2010 NFC East Preview

Divisional Previews

AFC: AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West
NFC: NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West

Dallas Cowboys

Head Coach: Wade Phillips (4th Season)
2009 Record: 11-5, Division Champions

Offense

Scoring: 14th (22.6 PPG)

Passing: 6th (267.9 YPG)

Rushing: 7th (131.4 YPG)

QB Tony Romo had an impressive 2009 season, passing for 4,483 yards, 26 TD and 9 INT. He keeps getting better as a decision maker and the team has surrounded him with some great weapons. He’s taken over as a leader on the team with the departure of TO last season. If he can cut down the mistakes, Romo has a chance to lead the Cowboys to a championship. Their running game has a good “thunder and lightning” combo with the bruising back in starter Marion Barber (932 yards, 4.4 ypc) and speedster Felix Jones (685 yards, 5.9 ypc). Felix Jones is a great change of pace back and is a home run threat on every carry. He’s a very versatile player who could eventually be the starter by season’s end with Barber getting many bumps and bruises due to his aggressive running style. The offensive line has been a strong point over the years, but this year could be the start of the downfall for the unit with age playing a big factor. They got rid of Flozell Adams in the offseason; his career is on the decline and he has been labeled a dirty player by opposing players. They still have their strong foundation of veterans in Marc Colombo (9 seasons), Leonard Davis (10 seasons), Kyle Kosier (9 seasons), Andre Gurode (9 seasons) and Doug Free (6 seasons).

The wide receiver unit is really young but has the chance to be one of the best in the league led by 26-year old Miles Austin (1,320 yards, 11 TD) coming off a Pro Bowl and breakout season. Although he barely had any playing time the first month of the season, he still finished third in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. WRs Patrick Crayton (622 yards) and the disappointing Roy Williams (596 yards) are nice compliments to the dynamic Austin. They drafted the best WR in the 2010 NFL Draft in Dez Bryant. He has good speed and great hands and has a big frame for a receiver and will cause problems for opposing DBs. TE Jason Witten, who had 94rec, 1,030 yards and 2 TD is another superstar target for Romo and gives opposing defenses a lot of matchup problems.

Defense

Scoring: 2nd (15.6 PPG)

Passing: 20th (225.4 YPG)

Rushing: 4th (90.5 YPG)

Coach Phillips runs a 3-4 defense and likes to blitz and put a lot of pressure on the opponents’ QB. They are led by the incredible LB Demarcus Ware, LB Keith Brooking and DE Marcus Spears. Jay Ratliff and Igor Olshansky join Spears to form a nice DL. They are going to have a log jam at LB with Anthony Spencer (6 sacks), Ware, Bradie James, Bobby Carpenter, Brooking and rookie Sean Lee from Penn State. Ware’s numbers were not at the same level as they were in 2008 with only 11 sacks, but he still was a force at the LB position. He is a matchup nightmare for opposing offenses. The secondary is also very strong and have some good playmakers. The unit is led by the veteran Terrence Newman, who is 32 and could be in the twilight of his career. Former first-round pick Michael Jenkins is looking to take his game to the next level after five interceptions in 2009. The safety positions are a weakness on the defense with the veteran Gerald Sensabaugh and the unproven Alan Ball.

Their special teams is not very good. They lost a good return game with Felix Jones emerging as a feature back. David Buehler is their kicker this year after a revolving door the past few years with the likes of Martin Gramatica and Nick Folk. Their returners Cletis Gordon (PR) and Bryan McCann (KR) are unproven and have the big shoes of Jones to replace. Punter Mat McBriar is a solid punter and is the lone bright spot for the special teams.

Fantasy sleeper: Felix Jones
Jones has a chance to be the starter by midseason with his speed and pass-catching ability. If he can be the feature back by midseason, he could have over 1,000 yards rushing and between 350-400 receiving yards..

Biggest question for the 2010 Cowboys: Can Tony Romo truly lead his team and focus on the way to a home Super Bowl?

Season Prediction: 11-5, 1st NFC East

New York Giants

Head Coach: Tom Coughlin (7th Season)
2009 Record: 8-8

Offense

Scoring: 8th (25.1 PPG)

Passing: 11th (251.2 YPG)

Rushing: 14th (110.8 YPG)

The Giants have the solid Eli Manning at QB who is coming off his best season as a pro. He is durable as well, making 126 consecutive starts. Manning is entering his seventh season as a pro and has a Super Bowl ring (2007) to his name. In 2009, Manning threw for 4021 yards, 27 TD and had a 93.1 QB rating. The Giants are elated about their former #1 overall pick, but they would be happier if he didn’t have to throw the ball as much. They want to reestablish themselves as a running team and that means Eli’s numbers could be down. Their running game last season was not typical Giants football. Brandon Jacobs had a very down year in 2009 compared to his previous two seasons. On a career high 224 carries last season, Jacobs had a weak 835 yards and five TD. In his career best season of 2008, Jacobs had 1,089 yards and 15 TD on 219 carries. The word from Jacobs on his previous season was that he was playing with a torn knee the entire season. He has a good change of pace backup in the speedy Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw had numerous injuries last season, but he has come into camp healthy and should be able to make the explosive plays the Giants are looking for. The Giants need Jacobs to bounce back if they want to contend.

Their receiving core was a big question mark going into 2009 with the loss of Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. The unit silenced their critics, led by Steve Smith. Smith set a Giants single-season record with 107 receptions. He also had 1,220 yards and seven TD; it was a breakout year for the former USC Trojan. The numbers this year for Smith will probably go down with the emergence of Hakeem Nicks and the Giants having to commit more to the run this season. Nicks has the chance to be a monster in this league for years to come. The 2009 first-round pick from UNC had a productive year for the Giants, catching 47 balls for 790 yards and six TD. Look for those numbers to grow with Manning having him as his go-to-guy. Mario Manningham came out of nowhere last season to become the Giants second receiver to start the season. He had good numbers in ’09 with 57 receptions for 822 yards and five TD and has the best skills as a receiver on the team, but he has a tendency to lack concentration and drops a lot of passes. Kevin Boss may not be the receiving TE they thought they had when they drafted, but he is an average blocker and can make some tough catches. The offensive line is not the force like it was in 2007 and 2008. They still have the great Chris Snee (RG), Rich Seubert (LG) and Shaun O’ Hara (C) as the anchors of the line. The tackles David Diehl and Kareem Mckenzie are both in danger of losing their job to second-year pro William Beatty. The Giants signed the veteran and former Pro Bowler Shawn Andrews to backup an already solid OL. They need to have a better season and help a running game that was very disappointing.

Defense

Scoring: 30th (26.7 PPG)

Passing: 15th (214.1 YPG)

Rushing: 14th (110.8 YPG)

The Giants hired Perry Fewell in the offseason to fix a bad defense from 2009. Injuries and an underachieving unit was the story of the Giants defense. However, the Giants DL is still one of the best units in the game. DEs Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora need to return to their prominence and get pressure on the QB if the Giants want to be a force defensively again. Umenyiora is in danger of losing his starting job to Mathias Kiwanuka and rookie Jason Pierre-Paul if he doesn’t perform the way he did prior to his 2008 knee injury. Kiwanuka and Umenyiora are in a rotation right now, so it is really anyone’s battle to win. Their DTs are Barry Cofield and Jay Alford, but they have very good players in Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard behind them. Everyone in the DL has a chance to have a good season. It’s a very scary unit if they can stay healthy. Despite the line’s talent, the linebacker core is the weakness on the club. With the departure of Antonio Pierce to retirement and a bunch of unproven players at the LB position, this had a chance to be the worst unit of the league until they signed veteran Keith Bulluck to play MLB next to Michael Boley, who was by far the team’s best LB last season. The surprising Clint Sintim is slated in as the team’s other outside LB. He is in competition with Chase Blackburn for the starting job, but the team is impressed by Sintim’s play.

Their secondary was torched last season. Injuries plagued them, losing S Kenny Phillips for the season in Week 2 and CB Aaron Ross for most of the season. Their starting cornerbacks are the steady Corey Webster and emerging Terrell Thomas. Ross will be the team’s nickelback this season after recovering from injury. Phillips is back from his knee injury and is ready to play. He wants to get out there and play since there has been talk of the team trading him or making him the backup to Deion Grant. The Giants made a splash for the other safety position, giving former Arizona Cardinals star Antrel Rolle the richest contract for a safety in NFL history. Look for this unit to be much improved. Jeff Feagles finally retired and with it, the special teams took a hit. They drafted Matt Dodge to replace Feagles, but he has struggled in the preseason. Lawrence Tynes is back for another season with the Giants after a long 2009 in which there was talks of releasing the kicker who sent them to Super Bowl XLII with the game-winning kick in overtime in the NFC Championship game. KR DJ Ware has some good skills that will play a big factor in his development. The PR is the dangerous Aaron Ross.

Fantasy sleeper: Hakeem Nicks
Nicks has all the skills to be a top receiver in the league. He will get more targets from Manning and should be the #1 receiver by midseason. Nicks was second on the team in reception TD despite missing a few games. Look for Nicks to emerge and have over 1,000 yards, between 8-10 TD and 70+ catches.

Biggest question for the 2010 Giants: Can the team avoid injuries at key positions?

Season Prediction: 9-7, 2nd NFC East, Wildcard

Washington Redskins

Head Coach: Mike Shanahan (1st Season)
2009 Record: 4-12

Offense

Scoring: 26th (16.6 PPG)

Passing: 16th (218.1 YPG)

Rushing: 27th (94.4 YPG)

They stole QB Donovan McNabb from the Eagles and with new coach Mike Shanahan, the Redskins have a new recipe for success. McNabb is still one of the better QBs in the NFL. In 2009, McNabb had a solid season with 3,553 yards, 22 TD, 10 INT and a 92.9 QB rating. McNabb has only played a full season once in the past six seasons and if the OL doesn’t improve, it could be problems for the Redskins. Supporting McNabb is a running game that has a group of three aging backs in Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson and Willie Parker. Portis had a weak year in 2009 due to injury; only rushing for 494 yards and one TD and he looks to come close to his 2008 stats of 1,487 yards and 9 TD with his former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan there to show him a familiar offense. Larry Johnson and Willie Parker are shells of their former selves and will need to step up their game and spell Portis when he’s out of the game.

The receivers are average at best. They are led by the veteran Santana Moss, who is in the twilight of his career. He is coming off a good season where he had 902 yards and three TD. The other receiver, Devin Thomas, will be looked upon to be a top receiver on this team. They have the great Chris Cooley coming back from an injury and he could become the main target for McNabb. They also have Fred Davis as the other TE. They are both capable of having big seasons in 2010. Their OL was one of the worst in the league due to injuries. They have done a lot to improve the unit though and with Mike and Kyle Shanahan around coaching them, they should be much improved. They drafted Trent Williams with the #4 pick in the draft and he will start at LT for them this season. Joining Williams on the left side is veteran Derrick Dockery. Casey Rabach will be another good veteran presence for that line. Dockery and Rabach will be a big help in Williams’ development. Artis Hicks and Pro-Bowler Jammal Brown will be protecting McNabb’s right side. This will be a much-improved unit in 2010.

Defense

Scoring: 18th (21.0 PPG)

Passing: 8th (207.2 YPG)

Rushing: 16th (112.4 YPG)

The Redskins are changing their defensive scheme to a 3-4 and that caused a lot of problems with the $100 million man Albert Haynesworth. Haynesworth, when healthy, is one of the top DTs in the game, if not the best. Next to him on the ends are Phillip Daniels and Kedric Golston. The line should be fine as long as Haynesworth plays. Their linebacking core for the 3-4 is rock solid. NFC Defensive ROY Brian Orakpo is coming off a monster season with 11 sacks. London Fletcher was named a Pro Bowler last year for the first time in his career, amassing 142 tackles last season with two sacks and an interception. The other MLB is Rocky McIntosh, who had 94 tackles and two INT. Andre Carter will be the outside LB on the right side. Carter had an impressive 2009 with 11 sacks. With both Orakpo and Carter coming from the LB position, QBs will need to watch out.

The secondary is a bit of a question mark for the ‘Skins. Carlos Rogers (0 INT) and DeAngelo Hall (4 INT) have their work cut out for them this year if they don’t improve from their 2009 form. The nickelback is former Raiders first-round pick Phillip Buchanon, one of the fastest players in the NFL. SS Reed Doughty is coming off an impressive season with 91 tackles, two sacks and one interception. FS LaRon Landry was equally impressive with 90 tackles, one sack and one interception. With those safeties, the CBs can feed off of them and can improve their stats from last year. The special teams unit for the Redskins is not too bad. They have Graham Gano as their kicker and he has a pretty strong leg from his days at FSU. Their punter is former Bucs and Packers punter Josh Bidwell. The dangerous Phillip Buchanon will be returning punts for them and should help them in the battle for field position. Devin Thomas will bring his elusive style as a receiver to the kick returner position.

Fantasy sleeper: Washington DEF
These guys are a very strong unit and can turn some heads. They get a lot of sacks as a team and if the corners can turn into ball hawks, they will be real dangerous

Biggest question for the 2010 Redskins: How will Donovan McNabb respond to his new environment?

Season Prediction: 8-8, 3rd NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles

Head Coach: Andy Reid (12th Season)
2009 Record: 11-5, Wild Card

Offense

Scoring: 5th (26.8 PPG)

Passing: 10th (255.6 YPG)

Rushing: 22nd (102.3 YPG)

Kevin Kolb is the new main man for the Eagles. He only started in two games last season for an injured McNabb (Weeks 2 and 3), accumulating 4 TD and 3 INT in those starts. He had back-to-back 300 yard passing games in those starts, becoming the first QB to accomplish that feat. He is a very accurate QB and Andy Reid has surrounded him with plenty of weapons. Their rushing attack was not very good last year with Brian Westbrook out of the lineup. With him gone, LeSean McCoy will take over as the number one RB. Last year he rushed for only 637 yards, which was due to not starting the whole season. McCoy’s backup is the versatile Mike Bell. Even FB Leonard Weaver can run the ball some and rushed for 323 yards from the FB position. The receiving core has two studs with Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin as targets for Kolb. Jackson had an impressive 2009 with 1,156 yards, 9 TD and 18.6 yards per reception. He is a huge homerun threat every time he touches the ball with 10 receptions of 40+ yards. Seven of his nine TD as a receiver were over 40 yards. He also had two punt returns for TD, showing he is more than a receiving threat. Maclin had a nice rookie year with 773 yards receiving. He should have a bigger role in the offense this season. Jason Avant is an average slot receiver and can make a big catch on third down for them. They also have one of the best tight ends in the league in Brent Celek. Celek had a huge year for a TE with 76 catches for 971 yards and 8 TD.

There OL is not as good as it was in recent year like it was, but they still have some solid pieces. They have Jason Peters at LT, Max Jean-Gilles at LG, Nick Cole at C, Stacy Andrews at RG and Winston Justice at RT. These guys have a lot of work to do if they want to become a good unit.

Defense

Scoring: 19th (21.1 PPG)

Passing: 17th (216.4 YPG)

Rushing: 9th (104.7 YPG)

They have a solid defensive unit still and it will keep the team in games this season. Darryl Tapp (2.5 sacks) is the starting DE on the left side, but look for Juqua Parker (8 sacks) to get a lot playing time. Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley will both be in the middle to plug in the holes for the run. The two have combined for 92 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season but did well at stopping the run. Trent Cole has always been good pass rusher and is primed for another good season. Their LB core is a good group led by some talented players. Ernie Sims has been a solid player for a few years (besides last season when he had only 49 tackles) and the Eagles will benefit from having him. MLB Stewart Bradley is coming back from injury after missing the entire 2009 season. His backup, Omar Gaither, did a good job filling in for him last year and can step up at any LB position. Akeem Jordan is the other OLB and he is a solid player, recording 71 tackles, one sack and two interceptions. These guys form a real good group, but in the NFC East, you need a strong defense. They have a top-notch secondary led by the Pro Bowler Asante Samuel, one of the best CBs in the NFL. Samuel had nine interceptions last season and looks to have another big year. Joselio Hanson is a nice backup, but unfortunately he’s suspended the first four games of 2010. They have real good safeties led by SS Quintin Mikell. Mikell 91 tackles and two interceptions last season. Rookie Nate Allen is taking over the FS spot over Quintin Demps. Their other former Patriot CB Ellis Hobbs plays opposite of Samuel. Hobbs job is in jeopardy when Hanson comes back if Hobbs starts out slow. This is one of the better secondaries in the NFL.

They have probably the best special teams unit in the NFL led by the good veteran kicker David Akers. He has been a good kicker for years. P Sav Rocca may not be the best punter but he is one of the better ones in the league. Ellis Hobbs has been a good KR for the last few years and should put the Eagles in good field position. Their PR is one of the most dynamic players in the game with Jackson. Jackson is an elusive playmaker and has homerun threat ability. He proved that last year with two TD returning. He adds spark to an already dangerous unit.

Fantasy sleeper: Jeremy Maclin
He showed great promise last season, and could take some receptions from Jackson. He is very talented and could have over 1,000 yards and 5+ TD this year. The Maclin-Jackson combo could be dangerous.

Biggest question for the 2010 Eagles: How will Kevin Kolb replace Donovan McNabb?

Season Prediction: 7-9, 4th NFC East