Week 4 – Revisiting the NFC East
With the Eagles having a bye week, I think it’s a good time to take a look at how the other teams in the NFC East are doing so far this season.
New York Giants (3-0)
Next opponent: Kansas City
I think the Giants are where most people thought they would be right now. They started with two division games with the Redskins and Cowboys and only won by a combined eight points. After that, they rolled into Week Three shutting out the Bucs 24-0.
Eli Manning has been very good so far throwing for five touchdowns and just one interception with a 104.1 quarterback rating. He’s completing nearly 65% of his passes and has been trying to prove to the league that he’s worth the massive amount of money the Giants threw at him this offseason.
The Giants no longer have a three-headed monster on the ground, but Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshawn are proving they don’t miss Derrick Ward too much. Bradshaw has 201 rushing yards and Jacobs has 196 rushing yards in three games. These are pretty solid numbers that will continue to be placed behind a solid offensive line.
The big question with the Giants’ offenses this offseason was who Manning would throw to. Steve Smith and Mario Manningham have taken a huge step forward for the offense. Both have more than 250 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the first three games.
Despite last week’s shutout against a terrible Tampa Bay team, I think the biggest question mark for this team is defense. There are some key injuries and they showed they are vulnerable to giving up points when they played Dallas.
Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
Next opponent: Denver
This team hasn’t done anything yet this year to impress me (and I’m not just saying that because I hate them). They gave up 21 points to the Bucs, looked decent against the Giants (but couldn’t hang on) and didn’t play well against a Carolina team the Eagles beat in Week 1. Of the teams in the NFC East, Dallas is the only one playing a legitimate team this week, traveling to play the Broncos 3-0 in Denver.
Tony Romo has been the same unstable, showing signs of greatness at times but making the same stupid mistakes he’s made in the past. His quarterback rating is only 85.2 and his touchdown-to-interception ratio is 4:3.
The depth the team has as a running back is what keeps them alive. Marion Barber goes down and Felix Jones completes wonderfully. Jones goes down and Tashard Choice completes nicely. They just have a pool of talented running backs there that makes up for their shaky quarterback.
Roy Williams hasn’t shown he’s a solid replacement for Terrell Owens, but at least you don’t get the attitude. He has only eight catches in three games and has found the end zone only once.
Washington Redskins (1-2)
Next opponent: Tampa Bay
Simply put, this is not a good football team. His only win came in an ugly 9-7 win against the Rams, who are just as bad. After this game they go the next week and lose to the Lions. wow.
Jason Campbell threw for 340 yards against the Lions but couldn’t lead his team to victory. In his other two games, he failed to throw for more than 250 yards. He has thrown just three touchdowns in three games while throwing for two interceptions.
Clinton Portis has been limited to 183 rushing yards in the first three games and has yet to find the end zone. Behind him, the next leading rusher is Campbell with 65 yards.
Their wide receiving core remains lackluster and they lack that true number one. Santana Moss leads the team with 15 receptions for 219 yards and a touchdown.
Overall, the only team I’m worried about the Eagles matching up with is the Giants. Still, NFC East games are always battles and I don’t think any team should be taken lightly. The Eagles are the only team in the division yet to play a division game, but in Week 7 they reel off three in a row.