Nas Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/40576/nfc-east-why-they-will-why-they-wont SportsCenter has been running prime-time specials previewing the 2012 season for each NFL division. Tonight at 7 pm on ESPN, they will do their one-hour show on the NFC East. To help you gear up, we take a look at each of the four teams and the reasons why you should like their chances to finish on top... and why you shouldn't. New York Giants Why they'll win the East: Quarterback Eli Manning has established himself as one of the best in the league, and the most clutch. Armed with two great wide receivers in Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, Manning makes the Giants a threat to win any game that's close in the fourth quarter. They have a dominant pass rush that makes life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, even the very best ones. It's a passing league, and the Giants pass the ball and disrupt the opponent's passing game as well as anyone. Why they won't: The Giants' up-and-down 2011 regular season had a lot to do with inconsistency on the offensive line and an inability to control the game with the run. Neither the line nor the run game appears to have been improved over last year, and that could lead to inconsistency again, in spite of the outstanding talent they have at other key positions. Also, it's not their turn. This division has had three different winners over the last three years, and no one has repeated as NFC East champ since the Eagles won the division four years in a row from 2001-04. Every team in the division has improved, so the task of repeating is not an easy one. Philadelphia Eagles Why they'll win the East: Everything went wrong last year, and they still missed by only one game. They went 5-1 against division opponents. The depth they have on the defensive line may actually be more impressive than the Giants' depth there (though, without the championship rings), and they tied for the league lead last year in sacks. Assuming he stays healthy, quarterback Michael Vick is a multi-faceted weapon. LeSean McCoy is one of the best running backs in the league. And DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are super-speedy potential stars in the receiving game. Why they won't: Almost everything rides on Vick, and he hasn't shown that he can be trusted to be (a) healthy or (b) consistently responsible in his decision-making. Even if you assume improvements on defense and in the wide receiving corps, Vick still has the potential to devastate the team with mistakes or a serious injury. They have very little behind him, and the loss of star left tackle Jason Peters for the year with a torn Achilles' tendon will make him more difficult to protect. Dallas Cowboys Why they'll win the East: They had it in their hands last year with five games to go, but lost four of those, including two to the Giants. The main culprit for the collapse was a secondary that's been overhauled with the additions of Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne at cornerback. And assuming running back DeMarco Murray comes back and remains healthy, he and Tony Romo lead an offense capable of big things. Why they won't: They remain questionable at safety, at guard and at center. Those are structural issues that could undermine the ability of the Cowboys' great skill-position players to put up their big numbers. The Cowboys' hope is that camp competition brings out the best at those positions, but they are areas in which Dallas could conceivably struggle all year. Washington Redskins Why they'll win the East: The Redskins haven't won this division since the 1999 season, and they were so fed up that they dealt four high draft picks to get quarterback Robert Griffin III. If he can be half as dazzling in his rookie NFL season as he was in his final season at Baylor, the Redskins could be a surprise contender. Upgrades to the receiving corps and an imposing front seven bolstered by the return of 2011 second-rounder Jarvis Jenkins from injury also offer reasons for optimism, as does last year's 2-0 record against the Super Bowl champs. Why they won't: Still too many question marks, particularly on the back end of that defense and in the jumbled running game. They'll need some of their safeties, cornerbacks and running backs to play over their heads if they want to contend in this very tough division race, and they'll also need their rookie quarterback to play like a veteran. Everybody loves Griffin, and for good reason, but he is a rookie, and rookies struggle to adapt. I think we've made a huge improvement in the running game.. but hey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Nothing I love seeing more in the pre-pre-season than our rivals having OLine woes. Dallas in particular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Nothing I love seeing more in the pre-pre-season than our rivals having OLine woes. Dallas in particular. Tony, Michael and Griffin... meet JPP...yeah you know me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigblue25 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I am guessing it will Bruschi and Wiley, the most anti-Giants guys on ESPN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBLUE01 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I am guessing it will Bruschi and Wiley, the most anti-Giants guys on ESPN Ahhh poor Teddy, is he still hurtin from 08?? lol I think the only real threat is philly. I never believed the hype about toni homo, and they have almost as many question marks as washington. They have a real good LB, and a pretty good RB.....thats about it. Bryant and Austin have got to be the most overrated WRs in history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Sure is rough not improving the running game with out a high first round RB draft pick. Our running game sucked so much we can't possibly improve with the second best RB of the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBLUE01 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Sure is rough not improving the running game with out a high first round RB draft pick. Our running game sucked so much we can't possibly improve with the second best RB of the draft. Who many consider the best RB of the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStroud Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Wilson has to be a big upgrade over Jacobs......Jacobs is a shell of his former self and goes down with hand tackles like a woman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigblue25 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 This was an Eagles masturbation fest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedinBlue Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Always interesting to read pre-season speculation.....most of it meaningless other than something to talk about. Personally, I think it's going to be a battle between the Giants and Eagles with a thorn in the flesh Cowboys trying to mess things up. In the end, it's going to come down to injuries.....which every team will have. It all depends on how critical the player is that goes down. If we lose Eli......sorry, but we're through. I think consistency is also very important and when you make too many personnel changes (ala, Redskins), it's going to take a few years to become consistent. That bears well for the Giants if we stay healthy as the main pieces of the puzzle are still in place and the easiest position for a new player to make an impact is at RB, whereas the other positions usually take 2 or 3 years before the routes are down and coverage responsibilities become second nature. Regardless.....it is going to be a great year to watch the games and the NFC East will be brutal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigblue25 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Always interesting to read pre-season speculation.....most of it meaningless other than something to talk about. Personally, I think it's going to be a battle between the Giants and Eagles with a thorn in the flesh Cowboys trying to mess things up. In the end, it's going to come down to injuries.....which every team will have. It all depends on how critical the player is that goes down. If we lose Eli......sorry, but we're through. I think consistency is also very important and when you make too many personnel changes (ala, Redskins), it's going to take a few years to become consistent. That bears well for the Giants if we stay healthy as the main pieces of the puzzle are still in place and the easiest position for a new player to make an impact is at RB, whereas the other positions usually take 2 or 3 years before the routes are down and coverage responsibilities become second nature. Regardless.....it is going to be a great year to watch the games and the NFC East will be brutal. But, Ryan Perriloux was named OVC OPOY in 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rphguy Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Tony, Michael and Griffin... meet JPP...yeah you know me... I think it goes "You know me, I'm down with JPP" or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 This was an Eagles masturbation fest. doesn't it happen every summer anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I think it goes "You know me, I'm down with JPP" or something like that. As in knocked down by JPP... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStroud Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I'm not worried about any opponent this year. I've never had a more confident feeling entering an NFL season........let the others do the worrying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMFP Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I'm not worried about any opponent this year. I've never had a more confident feeling entering an NFL season........let the others do the worrying I'm worried about the offensive line. And that's a pretty big worry to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStroud Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Let me state right now, the Giants are a LOCK to win the NFC East and 80% sure of getting back to the big game. No one else is anywhere near as complete a team. Unfortunately, the AFC is a wasteland of one good team and 15 so-so's or awfuls........so Giselle will once again curse her way to the elevator in February.....Hopefully her husband will not have to throw the ball, run down field in futility and catch it too........ LOL This is getting monotonous and reminds me of the futility of Minnesota and Buffalo in years past where each went to 4 SBs and flopped every time. Meanwhile, while the rest of the GMs try to catch up to Jerry Reese's genius, we will need to build a bigger trophy case. I've got the San Fran game circled on my calendar........I want us to go out there and give them a real good ass wippin this year and send the back slapper rushing right to the locker room to smash furniture not Ol Tom's back (although for an old guy tom is pretty resilient- remembering the hit he took on the sidelines) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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