4. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles went from the second best team in the division to the worst with one huge trade during the off-season. Everyone knows who it is, their franchise quarterback, Donovan McNabb. Last season football commentators said either McNabb or Coach Andy Reid will probably be let go by the Eagles in 2010 if they did not win the Super Bowl in the 2009 season. No one believed that it would actually happen, but here we are now in 2010 and McNabb is now playing for the Washington Redskins. Out of all teams, why would the Eagles trade McNabb to a division rival? The Eagles play the Redskins twice every year, imagine if the Redskins win both games!
The Eagles were tired of having McNabb get them so close to winning it all and then failing. I can understand why the Eagles are frustrated, but Kevin Kolb, the Eagles new starting quarterback is not anything close to McNabb. There is also a chance of Michael Vick becoming the Eagles starting quarterback. I think Vick will give the Eagles a better chance at making the playoffs, but I guess the Eagles want to develop Kolb to be their next franchise quarterback. If Kolb struggles early the Eagles might give the ball to Vick, but either way I do not think they will be any better than last place in the tough NFC East. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin can only help the team in so many ways. The two speedy young receivers will make the Eagles a middle-of-the-line team instead of one of the worst teams. This will also help the new starting running back, LeSean McCoy find some holes. McCoy is a promising new look as the teams running back after Brian Westbrook held that position for the last eight years. This is the Eagles only improvement in my eyes since Westbrook became injury prone over the last three seasons. I think the Eagles will be 7-9 this season, which would be good for third in most divisions, but in the NFC East they are dead last.

3. Washington Redskins: The Redskins aren’t playing around this season. They have a new head coach in Mike Shanahan, a new starting quarterback in Donovan McNabb, two new running backs to go with the already great Clinton Portis in Willie Parker and Larry Johnson. The Redskins were the joke of the NFL last season and they are making sure this season that it won’t happen again. The only position the Redskins didn’t make improvements in and they should have is the wide receiver position. The only somewhat reliable receiver they have is Santana Moss. Do not forget about tight end Chris Cooley, he will probably be McNabb’s main target throughout the season. McNabb made things work on the Eagles for years without big name receivers so the Redskins do not have to worry too much.
I think this team is going to be a run oriented team anyways. Shanahan is known for having the best running backs when he was with the Broncos. On top of that Shanahan coached Portis for a few years on the Broncos before he was traded to the Redskins. I expect the Redskins to spread the ball out to all three running backs because Portis and Parker are known to get injured, maybe with a lesser load they will all be fresh and thrive. Saying all of this I think the Redskins still need another season to become a playoff team. I think they will be 8-8 this season.

2. New York Giants: After a disappointing season last year that was riddled with injuries, the Giants are looking to bounce back to a playoff team once again. After winning their first five games in 2009, the Giants looked to be one of the best teams in football. Then they went on to lose four games in a row going into their bye week. The biggest disappointment, other than all of the injuries was Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs is the strongest running back in the NFL right now and he used to plow through lineman like they were nothing. Last year Jacobs almost looked timid running the ball. Jacobs never got his legs under him and he would be easily stopped after what seemed to be two yard gains every time he ran. This year Ahmad Bradshaw is the premier back. Bradshaw is the complete opposite from Jacobs. Bradshaw avoids contact and slinks around the defense like he’s covered in baby oil. The Giants didn’t make many changes this season. They are hoping that everyone stays healthy this season and they all do they should make a wild card berth. Eli Manning is now considered one of the better quarterbacks in the league and with a young wide receiver corp. that can stretch the field, Manning will be passing like crazy once again this season. The Giants are no longer a run oriented team like they have been known to be over the last 15 years. Unless Jacobs returns to his former self, I do not see Bradshaw being too successful as the premier back. The key to the Giants success will be to stay healthy because they have all the pieces to be a pretty good team this season. I see the Giants going 10-6.

1. Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys should repeat as division winners this season. After going 11-5 last season, the Cowboys will probably be around that same record this season. With the emergence of Miles Austin, the Cowboys are a dangerous team. Tony Romo to Miles Austin is what you would hear at least eight times a game last season when you watched a Cowboys games. Austin’s speed is unstoppable, no one can catch up to him. Because of Austin’s speed, he will probably be double covered and sometimes tripe covered all game. This will help all of the other aspects of the Cowboys offense, especially Jasn Witten, he should find a lot of open space down the middle of the field. Then of course there’s the Cowboys thee-headed monster in Marion Barber, Tashard Choice, and Felix Jones at running back. All three of these guys could be starters on other teams.
The Cowboys will need their offense to carry the load this season because their defense is aging and getting slower. The Cowboys have one of the top offenses in the league and it should make them division winners for their second year in a row. The Cowboys will probably finish the season at 11-5. (nfl.com)

By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

It looks like Brian Westbrook is close to becoming a Denver Bronco. He recently worked out the Redskins, but with Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, and Willie Parker under contract, Washington hardly has room for Westbrook’s services. According to various sources, it looks like Westbrook will be headed to Denver, where Tim Tebow can pitch the ball to him. Westbrook would join former teammates Correll Buckhalter and Brian Dawkins. Although he has had a great career, Westbrook’s best days are clearly behind him. Between injuries and competing for the toughest position in football, Westbrook could be looking for a completely new line of work in a few years.

In Westbrook’s old division, New York Giants tight end Kevin Boss will have surgery on his ankle. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, but should be back in time for the beginning of training camp. After getting knocked around a lot this past season, Boss could use the time off.

Sticking to the NFC East, Patrick Crayton skipped the OTA’s for the second straight weeks. The disgruntled Dallas Cowboys wide receiver has made it known for the past few weeks that he wants to be traded. With the team already having Miles Austin, Roy Williams, and Dez Bryant on the roster, Crayton will be the #4 receiver at best. For a player who has never been able to back up his trash talking, it is not surprising that no teams are showing serious interest at this time.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

“One thing we know how to do in New York and New Jersey is deal with snow,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said.

Mark Sanchez, Curtis Martin and Nick Mangold joined Johnson for the Jets, with Eli Manning and Ottis Anderson standing by Giants owners Steve Tisch and John Mara.

Click here to read the full article – By Jane McManus of ESPNNewYork.com

AFC
Jets @ Chargers 1/17 4:40pm
Ravens @ Colts 1/16 8:15pm

NFC
Cowboys @ Vikings 1/17 1pm
Cardinals @ Saints 1/16 4:30pm

My Predictions:
AFC
Jets 21 Chargers 17
Colts 28 Ravens 20

NFC
Cowboys 28 Vikings 17
Saints 27 Cardinals 10

Matt Moore and the Carolina Panthers (7-8) turned the Giants’ 273rd and final game in the 34-year-old stadium into one of their ugliest moments in their franchise history with a 41-9 rout on Sunday.

Coupled with Green Bay’s win over Seattle and Dallas’ victory over Washington on Sunday night, the loss eliminated the Giants (8-7) from playoff contention for the first time in five years, something totally unexpected after a 5-0 start.

New York will close out the season next Sunday at Minnesota.

“It’s tough,” Tuck said after the Giants (8-7) lost for the seventh time in 10 games. “Like you said, we had everything at stake playing a team that was only playing for pride, and I guess pride won today. We should have been playing with a little pride ourselves.”

The Giants knew that they probably needed to win their final two games and hope that either Green Bay or Dallas lost one of their remaining two to get to the postseason.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

“It’s not the end of the world. We’re not going to panic,” Mathias Kiwanuka said. “We are professional athletes. We are here to do a job. We’re just going to get it done. The bottom line is we got seven more games left and seven chances to turn it around. It’s not over.”


Click here to read the full article – By Gary Myers of NY Daily News

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