Philadelphia Eagles:
Last years superbowl runners up were obliviously above average in most facets of the team with the only areas of question on the run defence & sacks given up (not unusual with a running QB). Clearly they weren't able to retain all their big free agents & the loss of Javon Hargrave to NFC rival 49ers will sting but the drafting of the highly talented Jalen Carter will clearly help IF his off field behaviour doesn't inhibit him. They retained their excellent CB pair but lost CJ Gardner, T.Edwards & M.Sanders however they replaced them with T.Edmunds, N.Morrow & R.Penny saving a lot of dollars. They added N.Smith for edge help & T.Steen for oline help & S.Brown DB in a decent draft, given their high picks. Lastly they signed J.Hurts to a long term deal & it remains to be seen how he will cope with the loss of Shane Steichen to the colts. Still a great roster & hunger to get back after last years tough superbowl loss. I think they will have enough to win the division despite a tough challenge from the other teams.
Dallas Cowboys:
The cowboys had a good season last year but lost to SF on the playoffs again & fell behind the eagles in the division race. The areas of weakness were the run defence & the numbers of interceptions thrown. They added Brandin cooks to make a great 1-2 punch with CeeDee Lamb but lost Dalton Shultz who was a lethal red zone target last year, they added L.Schoonmaker in the draft to cover this loss. The free agency pick up of Stephon Gilmore will help the pass defence but I can't help but think the run defence could have done with more help than M.Smith & Overshown in the draft, in order to win the division & advance in the playoffs. The addition of tackle A.Richards will help Dak Prescott but my fear for Dallas in terms of winning the superbowl is the run defence & the number of crucial interceptions dak throws. I'll go for 2nd place & a playoff berth for them.
NY Giants:
Somewhat of a surprise package last year the Giants still had areas of weakness with their run defence & pass offence plus Oline play too. They lost J. Feliciano in free agency & the drafting of JM Schmitz C will help but I still think there will be Oline issues for Daniel Jones to contend with. The resigning of a Jones & Barclay certainly helps & the hope will be that the pass O will improve with better targets D.Waller P.Campbell J.Crowder & J.Hyatt & RB E.Gray replacing Matt Breida. On defence they added CB D.Banks but lost safety J.love however it could be argued that more should have been done on run defence. It's hard to judge the giants this year as there are still areas of concern but the playoffs remain a target especially if Evan Neal takes a leap in year 2 to help the Oline. They will compete with the commanders for 3rd spot in the division & a potential playoff berth.
Washington:
The commanders are still going through a buyout process & that meant they were fairly quiet in free agency but the one major change was Jacoby Brissett coming in the replace the departed Heineke to backup 5th round pick Sam Howell. The addition of Eric Bienemey as O/C will certainly help Ron Riviera but there's a lot resting on Howell. The commanders struggled to run the ball last season but did demonstrate in the win over the eagles on MNF that there is big potential there & the drafting of R.Stromberg will help the Oline. They didn't pick up many interceptions but the addition of E.Forbes & J.Martin in the draft may help too. On offence they gave up too many sacks & interceptions too but Howell may help here of course as Wentz was poor last year. The defensive line remains top notch & if Chase Young is fit it should have a better year. With a buyout looming & the addition of Eric Bienemey there is clear potential for Washington to have a better year & certainly challenge NY for 3rd place if not Dallas too.
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