NFC East: A two team race now?
 

With the Cowboys apparently gearing up for 2005 and the Giants with a rookie QB, looks like the Skins and Eagles are best suited to make a serious run at the division title. What do you guys think?

still see the cowboys being tough and the giants still have enough talent that you can't sleep on them either. the nfc east is the best division in football once again and it will be hard for any team to get swept.

THere's no reason right now to think that the skins are gonna be better then dallas or NY. We still failed to upgrade our biggest need from last year which is d-line. With that said I think its gonna be very competitive with no major talent gap between us cowboys and NY. Phil. of course will be the favorite. Gibbs is gonna have to work all his magic against them. I'm sure he can.

I still think its pretty wide open. I have a hard time putting NYG in the mix, but they still might hang around. I'm not gonna put Dallas down yet, because they went to the playoffs with the team they have now, and didnt really lose anyone, so they cant be that much worse off. Philly will be tough, as always. We did our annual shopping and upgrading , but theres a big difference ( coaching ) which makes me think we have a big shot to overtake philly for the title.

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS

I think we have just as good a chance as anyone in out division. I am not getting my hopes up-like in the past- we will see how for real we are in about the 6th to 7th week. I think Philly could be on the down slide though I could be wrong.

I think it's wide open too. Anything could happen at this point ... Eli could be awesome from the beginning and make the Giants the team to beat for all we know. I don't know what Parcells and Jones were thinking with their draft moves but I'm not going to underestimate them. Barring injury, the Eagles will be tough too.

I have to say I like the Redskins' chances though. We've got some brawlers on the OL to pave the way for Portis ... on D we have people like LaVar, Sean Taylor, Smoot and Gregg Williams. And we have Gibbs too. Even the Redskin-haters would have to admit we have a decent shot at winning the NFC East, which may again be the toughest division in the NFL.

I think the NFC east will once again be the best division in football.

We you think about all the new projected starters we have this year I really think we will need a year to gel. But I hope I am wrong.

I agree with Hi-jinx, the talent is pretty mcuh there. just need to be "coached up" a bit and some chemistry to develop.

Playoffs this year.....next year sky is the limit

I think the iggles are the team to beat, and the cowgirls and us will be fighting it out for the wildcard. The gints are rebuilding more than anyone else, and they've got a new staff, not to mention a new QB.

Never underestimate a Parcells team. I'm glad they've looked weak in the draft, but Parcells knows how to motivate players.

Rome wasn't built in a day. If we have meaningful games in December, I'll be pleased. A 9-7/10-6 wildcard would be an awesome year. After that, we'll be a force. SB in Gibbs 3rd year.

I honestly think it's going to come down to us and the cowpies. They're bringing back the #1 defense plus they added a legitimate passrushing de in wiley. they do have a weakness at cornerback though. I think our defense is decent enough to not completely lose a game like recent years and our offense is gonna be on the field a lot so that will help keep the defense fresh and able to take managable risks. the eagles have no real running game, their lb core took a big loss with emmons, and they lost their 2 captains of the defense and best corners in vincent and taylor. the only player on their defense that worries me is dawkins. and the giants have no offensive line and a running back who fumbles more than his qb and with kerry collins as their qb(right now), that says a lot.

I agree with you Carnage, The East will rise again to greatness. I think that this division will be a free for all. The N.F.C. East is by far the best coached division in football.


I hope the Skins tear em all up!!!!

Collectively, the NFC East has one of the easiest set of schedules in the league, so it could very well be the 'best' division in football this year.

I miss the Cardinals! =(

Actually... they have Denny Green...

I just don't understand what the Cowboys are doing. They passed on guys like Jackson and Perry and went with Jones. Is Jones the 25 carry a game kinda guy that Parcells wants? I have a hard time saying he is.

The Cowboys - The only major acquisition was Keyshawn. Standing pat with overachievers is no way to rise in an increasingly competitive division. Stock: Dropping.

The Giants - New system, rookie QB as likely starter, aging defense, fumble-prone RB. Stock: Dropping.

The Eagles - Positives: Two major FA acquisitions. Negatives: Secondary demolished, running game has durability questions. Stock: Steady.\

The Redskins - Still need a D-line, but skill positions have been either a) improved, or b) made deeper. Best acquisition of the (year, decade, etc.) Joe Gibbs. Stock: Rising

None of the NFC east teams did anything that frightens me this weekend.

I hate the Cowboys, but you guys are overlooking them again. Just with another year of Parcells coaching they are going to be better. Quincy Carter is the most unappreciated player in the league. He is not the typical strong armed, tall, lancky QB most teams have. But he is smart and quick. His ability to avoid the rush is difficult to defend. This type of fast QB has given us (redskins) the most problems in the past. Randal Cunningham and Donovan McNabb have created a highlight reels against us.

[QUOTE=Defensewins] He is not the typical strong armed, tall, lancky QB most teams have. But he is smart and quick. [/QUOTE]

I think he does hanve a strong arm, and is not smart. I think Parcells is just trying to 'make do' with him at this time. He does have good speed to avoid the rush, though. I do agree that elusive QBs have proved to be our D's traditional weakest point. I think having a FS like Sean Taylor back there will help to fix that, though.

And our new, faster LB's will help as well. Having Arrington play the weak side is going to make most QB's think twice before taking off and running.
We have to disagree about Quincy Carters QB intelligence. Everytime I saw him play, he played well and made few mistakes. He helped the Cowboys make it to the playoffs. Although the Cowboys #1 ranked defense was most of the reason. Quincy played well enough to win.

Our d-line wasn't totally neglected, we did add Philip Daniels and get Brandon Noble back this year. I know we need a pass rusher, but our defense looks upgraded. I look for LaVar to have a MONSTER year as G. Williams will put pressure on the qb and our lb's seem to be the only ones capable of filling that role.

I think the Skins are a lot better positioned to compete with Philly than any other team in the division. We'll be better coached, and don't forget the free agents we've added the past few years definitely add to our talent pool.

I'm not underestimating Parcells by any means, but in a division where it seems everyone but the Cowboys improved their talent level, it looks like the Cowboys could be a better 'team' in '04 but could have a worse record than they did last year. Plus they're not going to sneak up on anyone this year.

With a glaring need at RB, I just don't think they did a good enough job to fill it with Jones, not when Jackson was right their in their laps.

Let's face it, QC will hold on to the starting job just until Henson is ready. QC is not the QB that will lead Parcells back to glory.

I know it has been a foregone conclusion that the Cowboys would sign Testaverde afer June 1. But I wouldn't look pass the possibility of them signing Kerry Collins instead. Remember Sean Payton, who's worked with Collins before, is the QB coach in Dallas

[QUOTE=memphisskin]Our d-line wasn't totally neglected, we did add Philip Daniels and get Brandon Noble back this year. I know we need a pass rusher, but our defense looks upgraded. I look for LaVar to have a MONSTER year as G. Williams will put pressure on the qb and our lb's seem to be the only ones capable of filling that role.

I think the Skins are a lot better positioned to compete with Philly than any other team in the division. We'll be better coached, and don't forget the free agents we've added the past few years definitely add to our talent pool.[/QUOTE]

don't forget about griffin. we appear atleast very solid against the run and after the past few years, i'll take that over having great passrushing from the de's. plus let's not forget the 2 years before last year, daniel had 15 total sacks and griffin can provide some pressure up the middle as well. wynn has always been a consistent player and so that just leaves whomever wins the other DT spot unless it's done by rotation.

[QUOTE=skinsfanthru&thru]don't forget about griffin. we appear atleast very solid against the run and after the past few years, i'll take that over having great passrushing from the de's. plus let's not forget the 2 years before last year, daniel had 15 total sacks and griffin can provide some pressure up the middle as well. wynn has always been a consistent player and so that just leaves whomever wins the other DT spot unless it's done by rotation.[/QUOTE]

True. I posted somewhere else about how Gardener was a questionable, under-achieving DT pick-up when we got him two years ago, and maybe Griffen could be this year's Gardener....playing-wise of course! The potential is there.

If Griffen stays healthy. He has had injury problems.
Our defense is going to be much better than last year, especially since we have a real coaching staff.

New Players on Defense:
S Sean Taylor
LB Marcus Wahington
LB Micheal Barrow
DE Phillip Daniels
DT Cornelius Griffen
CB Sean Springs
CB Walt Harris
CB Ralph Brown

If they all stay healthy, this will be a huge upgrade. everyone of these players is good. No slouches here.
That is a small army of new players. Plus what ever we get after June1 and free agent rookies.

I'm not really impressed by the offseason/draft any teams in the NFC East had.

Washington did well, but the acquisition of Brunell was unnecessary and IMO shouldn't have happened. Portis will be huge and I'm high on Sean Taylor, but I have no faith in Brunell...I hope Pat beats him out.

Dallas went backwards. They got another horrible baseball player to come in and suck at QB. Henson has been away for 4 years and only played 8 games at Michigan. I'm not impressed. Forget Keyshawn he's a #2 wide out at best now and he'll complain about how bad Quincy is by week 5.

New York grabbed Eli which finishes them for this season. It could be another 4 and 12 year for them, but Eli is gonna show promise and will probably be pretty good.

Philly got Kearse and Owens. I'm not sure how to read this. Kearse is just looking for something to break his foot on again. I'm not really thinking that was the best pickup considering what he's making. I think Kearse could easily go down again. Owens will probably have a good season. However, I'm not totally convinced that this is going to work. Donovan isn't the most accurate passer at the best of times, so what makes T.O. think he'll be any better off than he was with Jeff Garcia? That's what's so dangerous about QB's who look good with no receivers: eventually they get receivers and you start to realize that, sometimes, it doesn't matter. I could turn out that Donovan didn't throw for a ton of yards because he can't, not because I'm better than the receivers Philly had. I don't know what to make of Philly really, but the whole thing wreaks of Deion Sanders and Jeff George to me.

On another note: how about Kellen Winslow stop whining about the team that didn't pick him and start saying the obligatory, " I'm really excited about being in Cleveland...they've really improved. I'm happy to be a Brown."