NFC East Day

Posted: July 20th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 34 Comments »

The NFC East is the best division of the Super Bowl era. The East has won 12 Super Bowls. No other division comes close. There are another 8 SB losses by NFC East teams. That makes 20 appearances in 48 Super Bowls. There have been amazing players and coaches. The rivalries are among the best in sports. The NFC East has been a great division.

But 2014 isn’t looking so good.

I wrote a piece on the NFC East for PE.com.

In studying the other 3 teams, it is hard to see them as very good. I know I can be biased toward the Eagles so I tried to be thorough as I took a look at their other rosters and overall situations. We see surprise teams every year in the NFL. You never want to casually dismiss a team without looking at everything.

I just don’t see the Giants, Skins or Boys as likely playoff teams, barring something major happening.

The Giants have a new offensive coordinator and new offense. That could help, but the O-line still has issues and the front seven might be a major mess.

The Skins have a new head coach and that can be a good or bad thing depending on how he works out. They were just 3-13 a year ago, but really fell apart, losing their final 8 games.

The Boys are the kings of 8-8, having finished with that record for 3 straight years. The defense will now be run by Rod Marinelli, but a coaching change won’t make up for a lack of talent across the board.

No one is saying the Eagles are perfect, but they sure seem to be the dog with the least amount of fleas.

Let’s talk about some rankings.

COACH

1 – Tom Coughlin
2 – Chip Kelly
3 – Jason Garrett
4 – Jay Gruden

OFFENSE

1 – Eagles
2 – Boys
3 – Skins
4 – Giants

DEFENSE

1 – Giants
2 – Eagles
3 – Skins
4 – Boys

Right now I would project the division to go like this:

1 – Eagles
2 – Giants
3 – Boys
4 – Skins

That said, the Skins are the team that makes me the most nervous. RGIII has great potential and they do have some good pieces on offense. The defense has Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo. That should be the foundation for an effective 3-4 defense.

* * * * *

Jimmy Bama has been having some fun with NFC East teams on Twitter.

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34 Comments on “NFC East Day”

  1. 1 iceberg584 said at 5:19 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Curious as to your ranking of Tom Coughlin as the top coach in the division. I realize he’s had a long, successful career, but would *anyone* here trade Chip Kelly to the Giants to bring in Coughlin?

  2. 2 Bert's Bells said at 5:33 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I’d agree with Tommy here. Even though I’d hate to cheer for a Coughlin-coached team with his red-faced tantrums and his 5 minutes early is late routine -he’s had a sustained level of success that the other coaches in the division can’t approach.

    Would I take him over Chip right now in 2014? Nope. But Kelly will need to show his stuff year-in-year-out on the pro level to be ranked about ol’ Pink Cheeks.

  3. 3 A_T_G said at 12:38 AM on July 21st, 2014:

    Well said.

  4. 4 Sconces said at 5:51 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Chip is a better coach, but it’s only fair to have Coughlin #1….if that makes sense.

  5. 5 TommyLawlor said at 6:05 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I wouldn’t trade Chip for TC right now, but felt Tom deserved the top spot since he has won with multiple teams and has a couple of rings.

  6. 6 bsuperfi said at 8:20 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Coughlin should get some serious respect. If Eli’s as bad as we say, something in that team must be very right. Coughlin got his team up for big games, got his team peaking at the right time, and knew how to go on a serious run in the postseason. He won two Super Bowls he “had no business” of winning. If the eagles won the Super Bowl with power running, a crazy front four, and a hot but generally scattershot QB, we’d be worshipping that coach.

    Still, CK4evah!

  7. 7 Nicodemus_09 said at 8:32 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    In a word? F@#K no…. : )

  8. 8 Anders said at 5:37 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I do not understand why Giant fans think their new OC will help Manning so much.

    Eli Manning is not a WCO type QB. He has a terrible comp% through his career and when he was his best, it was in a run and shoot strategy where they had a great run game and he could play action and throw deep to a WR like Plaxico and Nicks who could out jump a CB or a wide open Cruz.

  9. 9 Media Mike said at 5:58 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    And their RB situation is a hot pile of steaming garbage that isn’t helped by poor blocking up front.

  10. 10 Media Mike said at 5:51 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Jimmy totally dominated those loser NYG fans and their fraud QB. The Giants essentially suck at most postions on the football field, yet their fans attempt to wish their team back into the playoffs. I’ll submit that the Giants are more likely to be last in the division than to win it. Their O-line is garbage, they’re moving to a QB system that doesn’t fit their dolt QB, their front 7 is garbage, and their free agent signings like DRC are doomed to fail.

    F the Giants.

  11. 11 makarov123 said at 5:53 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I wouldn’t be surprised either if the Division resulted in Eagles > Skins > Cowboys/Giants

  12. 12 Media Mike said at 5:53 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I actually would see Eagles 10-6, Cowboys 8-8, Skins 5-11, Giants 4-12.

  13. 13 BobSmith77 said at 7:08 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Bad thing – I don’t see the Eagles winning 10+ games this season.

    Good thing – I still see them winning the NFC East at 9-7 or even 8-8.

    Most intrigued by the ‘Skins who have a favorable schedule, lost a ton of close games last year (2-6 in games decided by less 7 pts), a seemingly healthy RGIII, and minimal off-field issues.

  14. 14 Media Mike said at 8:01 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Except RG3 is a bit slow between the ears and they’re going to a west coast system under Gruden that might not be suited to RG3&10’s “strengths.”

  15. 15 anon said at 8:10 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Is he dumb? What makes you say that?

  16. 16 Media Mike said at 8:19 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Did you see how confused he looked last year when his knee left him unable to run and he had to survey the field? Remember how dominant McNabb was in the game where he broke his ankle, stood tall in the pocket, and threw for 4 or 5 TDs? RGKnee has no such abilities.

  17. 17 anon said at 9:40 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I think you’re off base, but i’m not trying to defend RGIII on an eagles blog. But you’re saying that if he performs well this year it’ll be only bc he can run?

  18. 18 Media Mike said at 9:50 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    No, I’m saying that we won’t perform well this year and you won’t have to worry about it because he sucks.

  19. 19 bsuperfi said at 10:03 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    That was so epic. Makes me wish McNabb broke his ankles more often.

  20. 20 Big Al said at 7:38 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I am SUPER TIRED of hearing the Eagles SB trophy jokes, its about time that goes away and we win the big one! Its as bad as the Pens using 1975 against the flyers. Its time to do something to shut people up and I feel Chip can do this. It might not be this year, but if they can take the next step I wouldnt be shocked if it happened next.

  21. 21 Media Mike said at 8:02 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Until that point Giants and Pens fans can keep losing fights.

  22. 22 Big Al said at 8:06 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Giants don’t bug me, surprisingly their fans don’t use that as much as Dallas..Its the only program of the 3 others I respect. then again having Skeletor and a fanboy running the cowboys and redskins, we really have only one consistent rival in the division.

  23. 23 Midnight_Greenville said at 8:15 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I always wonder at what point does the bragging about a SB stop? The Cowboys have won 1 playoff game in 19 years since their last SB The Skins haven’t done much better and haven’t won a SB in over 20 years. Can you really brag that much about something that happened a generation ago? How much different is that than our last championship in ’60? Maybe I’m just bitter, but when some of the the players on your team were in diapers the last time you won a Super Bowl, it seems like time to stop referencing it.

  24. 24 Jernst said at 11:16 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Yea I agree…I doubt he ever makes it especially if he continues to play like he has the last two years. But, watching all those great Eagles teams of the 2000s never catch a break, knowing that some of those players like Dawkins, Trotter, McNabb and Vincent never got to hold that trophy while that nerd Eli has two, playing on teams that could barely make the playoffs eats away at me so damn much, man.

  25. 25 D3FB said at 11:30 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    My rule of thumb is if you weren’t alive, preferably old enough to remember it, please shut up. 15 year old yankees fans who like to claim 27 world series victories are ridiculous. You can’t claim Ruth and DiMaggio’s titles if you can’t even shave. So I’ll let Giants fans talk, but Cowboys fans better be 25+ and Skins fans better be over 30 or I’m going to be annoyed.

  26. 26 Midnight_Greenville said at 8:03 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Sounds like Chris Snee is still banged up and may retire; hurts an already thin OL for the Giants. I still see them as the strongest competition in the Division because they are a well run organization. But, when have such wholesale changes (personnel and coaching) resulted in huge improvement on a team that missed the playoffs the year before? Sure didn’t help the Eagles in their Dream Team year (and they made the playoffs the year before).
    The key to our record will be how we do against the NFC East and the AFC South. We could legitimately win 8 to 10 of those 10 games. We should sweep the Cowboys and could definitely win 3 of 4 against the Skins/Giants. If we go 3-1 against the AFC South (and there is no team in that Division that is clearly superior to us), 11-5 is a reasonable expectation for a final record–would probably be in the running for a first round bye in the playoffs. I know you can never predict how teams will be until you play them, but the schedule isn’t nearly as daunting as some people are making it out to be.

  27. 27 Media Mike said at 8:22 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    If Snee doesn’t play, no Giant starting O-lineman will have ever played a game with the same two players on either side of him. And they’re very weak at LT with Beaty (or a still to be named later) and at RT with understrong and short armed Justine Puke.

  28. 28 Dominik said at 6:26 AM on July 21st, 2014:

    Against the NFC South, it’s even better to have the #1 Schedule compared to the #2, since the Panthers poorly managed their cap and have basically only a rookie most of us didn’t want to see in our team as their legitimate #1 WR, while the Saints invested a ton of money and are in total win now.

  29. 29 Jernst said at 9:36 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    It absolutely kills me that Eli Manning throws that many interceptions during the regular season by routinely throwing ridiculous prayers of passes of his back foot when he’s under pressure, and yet has had two playoff runs, where he’s had a horseshoe inserted directly into his rectum, culminating in Super Bowl wins, in which he utilized the same back footed, close your eyes and pray heaves of the football where it miraculously worked out for him. And, now he’s discussed as a potential hall of fame QB. It’s absolutely disgusting.

  30. 30 Media Mike said at 9:49 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    Don’t worry about the HOF. It’s a VERY tough room these days. His career numbers being that lame will easily trump those two lucky Super Bowls.

  31. 31 ICDogg said at 11:23 PM on July 20th, 2014:

    I dunno… he’ll get in because he’s on the NY team and they won the 2 Super Bowls.

  32. 32 Media Mike said at 5:43 AM on July 21st, 2014:

    Those are reasons to fear a Eli HOF candidacy, but Jim Plunkett isn’t in with two Super Bowls and the writers in that rooms haven’t make a NY based mistake in quite a long time. I have faith in the voting group, as currently constituted, to make the correct judgments. They’ve done great work in keeping Bettis out thus far, so that helps.

  33. 33 Ben said at 12:26 AM on July 21st, 2014:

    That was an awesome article Tommy. Well done sir.
    Jimmys’ Eli Manning tweet was hillarious.
    I heard the NFL is considering changing the name to ELI-CEPTIONS.

  34. 34 Dominik said at 6:42 AM on July 21st, 2014:

    Nice article, Tommy. I love those NFC East round ups (and dare I say I miss the Blogging the Beast days ;)). And I’m with you on those lists, except that there is a huge, huge margin between Chip and Garrett. I know why you put Gruden at #4, he has to show what he can do, but Garrett just isn’t a good HC, imho.

    I never liked Coughlin, I wouldn’t trade him for Chip, but I get why you ranked him as #1. I would bet though, we’ll put Chip at #1 next year.