Batman & Superman would be in the NFC East: 2016 NFC East Preseason Preview
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When I recently (begrudgingly) watched the movie “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”, mostly because I can’t believe that any sane person thinks that Ben Affleck makes for a good Batman (or for a good actor in any role for that matter), I immediately thought of the NFC East.
Part of the reason I thought of the NFC East is because I’m a crazy NFL nut who just can’t stop thinking about football, but in this case, it actually goes a bit deeper than that.
When I think of the NFC East, I think of the 1992-1995 Dallas Cowboys with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, who won three Super Bowls in that span (twice at the expense of the poor Buffalo Bills). I also think of 1991 Washington Redskins, led by unheralded QB Mark Rypien, outscoring opponents 485-224, resulting in a 14-2 regular season and a Super Bowl win (also over the poor Buffalo Bills). I also think about the Eli Manning led 2007 and 2011 New York Giants, and their dramatic Super Bowl wins over the New England Patriots. And although they didn’t win a Super Bowl in this span, I can’t forget the 2001 to 2006 Philadelphia Eagles, led by QB Donovan McNabb, who won the NFC East 5 of those 6 seasons. Yup, there’s a lot of great history in the NFC East. Unfortunately, that’s basically it. History.
Which is why the “Batman vs. Superman” movie reminded me of the NFC East. I remember some great Superman movies with Christopher Reeve back in 1978 and 1980. I also think of the often hysterical Batman TV show with Adam West and Burt Ward back in the 60’s (on syndication, of course, as I wasn’t actually around in the 60’s), Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson’s dark reboot of Batman in 1989 and, of course, Christian Bales’ even darker and more awesomer (assuming that’s a word) reboot of Batman in 2005. Again, lots of great history there for Superman and Batman. And, unfortunately, after watching “Batman vs. Superman”, that’s basically it for them as well. History.
So, maybe in 2017, Batman and Superman will get a chance to redeem themselves with the new “Justice League” movie. Heck, I’m certainly rooting for them (mostly because I don’t want to feel ripped off again for buying the movie on BluRay). And perhaps in 2016, the NFC East can also make a comeback. In 2015, the NFC East as a whole went a miserable 26-38, the Redskins being the ONLY team to have a winning record. They have to be better than that this year, don’t they?
Well, let’s take a look at how I think the NFC East will end up in 2016.
Dallas Cowboys
Predicted 2016 Regular Season Record: 10-6
Sure, they only won 4 games last year, and were outscored by almost a hundred total points, but their injuries were no joke. Tony Romo and Dez Bryant were out due to injury essentially all year, and Joseph Randle, the starting RB in 2015, only played 6 games before straining his oblique, getting replaced by an aging Darren McFadden, getting cut by the team and being arrested a total of 5 times in 17 months. So yeah, I guess you could say 2015 was a rough year for the Cowboys.
But 2016 is a new year, and a new year means a new season. And clearly no team needed a new season as much as the Cowboys. Not only do they get back a healthy Romo and Bryant (though there’s been much to do about Romo’s supposed weight gain), but they also drafted RB Ezekiel Elliott and acquired Alfred Morris to put behind one of the best offensive lines in the league. There are some potential legal issues for Elliott, but so far, they appear unfounded. And though the defense maybe questionable, the Cowboys did manage to improve a bit by drafting DT Maliek Collins and DE Charles Tapper, plus it’s possible that OLB Jaylon Smith could contribute down the road if he can return from injury (though 2017 is a more realistic target for him).
With all that, based on their schedule, looks to me that the Cowboys will win at least 10 games and take the division in 2016.
Washington Redskins
Predicted 2016 Regular Season Record: 9-7
The Redskins were the surprise team of the NFC East in 2015. Behind their 2012 Drafted QB, Robert Griffin III…of wait, it was their OTHER 2012 Drafted QB that got them to the playoffs? As we all know, 4th Round draftee Kirk Cousins is now helming the Redskins after a breakout year where he completed 69.8% of his passes for 4,166 passing yards, 29 TDs and just 11 INTs, leading the Redskins to their first playoff game since 2012, and only their fourth playoff appearance since 2000. Now the subject of the $20 million franchise tag, Cousins is in a make or break situation in his career. A big year could net him a huge long term contract, whereas a bad year could have him cast aside as a one year fluke.
Personally, I don’t think either Cousins or the Redskins were a fluke in 2015. Not only does their offense return essentially intact, but they drafted WR Josh Doctson to add another potentially consistent receiving threat. The Redskins also shored up their defense by landing big time CB Josh Norman in the offseason, and also got LB Junior Gallette, who can also be an immediate contributor.
There are some question marks revolving around whether Cousins will keep up his 2015 pace of play, but I don’t think that’s necessary for the Redskins to be successful. If he’s 80% of what he was in 2015 and their defense improves even a little bit, I wouldn’t be surprised if they win the division. But there are plenty of unknowns, so I’m predicting around 9 wins based on their 2016 schedule.
New York Giants
Predicted 2016 Regular Season Record: 8-8
Ah, the Giants. It seems that when people expect a lot, the Giants love to disappoint, and when people expect nothing, they love to win Super Bowls. 2016 is going to be an interesting year for the Giants, as they’re sticking with the same system under new head coach Ben McAdoo, while fine tuning their personnel.
On offense, the Giants will finally get UDFA star Victor Cruz back. You know, the OBJ before there was OBJ? Adding Cruz back with OBJ and drafting WR Sterling Shepard in the second round gives Eli Manning some significant options in the passing game. Adding NT Damon Harrison from the crosstown Jets should also help shore up the offensive line. And the Giants landed CB Janoris Jenkins and DE Olivier Vernon in free agency, automatically upgrading an inconsistent defense.
The Giants are the biggest wild card in the NFC East, in my opinion, so it’s hard to predict where they’ll end up. Again, it wouldn’t be shocking if they had as many as 10 wins, but I think that 8 is a safe assumption based on their 2016 schedule.
Philadelphia Eagles
Predicted 2016 Regular Season Record: 6-10
Perhaps I’m being overly pessimistic about the Eagles. But I just have no confidence with what’s going on in Philly.
Sure, they’ve finally ditched head coach Chip Kelly (and his secret designs on creating an all-Oregon alumni team), and hired former Chiefs Offensive Coordinator, Doug Pederson as their new head coach. But Pederson doesn’t have much to work with, and the Eagles basically mortgaged away their entire future to obtain QB Carson Wentz in the draft.
With a disgruntled (and overpaid) Sam Bradford at the helm (though we’ll see how long that lasts), it’s tough to say how things will turn out. And if you add underperforming, but presumably top target WR Jordan Matthews is out of camp and preseason games for a couple weeks due to a bone bruise, and starting LT Lane Johnson is facing a possible 10 game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy for the second time, the Eagles appear to be even further behind the 8-ball. And things only look marginally better on the ground, as the Eagles managed to shed “square-peg-in-a-round-hole” DeMarco Murray, and get Ryan Mathews back from an early ankle injury scare along with Darren Sproles. Honestly, I’m having a hard time seeing the upside here.
With that said, who knows what Coach Pederson will bring to this group. Maybe all they needed was an offense that actually works in the NFL, unlike Kelly’s failed West Coast Offense experiment. Or perhaps the players just aren’t that good. With all the question marks, and little light at the end of the tunnel outside of a potential Wentz sighting, I’m only comfortable predicting 6 wins for this Eagles group according to their 2016 schedule.