The View Back East: 2011 Season Preview
Joe Kleiber is a freelance sports writer from New Jersey. Each week during the 2011 NFL Season Joe will be giving a preview of how the NFC East is shaping up from the perspective of the Eagles, Redskins and Giants
WESTFIELD, N.J. (CBSDFW.COM) - The NFC East is always one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. Every rivalry is physical and personal. The Eagles have loaded up in free agency and call themselves the "dream team", but they still must prove they can win in the playoffs. The Cowboys look to be much improved after a dreadful 2010 season. The Giants have been bitten by the injury bug and will struggle to fight through all the injuries they have suffered in the pre-season. The Redskins don't look to be much improved, but they never go down without a fight. Here is a team by team preview for the 2011-2012 season:
Philadelphia Eagles:
The Philadelphia Eagles seemed to sign every big free agent out there this year, but they must win it all in order to make their hungry fans happy. The Eagles have never won the Super Bowl, but this is their best chance to do it. They have a dynamic offense led by Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, and LeSean McCoy. The defense is also loaded after they added Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins, Jason Babin and Dominique-Rodgers-Cromartie.
Michael Vick must prove he can stay healthy for an entire season and win in the playoffs. He hasn't played a full season since the 2006 season. The offensive line also has issues and they cannot afford Michael Vick to get injured. If this team doesn't win the Super Bowl this year, their fans might riot. Can Vick stay healthy the entire season? Can this team live up to the hype? Only time will tell.
Prediction: The Eagles will go 12-4 and win the NFC East, but lose to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship.
New York Giants:
Is there an unluckier team than the New York Giants? This team has been hit hard with injuries this pre-season. Guys like Terrell Thomas, Osi Umenyiora, Prince Amukamara, and Jonathan Goff have all gone down with injuries. Their biggest problem is depth and now they must cope with these injuries and hope their replacements can step in and fill the holes. This team looks headed for trouble. Not only have they dealt with injuries, but they lost Steve Smith and Kevin Boss to free agency. If Tom Coughlin doesn't get this team to the playoffs, this could be his last year.
The upside for this team is the offense, particularly in the running game with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Eli Manning has to cut down on the turnovers however. This team had the most turnovers in the NFL last year. The Giants usually play well when their backs are against the wall, but this might be too much for this team to overcome. They do not look like a playoff team and coach Coughlin might pay for it.
Prediction: This team goes 7-9 and misses the playoffs. Tom Coughlin gets fired at the end of the season.
Washington Redskins:
The Redskins are going to struggle this season no matter what Rex Grossman says. They brought in running-back Tim Hightower, which should improve the offense, but the team has so many question marks. Donovan McNabb is gone after a one year stay, and Rex Grossman is not the answer at quarterback. The offense just doesn't have enough fire power to compete for the playoffs. Santana Moss and Chris Cooley are always solid, but the rest of the offense is questionable. Their offensive line has several issues and won't be able to protect Grossman or whoever is out there at the end of the season.
The defensive isn't bad with players like DeAngelo Hall, London Fletcher and Brian Orakpo, but it also has issues in the secondary and on the defensive line. Coach Mike Shanahan is going to have his hand full once again. How long does owner Dan Snyder give Shanahan if he has another terrible season? This team is headed for a long season.
Prediction: The Redskins go 4-12 and struggle all year.
