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Gosselin: Why I like the Giants to win the NFC East, and why the Cowboys aren't second
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There’s still a draft, OTAs, mini-camp, training camp and more than four months before the Dallas Cowboys’ 2014 regular season gets underway, but it’s never too early to have a little fun. The NFL schedule was released Wednesday night and the Cowboys have plenty of intriguing matchups. So, how will they do? SportsDay’s Jon Machota gives you his way too early projection:
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Rick GosselinThe Dallas Morning Newsrgosselin@dallasnews.com
Published: 20 June 2014 08:44 PM
Updated: 20 June 2014 08:50 PM
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<!--set group's style class and style id to the wrapper of main contents-->The NFC East shut it down this week.
The Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Redskins all conducted their final minicamps, ending a tumultuous offseason that started with free agency, careened through the draft and finished on the field with the offseason programs.
Once the dominant force of the pre-salary cap NFL with six Super Bowls in a span of eight seasons (1986-93), the NFC East has become an afterthought of the limited-spending era. The last four division champions have claimed their automatic playoff berths with 10 wins or fewer, and this division hasn’t punched a wild-card ticket since 2009.
So change has been in the air in the NFC East this offseason. Big changes. DeMarcus Ware is no longer with the Cowboys, Justin Tuck no longer with the Giants, DeSean Jackson gone from the Eagles and Mike Shanahan out with the Redskins.
Much needed to be fixed in this division. The Cowboys fielded the worst defense in the NFL in 2013 and Eagles weren’t much better at 29th. The Giants had the worst ball security in the NFL last season with 44 turnovers, and the pass rushes of all four teams were mediocre at best.
So the division is wide open. But it’s been wide open for some time now. The East has had three different champions over the last three seasons. The last time anyone repeated in the East was 2003-04.
Based on all that I’ve seen this offseason — the coach shuffling, roster pruning, free-agent spending and drafting — the team I like in the NFC East is the Giants.
First off, New York knows how to win. The Giants have the same head coach and quarterback in place from a team that has won two Super Bowls in the last seven seasons — the only Super Bowls the NFC East has won in the last 18 seasons.
Not only has Eli Manning won two Super Bowls, he’s been the MVP of both of them. He has made the biggest plays in the biggest games of his life. The jury is still out on the other three quarterbacks in the division.
The Giants lost more games by starters due to injury (91) than any team in the NFL last season but still finished 7-9. This despite an 0-6 start. The Giants went 7-3 the rest of the way. Cincinnati, Denver, Indianapolis, New England and Philadelphia also closed the season 7-3 with much healthier rosters on the way to division titles.
Good health should allow the Giants to be more competitive in 2014. And I don’t see this team waiting until October for its first win like a year ago — not with games against Detroit (7-9 in 2013), Houston (2-14) and Washington (3-13) this September.
I also liked the aggressive approach the Giants took in free agency, spending $18.6 million in signing bonuses alone to sign 14 free agents. Thirteen of them are still in their 20s.
The Giants signed two cornerbacks who started in the Super Bowl, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for the Broncos and Walter Thurmond for the Seahawks. They were among five players signed by the Giants off the two Super Bowl teams.
New York needed to fix its offense in general and the offensive line in particular. Manning was harassed into 39 sacks and 27 interceptions last season.
The Giants ran through three centers a year ago because of injuries. They addressed that position by signing J.D. Walton in free agency and drafting Weston Richburg out of Colorado State in the second round. Walton, 27, is a veteran of 36 starts with the Broncos.
New York also signed left tackle Charles Brown away from New Orleans and guards John Jerry away from Miami and Geoff Schwartz from Kansas City. All started a year ago, and both the Saints and Chiefs were playoff teams.
The Giants replaced Kevin Gilbride as offensive coordinator with Ben McAdoo, who had been the quarterback coach of the Green Bay Packers. McAdoo is implementing some West Coast themes into the offense designed to get the ball out of Manning’s hand quicker. That should reduce both his sacks and turnovers.
Erratic Hakeem Nicks left in free agency and the Giants used the 12 overall pick of the 2014 draft to replace him with LSU wideout Odell Beckham. And signing Rashad Jennings away from the Raiders in free agency allows the Giants to stack three players at tailback who have been NFL starters (also David Wilson and Peyton Hillis).
The other reason I like the Giants is that since winning their first division title under Coughlin in 2005, they have won the East every third year since then. They won in 2008 and 2011, putting them on track to win again in 2014.
The Giants are a franchise that doesn’t stay down for long.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges.
Gosselin: Why I like the Giants to win the NFC East, and why the Cowboys aren't second
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Staff/Wire photos
There’s still a draft, OTAs, mini-camp, training camp and more than four months before the Dallas Cowboys’ 2014 regular season gets underway, but it’s never too early to have a little fun. The NFL schedule was released Wednesday night and the Cowboys have plenty of intriguing matchups. So, how will they do? SportsDay’s Jon Machota gives you his way too early projection:
Rick Gosselin<iframe style="width: 167px; height: 20px;" id="twitter-widget-0" class="twitter-follow-button twitter-follow-button" title="Twitter Follow Button" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.1403226798.html#_=1403565886988&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&screen_name=RickGosselinDMN&show_count=false&show_screen_name=true&size=m" frameBorder="0" allowTransparency="true" scrolling="no" data-twttr-rendered="true"></iframe>
Rick GosselinThe Dallas Morning Newsrgosselin@dallasnews.com
Published: 20 June 2014 08:44 PM
Updated: 20 June 2014 08:50 PM
Related
<!--read individual item style class and style id-->
<!--set group's style class and style id to the wrapper of main contents-->The NFC East shut it down this week.
The Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Redskins all conducted their final minicamps, ending a tumultuous offseason that started with free agency, careened through the draft and finished on the field with the offseason programs.
Once the dominant force of the pre-salary cap NFL with six Super Bowls in a span of eight seasons (1986-93), the NFC East has become an afterthought of the limited-spending era. The last four division champions have claimed their automatic playoff berths with 10 wins or fewer, and this division hasn’t punched a wild-card ticket since 2009.
So change has been in the air in the NFC East this offseason. Big changes. DeMarcus Ware is no longer with the Cowboys, Justin Tuck no longer with the Giants, DeSean Jackson gone from the Eagles and Mike Shanahan out with the Redskins.
Much needed to be fixed in this division. The Cowboys fielded the worst defense in the NFL in 2013 and Eagles weren’t much better at 29th. The Giants had the worst ball security in the NFL last season with 44 turnovers, and the pass rushes of all four teams were mediocre at best.
So the division is wide open. But it’s been wide open for some time now. The East has had three different champions over the last three seasons. The last time anyone repeated in the East was 2003-04.
Based on all that I’ve seen this offseason — the coach shuffling, roster pruning, free-agent spending and drafting — the team I like in the NFC East is the Giants.
First off, New York knows how to win. The Giants have the same head coach and quarterback in place from a team that has won two Super Bowls in the last seven seasons — the only Super Bowls the NFC East has won in the last 18 seasons.
Not only has Eli Manning won two Super Bowls, he’s been the MVP of both of them. He has made the biggest plays in the biggest games of his life. The jury is still out on the other three quarterbacks in the division.
The Giants lost more games by starters due to injury (91) than any team in the NFL last season but still finished 7-9. This despite an 0-6 start. The Giants went 7-3 the rest of the way. Cincinnati, Denver, Indianapolis, New England and Philadelphia also closed the season 7-3 with much healthier rosters on the way to division titles.
Good health should allow the Giants to be more competitive in 2014. And I don’t see this team waiting until October for its first win like a year ago — not with games against Detroit (7-9 in 2013), Houston (2-14) and Washington (3-13) this September.
I also liked the aggressive approach the Giants took in free agency, spending $18.6 million in signing bonuses alone to sign 14 free agents. Thirteen of them are still in their 20s.
The Giants signed two cornerbacks who started in the Super Bowl, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for the Broncos and Walter Thurmond for the Seahawks. They were among five players signed by the Giants off the two Super Bowl teams.
New York needed to fix its offense in general and the offensive line in particular. Manning was harassed into 39 sacks and 27 interceptions last season.
The Giants ran through three centers a year ago because of injuries. They addressed that position by signing J.D. Walton in free agency and drafting Weston Richburg out of Colorado State in the second round. Walton, 27, is a veteran of 36 starts with the Broncos.
New York also signed left tackle Charles Brown away from New Orleans and guards John Jerry away from Miami and Geoff Schwartz from Kansas City. All started a year ago, and both the Saints and Chiefs were playoff teams.
The Giants replaced Kevin Gilbride as offensive coordinator with Ben McAdoo, who had been the quarterback coach of the Green Bay Packers. McAdoo is implementing some West Coast themes into the offense designed to get the ball out of Manning’s hand quicker. That should reduce both his sacks and turnovers.
Erratic Hakeem Nicks left in free agency and the Giants used the 12 overall pick of the 2014 draft to replace him with LSU wideout Odell Beckham. And signing Rashad Jennings away from the Raiders in free agency allows the Giants to stack three players at tailback who have been NFL starters (also David Wilson and Peyton Hillis).
The other reason I like the Giants is that since winning their first division title under Coughlin in 2005, they have won the East every third year since then. They won in 2008 and 2011, putting them on track to win again in 2014.
The Giants are a franchise that doesn’t stay down for long.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges.
Early NFC East previewA look at the NFC East and the projected order of finish for the 2014 season:Giants: With two Super Bowls in the last seven seasons, the Giants grew old and complacent. So GM Jerry Reese overhauled the roster this offseason, casting off eight starters. Better running and blocking will help Eli Manning become a playoff quarterback again. The defense finished in the top 10 a year ago and the pass coverage has been upgraded in free agency.Eagles: Philadelphia implemented new offensive and defensive schemes last season and broke in both a new head coach and a new quarterback — and still won the East. LeSean McCoy’s legs will again be the featured attraction on offense, and the Eagles may to commit to the run even more with the departure of explosive Pro Bowl WR DeSean Jackson.Cowboys: Dallas fielded the NFL’s worst defense a year ago and now its three best players are gone — DeMarcus Ware as a cap casualty, Jason Hatcher in free agency and Sean Lee to an injury. The Cowboys will continue to be high-scoring on offense, but the defense is an even bigger question mark than a year ago with so much inexperience in the front seven.Redskins: Washington took two Pro Bowlers away from division rivals, signing DT Jason Hatcher from the Cowboys and WR DeSean Jackson from the Eagles. But the most prominent newcomer is head coach Jay Gruden, who was brought in to fix franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III. As Griffin goes, so go the Redskins
