Cowboys: One word. Stagnant. The Cowboys have been that team on the cusp every year, and it looks to be the same. They usually show up to every game and are there in the race for the NFC East every year until Romo cracks. If you look at Romo's numbers, its no question that he's an above average quarterback that can orchestrate an offense. But will he win games for you? No. If you put the game in his hands, which I feel like the Cowboys will and do each year, I don't think he can do it consistently. While their defense under Kiffin looks strong and caused six turnovers, let's not overlook that the Giants had a chance to win the game late. Demarco Murray looks dangerous at times, but with nothing deep in the passing game happening for the Cowboys, he's usually bottled up pretty quick. Terrance Williams dropped passes and that fear of him going deep was all but gone. Cowboys will be contenders again this year, but I think the fact that they didn't blow the Giants out shows lack of killer instinct. Without that, the 'Boys end up 7-9 (2-4 in NFC East; split games with the 'Skins; Philly takes both; Giants win the rematch) and miss the playoffs.
Must win game to change this: Week 14 at the Bears. Gonna be hard to beat the Bears in Chi-Town in the cold buddy, but if they do Week 17 is gonna be a showdown.
Eagles: Four words. Wow. Damn. Chip Kelly. That offense looked tough. If I didn't despise all of the radical ass 'Skins fans I would have felt bad. I only felt for my girlfriend because she looked pathetic in that Santana Moss jersey. The Eagles are for real. That offense is fast and that defense has always had speed. Trent Cole moving to OLB is paying dividends as its keeping the outside run game in check. Couple that with the other fast downhill play of their linebackers and running against the 'Birds ain't gonna be a picnic. I do think their defense backs are vulnerable which will become more evident as they move on to play Witten/Dez/Miles and Nicks/Cruz/Randle. Garcon/Moss/Hankerson showed some of that. Chip Kelly's offense is the reason he was brought in and Shady/Vick/Desean are the perfect fit. The only issue I see is coming late in the season when the legs of the players have run a shit ton of plays and fatigue. I do think having the last bye (week 12) will help them recover to finish the season decently enough. I hate to say it, but the Eagles win the NFC East at 10-6 (4-2 in NFC; split with the Giants because that's the nature of the rivalry; 'Skins win the rematch in week 11 before the Eagles bye week due to fatigue; take two from Dallas because that offense takes Ware out of the game.
The Toss Up: Week 17. Will they beat Dallas in Jerry's World on 16 week old legs? I mean I don't think Romo can win it for the 'boys. I'm guessing 23-20 Eagles, Henery can kick a damn football.
Best case for the G-Men: Please see 2011 Giants season. But like I said, see them after Week 6. You just don't know which Giants team will show up each week.
Redskins: Two words. Let down. I swear I could hear Redskins stadium from my porch which is about 10 miles away. The 'Skins have the most radical fans in the league and they proved it when they booed their team off the field. Fact. RGIII looked every bit as rusty as was expected and in fact seemed a step slower. That's going to be the biggest let down. Without that same step, that offense isn't the threat it was a year ago. That step made Alfred Morris secondary in the option run game and caused the whole defense to cheat up. That's no longer the case. Morris is a hard nosed runner, but that's not going to work every play and the change-of-pace back (RGIII) isn't going to get it done with the knee. We also saw that he's not a pocket passer. The offense needs work. However, their defense will be a force this year. Orakpo/Kerrigan/Fletcher/Cofield make up a top 5 front seven in the league. I don't think the Eagles offense exposed the holes in the 'Skins D, but rather the effectiveness of Chip's quick offense. Once the offense was slowed down after the half they only put up 7 points, and I think that's due to the 'Skins play more than them intentionally protecting the lead. 'Skins go 6-10 (3-3 in NFC; they'll split with each team, it IS the NFC East) on the D's back and RGIII bouncing back a bit. I think the Week 5 bye will hurt them in the long run.
Their only hope: Week 6 in Dallas. I think they'll lose it, but if RGIII comes off the bye week rested with a few games under his belt to trust that knee, it could be an upset. From there they could gain confidence and momentum like last year but Weeks 11-17 are going to bury them.
There it is. My thoughts. I'm sure I'll get some hate from 'Skins fans as they return to their rightful place at the bottom of the NFC BEast. And you have no idea how hard it was to pick Philly to win it, but its the truth. God bless the NFL.
