There seems to be a clear favourite in the Super Bowl Champion’s division. But can sudden quarterback problems put the Eagles on their feet? Behind them, the Cowboys and Giants fight to return to the playoffs. Especially in New York the euphoria seems huge. The Redskins may even have the best chances here, but can the team finally stay healthy? The SPOX preview of NFC East.
Balance 2017: 9-7.
The most important entrants: WR Allen Hurns, DE Kony Ealy, LB Leighton Vander Esch, OT Connor Williams, WR Michael Gallup.
The most important retirements: RB Alfred Morris, WR Dez Bryant, WR Brice Butler, TE Jason Witten, OT Byron Bell, OLB Anthony Hitchens, CB Orlando Scandrick.
Last year the cowboys had one of the best pass rushers in the entire league in the team from nothing: DeMarcus Lawrence exploded in 2017 for 14.5 sacks and 79 pressures – the second highest value among pass rushers after Von Miller, after collecting only nine sacks in his first three seasons.
Lawrence is the face of a highly underrated unit. On the other hand, with Randy Gregory the Boyz get another highly talented man back in their line and Rookie Dorance Armstrong has also shown promising approaches.
Inside, Tyrone Crawford and David Irving – who is missing the first four games – complete a 4-men rush, which will cause some offensive lines a lot of problems. The cowboys already had a pressure rate of 38.4 percent last year. A value that could certainly rise with this potential.
This could become efficient for Dallas if the young secondary continues to develop so promisingly. Here Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods are entering their second year and the complete upheaval that the cowboys have initiated here in 2016 could finally bear fruit. The youngsters have indicated in the pre-season that they are still in the news and can provide much-needed defensive support in Dallas.
There are certainly some teams that exaggerate when the offensive line to heaven is praised. This is certainly not the case with the cowboys, thanks to Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and Travis Frederick. In the coming season, however, the otherwise highly praised unit could become a problem child; the reason for this is Frederick’s indefinite absence.
Dallas notices significantly if one of the three stars is missing in the line. Dak Prescott was torn to pieces last year when Smith missed the games against the Falcons and Eagles. Against the Falcons, the pressure rate rose from 28.6 percent to 38.6 percent and Atlantas Adrian Clayborn collected six sacks. A week later, the Eagles sank Prescott four times and forced him into the same number of turnovers.
Frederick was the only center besides Denvers Matt Paradis in 2017 that was not to blame for a sack and he is a central figure in the run game. But as if his retirement wasn’t hard enough, Martin’s knee problems are also bothering him at the moment and Smith also had to fight with injuries during the preseason.
In 2017 the offensive efficiency of the cowboys fell back to 10th place after 3rd place in 2016. Elliott ran 1.59 yards before contact, after running for 2.02 yards the year before before the first enemy contact. The injuries could cost the best unit of cowboys dearly.
Besides the current situation, the development in the Receiving Corps will not help either. Dez Bryant and Jason Witten are gone; instead, in Allen Hurns and third-lap pick Michael Gallup Wideouts came, which should give the offense more speed, but by no means have equivalent physical and technical abilities.
Head coach Jason Garrett is on the hot seat after two playoffs in seven years. The team has a lot of questions to answer on the offensive side, but the defence is also in the middle of the development phase and cannot win any games on its own. Forecast: 4th place in the division.
Page 1: Dallas Cowboys
Page 2: New York Giants
Page 3: Philadelphia Eagles
Page 4: Washington Redskins
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