NFL
By Monte Perez:
In the 1980s and 1990s, the NFC East was the most dominant division in football. Players like Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Darryl Green, and Emmitt Smit filled ESPN with highlights. 4 legendary coaches battled in that division as well. Bill Parcells, Joe Gibbs, Dick Vermeil, and Jimmy Johnson all led their teams to Super Bowl appearances. Over the past few years, this NFC East has been mocked and called the NFC Least on social media.
NFC East Preview and Prediction:
The Washington Football Team (Projected Finish, 11-6).
The conventional wisdom is that this team is all defense, I beg to differ. Terry McLaurin had 87 catches last season. Curtis Samuel caught 77 balls for the Carolina Panthers last season. Samuel can also play running back at times. Running back Antonio Gibson had 11 rushing touchdowns in 2021. When Ryan Fitzpatrick is hot, he can throw for 300 yards on any defense in the NFL. Pro Football Focus has this offensive line ranked 17th. If they can move up a few spots, this team could make the playoffs and win the division.
After giving up an average of 27.2 points per game in 2019, Washington held their opponents to only 20.6 per game in 2020. Chase Young pairs with Montez Sweat as a formidable tandem of edge rushers, with tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. The linebacker was the weak spot in 2020, The team addressed the need in the draft. They used the 19th overall draft pick on Kentucky’s Jamin Davis. The rookie will play alongside Cole Holcomb and Jon Bostic in the middle.
Dallas Cowboys (Projected Finish, 9-7-1):
The Cowboys have talent on both sides of the ball, but this team has a ton of question marks going into the 2021 season. Dak Prescott is coming off an injury. For the past 3 seasons, Ezekiel Elliott’s yards per carry average has dropped from 4.7 to 4.0 per carry last season. Amari Cooper, Cee Dee Lamb, and Michael Gallup combined for 15 touchdown catches, and 225 catches.
In 2020, the Cowboys’ defense was a disaster from start to finish. The Cowboys allowed the most points in franchise history. Dan Quinn comes over from Atlanta and he should stabilize a unit that could not seem to find its way under Mike Nolan. The Cowboys used their first-round choice on Micah Parsons. Leighton Vander Esch, a first-round choice in 2018, has missed 13 games and parts of others the past two seasons with neck issues. The Cowboys had 31 sacks last season. DeMarcus Lawrence needs to get back to his 2017 form. Can Dallas win big playoff games with Mike McCarthy? The jury is still out.
Philadelphia Eagles: (Projected Finish, 8-9):
Three years ago, the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Last season they compiled a record of 4-11-1. Jalen Hurts will begin the season as a starter. He can beat teams with his legs and his arm. In order for this team to be competitive, he must improve on his accuracy. He only completed 52% of his passes last year. The Eagles drafted Devonta Smith with the 10th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Heisman Trophy winner has big-play potential every time he catches a ball. Running back Miles Sanders and Dallas Goedert should both put up numbers. If second-year player Jalen Reagor stays healthy, he could be a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver. Pro Football Focus has the Eagles offensive line ranked 13th. They could be a top 10 unit before the season is over.
The Eagles finished 19th in total defense last season and gave up 125 rushing yards per game. New defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will rely on 6-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman, Fletcher Cox. The team added former Viking Eric Wilson this spring on a one-year deal. He had 122 tackles last season.
Head coach Nick Sirianni spent the past few seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts. If the Eagles get off to a good start, they could surprise a lot of people and make the playoffs.
York Giants (Projected Finish, 7-9-1):
Photo Credit: (Giants Wire).
Pro Football Focus has the Giants offensive line ranked 32 out of 32 teams.
PFF Quote:
“The Giants offensive linemen have combined to produce the fifth-worst overall grade in the league over the past two years, and they rank in the bottom eight in both pass blocking and run blocking.”
Players and coaches around the NFL sing high praises for New York’s head coach Joe Judge. But with no offensive line, this will be a hard division to win.
The Baltimore Ravens Ravens are sending former Michigan guard Ben Bredeson to the Giants, per source. Daniel Jones has 35 career touchdown passes, 22 interceptions and fumbled the ball 29 times, losing 17 of them. This is a make-or-break year for the former Duke quarterback. Kenny Galloday is a 6’4 Wide receiver who had 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions in 2019. Sterling Shepard is a reliable possession receiver. Darius Slayton is a deep threat. Evan Engram and Kyle Rudolph fill out the TE spot nicely. If Saquon Barkley is healthy, he is one of the best dual-threat running backs out of the backfield. If the Giants can somehow improve their offensive line, this unit could put up a lot of points
Defensively, Leonard Williams had 11.5 sacks last and Blake Martinez had 151 total tackles last season. The former Green Bay Packers stand out, is a tackling machine. Adoree’ Jackson should help in the defensive backfield and rookie Azeez Ojulari could have 7-10 sacks.
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