Are You Ready For Some Football! - NFC East Outlook by Bill Milton of Triple Thr
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| Triple Threat Sports - 7/16/2007 3:19 AM |
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Believe it or not, football season really is getting closer and closer every day. Training camps open in a couple of weeks, so it is time to really get into preparation mode for the upcoming NFL season. For the past few years anyone wanting to read my preseason report on each team, four pages worth, could simply order the Inside Football News NFL Preview Magazine. Unfortunately, Insiders Football News has taken a year off of production this year for a variety of reasons, with a planned and hoped for return in 2008. However, I of course am still preparing for the season the same way I always have when I was writing a preview, and I am very excited about things getting underway. This report on the NFC East will start an nine (there will be an overall wrap up) part series detailing my projections for the upcoming year. For all 32 teams I will list the area of biggest improvement, the biggest myth for each team, the biggest reason for hope, and scheduling notes. I will save my actual division projections until ALL of the work is done, but each of the individual division forecasts will hopefully shed some light on things for 2007. Here we go, and we start with the only division to place three playoff teams a year ago, the NFC East. Dallas: Biggest Improvement: I really like the addition of Hamlin to a secondary that struggled in pass coverage a great deal last season. As good as Roy Williams is, he is a much bigger impact player when he can focus more on drilling WR's after catches and helping to stop the run, and the addition of Hamlin should allow for that. Williams' deficiencies against the pass were greatly illustrated on Seattle's final drive in the playoff loss last year, and those problems should be muted this year. Biggest Myth: Leonard Davis IS NOT going to be the glue to make the offensive line come together. Typically Dallas spends money wisely, but Davis, while not a total bust, has come nowhere close to living up to his draft pedigree. Biggest Reason for Hope: Most casual observers like to point out that Dallas struggled down the stretch since teams supposedly caught up to Tony Romo. However, a close look shows that the Pokes were just 2-5 without LB Greg Ellis. He is back this year and anchors what should be an excellent LB corps. Scheduling Notes: Turkey Day will bring a battle of Jones brothers - Thomas and Julius. Cowboys plays six games against teams that were in the playoffs last season and will earn a playoff spot if they get there as they play three of their final four games on the road. NY Giants: Biggest Improvement: This will give you a strong hint about how I feel about this team, but I have searched up and down the roster and cannot find one area that portends a significant improvement. The only possibility in this view would be the secondary, and that is only if the #1 draft choice earns significant playing time. Biggest Myth: Tom Coughlin has not forgotten how to coach. He is the only coach since Parcells to lead the G-Men to the playoffs in back to back years. No, he might not be George Halas incarnate, but he is a damn site better than Ray Handley, and if he gets THIS bunch to the postseason he deserves to stay as long as he wants to. Biggest Reason for Hope: Eli Manning is entering his third full year as the starter, a time frame in which many signal callers have hit their stride. Very well could not happen, but I am not counting on it. Scheduling Notes: If you have kids like mine and they love Scooby Doo, you are probably sick and tired of hearing about the "Wiki Tiki" monster. Well, the Giants are going to start their season with a Tiki Monster of their own as recently retired Tiki Barber will be on the mic to provide "analysis" of the season opener on Sunday night. Overall the Giants play six games against teams that were in the playoffs last year, and they also have the "honor" of playing a regular season game in London on October 28th. Do you think Michael Strahan will get the same type of media blitz David Beckham is getting over here? Philadelphia: Biggest Improvement: The LB's will be a ton better due to the addition of Takeo Spikes, whose talent and versatility will allow Andy Reid and Jimmie Johnson to use the others at spots that best fit their skills instead of simply filling an area of need. Biggest Myth: When did Brian Westbrook become a "star" back in this league? He is a product of the system and is so fragile Reid only called his number on 15 rush attempts per game last year. So, please stop with the "star" talk about Westbrook. There are at least ten backs I would rather have. r Westbrook. Biggest Reason for Hope: Despite a slew of injuries last year this team was just three points away, on the road, of going to the NFC Championship Game. Scheduling Notes: They should start off hot, as the first three and four of the first five games are against teams that failed to make the playoffs last season. However, unlike Dallas and the Giants (six each) the Eagles play seven games this season against teams that were in the playoffs a year ago. Washington: Biggest Improvement: I think the secondary will be the most improved area of the team, although that opinion is based on the view that they cannot be any worse than last season. The Skins were 30th overall against the pass and had an almost unimaginably bad 6-30 Int/TD Allowed ratio. Biggest Myth: Chris Samuels was not a dominant offensive lineman last year, not at all worthy of a Pro Bowl bid. He got there based purely on reputation and needs to rebound this year if the Redskins are going to make any real offensive progress. Biggest Reason for Hope: QB Jason Campbell has had a full off season as the starter to get ready, and he has two good backs to hand off to in Portis an Betts. If you recall, the last time he had tow stud RB's behind was when he was a senior at Auburn, and he, Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams made for a very good offense. If Portis and Betts are both healthy they will take a great deal of heat off of Campbell. Scheduling Notes: They have an early season bye week and that is ideal for a team with a young QB as it gives him a two week mini training camp of sorts to work on things. Assuming health, he will have made ten starts at that point in his career so the mini training camp will come at a good time, and with the Redskins playing the Lions the week after a bye that seems like a real good Play On week for Joe Gibbs' team. HOWEVER, that is the only favor the schedule maker did them, as they play a whopping nine games against teams that were in the playoffs last year, six inside the division and three outside of it. That nine tally is tied for a league high in that category since the new scheduling system was put into place for Houston's expansion year. I hope you enjoyed this look at the NFC East, and stay tuned for the remaining articles in this series. This will have us well prepared for the season, so make sure you check us out come opening kickoff! We are also hot in baseball and will be up with more winners on the diamond this week, so as we always say...JOIN US!!! |
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