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NFC East Q&A with Hogs Haven

HH

Time for the next Q&A in the NFC East preview series with all four SB Nation NFC East blogs. Part II are the answers from our good friend over at SB Nation's Redskins blog, Hogs Haven, and it's lead blogger, Skin Patrol. Enjoy.

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?

HH: I absolutely think the NFC East is the toughest division in the NFC, and in the conversation for toughest in all of Football. However, if I had to pick another division in the sport that could legitimately claim that title, it would be the AFC South. They likewise produced 3 playoff teams in 2007 and were the only other division without a losing team. As a division, they also had one more win than the NFC East last year and their non-Conference record (13-3) was superior to ours (11-5) -- although their opponent, the NFC South, was probably inferior to ours, the AFC North. In any event, Indy has pretty clearly established itself as a perennial challenger for the AFC title, the Titans are allegedly having a strong training camp, or at least Vince Young is, the Jaguars have a really tough defense, and Houston is on the brink of, shocking, being a good team. Does that push them above the NFC East? Maybe not, at least not in this partisan's opinion, but they are in the convo.

Q: Was the Giants Super Bowl victory a fluke?

HH: If by "fluke" you mean the better team lost, yea I'd call it a fluke. But the Giants found the greatest equalizer in football; an incredible front four pass rush. I think it's an impossible case to claim that, from top to bottom, the Giants were better than the Patriots over the course of the entire season and postseason. But what matters most in the NFL is how one plays in the last game of your postseason, and the Giants absolutely outplayed the Pats. It really is a huge credit to New England that they only lost by 3 given the Giants' incredible, miraculous drive in the final minutes of the game. They converted a 4th and 1, a 3rd and 5, and a 3rd and 11 against one of the better defenses in the league.

Fluke? Naw, when you load up on talent on the defensive line, you're going to have a good chance to win any every game you play.

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?

HH: I'm reluctant to pick anyone on the Cowboys simply because their 2007 was such a success that it's hard to imagine any single player having that big of an impact on their season. I don't think they're going to win 16 games, or 14 for that matter, in 2008, so I can't exactly attribute much additional predictive success to Adam Jones for the Cowboys' next year since I think they'll be largely what they were in '07; the best team in the NFC. My gut tells me that Jason Taylor is the pick, but I'll go with Asante Samuels, because I think the Eagles have the most potential for improvement, given their .500 finish last year. They are the team that benefits the most from an additional win or two as that would be the difference between a postseason or an early exit, and Asante Samuels may very well represent that one or two win at some point this coming season. His 16 picks the last two seasons are extremely strong. If they're a top 5 defense in the regular season a) it will be in large part because of Samuels and b) they will make the playoffs.

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

HH: Jason Campbell takes the next step as a quarterback. The defense is going to be fine; Greg Blache has history with these players and the personnel is competitively proven. The real question is how Jim Zorn's new West Coast Offense will play out, and that begins and ends at quarterback. If Jason Campbell can finish games -- he wasn't last year -- we should be at least capable of winning virtually any game we play.

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

HH: Injuries would be the culprit. Like most teams, the Redskins are unsteady depth-wise at a few positions. 2006 was a great example of how a really top notch defense can turn into a total disaster just from a few injuries. While I have more confident in the defense (right now) than the offense, I think the defense is more susceptible to collapse from a few key losses in personnel. If we lose linebackers or any more defensive linemen, this could end up being a looooooong season for the Redskins. And when your opponents are the Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants, small missteps can be magnified dramatically over the course of the year. The margin between a playoff spot and none is paper thin every year. When 8-8 lands you at the bottom of the division, it's really not that difficult to finish last.

Click below for the other five answers.

 

Star-divide

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

HH: Mancrush alert: I'm going with Drew Brees' Saints. Their offense has hummed with him and shows no signs of slowing down. Their defense was so horrid last year that I think they almost have to improve, if only due to a regression towards the mean. They had to play that incredibly tough AFC South last year (this year it's the AFC West I believe) and still managed 7 wins. I see them taking the music chairs NFC South division next year. I'd pick the Seahawks, but they are obviously a much weaker team without the greatest coach in the NFL: Jim Zorn. Yeehaw.

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.

HH: It's a tough question with this roster, as I think most players have been pretty steady over the past few years. Reed Doughty is probably going to win that starting spot at safety and I'm not sure a lot of people know about him, but he was the starter for much of last year. I'll go with defensive end Chris Wilson. He went crazy at the end of last season, picking up two sacks in our last regular season win (against the Cowboys) and then another against Seattle in the postseason. With Phillip Daniels out, and even with Jason Taylor now on the roster, Chris Wilson will be leaned on as a rotation pass rusher. He was third on the team in sacks last year (2nd among linemen) and did that on limited reps. Guy has a niche.

Q: Rank the starting quarterbacks within the division.

HH: I do not think I will answer this question.

Q: Rank the coaches within the division.

HH: Andy Reid
Tom Coughlin
Wade Phillips
Jim Zorn

I love Zorn so far but he is unproven so I don't think there is anything unfair about putting him last. Andy Reid has been the best coach in the division for a lot longer than any of the others and so I think he deserves the nod at at the top. Tom Coughlin is perennially on the "hot seat" which fascinates me since all he has done is... won. The past three seasons he's snuck into the playoffs in a very, very competitive division and just put the feather in his cap with the Super Bowl victory. The fact that he's ever on the hot seat says far more about the New York media than it does or has about his performance as a coach.

Wade Phillips won a lot of games last year but I feel like he did it with someone else's groceries, to steal a phrase from Bill Parcells. If he puts together a comparable 2008, and I have no reason to think he won't, his name could move up that list.

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

HH: Cowboys
Giants
Redskins
Eagles

With the caveat that I think margins are razor thin in this division, and that I don't think the best team is really dramatically better than the worst team (in the way that Miami was inferior to the Patriots last year, for example). Cowboys are number one because they're the defending division champions by three games, which is a huge margin in the East and more than separated the 2nd from the 4th team last year. I believe they win at least 11 games in '08 and probably 12. Giants get the second spot not because I'm really all that convinced they finish 2nd, but rather because I think you have to give credit to a defending Super Bowl champion. They haven't finished at the bottom of the East in years.

I put the Redskins over the Eagles because I have to, as a partisan, believe that the Redskins are not the odd-man-out that misses the postseason. Someone has to fill the bottom and I'm uncomfortable listing either the Cowboys and Giants for the reasons above, and the Redskins for other unstated obvious reasons. Sorry Eagles fans (but really I'm not).

0 recs  |  Comment 14 comments

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Grizz,

I’m gonna get your answers up early next week.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Aug 16, 2008 7:00 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Nice answers, SP

I like your use of statistics in addition to sound logic. That’s often missing in these things.

Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.

by dunkman on Aug 16, 2008 7:10 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

+1

I think Skins ability to adapt to Zorn’s offense is the key to their season..

"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"

by Wmillion on Aug 16, 2008 9:57 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Sooooooo much better than the Giants answers

I don’t blame him for not answering the QB question but he kinda answered it without answering. May as well have just sacked up imo.

by sublimezg on Aug 16, 2008 8:54 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

The BBV answers weren't that bad.

Put yourself in their place – wouldn’t you feel a little mystified if your team won it all and everyone keeps calling it a fluke? I’d be pretty defensive too.

Like the Skins, the Eagles to me are another wild card. They could be really, really good or not so much depending on health and WR production.

Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.

by dunkman on Aug 16, 2008 3:48 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I was sick all weekend.

It would’ve taken a long time to write out explanations and what have you; I think we all know that, even being fair, as of this moment Campbell has to be listed 4th. The issue is how to organize:

Tony Romo, who I hate
Eli Manning, who I really do not think is all that great, but I have to measure him now against a very good playoff performance
Donovan McNabb, who is probably the most difficult QB to judge on any given year because caveats abound.

I didn’t sack up not because I didn’t want to list JC last (there’s really no shame being behind the others; he’s the youngest and has done the least) but because I was exhausted and sick with bird flu.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Aug 16, 2008 5:05 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Hope you get to feelin better

The season is upon us and there’s just no time to be sick :)

by sublimezg on Aug 16, 2008 6:38 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I have to disagree with your ranking

I think that McNabb is the better QB because he is the Eagles. Eli didn’t make many mistakes. I don’t think that he played exceptionally well. If Asante Samuels makes the interception on the last drive. That was a horrible throw. Tyree catch lets call it what it was luck y. Eli played a solid game and gives hope for the future thats all.

TD

by littlewoozy9902 on Aug 16, 2008 7:52 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I don't disagree

that strongly because I have serious questions about Eli Manning — I think he’s a good quarterback but miles away from a star.

Maybe Tyree’s catch was lucky, but Manning shook some pressure to make that pass and the fact remains: he attempted 119 passes in the postseason and completed over 60% of them, with or without Tyree’s catch. His int% was the lowest of all postseason qbs which, in part at least, helps to explainwhy his team was the last man standing. I’m not in love with the guy, but he played well when it mattered. I still think he’s pretty soft over the course of a 16 game season, and would’ve loved to see him bomb as that is precisely what I’ve been predicting for seasons, now. But he didn’t.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Aug 17, 2008 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Skin

it’s the bad karma of hating Tony that brought bird flu to your door in the first place. Find and embrace your inner Romo…

Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.

by dunkman on Aug 17, 2008 6:49 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Great Insights

from Skins Patrol. There’s a wisdom and maturity in his answers, that is usually absent on most blogs.

Many thanks.

by kindablue on Aug 16, 2008 1:06 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

listing the top QBs in the NFC East

1. Romo

2. McNabb

3. Manning

4. Cambell

TD

by littlewoozy9902 on Aug 16, 2008 7:46 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Hey Skin Patrol

Can you make the Skins cut Colt Brennan, so the Cowboys can claim him. Thanks in advance.

T-New, shutting down WR's for Dallas since 2003

by APerfectStar on Aug 17, 2008 4:56 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

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