

then how can one reasonably make the claim that the Cowboys are favorites to win the division/Super Bowl, much less perform better than the Redskins? The head-to-head matchup record, as well as overall season performance, would indicate that the Redskins were the better team last year. In order for the Cowboys to now be the better team, they would have had to fill more holes, because a lesser team couldn't possibly have fewer holes than a greater team to start with.

Granted, the use of "holes" as a barometer for improvement is not well-defined or easily measured, but I thought I'd post the argument. So much of the Cowboy-love coming out of the media is about how they have filled all their needs, while the Redskins-bashing centers around having spent a lot of money without really doing much.

Daseal I agree with you in your assessment on how much our division is going to hurth any of the teams chances, but in the other side if 1 of the teams in division comes on top I really see them going all the way because of the tought competition during the season it will help them during the playoffs.This depends on a lot of things though. If the NFC East winner comes out and gets the 1st seed and HFA, I'll bet my house that they go all the way. But lets say they go 11-5 or 10-6 and don't get the bye. After coming out of a dogfight down the stretch just to make the playoffs, none of the three teams would be any better off then the Skins were in 2005, and wouldn't even get to the championship. So playing in the toughest division could be good or bad for the NFC East champ.

Thanks for the insights, 5RINGS.

This may be just me playing logical semantics, but:

1) If Dallas did not fill more holes than Washington; and
2) Dallas was 9-7 last year, did not make the playoffs, and was swept by Washington; and
3) Washington was 10-6 last year, reached the second round of the playoffs, and swept Dallas...

then how can one reasonably make the claim that the Cowboys are favorites to win the division/Super Bowl, much less perform better than the Redskins? The head-to-head matchup record, as well as overall season performance, would indicate that the Redskins were the better team last year. In order for the Cowboys to now be the better team, they would have had to fill more holes, because a lesser team couldn't possibly have fewer holes than a greater team to start with.

Granted, the use of "holes" as a barometer for improvement is not well-defined or easily measured, but I thought I'd post the argument. So much of the Cowboy-love coming out of the media is about how they have filled all their needs, while the Redskins-bashing centers around having spent a lot of money without really doing much.To make the prediction that the Cowboys will finish better than the Redskins in 2006, you must assume that the predictor also believes that the Cowboys roster was superior to Washington's going into last year. Its possible that there could have been reasons outside of roster talent that the Redskins swept the Cowboys and finished a game better. Favorable Schedule, injuries, and simple luck could have produced skewed results. This happens a lot in the NFL where the best team finishes behind someone in the division. Just last year it happened in the AFC North, AFC West, and NFC South. So this is a frequent occurance.

But I don't buy it because I predicted Washington to finish ahead of Dallas prior to last year, actually projecting Dallas correctly at 9-7. So I also find it hard to believe that so many "experts" could pick Dallas to win the division this year. I could justify the predictions of a few, but when they seem to be the consensus pick in the East, you know something is wrong with the world.

P King is full of it
NFC East for sure.
Giants are dangerous, Cowboys how- whos going to throw the ball????
Patriots hahahaha right.... no way. AFC could be the Broncos believe it or not.

I hate to say it but the team with the least "significant" injuries wins the division. Quality depth is a good thing to have but if you lose couple of key guys you tend to become one dimensional and we all know where one dimensional teams end up.

P King is full of it
NFC East for sure.
Giants are dangerous, Cowboys how- whos going to throw the ball????
Patriots hahahaha right.... no way. AFC could be the Broncos believe it or not.Broncos finish 4th in the division.

I don't know, there's something about that Jake Plummer/Ron Dayne combination that doesn't scare me.