2007 NFC East Preview

2007 NFC East preview from MadduxSports.com. In addition to the free season previews you can find the best NFL Picks against the spread. Also for the online football bettors, bookmark the NFL odds page to have at your disposal.

NFC East Division Preview
By Adam Barone

1. Eagles: Quite possibly the most difficult division to predict, the NFC East could go to almost anyone. Two games separated the first place Eagles and third place Giants last season, with the Cowboys teetering in between. Philly still has Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook, and even though the receiving corps is rather average, the passing game has never seemed to need anything more than that under Andy Reid in order to thrive. The D has added Takeo Spikes at linebacker, which will substantially improve their athleticism and tackling. As long as McNabb stays healthy, which I emphasize as anything but a guarantee, the Eagles should be just what we’ve seen for the past decade or so and finish at 11-5.

2. Cowboys: America’s team still draws a lot of attention off the field, but with Bill Parcells gone, it’s difficult to know just what to expect from them on the field. The offense is nearly identical to last season, when it excelled with Tony Romo at the helm. They’ve added former Washington Huskies’ QB Isaiah Stanback through the draft and will convert him into a wide receiver, adding a speedy deep threat/playmaker to Romo’s arsenal. Julius Jones and Marion Barber formed the strangest, most cut-and-dry, black-and-white running-back-by-committee tandem I’ve ever seen in 2006, with Jones gaining all the yardage and Barber getting all the credit through scoring. I’ll expect more of the same in 2007, including their high level of success. The defense has added edge rushing ability and should be top five in the NFC. I like the Boys to stay right on Philly’s heels the whole season, and wrap it up at 10-6.

3. Redskins: That brings me to the most perplexing team in the division. Joe Gibbs’ boys should have been a lot better than they were last season, going a stinky 5-11. They went 1-5 in their division and 3-9 against the NFC, but I’m confident that they’re better than that. Maybe Joe Gibbs is just old and should go back to worrying about racing. The RB duo of Portis and Betts is capable of being the best in the division and one of the best in the conference, the receiving trio of Moss, Randle El, and Lloyd is extremely talented, and TE Chris Cooley is one of the more consistent in the conference. There’s no reason why the offensive line they have shouldn’t be sufficient for them to at least challenge for the division and a playoff berth. The problem I see is Jason Campbell. I don’t know if he’s good or bad, I do know that he’s not the Crypt Keeper like Mark Brunell, he’s a bit spryer. If the coaching staff can get him making good decisions and build on his 10/6 TD/INT ratio from his 7 games last year, then this team could actually steal the division. I don’t see it happening, but anything is possible in the NFL. Making this point even stronger, the Skins added MLB London Fletcher-Baker, one of the league’s best veteran tacklers, drafted S LaRon Landry in the first round, and expect Andre Carter to be the Andre Carter of his San Francisco days and the last five games of last season, when he had four sacks, not the Andre Carter of the first eleven games. With all the talent and potential in the world, the Redskins are my dark-horse pick in the entire NFL. They just need to pull it all together and play to their potential. When all is said and done, however, I see the coaching staff as inadequate. I have Washington finishing at 8-8, narrowly missing the playoffs.

4. Giants: The “G Men” finished at 8-8 last season after many people, at one point, thought they were going to jump out ahead of the pack as the team to beat in the conference. This season they don’t have Tiki Barber. Though I’m personally a huge fan of both Reuben Droughns and Brandon Jacobs at tailback, neither man is Tiki Barber, and neither can offer quite the big play threat that Tiki could. Both adding to that problem, and because of it, Eli Manning now has no choice but to step up and lead this team. So Eli can now not only live in the shadow of his legendary father and brother, but also be forced into the spotlight all alone because the former team leader decided to become a broadcaster. Making matters worse, he gets to do it in the biggest city in the world, in a division that pits him against “America’s team” and the Eagles, whose fans not only hate the Giants, but once booed Santa Clause. I see no reason to care about the defense or whether or not any of the weapons on offense will have quality seasons, Peyton’s little bro’s challenge is just too steep. Michael Strahan is old. 6-10.

We have broken down each NFC East team in-depth. Read the individual NFL previews of the Giants, Redskins, Cowboys, and Eagles from Maddux Sports.