Least in the East
By Cris Carter, Yahoo! Sports
September 15, 2006
I went into the season believing that the NFC East was the league's toughest division. Now, after a Week 1 that saw the New York Giants and Washington Redskins lose at home in addition to the Dallas Cowboys going down, it's possible two of these teams will start the 2006 campaign 0-2.
Let's take a look at the pair of Week 2 contests in the NFC East and shed some light on what to expect on Sunday.
New York Giants (0-1) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-0): I'm definitely not buying this theory that the Giants' season is over if they start 0-2. I thought at the beginning of the season that two games could separate the top from the bottom in the NFC East. While a team that starts off 2-0 would have an advantage, you figure everyone is going to hit a two-game skid at some point.
That said, I think the Giants are in trouble on Sunday. There's no player more significant than the quarterback and the Eagles have one of the best in Donovan McNabb. When you add a player of Donte' Stallworth's ability, that really helps the offense. As long as McNabb has time to find his targets and they're able to strike a balance, the offense should click. And with some of the blockers on that line, especially guard Shawn Andrews, they have the personnel to run the ball.
You know this is going to be a tightly contested game because these teams always go at it when they play. But again, so much of the focus here is the Giants' ability to defend the pass. Can cornerback Sam Madison give them the lift they need to be disruptive? Personally, I don't think Madison is a significant addition at this stage in his career. Is he going to create turnovers? I don't see that happening.
Washington Redskins (0-1) at Dallas Cowboys(0-1): The Redskins' pass defense is so weak right now that I see it being at a big disadvantage against the Cowboys. The Redskins are really missing cornerback Shawn Springs. I just don't believe Carlos Rogers has it in him to keep up with Dallas' receivers. He hasn't lived up to expectations.
Last week, the Cowboys made a conscious decision to get the ball to Terrell Owens. Eventually, the Jaguars were able to slow down Dallas' passing attack, but I think Jacksonville's secondary is better than Washington's. Look for the Cowboys to do some of the same things early to take advantage of that matchup.
FIVE QUESTIONS
1. Which player do you expect to shine the most? McNabb. The Eagles put so much pressure on him to do so many things, but he's capable of living up to those expectations – that's why he is the best quarterback in the NFC East. After last year's controversy, we forgot how good he is.
2. Do the Giants need a tremendous effort from Eli Manning to win? Yes, he's going to have to play a heck of a game in order for the Giants to win. One of the Eagles' weaknesses last year was the pass rush. In the offseason, they added defensive end Darren Howard, so defensive coordinator Jim Johnson now has the ability to do things he couldn't do last year. This, in turn, will force Manning to deal with all kinds of pressure. This is a big game for him, one that is key to measuring his development.
3. Is there really a quarterback controversy in Dallas? Of course, there is. There's no way Drew Bledsoe can play like he did in Week 1 if the Cowboys want to go where they want as a team. They don't want to rely on Tony Romo – Bill Parcells feels more comfortable going with guys that he's used to leaning on – but they'll make the switch if they have to.
4. What's the key to the Redskins improving their red-zone production? Nothing. I like what they did in the game against Minnesota last Monday. If you look at that pass from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss that Darren Sharper broke up, that's a potential game-winning touchdown. If the Redskins complete that pass, they would have won the game and we wouldn't be talking about their offense. I liked what I saw from them. Al Saunders, who is one of the best coordinators in the last 20 years, did a good job with the play-calling.
5. So who's going to win the Redskins-Cowboys game? Dallas. I think the coverage issues are too big for Washington to overcome. The Redskins have no ability to shut down the Cowboys' passing game. If they decide to blitz Bledsoe, they leave themselves open to big plays with Terry Glenn and T.O.
September 15, 2006
I went into the season believing that the NFC East was the league's toughest division. Now, after a Week 1 that saw the New York Giants and Washington Redskins lose at home in addition to the Dallas Cowboys going down, it's possible two of these teams will start the 2006 campaign 0-2.
Let's take a look at the pair of Week 2 contests in the NFC East and shed some light on what to expect on Sunday.
New York Giants (0-1) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-0): I'm definitely not buying this theory that the Giants' season is over if they start 0-2. I thought at the beginning of the season that two games could separate the top from the bottom in the NFC East. While a team that starts off 2-0 would have an advantage, you figure everyone is going to hit a two-game skid at some point.
That said, I think the Giants are in trouble on Sunday. There's no player more significant than the quarterback and the Eagles have one of the best in Donovan McNabb. When you add a player of Donte' Stallworth's ability, that really helps the offense. As long as McNabb has time to find his targets and they're able to strike a balance, the offense should click. And with some of the blockers on that line, especially guard Shawn Andrews, they have the personnel to run the ball.
You know this is going to be a tightly contested game because these teams always go at it when they play. But again, so much of the focus here is the Giants' ability to defend the pass. Can cornerback Sam Madison give them the lift they need to be disruptive? Personally, I don't think Madison is a significant addition at this stage in his career. Is he going to create turnovers? I don't see that happening.
Washington Redskins (0-1) at Dallas Cowboys(0-1): The Redskins' pass defense is so weak right now that I see it being at a big disadvantage against the Cowboys. The Redskins are really missing cornerback Shawn Springs. I just don't believe Carlos Rogers has it in him to keep up with Dallas' receivers. He hasn't lived up to expectations.
Last week, the Cowboys made a conscious decision to get the ball to Terrell Owens. Eventually, the Jaguars were able to slow down Dallas' passing attack, but I think Jacksonville's secondary is better than Washington's. Look for the Cowboys to do some of the same things early to take advantage of that matchup.
FIVE QUESTIONS
1. Which player do you expect to shine the most? McNabb. The Eagles put so much pressure on him to do so many things, but he's capable of living up to those expectations – that's why he is the best quarterback in the NFC East. After last year's controversy, we forgot how good he is.
2. Do the Giants need a tremendous effort from Eli Manning to win? Yes, he's going to have to play a heck of a game in order for the Giants to win. One of the Eagles' weaknesses last year was the pass rush. In the offseason, they added defensive end Darren Howard, so defensive coordinator Jim Johnson now has the ability to do things he couldn't do last year. This, in turn, will force Manning to deal with all kinds of pressure. This is a big game for him, one that is key to measuring his development.
3. Is there really a quarterback controversy in Dallas? Of course, there is. There's no way Drew Bledsoe can play like he did in Week 1 if the Cowboys want to go where they want as a team. They don't want to rely on Tony Romo – Bill Parcells feels more comfortable going with guys that he's used to leaning on – but they'll make the switch if they have to.
4. What's the key to the Redskins improving their red-zone production? Nothing. I like what they did in the game against Minnesota last Monday. If you look at that pass from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss that Darren Sharper broke up, that's a potential game-winning touchdown. If the Redskins complete that pass, they would have won the game and we wouldn't be talking about their offense. I liked what I saw from them. Al Saunders, who is one of the best coordinators in the last 20 years, did a good job with the play-calling.
5. So who's going to win the Redskins-Cowboys game? Dallas. I think the coverage issues are too big for Washington to overcome. The Redskins have no ability to shut down the Cowboys' passing game. If they decide to blitz Bledsoe, they leave themselves open to big plays with Terry Glenn and T.O.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:44 AM
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