Practicing Long Division: Sizing Up Our NFC East Rivals

It's been a while since we checked in with our rivals. What's new in the land of the NFC East? Here's a snapshot for all three of the teams that Dallas will be fighting for the division crown between the months of September and January. No NFC East team has won consecutive division crowns since the '04 Eagles repeated.

It's always an interesting ride...

Final 2012 Record: 8-8 (3rd)

Final game failure for the second consecutive year. The Cowboys have finished 8-8 two consecutive years under Jason Garrett, who has a career head coaching record of 21-19. The team will switch to a 4-3 defense under Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli, and look to pick up the pace on offense in 2013.

How Dallas finished the 2012 season:

	Off Yds / G	Off. Pts / G	Def Yds / Gm	Def Pts / Gm
Total	374.6	23.5	355.4	25.0
Rank	6th	15th	19th	24th

ADV	ANY/A	EPA	Pass Rating	DVOA
Offense	6.4 (11th)	86.3 (14th)	91.3 (9th)	6.1% (11th)
Defense	7.0 (29th)	109.5 (26th)	94.7 (29th)	6.7% (23rd)

A quick look at some of the advanced metrics listed above. ANY/A is one of the better metrics that measures the overall productivity of a team's offense. (Passing Yards - Sack Yards + 20*PassTDs-45*Interceptions) / (Passing Attempts + Times Sacked). EPA is the difference between the Expected Points (EP) at the start of a play and the EP at the end of the play. EP is the value of the current down, distance, and field position situation in terms of future expected net point advantage. Total EPA basically measures the grand total of individual play production of a team. DVOA data (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) percentages measure how well a team did against that specific opponent based on how the average team would do in the exact same down/distance/score/time scenarios.

What Dallas has done this offseason:

NFL Draft

Key Arrivals

LB Justin Durant, DB Will Allen

Key Departures

DE Kenyon Coleman, LB Victor Butler, DE Marcus Spears, TE John Phillips, LB Dan Connor, S Gerald Sensabaugh, RB Felix Jones, CB Mike Jenkins, WR Kevin Ogletree

Final 2012 Record: 10-6 (1st)

The reigning division champions (lawd, it pains me to say that) for the first time since 1863. OK, since 1999 but it may as well have been 150 years. Head coach Mike Shanahan is heading into the fourth year of his five-year contract. In Washington, he has a combined record of 21-27 with a career mark of 167-125. Obviously the biggest news of the summer is the recovery schedule of QB Robert Griffin III. The team will also see the return of OLB Brian Orakpo and TE Fred Davis. Washington was one of the few teams that actually lost more man games to injury than Dallas did in 2012.

How Washington finished the 2012 season:

	Off Yds / G	Off. Pts / G	Def Yds / Gm	Def Pts / Gm
Total	383.6	27.2	377.7	24.2
Rank	5th	4th	28th	22nd

ADV	ANY/A	EPA	Pass Rating	DVOA
Offense	7.5 (2nd)	166.7 (4th)	102.1 (3rd)	15.3% (6th)
Defense	6.3 (22nd)	76.0 (20th)	87.0 (18th)	1.8% (17th)

What Washington has done this offseason:

NFL Draft

2.19 David Amerson, CB, North Carolina St.
3.23 Jordan Reed, TE, Florida
4.22 Phillip Thomas, SS, Fresno St.
5.21 Chris Thompson, RB, Florida St.
5.29 Brandon Jenkins, DE, Florida St.
6.23 Bacarri Rambo, FS, Georgia
7.22 Jawan Jamison, RB, Rutgers

Key Arrivals

QB Pat White, LB Daryl Tapp, CB E.J. Biggers, OT Jeremy Trueblood, NT Ron Brace

Key Departures

LB Lorenzo Alexander

Final 2012 Record: 9-7 (2nd)

The Giants were eliminated from the playoffs before Dallas, but still managed to finish ahead of the Cowboys in the standings. Tom Coughlin is now the senior head coach in the division, after being on the hot seat more often than volcanologist with the bubble guts. Record of 83-61 with NY, 151-121 overall. The Giants have some offseason controversy, as both of their wideouts want new contracts and have avoided the voluntary workouts thus far. Jason Pierre Paul had a down year and recently had back surgery that looks like it will keep him out until the season starts. They did sign superstar linebacker Dan Connor though, so all is well.

How New York finished the 2012 season:

	Off Yds / G	Off. Pts / G	Def Yds / Gm	Def Pts / Gm
Total	355.4	26.8	383.4	21.5
Rank	14th	6th	31st	12th

ADV	ANY/A	EPA	Pass Rating	DVOA
Offense	6.6 (10th)	99.7 (12th)	87.2 (14th)	12.9% (7th)
Defense	6.4 (24th)	62.5 (15th)	88.7 (20th)	1.4% (16th)

What New York has done this offseason:

NFL Draft

1.19 Justin Pugh, OT, Syracuse
2.17 Johnathan Hankins, DT, Ohio St.
3.19 Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M
4.13 Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse
5.19 Cooper Taylor, S, Richmond
7.19 Eric Herman, OG, Ohio
7.47 Michael Cox, RB, Massachusetts

Key Arrivals

DT Mike Patterson, WR Louis Murphy, LB Dan Connor, TE Brandon Myers, PK Josh Brown, CB Aaron Ross, DT Cullen Jenkins

Key Departures

WR Domenik Hixon, LB Chase Blackburn, S Kenny Phillips, TE Martellus Bennett, RB Ahmad Bradshaw, DT Chris Canty, LB Michael Boley, DE Osi Umenyoira

Final 2012 Record: 4-12 (4th)

Two Eagles, a father and his son, soar high above, dazzling in their display of majestic grandeur. They spread their wings wide, amazing everyone that looks overhead. Their beaks sparkle in the sunlight, their talons cast menacing shadows. As they dance in the sky, the father begins telling his son about the many places he's visited and awards that he's won. He tells tales of swooping through the Grand Canyon, soaring over the Rio Grande. He's perched above the Empire State building and the Washington Monument. He's allowed mere mortals to pretend to have tamed him, entering him in competition after competition. Best in breeds, longest wingspan, sharpest claws. He's been on TV and won Emmys, on Broadway and won Tonys. He's been in movies and won Oscars. He tells his son how he's done it all, won it all. As they land atop a branch for a rest, the son is in awe. He gazes up to his father and proudly asks him, "Daddy, have you ever won a Super Bowl?"

"No dummy, I'm an Eagle."

Chip Kelly, welcome to the NFL.

How Philadelphia finished the 2012 season:

	Off Yds / G	Off. Pts / G	Def Yds / Gm	Def Pts / Gm
Total	354.1	17.5	343.2	27.8
Rank	15th	29th	15th	29th

ADV	ANY/A	EPA	Pass Rating	DVOA
Offense	5.2 (24th)	-1.8 (24th)	78.6 (24th)	-10.8% (25th)
Defense	7.3 (31st)	116.9 (27th)	99.6 (31st)	9.4% (26th)

What Philadelphia has done this offseason:

NFL Draft

1.04 Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma
2.03 Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford
3.05 Bennie Logan, DT, LSU
4.01 Matt Barkley, QB, USC
5.03 Earl Wolff, SS, North Carolina St.
7.06 Joe Kruger, DE, Utah
7.12 Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon St.
7.33 David King, DE, Oklahoma

Key Arrivals

LB Emmanuel Acho, DE Clifton Geathers, P Donnie Jones, WR Arrelious Benn, LB Connor Barwin, S Kenny Phillips, CB Cary Williams, S Patrick Chung, CB Bradley Fletcher, NT Isaac Sopoaga, LB Jason Phillips, FB James Casey, QB Dennis Dixon

Key Departures

RB Dion Lewis, FB Stanley Havili, CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, OT King Dunlap, CB Nnamdi Asomugha, OT Demetress Bell