2016 NFC East Preview

(photo credit: itpbaustralia.sportsblog.com)

As we stair into the dawn of another NFL season, hope springs eternal for fans of the NFC East. Then again, why shouldn't it? This is the time of year when fans and players alike feel like anything is possible. Like fans of the Dallas Cowboys, sure their defense isn't as strong as others in the division, but Tony Romo is fully healthy, and with the help of the No. 4 overall pick Ezekiel Elliott who'll form a formidable one-two punch at the running back with Darren McFadden, could help run the Cowboys to a division title.

Then there is the New York Giants, whose fans are ecstatic about the return of wide receiver Victor Cruz and the selection of wide receiver Sterling Shepard in the second round that should provide quarterback Eli Manning with even more offensive weapons. Then there's the big defensive pick ups in defensive end Oliver Vernon, defensive tackle Damon Harrison and cornerback Janoris Jenkins. There's a lot of potential with this team in 2016.

Even though the Washington Redskins are coming off a division title, there first since Robert Griffin III guided them to title in his rookie year, there's still a lot of unanswered questions regarding quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins helped guide the Redskins to a 10-6 record, while leading the league in completion percentage, but was a little inconsistent at times. They did sign former Carolina Panthers star cornerback Josh Norman who should add some attitude on defense.

For the Philadelphia Eagles fans who finally have a head coach other than Chip Kelly in Doug Pederson, feel like there already winners. They still have a ton of issues to address, like is Sam Bradford really committed to this team? Will their wide receiver corp be effective, as well as their veteran backfield in Ryan Matthews and Darren Sproles? Then there's the defense that is in the process of being rebuilt.

Will be taking a look at the teams in the NFC East in this article and breaking them down.

New York Giants

The fans of the New York Giants have a lot to be excited for. Their franchise quarterback is coming off his best statistical season of his career where he was tied for the league lead in touchdowns with 35. If Victor Cruz can remain healthy, then the Giants could have the best wide receiver duo in the NFL with Odell Beckhman Jr. While the Giants running backs had a hard time gaining yards on the ground, this season they're abandoning the running back by committee and handing the job to Rashad Jennings, courtesy of new head coach Ben McAdoo. A lot of the success that comes from the running game will depend on how well the offensive line plays.

The Giants could of easily won ten games last season, maybe even twelve, but poor clock management and a historically bad defense cost them more games than Giants fans want to count. So during the off-season the Giants addressed their defensive front seven with the signings of former Dolphins defensive end, Oliver Vernon, as well as former Jets defensive tackle, Damon Harrison. They'll form a force with the help of a healthy and ready to go Jason Pierre Paul.

Similar to the Giants front seven, their secondary got a little boost with the signing of the best cornerback on the market, in former Rams player, Janoris Jenkins. The Giants also used the No. 10 overall pick in the draft to select Ohio State's cornerback Eli Apple. While there are better cornerback duos in the league, Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie would be pretty high on that list. The New York Giants definitely head into the 2016 season with a real opportunity to win the NFC East.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys face serious issues on defense, especially when it comes to suspensions and injuries which is putting a dent in their depth chart. They could've come out of the draft with linebacker Myles Jack and cornerback Jalen Ramsey, two players who could've had an instant impact. I get the reason moving up to get Ezekiel Elliott at No. 4, the Cowboys arguably have the top five offensive line in NFL history. Elliott, along with veteran Darren McFadden who easily rushed for over a 1,000 yards on 4.6 yards per carry, should take a ton of pressure off an aging and ailing Tony Romo.

I understand the Elliott pick, but I don't get the Jaylon Smith pick at all. Smith was a great prospect before he suffered a career-ending, or at best a career-altering knee injury he suffered in an exhibition game. It'll be a miracle if he can return to the form he displayed in college. Now the Cowboys did very little in free agency despite coming off the franchise's worst season since 1989.

The 36-year-old Tony Romo has not played a full, 16-game schedule since 2012, and the Cowboys can't count on Romo to be in the lineup for the entire season, which is why their run game will be the main focus of their offense. The Cowboys did draft a quarterback, Dak Prescott, in the fourth round. But with Romo, wide receiver Dez Bryant, tight end Jason Witten and their running attack, the Cowboys should be taken seriously in the NFC East.

Washington Redskins


The Washington Redskins made a couple of big moves in the off-season to help upgrade their roster. They brought in one of the top cornerbacks in the league in Josh Norman. They also used their first round draft pick on a wide receiver for quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins and the Redskins were unable to come to terms on a long-term contract, so Washington used their franchise tag on him before deciding to invest in a long-term contract with Cousins. Sure Cousins had a great season last year, even leading the league in completion percentage. However, being it was Cousins first year as a starter, it was the opposing teams adjusting to him. Now that there's a full season of game tape on Cousins, it'll be him who'll have to adjust to opposing teams this season. Cousins will answer a lot of questions regarding whether or not he's the Redskins quarterback of the future depending on his play this year.

The Redskins will have to improve their running game this season in order to be effective. They moved on from Alfred Morris who signed with their divisional rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. That leaves the running back job in the hands on Matt Jones as the starter and Chris Thompson as the backup. Jones as a rookie last year earned below average grades as a rusher, receiver, and blocker to rank 66th out of 69 qualifying running backs. Needless to say the Redskins need Jones to step up or Cousins could be forced to carry the offense.

The Redskins defense remains pretty much intact. A major change will be Trent Murphy switching from outside linebacker to defensive end. He played extremely well on the edge last year. The biggest question on defense remains at inside linebacker, where most of the returning players performed badly last season. So the defense that we saw on the field last season, should be the one we see this season.

Philadelphia Eagles

After back-to-back 10-6 seasons, the Eagles fell to 7-9 in a season that appeared to worse than their record indicated. Chip Kelly was fired before seasons end, and replaced with a well respected coach in Doug Pederson. They followed up that move by going all-in in the draft, trading up to take quarterback Carson Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick. All the eyes in Philadelphia will be on that position as Pederson begins to rebuild the team. There's a lot to look forward to in Philadelphia, but a division title isn't one of them. Not this season at least.