Grizz: NFC East Q&A with Big Blue View

[WoodysGirl]

by Dave Halprin (Grizz) on Aug 15, 2008 5:00 AM CDT in News
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ETVal, SB Nation’s Giants blogger over at Big Blue View, invited all the NFC East blogs to participate in a Q&A round-up for the NFC East. He sent around a list of 10 questions that all four blogs answered. I’ll post the answers, including mine, over the next few days or so. Since ETVal came up with the idea, here are his answers giving you the perspective of the New York Giants.

Q: The NFC East is brutal in terms of the depth and quality of its teams. Can you think of another division that is even close in terms of talent and competitiveness?

BBV: No. The NFC East has four legitimate playoff caliber teams. In my mind, no other conference comes close to that kind of depth.

Q: Was the Giants Super Bowl victory a fluke?

BBV: Absolutely not. It certainly was unexpected, but it wasn't a fluke. The Giants played incredibly, and they earned each victory. There weren't any crazy, fluke plays -- no 'Tuck Rule' plays or any of that nonsense. To me, the Giants are a talented team that had actually under-achieved for a long time. They finally had a stretch where they played up to their ability, and it came at the perfect time. That said, do I expect them to repeat? No. I expect them to be very good, but I'm not foolish enough to think they will win it all again.

Q: What new player on any of the teams -- draft pick, free agent or trade acquisition -- will make the biggest impact within the division this season?

BBV: Adam Jones. He's a tremendous talent, but also potentially a tremendous trouble-maker. He could help the Cowboys reach the Super Bowl. Or, he could help them implode and miss the playoffs entirely.

Q: Your team will win the division, and possibly the Super Bowl, if ...

BBV: First and foremost, Eli Manning stays healthy. I have no faith that the Giants can win games without him. Defensively, the Giants will need Mathias Kiwanuka healthy all season to make up for the retirement of Michael Strahan. Also, the development of young players like Aaron Ross, Terrell Thomas, Michael Johnson and No. 1 pick Kenny Phillips in the secondary could take this defense to another level.

Q: Your team will finish last in the division if ...

BBV: Eli Manning can't stay healthy. Also, if those young players in the secondary don't develop the Giants will have difficulty covering people. Oh, and if they can't win some games at home this season. The Giants went 7-1 on the road in the regular season, but only 3-5 at home. They can't count on being so efficient on the road, so they have to win more often in the Meadowlands.

Click below for the other five answers.



Q: What team in the NFC has the best shot at keeping an NFC East team out of the Super Bowl?

BBV: The popular answer to that question these days is the Minnesota Vikings. But, I'm not buying that with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback. With Brett Favre, maybe, but not with Jackson. I don't believe in Gree Bay with Aaron Rodgers, either. I guess that leaves Seattle.

Q: Give me one player on your team everyone else might not know about, but who could wind up making a name for himself this season.

BBV: Watch out for No. 1 pick Kenny Phillips. This guy is a heavy-hitting, play-making safety and if he isn't starting Week 1 he will force his way into the lineup shortly thereafter.

Q: Rank the starting quarterbacks within the division.

BBV: Tony Romo
Eli Manning
Donovan McNabb
Jason Campbell

Giants fans will be mad at me for taking Romo here, so I need to qualify this answer. I don't think you can argue with the numbers that say Romo has been better game-in and game-out. As a Giants fan, though, would I trade Eli straight up to get Romo? Not a chance. Eli has proven that he is a winner. Romo has nice numbers and a celebrity girlfriend, but he hasn't proven that he can come up big when it matters most. Eli has, and I'll take that every time.

Q: Rank the coaches within the division.

BBV: Tom Coughlin. I think there is little doubt he is, right now, top dog among coaches in the division. That's pretty amazing, but I think really hard to argue with.
Andy Reid.
Wade Phillips
Jim Zorn

Q: Finally, what is your predicted order of finish in the NFC East? Why?

BBV: Giants
Cowboys
Commanders
Eagles

The Giants are defending Super Bowl champions. I say they are the favorites until someone knocks them off. I still think it's 50-50 on the Cowboys. They could win the whole enchilada, but they could also completely implode with that volatile roster and a lame-duck head coach and miss the playoffs entirely. I almost picked Dallas for last in this division, because I think an implosion of some sort in inevitable, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The Commanders have talent, but they have a question mark at head coach. The Eagles are tough to figure. I just don't know about Andy Reid anymore, and McNabb's health is always a question.

 

[burmafrd]

Have to laugh at the Eli bs. He did NOT make plays. He did not turn the ball over. That is NOT a leader or someone who can carry a team.

 

[LeonDixson]

We have to understand that each of the 4 bloggers are going to have a home team bias. I would expect nothing less. That's why, even though I don't agree with him, I understand his take on the QB's.

Where he is in denial, IMO is that their superbowl win was not a result of a fluke(s). I do agree with him that they earned their victory. However, they were lucky that Fasano and Crayton had bad games and that the refs game them a totally bogus grounding call against Romo.

The great escape by Eli and the ensuing miracle catch by Tyree in the super bowl was certainly a fluke. That's a one-in-a-million play. They could try that play over and over for the rest of their lives and it wouldn't succeed.

Again, I am of the opinion that they earned their victory and don't want to take anything away from them. But they did get lucky as well as on a hot streak at the right time. Luck is part of the game though.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

We are going to win the SB

 

[dbair1967]

He did fine until he said he almost picked Dalals for last place...the homer in him took over there

unless we have a slew of injuries to the team or lose guys like Romo, Owens and Ware for long periods of time or the season, there's no way we dont win 10-11 games...just too much talent...we won a super bowl with Barry Switzer as HC, and nobody can convince me that Wade is WORSE than Barry

David

 

[28 Joker]

Dallas' second game of the year with the Eagles is a monster game. Our offense has done nothing against them during the last two games in Dallas. That will change this year. The Eagles are going to be catching us very early in Dallas, and that does not bode well for them at all. I expect Dallas to thump them on national t.v.

In 2005, Moss beat us in our second game due to some bad coaching.
In 2006, Dallas put it on Washington in the second game. (Newman on Moss)
In 2007, Dallas beat the Giants in game one.

That is a 2-1 record, at home, against division opponents during week one or two. The only loss came when Dallas dominated the Commanders, but the coaches wouldn't put Newman on Moss after the first TD. He was their only hope of scoring that night.

All in all, Dallas played very well in all three games, except for a banged up defense in last year's first game. They should have been 3-0 in those very early division games at home.

By the time Dallas plays the Giants in November, the Giants may be in third place.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

He did fine until he said he almost picked Dalals for last place...the homer in him took over there

unless we have a slew of injuries to the team or lose guys like Romo, Owens and Ware for long periods of time or the season, there's no way we dont win 10-11 games...just too much talent...we won a super bowl with Barry Switzer as HC, and nobody can convince me that Wade is WORSE than Barry

David

I agree with that David.

Between the Cowboys having more overall talent than the Giants, not too mention the nasty habit of SB champs falling back the following season, there
isn't any way I could consider the G-men the #1 team in the NFC East.

And the loss of Strahan will be felt-- you just don't replace a HOF player.

 

[NorthTexan95]

Writers who believe the Cowboys could implode this year because of a "volitile" roster really haven't done their homework. This team is loaded with quailty, character guys. The wildcards, such as TO, Adam Jones, and Tank have all taken their que from the leaders, not the other way around.

In my mind, only a season ending injury to Romo can keep the Cowboys out of the playoffs.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

When did Eli come up big? Seriously!