NFL Predictions: Part Four

With my AFC predictions now done, it is time to focus on the NFC. The Panthers ruled the conference last season, going 15-1 before losing in the Super Bowl. Carolina should be very good again this year, but there are some other very good teams near the top.

NFC East
First off, I am going to recuse myself here from predicting how the Giants will finish. It is definitely because I watch them every week, but they are almost guaranteed to be an impossible team to forecast. It is tough enough to predict how they will look from play to play, let alone the entire season. So, I am not going to preview them here.

In all honesty though, this division is very much up for grabs and is probably the toughest to predict in all of the NFC. Washington won the division last season at 9-7, and they added a few good pieces over the offseason, so I think Redskins fans can be optimistic about their outlook for 2016.

Washington Redskins
The defending division champions return mostly intact, but some key additions will help them in 2016. With Robert Griffin III gone, Kirk Cousins is now fully entrenched as the starting quarterback, and he has proven that he is good enough to lead this team to the postseason. Cousins will also be aided by a very good receiving corps featuring DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jordan Reed, and an exciting young rookie in first round pick Josh Doctson. In a division full of mediocre secondaries, the Redskins passing attack could be very, very good.
One of the biggest moves of the entire offseason was Josh Norman going to Washington, and we will get to see him go up against two of the best receivers in the NFL, Dez Bryant and Odell Beckham, twice each this year. The rest of the defensive unit is getting a bit old, but they still should be good enough to get the job done in a division that will likely feature a ton of offense and not too much defense.

Ceiling: If the defense is able to stay healthy and be a unit that bends but doesn't break, I think Washington can definitely win the NFC East. Now that Cousins is the unquestioned leader of the offense, I think he could potentially be near the top of the NFL in multiple passing categories. If all of that happens, this team could definitely make the playoffs, but I do think it is very unlikely that they win a game once they get there.

Floor: Like I said, there are going to be a lot of points scored in this division, and Washington does have serious questions at multiple spots on defense. This is going to get boring since this division is so wide open, but I think any of the four teams in the NFC East could potentially finish anywhere between first and last. That means if the Redskins are unable to score enough to keep up, I think something like 5-11 is possible.

Reality: This is a pretty good team. They have superstar names, but they also have huge question marks. 9-7 has been good enough to win this division in recent years, and I think that they should be around 8-8, so they should be in contention here once December rolls around.

Dallas Cowboys
As much as I hate to admit it, the Cowboys are probably the best team on paper in this division. However, the Cowboys have been the best team on paper in this division for a while now, and that has resulted in a record of 40-40 and only one playoff berth over the past five seasons. So, we see that looking good on paper does not exactly equal looking good on the field. It has been a long time since the end result has equaled the preseason hype in Dallas, as they seem to invent new ways to disappoint their fans year in and year out.

Usually the Cowboys at least wait until the season starts to disappoint, but this year they are flying out of the gate before the preseason even starts. DeMarcus Lawrence has already been suspended, backup quarterback Kellen Moore is already done for the season, and we may never see Randy Gregory or Rolando McClain ever play in the NFL again as they have both also been suspended.

However, with the addition of Ezekiel Elliott in the draft, this offense could potentially be one of the best in the NFL. Elliott has all the makings of a superstar back, Dez Bryant is one of the best receivers in the game, Jason Witten is a future Hall of Famer (and an absolute Giant killer), the offensive line is arguably the best in the NFL, and Tony Romo, when healthy, is an elite quarterback.

Ceiling: There are a ton of conditions here because we are talking about the Dallas Cowboys, but if this is actually a season that sees everyone stay healthy, this offense is good enough to win most of the probable shootouts we will see in the division and make the playoffs. If that does happen, I think Dallas could possibly win one playoff game, but there are too many teams in the NFC that are much more well-rounded than Dallas, so I think one playoff win is the best they can hope for.

Floor: Tony Romo and Sean Lee have not gotten hurt yet, but the chances of both of them playing 16 games is close to zero. They have already lost Romo's insurance plan with Kellen Moore's injury, and the defense has already been ravaged by suspensions. The negatives have outweighed the positives already this offseason, and while I do not think Dallas will be picking fourth overall in the draft next year, I do think they could be picking in the top ten.

Reality: With the suspensions and injuries already happening, I think Dallas is going into the season with a very big load on its shoulders before the games even start. I do think they are good enough to avoid the basement in the division, but just like the rest of the teams here, I think this team will hover around 8-8.

Philadelphia Eagles
At first I had the Eagles clearly pegged in last place in this division, but that might not be the case. The biggest question here is definitely at quarterback, where Sam Bradford made himself look absolutely horrible this offseason by signing a huge contract and then complaining that he would actually have to compete for his job with rookie Carson Wentz. Bradford has been the definition of mediocrity for his entire career, and with the way he responded to the team drafting Wentz, I am sure that the classless fans in Philadelphia will be all over him the minute he throws his first interception. And with the selfish and bad attitude he has displayed over the past few months, I will feel zero sympathy for him if, and more likely when, that happens.

With that said, I do think that the Eagles have some talented players on both sides of the ball. The offensive line should be pretty good, and they do have some young and talented receivers. In Fletcher Cox, Mychal Kendricks, and Malcolm Jenkins, the Eagles do have at least one very good player at each level on defense, so that unit could be good enough to at least hold serve in this division.

Ceiling: If the quarterback position sorts itself out and the defense is able to be the best in a division full of bad defenses, Philadelphia could win the division.

Floor: If Bradford comes out of the gate a mess and the backups behind center are not ready yet, no matter how good the defense might be, the Eagles will not be able to score enough to win the NFC East. Because the division is mediocre at best, I can't see them finishing any worse than 5-11, but if they cannot get the quarterback situation sorted out, I could definitely see the Eagles finishing last in the division.

Reality: This sounds repetitive, but Philadelphia should finish somewhere around 8-8. It is tough to see anyone in this division winning more than 10 games, and I am not sold that the Eagles can reach that level. As is always the case in the NFC East of recent years, anywhere around 8-8 is likely.

Daily Diamondbacks Update: The Diamondbacks literally "walked off" last night as Welington Castillo drew a bases loaded walk to win the game. It was a positive blip on what has been a negative radar in 2016. If the team can win tonight, they could possibly move up to 13th in the National League.

Daily Giants Update: The team signed cornerback Leon Hall yesterday, and while his prime years are behind him, at this point the Giants need as much help as they can get in the secondary, so the more bodies the better. All is well on the injury front too, so that is always good.