By Matthew Behrndt
The NFC East had its own tumultuous off season. A lot of headlines were made by every team.
The big headline this off season in terms of off season deals were the Philadelphia Eagles. They made some big trades and brought in a lot of fresh faces. The first big story line was between two rival teams in the NFC East with the signing by the Eagles of DeMarco Murray from the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles also sent LeSean McCoy to the Bills in exchange for Kiko Alonso. The also signed Byron Maxwell from the Seahawks to try to shore up the secondary. The final addition was a trade between the Eagles and Rams that sent QB Nick Foles to the Rams and in return the Eagles acquired QB Sam Bradford.
In terms of players off the field, we had Jason Pierre-Paul seriously injuring his right hand with a fireworks incident. He’s definitely out for the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. There is still no word on whether or not he will even play this year. Also the saga that is the Redskins front office and RGIII on a “he said, she said” basis leading to Kirk Cousins being named the starter at QB. Also the controversial signings by the Cowboys this off season contributed to a headline filled NFC East summer.
Washington Redskins: Record (4-12)
Another rough off season has a team that looks very underwhelming. With Kirk Cousins at the helm this team just can’t go very far. Alfred Morris has to get back to full health in order to relive the pressure off of Cousins. The o-line is decent but they need to play great so that Cousins can move through his progressions and make good throws. The defense on the other hand is not very good and no one really sticks out as an elite player on the defense. The secondary is not very good and they lost Brian Orakpo for pass-rushing ability and the secondary is not very good.
New York Giants: Record (6-10)
The Giants are very confusing. They have the potential every year to surprise the league every year and compete for a divisional title. The emergence of Odell Beckham Jr. paired along a healthy Victor Cruz could make this passing attack deadly. The running back situation is a little sparse as no one really looks like the favorite. The secondary is fairly good but without JPP, the pass-rushing is non-existent and the defense is going to struggle.
Philadelphia Eagles: Record (9-7)
The Eagles can be really good. They made a lot of off season moves as listed above that could really propel this team to a division title. The main question is, can this team stay healthy? If so, they will have one of the better offenses in the league. The pressure is on Sam Bradford both to stay healthy and preform at the level he is capable of. The o-line has to perform better and make sure Bradford stays injury free. The defense does not look very capable. They signed Byron Maxwell but other than that the secondary is not very good. The line backers got a little better but the d-line isn’t elite enough to put serious pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Dallas Cowboys: Record (11-5)
The Cowboys have the best offensive line in the league. The problem is they let go the best asset to a great offensive line which was DeMarco Murray. That offensive line can be the great but they won’t be showcased if they have mediocre running backs. Tony Romo is a top quarterback in the league and with a weapon like Dez Bryant they are going to score points. With the addition of Greg Hardy this pass rush should be very good. Also the Cowboys need to hope that Sean Lee stays healthy in order to bring stability to the linebacking corp. The weakness is the secondary, which with the injury of Scandrick this could derail this team from being an elite contender.
