Brookover: In NFC East, everyone has a chance
The NFL is so unpredictable and yet we still try to predict it, especially at this time of year when the countdown to training camp is so close. It is an impossible exercise in a high-speed collision sport.
The NFL is so unpredictable and yet we still try to predict it, especially at this time of year when the countdown to training camp is so close. It is an impossible exercise in a high-speed collision sport.
Just ask the Dallas Cowboys. They might have been good enough to win a second straight division title with Tony Romo last season, but they could barely win a game without him.
Romo, after being limited to two complete games by a left collarbone that was fractured twice, is back and the Cowboys are again a popular pick to win the NFC East, the division that is unquestionably the most difficult to predict. The 2004 Eagles won their fourth straight NFC East title on their way to the Super Bowl, but no team has won the division in consecutive years since then. You won't find another division in the NFL like that.
The state of the NFC East is a far cry from the mid-1980s through the mid-'90s when all the divisional teams except the Eagles and the geographically misplaced Phoenix Cardinals took turns winning multiple Super Bowls. That, of course, remains a skin-piercing thorn in the side of Eagles fans.
Those same fans should not be as discouraged that their favorite team is the consensus pick to sink to the bottom of the division this season. That distinction belonged to the Washington Redskins last season and now they are the team trying to win a second straight division title.
The Eagles' greatest hope for 2016, in fact, is the division they reside in.
Could the Cowboys go from worst to first the way Washington did a year ago? Of course. If Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant remain healthy, they have the best offense in the division, thanks to an outstanding line and the addition of rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott, the fourth overall selection in the draft. On the other hand, it has been four years since Romo last played 16 games and the Cowboys still do not have a viable backup at the position.
The Dallas defense is a far greater concern. The Cowboys will open the season without three suspended starters, including defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, who led the team last season with eight sacks. The Cowboys had only 31 sacks - tied for 25th in the league - which was a big reason they also had a league-worst 11 takeaways. Lawrence will be joined on the sidelines for the season's first four games by second-year defensive end Randy Gregory. Both men were suspended as first-time offenders of the league's substance-abuse policy. Linebacker Rolando McClain will sit out 10 games as a second-time substance offender. He was arguably the Cowboys' best run-stopper last season. The Eagles are the only division opponent that does not get an early shot at the Cowboys' depleted defense. It will not be surprising if the Cowboys try to play ball-control offense early in the season in an effort to keep their defense off the field.
Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins was the best story in the division a year ago, replacing Robert Griffin III and leading the Redskins to a division title. It was also an impressive coaching job by Jon Gruden's little brother, Jay. Can the Redskins do it again? It helps that they have a nice balance of receivers led by tight end Jordan Reed, but they'd better have an improved running game in 2016 or they'll be in trouble.
Defensively, the Redskins weren't great at any particular thing last season and actually allowed more points than a Dallas defense that had no pass rush. Washington got the league's biggest boost in the secondary by signing cornerback Josh Norman, which should make for some interesting division games between the Redskins and New York Giants.
Speaking of the Giants, they were the best offensive team and the worst defensive team in the division last season. There are plenty of reasons to believe they will be good offensively again in 2016, starting with Odell Beckham Jr., the talented and temperamental receiver who was guilty of assault and battery in a game against Norman and the Carolina Panthers last season. Even though I've seen Eli Manning play some awful games against the Eagles, he is the quarterback in the division I'd most like to have because he shows up every week without fail.
None of that will matter if the Giants have not improved a defense that registered only 23 sacks a year ago. By comparison, Michael Strahan had 221/2 sacks for the Giants in 2001.
Give the Giants credit for trying. They signed Miami defensive end Olivier Vernon and New York Jets defensive tackle Damon Harrison to a couple of five-year deals worth a combined $76.5 million in guaranteed money. Local history tells us that huge free-agent purchases often backfire, but the Giants did not really have a choice.
We'll skip talking about the Eagles here because in a few days that is all we are going to be talking about. Just know that they have a fighting chance in the most unpredictable division in football.
@brookob