Our NFL Preview and Predictions manacle zeroes in on the NFC East now, with a familiar cast of teams, if not so familiar a cast of characters.
Key = Z – Home Field Advantage, Y – Division Champion, X – Wild Card
O/U wins: 9.5
My Prediction: 12-4
It’s a lot to ask of the Cowboys to go 13-3 again, even with all the talent they have on offense. Still, it’s possible, but I’m not ready to call that yet. As competitive as the NFC will be this season, 12-4 (well, the right kind of 12-4) should be good enough to win home field advantage.
First, we need to talk about Ezekiel Elliott. I’ve made it clear that I don’t think he’s guilty of jack and/or shit. The cops and district attorney in Ohio agree with me, as does Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and anyone who has actually seen the court documents and actual texts sent by his accuser telling her friend to lie and claim Elliott assaulted her. Roger Goodell disagrees and if there’s one thing we should always count on is that Goodell will be on the wrong side of pretty much every issue. Elliott’s arbitration failed and now he’s taking the NFL to court to void his six game suspension. By some rule shenanigans, he’ll get to play Week One and my guess is the court will rule he’ll get to play all season and not miss a game like Tom Brady did after the first DeflateGate ruling.
It seems ridiculous to me that any of this would stand up in court, so not only do I think Elliott will (and should) play every game this year, this suspension will be completely vacated. But what if it isn’t? Well, there’s a reason Dallas kept Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris on the roster this year and No. 4 running back Rod Smith (Jaylon’s brother) ran over everybody in the preseason. They’ll all still be behind the best offensive line in the NFL so while Zeke’s fantasy football owners might be hurting, the Cowboys will be fine.
The key to this whole season comes down to quarterback Dak Prescott and his continued maturity into an NFL quarterback. It’s no secret (and I made sure of that), Prescott was my top rated QB coming out of college in the 2016 draft and it wasn’t close. He’s proved me right on that over and over and doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat in the preseason.
Working against the Cowboys is all the losses on defense, especially in the defensive backfield. Dallas was purged in free agency of all their depth and some guys who started plenty of games in 2016. Worse than that, suspensions have hit their pass rush hard. The offense will have to put up plenty of points in the first month of the season and luckily for Dallas, they absolutely can.
O/U wins: 9.0
My Prediction: 9-7
For a team that felt it needed to keep its highly touted offensive coordinator as its head coach, the Giants had a pretty shitty offense last season. In fact, they were ranked No. 26 in points scored and were one of the worst teams in the league on third downs.
As long as Eli Manning is around (and that’s maybe three-four more years, tops), this team will be able to compete with anyone. They’ve upgraded their offense with Brandon Marshall and rookie tight end Evan Engram, but still have the same anemic running game and an offensive line that can’t consistently get a push downfield.
The defense was the strength of last year’s unit and the only reason they didn’t finish 9-7 in 2016. Two wins over the Cowboys was the difference in that record. I don’t see New York having the same luck or success this season.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
O/U wins: 8.0
My Prediction: 8-8
The Eagles got out of the game strong last season with a 4-2 start, but wilted down the stretch to a 7-9 finish. This division is just too tough for a young Philadelphia team to get over the hump this season, even with the upgrades they made to their wide receiver corps and running back unit.
Doug Pederson proved he was the right man to run the show and I expect both sides of the ball to be improved this season, even if it does only show up with one extra win on the scoresheet. In this case, I think the oddsmakers are right on the money.
Last year’s Eagles were in the top half of the league on defense, finishing No. 12 in points allowed. They bring back a lot of the same crew, with Timmy Jernigan replacing Bennie Logan at defensive tackle. Drafting Derek Barnett was huge and there’s no way he’ll stay on the bench very long. This is a team on the rise. The problem is, there are so many other teams rising just a little faster.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
O/U wins: 7.5
My Prediction: 6-10
There’s a disaster brewing in Washington and it’s about to blow up all over Kurt Cousins and head coach Jay Gruden. A new offensive coordinator, Matt Cavanaugh, is a blow to Cousin’s long term prospects with the team. The Redskins didn’t help by letting all of his top wide receivers escape town in free agency.
Replacing Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson is Terrelle Pryor Sr. and Josh Doctson. Only Jamison Crowder remains from last year’s unit and expect him to get plenty of looks from Cousins as he fights for his life behind a mediocre offensive line. Jordan Reed remains one of the best offensive weapons in the game when he’s healthy. He’s not been healthy much and even spent most of this training camp on the PUP list.
Washington is deep at running back, with Rob Kelly slated as the starter for now and likely just holding the spot for Samaje Perine eventually.
On defense, the Redskins added a potential rookie of the year candidate in Jonathan Allen and should be able to compete with most teams with a solid pass rush. Last year this unit was No. 19 in the league in points allowed and No. 28 in yards allowed. They’ll need a lot more production than that to get a winning record in 2017.
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