The NFC East was the worst division in football last year. How bad were they? Well, that hilariously imploding Philadelphia team under Chip Kelly was a comfortable second place. Probably an improvement coming this year though, right?
Washington
2015 record: 9-7, and one incredibly successful meme. Kirk Cousins tried to trademark “You like that”, so I do not.
What’s To Love? This is a surprisingly well-balanced roster, but two areas stand out especially: receivers and cornerbacks. At receiver and tight end, Washington have five starting calibre players who complement each other. Deep-threat: DeSean Jackson. Wily veteran: Pierre Garcon. Comfort blanket: Jordan Reed. Shifty slot receiver: Jamison Crowder. Possession receiver: Josh Doctson. These are all good players, if not elite, but they have variety, ability, and are the sort of cast you want if you’re not completely sold on your quarterback as yet. As for cornerback, the acquisition of Josh Norman instantly puts Washington near the top of their rankings. With the ever-improving Bashaud Breeland alongside him, they may turn out to have the back cornerback duo this side of the Rockies.
What’s Not To Love? I do quite enjoy that Washington’s owner seems to have this public image as the devil incarnate, even without the farrago around their nickname. The flipside of having a well-balanced roster with few elite players is that a little general decline can have a big negative effect. There aren’t any players on either side who’ll grab a game by the scruff of the neck and drag the team to victory (Norman may end up being the exception). Jordan Reed, maybe? Position-wise I’m not overly taken by their front seven, outside of Ryan Kerrigan. It’s a small step back from ‘solid’ to ‘mediocre’, but one that can have a big impact on a team’s record.
What’ll 2016 Be Like Then? Realistically, Washington overachieved last year, and their roster looks of pretty similar quality, with arrivals and departures roughly evening each other out. Kirk Cousins has more of a chance this year, but he wasn’t good all season long, so we still don’t know how he’ll pan out. I think something like a 7-9 season wouldn’t be a surprise here.
Philadelphia Eagles
2015 record: 7-9, but it seems bizarre that Philly finished with this good a record. Everything about their season seemed to be a catastrophe, but there you go, 7 wins. Can’t argue. No Chip Kelly now though, so maybe even a worse record this year will seem like a better season.
What’s To Love? I really like that Philly got Dorial Green-Beckham for nothing, even if it shows up Rueben Randle as being a bust free-agency signing before he’s even run a competitive route (I have a Giants-supporting friend who would maintain Randle has never run a competitive route). Philly obviously feel that they’re in building for the future mode, and that Carson Wentz is that future. For now though, the main thing to (brotherly) love is Fletcher Cox, who is one of the league’s premier defenders, and utterly terrifying to boot: fast, athletic, nimble, strong, canny.
What’s Not To Love? Philly feel like an utter mess this year. They gave up huge numbers of picks to get Carson Wentz, which isn’t something a team that needs to rebuild normally does. The trade for Green-Beckham shows how little is thought of receivers like Randle, Josh Huff and Nelson Agholor. They also gave up their backup lineman, a risky move given their two starting tackles are either banned for ten games (Lane Johnson), or aging and at risk of serious decline (Jason Peters). This is doubly worrying when their #1 running back is famously injury-prone. Oh, and I’m still in disbelief about just how much money they’re giving to other quarterbacks, and how many picks they’ve given up in future drafts.
What’ll 2016 Be Like, Then? I feel like 2016 is the start of several very fallow years for the Eagles. There’ll be enough talent and fight here to get to 5-11, but not much further. The Eagles will then have a high draft choice, which because of this year’s trade for Wentz, will be taken by Cleveland, who may well have two top five picks next year.
New York Giants
2015 record: 6-10, which led to the end of legendary coach Tom Coughlin. His offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo, took his job, while the defensive coordinator kept his job despite engineering a worse defense than the Saints.
What’s To Love? I know Odell Beckham was in the wrong in that tussle with Josh Norman, but I was still rooting for him. What can I say, I’m one of these unsophisticated philistines who prefers offense to defense. Beckham, a deserving superstar, now has the promising looking Sterling Shepard as his #2 receiver, and while he’s a rookie and therefore likely won’t represent a step up from Rueben Randle in the first couple of weeks at least, one suspects he’ll get there sooner rather than later. I’m also looking forward to seeing how the Giants’ spending-spree on defense (Damon Harrison, Olivier Vernon, Janoris Jenkins) helps improve this defense. Again, you’d expect it to just by the law of averages.
What’s Not To Love? Other than still being icked-out by the photos of Jason Pierre-Paul’s firework-mauled hand, you worry about the offensive line. Weston Richburg and Justin Pugh are good players, but the rest were dreadful last year. While Ereck Flowers should improve in line with expectations for second-year players, elsewhere you’d better get used to running backs getting stuffed at the line, and scary photos of Eli Manning looking semi-concussed.
What’ll 2016 Be Like, Then? I fancy the Giants to do well this year and have no idea why, because looking across the team there are plenty of reasons they won’t. Manning was improved last year but had been miffling in 2013 and 2014. There are basically no linebackers here. Spending free agency money on a flashy new defense hasn’t exactly got the best record in the NFL in recent years. Yet, some weird synapse in my brain is saying “go for 8-8”, so I will. With no evidence or faith in my own opinion. Sod it. POST IT.
Dallas Cowboys
2015 record: 4-12, which isn’t really surprising when you lose your best quarterback and wide receiver and replace them with Brandon Weeden and Brice Butler.
What’s To Love? Romo and Bryant coming back, basically. I think Dallas thought their backup QBs were better than they actually were last year, which led to Matt Cassel incredibly throwing a pick-six while getting flagged for intentional grounding. Bryant is a stud receiver, and while Romo is injury-prone, putting him behind the best offensive line in pro football is about the best way to mitigate that. And without wanting to read too much into preseason football, if Romo does go down the early Dak Prescott signs have been positive. Anyway, the O-line, anchored by Tyron Smith at left tackle and Travis Frederick at center especially, should also see overdrafted rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott to a heck of a lot of yards this year, you’d think.
What’s Not Love? Ooh dear, I don’t like this defense. Rolando McClain, Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence all have suspensions for drug violations, Sean Lee will miss games due to injury, you just know it (he may even be injured now). They passed on Jalen Ramsey in the draft when he was the clearest match between best player available and need, leaving them with two good members of the secondary total – Orlando Scandrick and Byron Jones. They’re going to need Romo healthy to sling it because they are going to concede lots of points.
What’ll 2016 Be Like Then? It’s easy to see divisions who as a whole did poorly one year do poorly again – everyone predicted it with the NFC South last year, then Carolina won 15 and everyone else won at least 6, which isn’t too bad. Hence why I’m saying the NFC East should be a bit more respectable as a whole this year. When Dallas put it together their offense is unstoppable. There’s a comparison with Pittsburgh’s balance of offense-defense here, but I think Pittsburgh are a touch more balanced, so I’ll give Dallas one fewer win and say 10-6.