2010 NFL Previews - NFC East

The NFC East is a division that is in a state of flux. The Philadelphia Eagles ended the Donovan McNabb era, shocking everyone by sending him to division rival Washington. The Redskins not only added McNabb but overhauled their coaching staff, bringing in 2-time Super Bowl winner Mike Shanahan as coach. The New York Giants had a very quiet off-season and expectations for them range from Super Bowl contender to last place in the NFC Beast. Last season's division champions, the Dallas Cowboys drafted WR Dez Bryant and after finally winning a playoff game for the first time since 1996 have Super Bowl aspirations.

1. Dallas Cowboys

2009 Record: 11-5, 1st place in NFC East
Coach: Wade Phillips (4th season Dallas, 82-59 career)
Schedule: http://www.cowboysportstours.com/dallas-cowboys-schedule.htm
Key Additions: WR Dez Bryant, OT Alex Barron
Key Losses: OT Flozell Adams, LB Bobby Carpenter, S Ken Hamlin

2010 Outlook: The Dallas Cowboys find themselves in a similar position to how they entered the 2008 season. Expectations are high and anything less than a home game for the Super Bowl will be considered a failure. When dealing with those expectations two years ago, the Cowboys crumbled, missing the playoffs. Last season, with expectations much lower, the Cowboys thrived, winning a division title, and getting their first playoff win in 14 years. It was a relatively quiet off-season for Dallas, as they mostly kept intact the team that reached the Divisional Round of the playoffs last season. One major addition that should make an instant impact was their drafting of WR Dez Bryant. Many teams passed on Bryant due to some questions about his upbringing, and this has led to comparisons to the Randy Moss situation in the 1998 draft. Bryant joins WR Miles Austin, last season's breakout star, and the awful WR Roy Williams. The Cowboys biggest concern is their offensive line. They are getting pretty old at that position and depth is a concern. Dallas is loaded at quarterback and running back. Tony Romo had a very good season last year, and the Cowboys have three number one running backs in Marion Barber, Tashard Choice, and Felix Jones. Defensively, the Cowboys remain very strong at linebacker, but come into the season with questions at safety as they try to replace the departed Ken Hamlin. As much as I hate to say it the Cowboys have enough firepower on offense to make them back-to-back division champions.

Prediction: 10-6

2. Washington Redskins

2009 Record: 4-12, last place in NFC East
Coach: Mike Shanahan (1st season Washington, 154-103 career, 2-time Super Bowl winner)
Schedule: http://blog.redskins.com/2010/04/20/redskins-schedule-released/
Key Additions: OT Trent Williams, QB Donovan McNabb, WR Joey Galloway, RB Larry Johnson, P Josh Bidwell, CB Phillip Buchannon, DT Adam Carriker
Key Losses: QB Jason Campbell, RB Ladell Betts, WR Antwaan Randle El, LT Chris Samuels, G Randy Thomas, P Hunter Smith, CB Fred Smoot

2010 Outlook: Optimisim reigns supreme in Washington, DC. After two years of the bumbling Jim Zorn/Vinny Cerrato combo, the Redskins finally have a legitimate Coach and General Manager. The Redskins hired Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen to try to reshape the franchise and make the Skins consistent playoff contenders for the first time since the early 90's. Shanahan quickly disposed of long-time QB Jason Campbell and traded for Donovan McNabb. Shanahan also made sure it was clear to RB Clinton Portis that his job was no longer safe, bringing in RB Larry Johnson, RB Ryan Torain, and RB Willie Parker to compete with him. The Redskins definitely upgraded at quarterback but the question is, who will McNabb throw to? That never seemed to be a problem for him in Philadelphia and I don't think it will be a problem this season. TEs Chris Cooley and Fred Davis are likely to see a lot of passes, and WR Santana Moss is still dangerous. WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly face make or break seasons, and Kelly isn't even a lock to make the team. The defense will also see a makeover as new Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett brings the 3-4 defense to Washington, much to the consternation of Albert Haynesworth. It remains to be seen how successful the new defense is, as over the years defense has always been the Redskins strength. Trying to guess how the Redskins will play this year with so much turnover is almost a lost cause. However, with a legit coach and quarterback I think the Skins will double last season's win total and set themselves up for huge expectations in 2011.

Prediction: 8-8

3. New York Giants

2009 Record: 8-8, 3rd place in NFC East
Coach: Tom Coughlin (7th season New York Giants, 131-108 career, Super Bowl winner)
Schedule: http://www.docsports.com/schedules/nfl/Ny_Giants.html
Key Additions: DE Jason Pierre-Paul, S Deon Grant, S Antrel Rolle
Key Losses: P Jeff Feagles, S C.C. Brown, CB Kevin Dockery, LB Antonio Pierce, DT Fred Robbins

2010 Outlook: No one really knows what to expect from the Giants this season. Are they the team that stormed off to a 5-0 start last year? Or the team that limped to a 3-8 finish and saw their once proud defense become a laughingstock? Injuries certainly played a factor, but every team has to deal with injuries so that isn't an excuse. Offensively, the Giants seem to be set. QB Eli Manning may never be as good as brother Peyton, but he is definitely an upper-echelon QB. RB Brandon Jacobs had a very disappointing season last year, and will be looking to bounce back and show that 2009 was just an aberration. WRs Steve Smith and Mario Manningham both had tremendous seasons last year and with both being so young should only continue to get better. The Giants success or lack thereof in 2010 will hinge on their defense. Bill Sheridan was a disaster as Defensive Coordinator as his schemes didn't work and he alienated one of his better players, Osi Umenyiora. The Giants hired former Buffalo Bills interim coach Perry Fewell and hope he can recapture the magic that Steve Spagnuolo had. The Giants hope the drafting of Jason-Pierre Paul will bolster the defensive line, and that Justin Tuck and Umenyiora can remain healthy this season. The Giants were also a mess at safety last year, and hope that Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant can fortify that position. I think the defense will be improved but the schedule is pretty brutal for New York, resulting in another non-playoff season.

Prediction: 7-9

4. Philadelphia Eagles

2009 Record: 11-5, 2nd place in NFC East
Coach: Andy Reid (12th season Philadelphia, 118-75-1 career)
Schedule: http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/gameday/schedule.html
Key Additions: DE Brandon Graham, RB Mike Bell, S Marlin Jackson, LB Ernie Sims
Key Losses: QB Donovan McNabb, RB Brian Westbrook, G Shawn Andrews, WR Reggie Brown, WR Kevin Curtis, TE Alex Smith, DE Jason Babin, CB Sheldon Brown, DE Chris Clemons, LB Chris Gocong, S Sean Jones, LB Will Witherspoon

2010 Outlook: What so many Philadelphia Eagles fans clamored for finally happened. The Eagles ended the Donovan McNabb era, and in 2010 begin the Kevin Kolb era. No one is really sure what to expect out of Kolb, who looked decent in a few starts last season. However, the Eagles have some great young talent at wide receiver in DaSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, running back with LeSean McCoy, and tight end Brent Celek. However, it is the defensive side of the ball that might cause the 2010 season to implode for Philadelphia. The passing of Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson was felt in 2009 as the Eagles defense struggled with injury and inconsistency. The Eagles hope they have bolstered their defensive line play with the drafting of Brandon Graham. They revamped their entire line backing corps and will be happy to have Stewart Bradley back after he missed all of 2009. Huge questions remain in their secondary, as they traded Sheldon Brown to Cleveland, and will hope that Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel can recapture the magic they had in New England. My prediction for the Eagles will shock many of you, but looking at that schedule it is tough to find a lot of wins. The Eagles will have to suffer through a rebuilding season this year, and maybe Eagles fans will finally appreciate what they had in McNabb.

Prediction: 5-11