NFC East
- Philadelphia Eagles (12-4)*
- Dallas Cowboys (11-5)*
- New York Giants (6-10)
- Washington Redskins (3-13)
Once considered the best division in football, rarely suffering a down year, the NFC East is a shell of its former self.
The major culprit lies with the Washington Redskins who don’t know which end is up at the current moment. Aside from them, however, the NFC East could actually turn into one of the better divisions in 2015.
It all falls on the shoulders of the New York Giants.
It’s easy to see the potential of this passing attack. Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, and even newly-acquired Shane Vereen out of the backfield make for a terrific aerial-attack on paper.
What some fail to grasp is that the offensive line is almost half of the offense. If those five big heavies up front fail to do their job, Eli and company won’t be able to do theirs. Did Jerry Reese improve upon a unit enough who was completely dreadful a season ago?
Ereck Flowers was drafted in the first round and should provide stability along the edge. He’s the only improvement though.
More likely than not the division will come down to the defending divisional champs, the Dallas Cowboys, and the mad-scientist himself, Chip Kelly.
What Kelly did with his Philadelphia Eagles this past offseason defied logic. First it was LeSean McCoy; then Jeremy Maclin; finally, Nick Foles. Ridding yourself of the player you don’t want and bringing in guys who fit makes total sense. What doesn’t make sense is the sheer number of injury-prone players who were brought in.
Guys like Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Matthews must stay healthy for Philly to take the division.
While many bashed the McCoy for Kiko Alonso deal, I saw the brilliance in it. Alsonso is a stud leader on any NFL defense. He’ll go a long way while teaming up with Michael Kendricks in the middle of that defense this season. McCoy is talented, no doubt. But nothing is lost with Murray coming in and he represents the type of North-South running back Kelly wants.
Dallas will head back to the playoffs for the second-straight season behind the best offensive line in football. They’ll do it as a Wild Card this time around. I don’t see the defense being able to match their pretty statistical season of 2014. The Eagles defense will be much improved.
