Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have long been the whipping boys of the NFL with their consistent underachieving and track record of choking in high-stakes situations. As much as Cowboys want this streak of being a mediocre football team to end in 2014, I would be shocked if it did. Hell, I would be shocked if the Cowboys can even get back to their typical 8-8 level this year. The Cowboys still have the offensive tools to get the job done, it's just that their defense is an absolute joke. The 2013 Cowboys were one of the worst defenses in NFL history; getting pummeled in both the rushing and passing game every time they took the field. Somehow this unit only got worse this year with the departure of two of their best players defensive tackle Jason Hatcher (free agency) and defensive end DeMarcus Ware (released after refusing to take a pay cut) in the offseason. Losing Hatcher and Ware was bad enough, but things managed to only get worse when inside linebacker Sean Lee tore his ACL in OTA's. Lee is really the only player on this defense that can make a serious impact. Lee is one of the premier two-way linebackers in the league and this defense is a completely different unit when he's on the field. Not having him for an entire season is going to be devastating for this already weak defense. Owner/GM Jerry Jones once again demonstrated his incompetency at the position by failing to bring in anybody that can really make this defense better. Jones' idea of reworking the defense is bringing in guys who did alright in a strong rotation (Jeremy Mincey) and one of the biggest busts in recent history has caused nothing but headaches during his tenure in the NFL (Rolando McClain). When your best pickup to fix the defense is a defensive tackle coming off a torn ACL (Henry Melton), you know something has gone horribly wrong. Somehow these random veteran pickups weren't the dumbest thing Jones did this offseason. Jones not only completely avoided addressing the biggest problem on the defense (secondary) in either the draft or free agency, he went out and used the team's first round pick on an offensive lineman- a position they were already stacked at-when there were a ton of promising players on the board that could helped them out tremendously. Maybe Jones will feel some type of regret for not taking a defender in the first round when his Cowboys are getting ripped to shreds week in and week out for the whole season. The Cowboys offensive prospects aren't even quite as bright as usual with Tony Romo coming off major offseason back surgery. If Romo returns to form this year, this offense will probably be even more deadly than usual due to the combination of a poor defense that will allow Romo and co. to be on-the-field more than ever and pass-happy Scott Linehan taking over offensive coordinator duties. Even if Romo bounces back from surgery without any setbacks and has a career year, the Cowboys are still going to be pretty much DOA due to their defense. The Cowboys are going to need make some major changes in personnel on and off-the field if good ol' Jerry wants to gets back to the Aikman/Staubach glory days of the franchise.
New York Giants: The Giants may have finished on a strong note in 2013, but the season was still a major disappointment for the G-Men as they missed the playoffs for a second straight year. With that disappointment in mind, the Giants went and out addressed their two biggest problems last season- offensive line and running back- in free agency and the draft. The offensive line woes a year ago where the major reason that the running game was ineffective and Eli Manning threw so many interceptions. The Giants now have three new potential starters in guard Geoff Schwartz, center J.D. Walton and rookie center/guard Weston Richburg- who is battling for the starting right guard spot with incumbent Giant Brandon Mosley. These new starters are leading a much needed youth movement for a Giants line that was old and often overwhelmed a year ago and should also provide a lot more consistency with both rush and pass blocking. Behind the refurbished offensive line, the Giants went out and invested in a pair of new running backs to fix their 29th ranking rushing offense from a year ago. In my humble opinion, Rashad Jennings was one of the most underrated pickups of this offseason. Jennings has quietly put up pretty good numbers with the Jaguars and Raiders over the past two seasons and should thrive now that he's finally been given the opportunity to be the feature back. The team also went and out drafted Andre Williams to be their new power back after both Andre Brown and Brandon Jacobs left the organization in the offseason. Jennings and Williams have all the skills necessary to be the next great "Thunder and Lightning" rushing duo. The Giants free agent spending spree carried over to the defensive side as the team invested in the likes of cornerbacks Domniqiue Rodgers-Cromartie and Walter Thurmond, defensive end Robert Ayers and inside linebacker Jameel McClain to bolster the depth of their already solid defense. With all the smart pickups the Giants made in the offseason to help him out, The Giants are going to need Manning to step up now more than ever. Manning's 2013 season was miserable, but I believe he possesses the poise and talent to turn this team around. Manning was the guy that led this team to two Super Bowls in the past decade and if he wants to get this team back there again, he's going to have dig deep and rediscover the part of himself that is a winning quarterback who can take over a game at will. With an improvement in overall talent and a brilliant head coach in Tom Coughlin running the show, the Giants certainly have the potential to surprise and take home the NFC East title in 2014.
Philadelphia Eagles: There's a lot fewer questions marks surrounding the Eagles going into this season than there was at this time last year thanks to their success in 2013. Chip Kelly's offensive magic translated to the NFL, they have a legitimate starting (and quite possibly long-time franchise) quarterback in Nick Foles and the offensive line went from a mess to arguably the most dominant unit in the league in the matter of a single season. The only question that remains in Philly this season is can they do it all again in 2014. The answer will come in due time, but as of right now, I think they are fully capable of repeating their success this season. I would be absolutely flabbergasted if Foles' incredible play last season was a fluke. Foles was able to master Kelly's rapid-pace offense without get flustered or overwhelmed with the pace at any point The poise and intelligence Foles that demonstrated under center last season was rare for a
second-year player and it should only improve in his third season. In addition to having the next potential superstar quarterback in Foles, the team has perhaps the best running back in the league not named Adrian Peterson in LeSean McCoy. McCoy was built for Kelly's offense and it showed in 2013 as he racked up over 2,000 total yards including a league-leading 1,607 yards on the ground. At the still young age of 26 and the added presence of speedster Darren Sproles in the backfield this year to take away some of the focus that is normally put on him, McCoy is primed to be just as dominant in 2014. Despite all their strengths, there's still some question marks on this team, primarily on the defensive side of the ball. The Eagles D is a relatively young unit that made a ton of mistakes in 2013 that led to quite a few big plays being made against them, and I don't expect much to change this year. The Eagles tried to work on their league-worst secondary from a year ago by adding safety Malcolm Jenkins and cornerback Nolan Carroll in free agency. Jenkins brings a more stable presence to the middle of the defense than any of the safeties they had last year while Carroll is a relatively solid corner that gives them someone to fall back on if injuries occur to their starters, but ultimately I don't know much of an impact these guys will make on the quality of this unit. There's also the problem of finding someone to replace the production of the team's top wide receiver DeSean Jackson- who the Eagles released for no apparent reason after having a career year in 2013. Rookies Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff have looked good in OTA's and the preseason thus far and having Jeremy Maclin back in the mix after missing all of 2013 with a torn ACL is a huge plus, but it's going to be a tall order for any of these guys to match the explosiveness and consistent big-play ability Jackson brought to this offense. The Eagles are a young team on the rise with a whole lot of potential for future success, but in the interim I think they lack the playmakers on defense to make a deep playoff run and be serious title contenders.
Washington Redskins: There is no team going into 2014 that I find to be a bigger crapshoot than the Washington Redskins. This is a squad that went from promising upstart franchise in 2012 to lowly bottomfeeders in 2013. The Redskins true identity lies pretty much solely on the shoulders of third-year quarterback Robert Griffin III- who is entering a make-or-break year in 2014. Is Griffin III the poised, dynamic playmaker that won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 or the jittery guy that relied way too much on his feet and got shut down for the last quarter of the season in 2013. With no major injury to bounce back from this year and a fully-loaded arsenal of playmakers around him (running back Alfred Morris, wide receiver Pierre Garcon, tight end Jordan Reed and new addition DeSean Jackson), we will see the player Griffin truly is come out this year. Griffin has the benefit having a brilliant offensive mind in new head coach Jay Gruden in his corner to help him and try get back on track in 2014. Gruden had great success in his tenure as the Bengals offensive coordinator making Andy Dalton a reliable starting quarterback. Gruden brings a relatively balanced offensive system to the Redskins that has proven to be successful year in and year out. If any coach in this league can unlock the potential Griffin has, it's Gruden. While Griffin is certainly the most pressing issue for the Redskins, it's certainly not the only issue the Redskins face in 2014. Their defense is still loaded with holes and they didn't really have the cap space or number of high draft picks (thanks to the trade to get Griffin in the 2012 draft) to fill them this offseason. Defensive tackle Jason Hatcher is still in his prime and will bring a huge playmaking force to the middle of the line, but outside of him there's not a single pickup they made that will make much of an impact this year. Tracy Porter is just another expendable corner, Akeem Jordan is an above average inside linebacker at best and rookie Trent Murphy- this team first draft pick in 2014- won't see much action because the Redskins already have a lethal pass-rushing outside linebacker tandem in Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo. Even if the offense fires on all cylinders, there's little doubt in my mind that their overall lack of talent will hold them back. The Redskins have the potential to be either right in the middle of the playoff hunt or be back in the league's basement depending on how well their offense plays and if their defense can make enough stops to win close games.
Projected Standings for the NFC East
1.Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
2.New York Giants (9-7)
3.Washington Redskins (7-9)
4.Dallas Cowboys (6-10)
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