Sicily Bennardo
Trying to predict any Division winner, in most cases, is like trying to find a Golden Ticket to go see Willy Wonka.
Trying to predict the NFC East, in particular, is an exercise in frustration.
Since the Philadelphia Eagles run of dominance in the early part of last decade (2001-2004), the NFC East has not had a repeat Division winner, and every team has won the division at least once (Yes Dallas fans, you have been to the Playoffs since 1995 ;).
In addition, only one team (the Eagles in 2004) has went 6-0 in Division play since the realignment of Divisions in 2002.
So who wins the NFC East in 2014? Here you are, in reverse order:
No. 4: Washington Redskins (Predicted record: 6-10)
It’s bad for all the NFC East teams in having to play the NFC West in this year’s rotation. It is especially bad for Washington, in that the NFC West boasts some of the best Defense (especially against the pass) in the NFL and to add to that Washington has long struggled with their passing attack.
Despite having Robert Griffin III and adding DeSean Jackson, I’m still not sold at all on Washington’s passing game. Jackson can’t do it all by himself. Pierre Garcon can’t stay healthy, and well, health is a big problem for RGIII too; he still hasn’t figured out this isn’t Baylor and you can’t run, get pounded by NFL Defenses and survive.
Particularly brutal for Washington is their final 6 games, especially @SF, @IND and home against St. Louis, along with 3 Divisional games.
It really is starting to look like 2012 was a major mirage. With bringing in a new head coach (Jay Gruden), more changes, not to mention the distraction surrounding the team name, it will be too much to overcome in 2014.
No. 3: New York Giants (Predicted Record: 7-9)
It’s true, you should never put much stock in the preseason, but the Giants have looked abysmal. Outside of the one explosive run against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Offense has produced next to nothing. With Hakeem Nicks now gone, it’s Victor Cruz and not much else for Eli Manning to work with. It’s very hard to go back to back years throwing 27 or more Interceptions but I really don’t see that Manning has much choice.
Not to mention, while the Giants have a stout Defensive-line, they are very weak at both CB and S; this will likely get exposed by teams in their own Division and out.
The 2014 Giants season will hinge in the middle, as they have Dallas before their bye week, and then play IND, Seattle SF and Dallas again in succession. If they are say 7-5 at the end of that maybe there is a postseason run in them. Then again they started 0-6 last year, so the more likely scenario is 7-9 resulting in Tom Coughlin riding off into the sunset of retirement.
No. 2: Dallas Cowboys (8-8)
What, you really thought they would finish with a different record?
Perhaps there is no more of a maddening team in the NFL to their fans then the Dallas Cowboys, whose QB (Tony Romo) looks like Drew Brees one week and Blaine Gabbert the next. And that Defense…putrid doesn’t even do it justice. They allowed 400-yards PER GAME, on average (and in total, an NFL record 6645 yards!) last season and not surprisingly gave up 27 PPG, near the bottom in the NFL.
Now with Sean Lee out for the year, Orlando Scandrick out for the first 4 games for violation of the NFL’s Substance Abuse policy, and DeMarcus Ware going to Denver (quick: Name 3 starters for the Cowboys Defense outside of who I named…that’s what I thought), it figures to be another impossible year. This is great for Fantasy Football owners of the Cowboys’ Offense but not for winning actual games.
Of course the Cowboys shouldn’t have taken Johnny Manziel, but until Jerry Jones just becomes an owner instead of the pseudo GM, the Cowboys will never win the Super Bowl again. Just ask the Oakland Raiders how their success went in that same situation with Al Davis.
No. 1: Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
Yes the Eagles have the hardest schedule against many Playoff teams last year (Seattle, Indy, GB, Carolina, SF), but I also have a lot more faith in what Chip Kelly is doing in Philly. Nick Foles/LeSean McCoy are more proficient than anything going on with the other 3 NFC East teams. No, Foles is not going to go through a season and only throw 2 INT’s again; however, with just a token improvement in their pass-defense to the middle of the league (instead of dead last!), Philadelphia has the best on both sides to win the Division and head into the Playoffs. But it will likely just be a 3 or 4 seed, as I think Green Bay and either SF, Seattle or New Orleans are good for 11-12 wins at least.
Only 1 NFC East team since 1995 has won the Super Bowl (and it was memorable, as the Giants upended the Patriots dream of the perfect season), and frankly, I don’t see that trend changing this year. But it should be incredibly entertaining to watch who emerges from what are 4 pretty evenly matched teams on paper.
Joe Cummings is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on twitter or Facebook.
