2015 NFL Predictions: NFC East
This is part of an ongoing 8-part series predicting the 2015 NFL season.
Making these predictions are a headache. It’s almost futile to say who is “good” and who is “bad” at this point in the season, but I will give it a reasonable shot.
NFC East Prediction
- Cowboys*
- Eagles
- Giants
- Redskins
I bombed on this one last year. The Eagles barely missed the playoffs despite going 10-6. So what does head coach Chip Kelly do? Trades away his starting QB and RB, let’s his top WR go, and says goodbye to a number of other franchise players. He’s going to look like a complete genius, or the court jester should the number of players he brought in live up to their previous reputation for missing boatloads of games.
Among them are QB Sam Bradford, who has barely played in the NFL for the last 2 seasons… still, I think the Eagles have more talent than the Giants or the Redskins. But I’m not sure they’re a playoff team unless they can beat Dallas, due to the depth of other NFC divisions.
The Giants used to be in the same vein as the Steelers or Packers, when it came to reloading their teams. As long as Eli Manning is under center, they should still be competitive, but they are not even a shell of the team that upset an unbeaten Patriots team in the Super Bowl years ago. Odell Beckham Jr. will continue to surge ahead and the return of Victor Cruz opposite him, should further bolster the offense. The defense will be their crux, as it will be for the Washington Redskins, who continue to play musical chairs at quarterback for one reason or another. They could be the most mismanaged team in the NFL, especially if the Cleveland Browns continue to win more games than they do…
Considering what Chip Kelly did in Philly, it’s almost crazy for me to think the Dallas Cowboys gambled the most in the offseason. Drafting and signing troubled players Randy Gregory and La’el Collins could put them into Super Bowl contention if the bet pays off.
A similar chance was taken in letting Demarco Murray leave, replacing him with oft-injured Darren McFadden. The thought is that their offensive line is good enough to put anyone back there. I’m on board, but if the attempt fails, this team goes down in a hurry: any time Tony Romo has around 40 passing attempts, the Cowboys lose.
So even a controversial Dez Bryant catch/no-catch is going to matter in that case. However, I think the Cowboys have enough on display to think they could make a run to the NFC title game.
