Questions about the NFCE

[bedlamVR]

Now that the NFL rosters are starting to work themselves out I was wondering which team in the East seems to be the most stacked ? And I am asking this in a positive way I am curious to hear what other fans worst fears are and how confident they are in their depth....

Which key injuries will devastate a teams fortune ?

Dallas seems to be everyone's favorite but they have been reasonably injury free . When they lost Adams last year the team looked different and really struggled in pass protection .

I was interested to see Dallas did very little to adress their offensive line . Now they are a good groop but are the backups ready to step in .

What would happen if they lost DeWare ? Who steps up ? Spencer or is he a product of having an outstanding partner on the other side ?

What about the Giants . I think the Gmen are amongst the most balanced in the league but I am wondering if the magic has gone from that defensive line . Who backs up the offensive starters ? With Hixton gone does that have an impact on the WR core and does Jacobs survive the year .

Who are the new blue stars ?

With the Eagles the big question is Kolb really ready for prime time . I know he looked good in the two starts putting up huge passing numbers but he came out of those games .500 .

Is their rookie for real and do they finally have a good pass rushing duo on the line with Cole ?

Jackson and Maclin are good starters but beyond that are Baskett and Avant ready to step up if need be ?

And LeSean McCoy will have the harsh light of the NFL on his performance as what appears to be the feature back with the unspectacular Bell backing him up . Is he ready ?

Is the secondary ready to move on from Dawkins a year on ?

And the Redskins . There are questions all over but for the first year I can remember there seems to be a plan and some depth .

The biggest question is the offensive line . Can the line be sucessful early with new faces at LT, RT and RG .

Is McNabb done or is this another Sonny Jurgsen like trade with the Eagles ?

Can Shanahan get enough out of Portis and Johnson ?

Can Haslett be sucsessful as a defensive co-ordinator and can he shoe horn what is left of the defense into a 3-4 ?

How much of a distraction will Haynesworth be ?

All questions long off season .. what do people think ?

[JustAfan47]

Which key injuries will devastate a teams fortune ?

If Romo sits to pee goes down so does the pukes!....

[JustAfan47]

I think Dallas and the G-men are teams to beat in the east... I think Dallas is better then the G-men too....

[darklight1216]

If Romo sits to pee goes down so does the pukes!....

You can say that about any team with an average or above quarterback.

[GreenRiggins]

I think the Cows are the team to beat at the moment the Giants right behind them. I think we have a decent shot of overtaking either one for second place in the end.

[JustAfan47]

You can say that about any team with an average or above quarterback.

While this is very true but when I was thinking about it what one person would hurt them the most and well it's Romo sits to pee. They could get by with out Witten, R.Williams, M.Austin, D.Ware, T.Newman, etc. You could take any one of those guys out and they would not miss much of a beat but if you take Romo sits to pee out then I think there doomed.

[bushwack]

While this is very true but when I was thinking about it what one person would hurt them the most and well it's Romo sits to pee. They could get by with out Witten, R.Williams, M.Austin, D.Ware, T.Newman, etc. You could take any one of those guys out and they would not miss much of a beat but if you take Romo sits to pee out then I think there doomed.

If the Cowboys lost Ware, that would be just as bad, if not worse, as losing Romo sits to pee. Ware is the heart and soul of the defense, his game against the Saints helped give the Cowboys a huge momentum push into the playoffs. If Ware didn't play that game against N.O. then the Saints probably would have won, and the Cowboys might have had another late season collapse.

[barens2]

While this is very true but when I was thinking about it what one person would hurt them the most and well it's Romo sits to pee. They could get by with out Witten, R.Williams, M.Austin, D.Ware, T.Newman, etc. You could take any one of those guys out and they would not miss much of a beat but if you take Romo sits to pee out then I think there doomed.

I couldn't disagree more...you take Romo sits to pee out of the equation, and you have Jon Kitna steeping into a really good situation. I'm not trying to compare the two, but he's good enough to still get them to the playoffs, maybe more.

There's no telling how the Cowboys would be if they lost Witten or Ware, since neither has missed a game(at least I think that's the case). Those are some big time players, and Ware especially.

If the Giants lost Eli Manning...that, to me, would be a more dire situation. Can't ever imagine Jim Sorgi having to come in and save the day.

Anyway, the original poster made me really depressed about the NFC East this year...

[brdawk20]

With the Eagles the big question is Kolb really ready for prime time . I know he looked good in the two starts putting up huge passing numbers but he came out of those games .500 .

Is their rookie for real and do they finally have a good pass rushing duo on the line with Cole ?

Jackson and Maclin are good starters but beyond that are Baskett and Avant ready to step up if need be ?

And LeSean McCoy will have the harsh light of the NFL on his performance as what appears to be the feature back with the unspectacular Bell backing him up . Is he ready ?

All questions long off season .. what do people think ?

Avant's stats last year were 41 receptions for 587 yards and 3 touchdowns. 37 of those were on third down. 32 of Avant's 37 catches on third down resulted in a first down. I have no problem with that out of a number 3 receiver. He already has stepped up on numerous occasions. The Eagle's receivers are definately a strength.

[DefenderoftheStar]

If the Cowboys lost Ware, that would be just as bad, if not worse, as losing Romo sits to pee. Ware is the heart and soul of the defense, his game against the Saints helped give the Cowboys a huge momentum push into the playoffs. If Ware didn't play that game against N.O. then the Saints probably would have won, and the Cowboys might have had another late season collapse.

agreed. Ware has brought more leadership to that defense since the days of Woodson.

[bedlamVR]

If the Cowboys lost Ware, that would be just as bad, if not worse, as losing Romo sits to pee. Ware is the heart and soul of the defense, his game against the Saints helped give the Cowboys a huge momentum push into the playoffs. If Ware didn't play that game against N.O. then the Saints probably would have won, and the Cowboys might have had another late season collapse.

I tend to agree . I think the Boys were a lot more scary last year as a running team as opposed to how they looked with the ball in Romos hands .

If they lost Ware I think that would derail what they wanted to do on the D .

I think if the Redskins or the Giants lost McNabb or Manning for a prolonged period of time they would really struggle but loosing Romo sits to pee for the Cowboys ,,, not so much ...

[JustAfan47]

If the Cowboys lost Ware, that would be just as bad, if not worse, as losing Romo sits to pee. Ware is the heart and soul of the defense, his game against the Saints helped give the Cowboys a huge momentum push into the playoffs. If Ware didn't play that game against N.O. then the Saints probably would have won, and the Cowboys might have had another late season collapse.

I couldn't disagree more...you take Romo sits to pee out of the equation, and you have Jon Kitna steeping into a really good situation. I'm not trying to compare the two, but he's good enough to still get them to the playoffs, maybe more.

There's no telling how the Cowboys would be if they lost Witten or Ware, since neither has missed a game(at least I think that's the case). Those are some big time players, and Ware especially.

If the Giants lost Eli Manning...that, to me, would be a more dire situation. Can't ever imagine Jim Sorgi having to come in and save the day.

Anyway, the original poster made me really depressed about the NFC East this year...

Both of you guys make good points. Now there's no way I'm going to defend my point just for the fact that it's the pukes. I could never see myself defending the pukes on any level...

[VCDefectors]

I thought the Giants losing their safety last year was huge. I still think they have enough pieces to be a contender.

[Area51]

I think the Giants are a good team, but I still don’t think their DL & DL in general, will ever come to close to what they had with Sporano calling the shots. Some DC’s are more valuable than any of the players.

A good example is Gregg "extra G fo’ Genius" Williams. Saints defense suck. Enter Greg Williams. Saints defense comes up with an INT against Peyton Manning, all but ending the Super Bowl. [*BTW, just ask Sean Payton how much he values GW…the guy immediately stepped up & told that cheapskate Tom Benson (Saint Owner) that he will give up a portion of HIS OWN SALARY to pay for GW’s $$$.]

They also lost a Future-HOF DE (and team leader) in Strahan, who I think a lot of people are diminishing his value to that D as well. It was him & Tuck who were the main guys creating chaos at the LOS in their SB run.

As for the Cowboys, They would be screwed w/out Romo sits to pee. Romo sits to pee’s greatest asset (by far) is that he is like a ****ing little worm, almost imposibble to get a hold of. Teams are afraid to blitz, because even if a guy has a clear path to him, Romo sits to pee somehow avoids the sack [hence the Michael Irvin joking about him having some "black" in him…lol].

In the 2008 season, the Cowboys OL was considered one of, if not the best OL in the league. Romo sits to pee misses 2 games, and the Cowboys OL (and offense in general,) looks horrible. They get blown out by The Jim Haslett-lead Rams and barely beat a ****ty team in TB @ home.

[http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2008102602/2008/REG8/buccaneers@cowboys#recap-channels:cat-post-recap-full-story]

[http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2008101907/2008/REG7/cowboys@rams#recap-channels:cat-post-recap-full-story]

As for the Cowboys’ Defense, if I had the option to take only 1 player from that D, it would without hesitation be Jay Ratliff. That guy (prior to being NFL All-Pro this year) has been one of the most underrated players in the league, and IMO, the real driving force behind that D. The guy is way too undersized, weighing something like 295 lbs., plays the NT position, and still is able to collapse the pocket, get to the QB, and hold his own against the run. If they lose him on D, then they’ll truly be exposed, as their secondary already gives up too many big plays, and outside of Ware, their LB corps is good-nothing special- and either a.)getting older (Keith Brooking is one concussion away from having his career finished, Brady James is around 29/30 by now) or b.)still unproven (Spencer, all the backups).

The Eagles, **** them. I think they’re in for a dose of a big time reality check. First, their D loses all it’s leadership with the loss of DC Jim Johnson (RIP) & them being too stingy to pay Brian Dawkins. This year, they lose both McNabb & Westbrook, the two players that kept that offense going for the past 6+ years.

The 'Skins, I honestly don’t know what to expect, as pretty much everything has been shaken up, from the FO, coaching staff, big-time overhaul of team roster, & the scheme changes, both offensive & defensive. Big "?", as Shanahan/Allen have even the local media totally confused and "surprised" by all the moves they have/have not made.

[VCDefectors]

agreed. Ware has brought more leadership to that defense since the days of Woodson.

Actually, I would argue Brooking brought the kind of leadership that had been sorely lacking. Ware inspires his teammates with his play, but the Cowboys really needed someone vocal and intense like Brooking. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, I think the days of Brooking being a 3 down player for a full season are over. Sean Lee and Jason Williams better be ready to fill in or our run defense will be in trouble.