So apparently one of the teams in this division signed a new QB this week. And it wasn’t even Brett Favre.
New York Giants
Is there such a thing as a quiet offseason in New York?
Head Coach: Tom Coughlin
Offensive Coordinator: Kevin Gilbride
Defensive Coordinator: Bill Sheridan
Special Teams Coordinator: Tom Quinn
President/CEO: John K. Mara
Offensive Starters (Projected)
QB: Elisha Manning
HB: Brandon Jacobs
FB: Madison Hedgecock
WR: Domenik Hixon
WR: Sinorice Moss
LT: David Diehl
LG: Chris Snee
C: Shaun O’Hara
RG: Rich Seubert
RT: Kareem McKenzie
TE: Kevin Boss
Defensive Starters (Projected)
DE: Justin Tuck
DE: Osi Umenyiora
DT: Barry Cofield
DT: Rocky Bernard
LB: Mathias Kiwanuka
LB: Antoino Pierce
LB: Gerris Wilkinson
CB: Aaron Ross
CB: Corey Webster
FS: Kenny Phillips
SS: Michael Johnson
Special Teams
K: Lawrence Tynes
P: Jeff Feagles
Position Battles:
WR: Plax is gone and so is anything resembling a reliable receiver. Hixon, Steve Smith, Moss, Mario Manningham, David Tyree, Derek Hagan, Rookie Hakeem Nicks all will be fighting for the receiver spots. There is a lot of talent in the group and one of them needs to step out to give Manning a target.
CB: This could be a battle for not starting. The talent isn’t the greatest but 2 of them have to start. Ross, Webster, Kevin Dockery, and a handful of rookies fight for jobs.
Rookies to Watch:
Hakeem Nicks has to have a solid year for Eli and the Giants. He’s a big target with big hands and decent speed. Not as big as Plax, but he’s got a big body that should help him have a solid year. Another sneaky sleeper could be Ramses Barden. He’s got size, speed, college competition similar to Marques Colston. I’m not expecting him to have that impact, but at the very least he should be a red-zone target at 6’6″.
Season Expectations:
You look at all the distractions they had to put up with all off-season and can’t possibly think they’d be in a good mental place to play football, but that’s why Coughlin is a great coach, he’s got his team focused and ready to play. They showed that in bunches in Monday’s preseason opener against Carolina where the Giants starters made the Panthers starters look pretty average. Although I know a couple people who would say the Panthers are average. The key for the team this year will be Eli developing a working relationship with a new receiver. He doesn’t have the Plax security blanket and he needs to find a new binky. Brandon Jacobs is a beast but even he has trouble running against 8-9 man boxes so they need to find something to stretch the field. Whether that is Hixon, Nicks or Travis Beckum doesn’t really matter, they just have to find something. The defense will still create pressure so they don’t have to worry as much about that side of the ball.
Philadelphia Eagles
At least that move by the Vikings took the focus away from Vick and the Eagles.
Head Coach: Andy Reid
Offensive Coordinator: Marty Mornhinweg
Defensive Coordinator: Sean McDermott
Special Teams Coordinator: Ted Daisher
CEO: Jeffrey Lurie
Offensive Starters (Projected)
QB: Donovan McNabb
HB: Brian Westbrook
FB: Leonard Weaver
WR: DeSean Jackson
WR: Kevin Curtis
LT: Jason Peters
LG: Todd Herremans
C: Jamaal Jackson
RG: Stacy Andrews
RT: Shawn Andrews
TE: Brent Celek
Defensive Starters (Projected)
DE: Victor Abiamiri
DE: Trent Cole
DT: Brodrick Bunkley
DT: Mike Patterson
LB: Akeem Jordan
LB: Stewart Bradley
LB: Chris Gocong
CB: Asante Samuel
CB: Sheldon Brown
FS: Quintin Mikell
SS: Quintin Demps
Special Teams
K: David Akers
P: Sav Rocca
Position Battles:
QB: Just kidding. Getting people riled up for a second is fun.
LB: Go ahead, look through the projected starters again. Any of them seem like a solid bet to you? Philly always finds good LBs, it could be one of those guys or it could be someone like Omar Gaither, Joe Mays or Akeem Jordan.
Saftey: I hate to break up the Quintin party, but Sean Jones will break up the party and get a spot. There is a reason he’s the 3rd leading INT safety over the last 3 years. Boy has talent, but the depth chart on Philly’s site lists the Quintins as starters, so that’s what I have to go with right now.
Rookies to Watch:
Their first three picks could all have a big impact. Jeremy Maclin brings a lot of the same things as DeSean Jackson and we saw how that worked. A lot of people, myself included, felt like McCoy was the best RB in the draft so he’ll be a key backup behind Westbrook. And Cornelius Ingram is a solid pass catching tight end.
Season Expectations:
The Eagles always seem to have problems staying healthy. Especially on offense. McNabb and Westbrook are always banged up and not at 100%. Not that anyone in the NFL ever is 100%, but those two show it more than most. However, I think they are better equipped for injuries this year than they have been in the past. Vick is the best backup QB the league has ever seen and LeSean McCoy gives them a solid back-up for Westbrook. It really is a perfect fit for McCoy, he’s a rookie so there is always a concern over the “rookie wall” that players hit. But McCoy will only have to play for a few weeks while Westbrook gets healthy from whatever he injures this year, then when he’s back, McCoy doesn’t have to worry about carrying the load. The defense doesn’t have the mastermind anymore, but they’ll still be playing hard for him and he’ll help them out where he can Angels in the Outfield style. And having one of the best secondaries in the league gives them the ability to blitz more and more, so don’t expect them to take a step back this year.
Washington Redskins
Lots of talent at a lot of positions. It’s not showed up on the field, but it’s there.
Head Coach: Jim Zorn
Offensive Coordinator: Sherman Smith
Defensive Coordinator: Greg Blache
Special Teams Coordinator: Danny Smith
Owner: Dan Snyder
Offensive Starters (Projected)
QB: Jason Campbell
HB: Clinton Portis
FB: Mike Sellers
WR: Santana Moss
WR: Antwaan Randle El
LT: Chris Samuels
LG: Derrick Dockery
C: Casey Rabach
RG: Randy Thomas
RT: Stephon Heyer
TE: Chris Cooley
Defensive Starters (Projected)
DE: Phillip Daniels
DE: Andre Carter
DT: Cornelius Griffin
DT: Albert Haynesworth
LB: Brian Orakpo
LB: London Fletcher
LB: Rocky McIntosh
CB: Carlos Rogers
CB: DeAngelo Hall
FS: Chris Horton
SS: LaRon Landry
Special Teams
K: Shaun Suisham
P: Hunter Smith
Position Battles:
Not too many here.
LB: Orakpo is currently starting at strongside, but he played D-line in college, so the adjustment could be a problem and someone could jump ahead of him. H.B. Blades, Robert Thomas and Alfred Fincher are the guys itching to take the job away
Rookies to Watch:
They stick with the high profile free-agents so they don’t have many rookies. Brian Orakpo was a solid defensive end for Texas and would have been a good pass rushing DE in the pros, but they’ve moved him to LB so he might not have the impact he could have had.
Season Expectations:
This is another team that could be paper champions. They’ve got depth at skill positions. They’ve got depth on defense. They’ve got a very rich Albert Haynesworth (and he’s in the NFC East now so he can stomp on Cowboys faces twice as often now!!!). They’ve got decent special teams, good enough where it shouldn’t cost them any games. Jason Campbell is a very good QB who hasn’t shown everything he has. Clinton Portis has been a great back. Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El are very capable WRs and Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly have a ton of upside. Chris Cooley and Fred Davis form one of the top pairs of tight ends in the league. The defense has everything you look for. A great DT in Hanynesworth, a smart, skilled, MLB in London Fletcher and a top Safety in LaRon Landry. Add in a pair of really good corners and this is a team than can do a lot of damage around the NFL. The schedule is easy and they really should have a good year.
Dallas Cowboys
Man, they’ve been so quiet you almost forgot about them.
Head Coach: Wade Phillips
Offensive Coordinator: Jason Garrett
Defensive Coordinator: N/A
Special Teams Coordinator: Joe DeCamillis
Owner: Jerry Jones
Offensive Starters (Projected)
QB: Tony Romo
HB: Marion Barber
FB: Deon Anderson
WR: Roy Williams
WR: Patrick Crayton
LT: Flozell Adams
LG: Kyle Kosier
C: Andre Gurode
RG: Leonard Davis
RT: Marc Colombo
TE: Jason Witten
Defensive Starters (Projected)
DE: Igor Olshansky
DE: Marcus Spears
DT: Jay Ratliff
LB: Anthony Spencer
LB: Bradie James
LB: Keith Brooking
LB: DeMarcus Ware
CB: Terence Newman
CB: Mike Jenkins
FS: Ken Hamlin
SS: Gerald Sensabaugh
Special Teams
K: Nick Folk
P: Mat McBriar
Position Battles:
RB: Don’t know how much of a battle it will be, but it will be another of those RBBC. Barber, Jones, Choice are all great backs who could start on any other team.
WR: Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, and Isaiah Stanback will be fighting for the second and third and fourth receivers spot on the team behind Roy Williams.
LB: Bobby Carpenter has a lot of talent but not a lot of openings in the lineup. Don’t count him out though.
Rookies to Watch:
They didn’t make a pick until the third round and they use all veterans in the starting line-up. Not for this year, but looking forward Stephen McGee is a talented QB who can be groomed and should turn out to be a very good pro very much the same way Tony Romo was brought up.
Season Expectations:
They’ve got a huge, expensive, beautiful new stadium, but it might not be a very pretty team to play in it this year. Tony Romo and Jason Witten still anchor the offense and the running game should be ok, but the receivers are very questionable. Roy Williams didn’t do anything last year in Dallas but no one expects him to be that bad again. After that you’ve got a group of mediocre WRs who don’t really stand out. The defense shouldn’t be horrible. But there are question marks. The line is very good and DeMarcus ware is a freak coming off the outside. On the inside you’ve got an aging Keith Brooking and a solid Bradie James. So for the most part, the front 7 is stout. The back side is where the problems are. Newman has been a solid player over his career with a few problems showing up in the recent years. Mike Jenkins is still a young guy with a lot of potential. Ken Hamlin is a big hitter but isn’t the greatest in coverage. Gerald Sensabaugh is just sort of a guy who is standing back there playing football. For the Boys to have a good year, the running game needs to be the focal point of the offense and they’ve got to play good defense. Only time will tell how it turns out. But with Jessica Simpson out of the picture, it won’t be Romo’s fault this year.
