A brief apology to the readers of NFC East Nation for the appearance of the site right now and the disapperance of the images. A misunderstanding with my hosting company has led to this problem, and it is in the process of being resolved.
The first season of NFC East Nation is now in the books, and I'll be taking a break for the summer. I still talk baseball over at the sister site, AL East Nation if you'd like to check in there.
It was quite a year in the NFC East during 2007. Dallas roared to the top behind an explosive offense and won its first division title in ten years. Washington's year was marked by triumph and tragedy, as they first lost to Sean Taylor to a shooting death, then rallied behind his memory to win four straight do-or-die games and make the playoffs.
But ultimately the year will be remembered by what happened in New York, as the Giants took surviving do-or-die fights to a new level. After a first-round playoff win in Tampa Bay that was impressive enough, Tom Coughlin's team had a gauntlet of Dallas, Green Bay & New England to run if they were to win the franchise's third Super Bowl. An interception in the end zone preserved the win in Big D. In freezing temperatures up north, they outplayed the Packers and finally won on an overtime field goal. And then they capped it off with the shocker in the desert, with an extraordinary catch by David Tyree marking a game-winning Super Bowl drive against the Patriots that ended a bid for a perfect season and made New York champs.
It's hard to believe 2008 will match those storylines, but football in the NFC East is always fiery, always passionate and always fun to watch. During the summer, some articles along the side columns will be posted, and then we'll look forward to seeing everyone again in August when it's time to start previewing another year.
Another draft day is over and what was expected to be a quiet weekend in the NFC East became even quieter. Washington and Philadelphia both traded out of the first round, and not until Dallas picked Arkansas running back Felix Jones did an East team have a pick. When a division's top choice is a back who was second string in college, that's about as quiet as it gets on draft day.
But that doesn't mean Jones was a bad choice, and the Cowboys also took Georgia Tech back Tashard Choice in the fourth round. Expecting at least one of them to pan out into a viable #2 back in the NFL is very realistic. Jerry Jones also went for help at corner, picking Mike Jenkins from South Florida in the first round and Orlando Scandrick from Boise State in the sixth. Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Dallas Morning News is already opining against the Felix Jones call, arguing that a better back was Rashard Mendenhall, who was Big Ten MVP at Illinois and ended up with the Steelers.
New York is winning kudos for grabbing highly regarded Miami safety Kenny Phillips at the end of round one. They are *not* winning kudos for the choice of Mario Manningham, a wide receiver out of Michigan in the third round, due to the baggage that comes with him. But Manningham is a potential big-time player and the Giants were right to take him at that spot, in spite of what critics may say.
Washington wanted help at receiver and Michigan State's Devin Thomas was still waiting for them early in the second round after their trade with Atlanta. It was a smart move for the 'Skins to deal down if they wanted Thomas. He's a player whose stock rose primarily on combine work, not production. Whether wanting him to begin with was a smart move is something time will tell, but the team went about getting him the right way.
The Redskins also added tight end Fred Davis from USC and WR Malcolm Kelly from Oklahoma for the passing game. And the guy with the best long-term future is actually punter Durant Brook, who won the Ray Guy Award at Georgia Tech last year and can stabilize a spot that's caused this team a lot of problems. One area of need that was not addressed was the defensive line.
Philadelphia had the most choices of any division team. There was no discernible pattern to their selections (though that should not be taken as a knock), and I think receiver DeSean Jackson out of Cal has a chance to be a solid contributor even if he lacks the size to be a superstar. Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the decision to trade out of the first round shows that the Birds felt the '08 crop offered very little.
Of all the teams in the division, the Redskins have the most immediate needs on defense, as they try and rejuvenate an aging defensive front and find a long-term replacement for Sean Taylor.
Defensive Line
Three defensive lineman are going to go very early, perhaps all in the top five. Chris Long, an end from Virginia and tackle Glenn Dorsey for LSU both have a chance to be #1. Vernon Ghoulston, a DE from Ohio State won't be far behind. Also available in the trenches are tackles Sedrick Ellis from USC and North Carolina's Kentwan Balmer. On the end, Derrick Harvey from Florida is top prospect.
Linebacker
This isn't an elite group, so these names may be around when the NFC East starts picking. Keith Rivers from USC on the outside and Clartis Lofton from Oklahoma on the inside are the top-rated prospects. Also worth a look at ILB is Dan Connor, the latest in the long line of Penn State linebacking prospects, and Jerod Mayo at Tennessee. On the outside, teams will have to look to ACC country, with Eric Henderson (Maryland) and Xavier Adibi (Virginia Tech) on the board.
Secondary
It's the small schools turn to shine when it comes to cornerback. Troy's Leodis McKelvin may be a top ten choice and Dominque Rogers-Cromartie from Tennessee State will soon follow. The third CB listed is South Florida's Mike Jenkins. At the safeties, Kenny Phillips from Miami is the top FS on the board, while DaJuan Morgan (N.C. State) leads up the strong safety spot.
The Cowboys have opted to start strengthening their D through trade, as they completed a deal to get corner Adam "Pacman" Jones from the Titans. Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News says he gives the team a dual threat.
Both The Washington Post & The Philadelphia Inquirer have reports on the increasing draft needs of the Redskins and Eagles respectively. Philly was the one division team to miss the playoffs last year, and Washington faces a troubled future as they move forward without Joe Gibbs and without Sean Taylor. Here's a list of some of the better prospects available on offense. Later this week, I'll list the names to watch for on the defensive side of the ball.
Quarterback
Matt Ryan of Boston College will be gone well before this division starts picking, and there's no evidence any of the teams are trying to move up to get him. Nor is there a pressing need for anyone at quarterback. But the Eagles will need to replace McNabb pretty soon, and Jason Campbell's development in Washington is not yet complete. If either team wants some security, they could take a flier on Chad Henne at Michigan or Joe Flacco out of Delaware. Kentucky's Andre Woodson is an interesting option, and one of the draft-day wild cards could be Brian Brohm out of Louisville. He could either get chosen too high by a desperate team or could start slip-sliding and become a major steal.
Running Back
Here too, Philly is the team with the biggest need, as they need a bruising rusher to take the heat off Brian Westbrook. Darren McFadden (Arkansas) and Rashard Mendenhall (Illinois) are going to go fairly early, although Mendenhall falling to the Eagles at #19 is not out of the question. Other names to watch are Jonathan Stewart from Oregon and Chris Johnson from East Carolina. McFadden's backup at Arkansas, Felix Jones, has been regularly linked to Dallas.
Wide Receiver
The Eagles are actively looking here, and the 'Skins are said to be looking for a physically big wideout. James Hardy of Indiana fits the latter category and will be available when Washington picks. The top prospect on the board is Limas Sweeney of Texas, and Devin Thomas at Michigan State is getting some looks. More renowned collegiate names include DeSean Jackson of Cal, and Early Doucet, from the national champion LSU Tigers.
Offensive Line/Tight End
Center: John Sullivan (Notre Dame), Steve Justin (Wake Forest) and Mike Pollack (Arizona State)
Guard: Brandon Albert (Virginia), John Greco (Toledo), Ray Schuening (Oregon State)
Tackle: Jake Long (Michigan--he will be a top five choice and perhaps first overall), Ryan Clady (Boise State) and Chris Willliams (Vanderbilt). Various mock drafts also show the Redskins picking Pitt's Jeff Otah at this position.
Tight End: John Carlson from Notre Dame is tops on the board, although a good sleeper might be Dustin Keller from Purdue, who played well in a sophisticated passing system in West Lafayette.
If you like to watch the NFL draft on television, you'll wait a while before NFC East teams get going. The Eagles go first of the four division teams and they aren't up until 19th, beginning a run of three NFC East teams (Philly, Washington, Dallas) in four picks. Then the Super Bowl champion Giants have the last pick of the first round at #31 (there is one fewer choice in this year's first-round, with New England's forfeiture due to Spygate).
The Eagles are talking wide receiver, as their Super Bowl year of 2004 was the only time they've had a big-time target for Donovan McNabb. But Don McKee of The Philadelphia Inquirer, while acknowleding this, opines that doing so would be a mistake, given the unpredictability of young receivers.
I generally agree with McKee. I think teams make mistakes in the draft by focusing too much on immediate need, rather then getting the best player available. And this year's WR crop is just not that strong. The top five receivers on the board, all of whom will probably fall to roughly this area of the draft are Limas Sweed (Texas), Devin Thomas (Michigan State), James Hardy (Indiana), Early Doucet (LSU) and DeSean Jackson (Cal). It's not that any of these players aren't worthy choices. Hardy in particular, has star potential. But there is no reason to think any of them hold the key to a Super Bowl run. Teams hurt their long-term future in the draft by focusing on short-term need rather then just getting the best player on the board.
Dallas could liven things for the NFC East if they trade up in an attempt to get Darren McFadden. Rumors on that have been quiet, but running back is still an unsettled position in Big D. Jerry Jones has never been afraid to pull the trigger on a draft-day trade. Todd Archer of The Dallas Morning News chats with the owner on how the shorter amount of time between picks this year might affect him.
The 2008 schedule has been released. The biggest news in the NFC East had already been set a few weeks ago--the Redskins & Giants will open the season with a Thursday night battle on September 4. And in Week 2, the Cowboys & Eagles play on Monday night.
In a curious bit of scheduling, Philly was the only team to get two Monday night appearances, with the other three teams getting one apiece. The Eagles will also host a prime-time NFL Network game on Thanksgiving night, a third contest that appears on its way to becoming a new fixture of turkey day. As for Dallas, they host Seattle in their traditional Thanksgiving feast. For common opponents, each team in the division will play everyone in the NFC West, and the interconference fare features games against all four AFC North opponents. This means a renewal of the Cowboys-Steelers rivalry, the most oft-repeated Super Bowl matchup (1975, 1978, 1995) in history. Dallas goes to the Steel City on December 7. The regular season will wrap up on December 28.
Free agency is still officially going on, but it appears all but finished. As best I can still, Marion Barber is still unsigned in Dallas (using ESPN.com's FA tracker), but given how little news is given this, I have to assume I'm either missing something or that a re-signing is inevitable. The Cowboys retention of Flozell Adams and presumably Barber is probably the most significant move of a quiet free agency year. Philly made the biggest splash in terms of new acquistions with the addition of Asante Sameul to play corner. New York's signing of David Carr to back up Eli Manning qualifies as most intriguing move, and Washington deciding not to sign a single FA from another team is surely the most stunning event in free agency, if not all of human affairs generally.
At the recent league meetings in Florida, Gary Myers of The New York Daily News caught up with the four coaches who fell to the Giants during their January run. He recounts what he heard.
Here's a brief rundown on what's happening in the blogosphere of the NFC East:
Big Blue View snagged an interview with former Giant great Leonard Marshall. Read the Q&A verbatim here.
Darren McFadden isn't the only Arkansas back drawing interest in Dallas for the coming draft. His backup, Felix Jones, also made the list. Jones is a good back. When I was covering the 2006 Capital One Bowl for my college sports blog Big Ten Country, he had a big game and got my vote for game MVP. Blogging The Boys looks at the rumors.
The Redskins have a lot of needs for a playoff team. Hogs Haven examines them.
And Bleeding Green Nation is running a mock draft, trying to get a handle on who the Eagles might be taking.
I'll be taking a brief hiatus for a few weeks. I'm getting ready to get married the first Saturday of April and then going on a honeymoon the week after. Keeping up with both the Big Ten blog and my baseball blog will keep me busy enough during what's been a pretty quiet free-agent year in pro football. I will be back the week of April 14 to start breaking down the draft. In the meantime, everybody enjoy the start of the baseball season and good luck to fans in NFC East cities who might still be pulling for Villanova or Texas in the NCAA Tournament!
With the NCAA Tournament set to tip off, spring training underway and the draft still several weeks out, NFL news is a little sparse in what has been a relatively quiet free-agent season, at least for this division. But here's a brief look at what's going in the East:
The Redskins missed on their bid for wide receiver D. J. Hackett. Jason Reid of The Washington Post writes that this means the 'Skins are done with free agency and are ready to focus on the draft.
Dallas is another team that has shown restraint in this year's market. With two first-round picks awaiting them, Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Dallas Morning News says that's smart thinking.
The Eagles lose a defensive back. William James is departing Philly to head to Buffalo, where he will get the opportunity to start.
New York was able to re-sign Derrick Ward. I was a little surprised at this. Given the depth the Giants had at running back, I thought Ward might go the way of Julius Jones and Michael Turner and be given a big-money deal that his previous team would be foolish to match. But New York got him back in the fold for a reasonable one-year, $1.1 million deal.
The free agency period drags on and still no word on where Marion Barber is going to land. I remain surprised at how little action there seems to be on this front. With Julius Jones having gone to Seattle, why has Dallas not re-inked their starting running back? Articles like this one from Todd Archer of The Dallas Morning News discuss how good it is for Jones to get a fresh start, and make casual reference to how much the 'Boys love Barber. But if you go to ESPN's free-agent tracker, Barber keeps coming up on the list of unsigned players. Contrast that with the fervor the team worked with to get Flozell Adams back in the fold.
This isn't meant as a criticism of the Dallas front office. With the offensive line the Cowboys have, there's a lot of backs who could be plugged in and produce. But teams generally don't act on that logic, which makes the inaction on Barber all the more striking.
The only conclusion I can guess at is that Jerry Jones isn't making any committments because he's serious about trying to work some kind of deal to get Arkansas' Darren McFadden in the draft. I think that would be a mistake if it's the case. Dallas has a good running game, and running back is a very interchangeable positon, especially when you can block up front. The Cowboys can do that. Blogging The Boys says the primary need is cornerback. Better to focus on that, then to spend heavily for a position that they are already strong at.
