NFC East division breakdown...

It's never to early to talk football and since I can't stand baseball I will be breaking down each division in the NFL on days that there are no major stories. My first breakdown will start with the NFC East, sorry but only one team will make the playoffs from this division...

New York Giants: The Giants have a huge hole at wide receiver since they let go of Plaxico Burress, they have talented young guys but none of them stepped up after Burress' suspension or so far in the offseason. New York drafted Hakeem Nicks from North Carolina but they shouldn't expect a rookie to be an immediate game changer. The Giants running game behind the bruiser Brandon Jacobs will do its job early on keeping the defense off of Eli Manning but the lack of experience and the fact that Manning is not that good of a QB will be too much at the end of the season. In order for the Giants to do anything this season they need the young wide receivers to step up or else it will be a long season for Manning. The Giants pass rush should get a huge benefit from Osi Umenyiora returning from a season ending knee injury last year. They have probably the best pass rushing front line in the league which will be a big factor because they are inexperienced on the back end of the defense. I feel the Giants will take a step back with Manning not having his security blanket in Burress being gone and they will have a tougher schedule than last year. Key games: Week 2 at Dallas, Week 6 at New Orleans, and then they have a stretch of games which include home games against the Cardinals Week 7, San Diego in Week 9, and Atlanta in Week 11, with a road game at Philadelphia in Week 8, and an even tougher stretch to end the season with games against Dallas, at Washington, Carolina, and Minnesota. The Giants running game and defense will keep them in games but their lack of wide receiver depth will ultimately be their downfall. 2009 overall record: 10-6

Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles have finally committed themselves to Donovan McNabb which is a very good thing for the franchise. When he is healthy he is a top 5 QB in the league. Philadelphia has DeSean Jackson in his sophomore season after he put up big numbers in his rookie season. They drafted Jeremy Macklin out of Missouri who should help them offensively but I'm not sure how good he will be since he is basically a taller version of Jackson. They need a veteran to help the young wide outs but it looks like they won't get that help unless injuries dictate that they do so. They upgraded their offensive line by trading for Jason Peters from Buffalo basically solidifying their only weak spot on the o-line. To help keep Brian Westbrook healthy they drafted Sean McCoy from Pittsburgh who will be a nice compliment to the all everything Westbrook. The Eagles defense took a hit by letting go of Brian Dawkins who has been the heart and soul of their defense but he was getting old. Philadelphia has probably the best cover corners in the league in Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel but it may not be enough for them with their weak linebacking corps. Their defensive front will be the big factor, if they can rush the passer and keep the offensive lineman off the linebackers then this defense could be one of the best in the league. Key Games: Week 1 @ Carolina, Week 2 New Orleans, and then a stretch that consists of home games against the Giants(Week 8) and Cowboys(Week 9), road games against the Chargers(Week 10), Bears(Week 11), Falcons (Week 13), Giants (Week 14), and they end the season at Dallas. 2009 overall record: 11-5, Division winner, #3 seed

Dallas Cowboys: The biggest move the Cowboys made was finally releasing Terrell Owens, he was a cancer in the locker room whether he purposely brought the attention on himself or not. The departure of Owens leaves a huge gap at the wide receiver spot for Dallas, after Roy Williams the Cowboys have no one to step up and be a legitimate #2, Miles Austin and Patrick Crayton haven't shown enough to really help out Tony Romo. It's not all bad for Dallas because they do have one of the best tight ends in the NFL in Jason Witten so Romo has a safety valve to go to when Williams can't get open. The Cowboys have a solid running game with Marion Barber and Felix Jones which should help keep the heat off of Romo. The Boys return their offensive line which has been one of the top units in the NFL. On the defensive side Dallas got rid of the other Roy Williams which is good because he is a defensive liability. The linebackers got better with the addition of Keith Brooking to go along side the sack master DeMarcus Ware. Dallas has some of the most talented young cornerbacks in the league but they have a hole at the safety position opposite Ken Hamlin. Key games: Home games against the Giants(Week 2), Panthers(Week 3),Falcons(Week 6), and the Chargers in Week 14. Road games against the Eagles(Week 8), Packers(Week 9), Giants(Week 12), Saints (Week 15), and Washington in Week 16. The Cowboys will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year because they don't have enough offensively to get it done. 2009 overall record: 7-9

Washington Redskins: This team is the biggest wild-card in the division. They have improved on defense by signing Albert Haynesworth and drafting DE Brian Orakpo to replace the departed Jason Taylor. The Skins secondary should be improved with more experience but DeAngelo Hall is the most overrated CB in NFL history. The d-line will hopefully keep their undersized linebacking corp. free to be able to do some damage and make some plays. The offense will be the wild card for this team, if Jason Campbell can return to his form from early last season then they could be dangerous. The other question for the offense is the wide receiver spots behind Santana Moss. Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly are in their second year but they were completely unproductive in their rookie season and Antwaan Randle El has not lived up to the hype he earned in Pittsburgh. Chris Cooley will be back and as long as he is healthy he will be a bright spot in their offense. The other spot the Skins don't have to worry about is the running back spot with the always consist Clinton Portis being in the backfield. Washington has some holes to fill on the offensive line spot with them releasing Jon Jansen but that is the only glaring hole for them. If the Redskins can get hot they have an easy schedule and could surprise some teams. Key Games: Home games against the Eagles(Week 7), Saints(Week 13), Giants (Week 14), and Dallas in Week 15. Road Games against the Giants (Week 1), Panthers(Week 5), Falcons(Week 9), Cowboys(Week 11), Eagles(Week 12), and the Chargers in the last week of the regular season. 2009 overall record: 9-7