2011 NFL Outlook: The East Divisions
natehague
Courtesy of Ed YourdonThis is the final installment of the 2011 NFL Divisional Breakdown as we go over the AFC and NFC East. We’ve already seen the season kickoff between Green Bay and New Orleans, but in just a number of hours we’ll see the rest of the league show us what it’s got. A key matchup in week one is between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets Sunday night on the 10th anniversary of 9-11. Can’t wait, but that’s neither here nor there. Let’s get ready for some football by breaking down these divisions. You can listen to my podcast for the audio version of the picks.
New England Patriots (13-3): Tom Brady is the reigning league MVP and he’s got a good shot at the award in 2011. He’s got a new target in Chad Eight-five Johnson who averaged more than 14 yards per catch in his 10 years with the Bengals. He’s not getting any younger but playing with Brady should add gasoline to the tank. The move to bring in Albert Haynesworth is still a puzzling one, but Bill Belichick is switching from the 3-4 defense and he seems to think Haynesworth is a good fit. Don’t be surprised if Brady gets his fourth ring.
New York Jets (12-4): Mark Sanchez hopes to cement himself as one of the best young quarterbacks and he’ll look to receivers Santonio Holmes who re-signed and new Jets Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason. Burress may have rust to shake off since he’s been in the slammer for a couple years or so and Mason is currently 34 years old. Bringing in the two wideouts will help make head coach Rex Ryan look like a genius or a moron. For the third straight year, Ryan has guaranteed the Super Bowl and hasn’t delivered. If he falls short this year, it will be hard to take him seriously.
Miami Dolphins (4-12): It’s pretty obvious the organization doesn’t want head coach Tony Sparano and quarterback Chad Henne around anymore. During training camp, fans were chanting Kyle Orton’s name but there was no deal to bring Orton’s talents to South Beach. The club signed Reggie Bush but is he an every-down back? If it’s up to defenses to win championships, this team’s in trouble.
Buffalo Bills (3-13): Let’s start with the defense. Linebackers Shawne Merriman and Nick Barnett will be a hit or miss, especially Merriman with his off-the-field issues. Lining up behind center on the other side of the ball is Ryan Fitzgerald who may be up and coming, but not with the weapons (or lack thereof) currently on the team. It’s still weird to think of Chan Gailey being the head coach. Hopefully it works out better for him this time.
NFC East:
Philadelphia Eagles (12-4): To say there’s been a ton of hype around this team would be an understatement. After Vince Young called the Eagles the Dream Team, he reminds us of the World Wide leader that team name went from with the 1992 basketball dream team to the winless Miami Heat of 2011. There are so many things wrong with that, but they do have a ton of talent nonetheless. Bringing in Nnamdi Asomugha was a huge steal, as he was the biggest free-agent in the offseason, and Jason Babin will help stop the run. Adding Young as backup will serve as a major insurance policy.
Dallas Cowboys (8-8): On paper, there’s no reason this team should win less than 10 games, but there are always other factors. The Cowboys were plagued by injuries last year and they don’t have a lot of depth this year. Tony Romo must stay healthy. The two biggest concerns are the offensive line and the secondary. Jason Garrett is entering his first full year as head coach and his number one priority was to add youth and beef up the line. The team used its number one draft pick on USC offensive lineman Tryon Smith and released Marc Colombo, Leonard Davis and others. Marion Barber, Roy Williams and Sam Hurd are all in Chicago now so hopefully the other right pieces are in place. Rob Ryan takes over as D-Coordinator and says he’s confident in the personnel.
New York Giants (8-8): The G-Men are already plagued by injuries. Justin Tuck is hurt and Osi Umenyiora looks like he might be done for the year. Steve Smith is headed to Philly and Kevin Boss to Oakland. That leaves Eli Manning with less options but he’ll be looking to Travis Beckum to replace Boss and Ramses Barden to replace Smith. The Giants will also look to establish the run with help from Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. If the Cowboys and Giants each finish at 8-8, only the Eagles make the postseason.
Washington Redskins (3-13): On paper, this team looks like one that could possibly go winless, but that’s not going to happen. John Beck and Rex Grossman are battling for the starting quarterback position and Mike Shanahan will have to choose the less of the two terrible. Whoever wins the position will have targets like Santana Moss and Jabar Gaffney and will have Clinton Portis. That’s about all they’ve got going for them, and that might even be a stretch. This team has a ton of issues and the season might just be one you could call a rebuilding year.
Reader Comments (2)
Go Eagles. They are the dream team at least until they lose one. I was ready to throw the whole season after the Rams scored on the first play. Fly Eagles Fly on the road to victory.
Patriots look nasty last night. I think Tom Brady really has something to prove this year and with a couple solid additions to offense, he seems primed for a similar year to his record-breaking one in 2007.
The Eagles are solid, but after that first game, I have my concerns. It would have been a completely different game if Jackson stayed healthy. The linebackers are still too weak and small. Jimmie Johnson was the only coordinator to ever make this work, so the team and his replacements need to move on to a new design. Also, if Michael Vick continues to get hit as hard and as much as he did, and if he has to run that much every game, he's going to get hurt. There's a reason QBs like Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees, etc. rarely get hurt or only endure minor injuries- it's because they stay in the pocket and they have outstanding olines they have confidence in.
If you look at the careers of Cunningham, McNabb, and now Vick, they all had incredible talent, but they were or still are plagued by injuries, often endured on the run. Their bodies can only handle so much. If Vick keeps this up, he'll be out by Week 7, and Young will have a chance to show what kind of Dream Team we really are.