The Two Teams From Super Bowl XXXIX Are Not To BeCounted Out
Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys... Four teams that have spent the last 5 or so years in the obscurity of mediocrity, and all have suddenly emerged as Playoff contenders with the downfall of the teams that dominated their divisions over that timeperiod. And guess what? While they may not dominate their respective divisions next year, to count them out as non-Playoff contenders is just foolish. Here is why, starting with the Eagles, whom, mind you, are returning 6 Offensive Starters that were on IR last year...
The Media likes to explain that the Eagles have no go to receiver, thus making them vulnerable. For 4 years they didn't have a go to receiver and for some reason, apparantely, it didn't effect them to much. Just as it wont this year. Why, you may ask? Because their Wide Receiver Corp is better than it has been in past years. "Why is that" you may be asking. Well... let me explain. The Eagles have depth like they've never had before. 5 or 6 Guys capable of catching 40 to 50 balls within a season. Brian Westbrook, LL Smith, Greg Lewis, Jabar Gaffney, Todd Pinkston, and Reggie Brown. Sounds not plausible, but check out the stats and analyze it. McNabb averages 298 completions a season. Roughly 40 to 60 completions to each one of these guys mixed in with 10 or so combined from players deep on the depthchart and it's very feasible.
Continuing with the Offense, The Eagles have one of the bigger, yet fast, Offensive Lines in the league. This helps, as they're returning to that imfamous 3-Back system they used in 2004, this time with Westbrook at the head. You heard it here first, Brian Westbrook will have 1,000 yards rushing. Might not seem impressive, but it'll be his All-Purpose yards that are as much combined with the other backs that will be joining him. Their Defense is still there. They have the best depth at D-Line in the league and can interchange linemen with ease while not missing a beat all game. Their Secondary still remains the best in the NFL without a Single whole. Brian Dawkins remains the best overall Safety in the League, while Michael Lewis is a great PURE Strong Safety that plays against the Run. Sheldon Brown has been the most consistent corner in the league over the past two years, and Lito Sheppard is solid. The only concern defensively is if these average(including Trotter) Linebackers can pick their play up to aid in the passing defense and against the rush. Now onto the Patriots...
The Patriots are not dead. In the draft the Patriots managed to get, not only the best WR in Chad Jackson, but arguably the best Halfback in Lawrence Maroney. They add this to a corp that, like the Eagles, doesn't have any Superstars, excluding the Quarterback, but is deep with depth. The Patriots, like the Eagles, have a bunch of individuals that can bring in balls. With Maroney, Pass, Dillon, and Faulk, they can bring in roughly 90 balls alone from the backfield. Not to mention their 2 Tight End Set, with 2 very talented young men, Ben Watson and Daniel Graham, both of which can offer up another 25 receptions each for quite a few yards given their career averages. Rounding out this crew of players are Branch, Caldwell, Jackson, and Tim Brown. Each with the ability of, at worst, a No. 2, given the way Brady distributes the ball, each can bring in 30 receptions as they each will spend some time at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots this year. On the Defensive side of the ball I am not so sure as they have a solid Front 3, but their LB Corp is porous and Rodney Harrison is still on the PUP list. However, Asante Samuel is a greatly underrated corner, paired with Harrison at one of the S positions, will help that D out greatly. Simply put, offense, as proven by the Bengals and Giants, is enough to get you into the playoffs. However, is it enough to make it to Miami? I don't think so, but I expect to, at worst, see both of these teams as Wildcard teams.
The Media likes to explain that the Eagles have no go to receiver, thus making them vulnerable. For 4 years they didn't have a go to receiver and for some reason, apparantely, it didn't effect them to much. Just as it wont this year. Why, you may ask? Because their Wide Receiver Corp is better than it has been in past years. "Why is that" you may be asking. Well... let me explain. The Eagles have depth like they've never had before. 5 or 6 Guys capable of catching 40 to 50 balls within a season. Brian Westbrook, LL Smith, Greg Lewis, Jabar Gaffney, Todd Pinkston, and Reggie Brown. Sounds not plausible, but check out the stats and analyze it. McNabb averages 298 completions a season. Roughly 40 to 60 completions to each one of these guys mixed in with 10 or so combined from players deep on the depthchart and it's very feasible.
Continuing with the Offense, The Eagles have one of the bigger, yet fast, Offensive Lines in the league. This helps, as they're returning to that imfamous 3-Back system they used in 2004, this time with Westbrook at the head. You heard it here first, Brian Westbrook will have 1,000 yards rushing. Might not seem impressive, but it'll be his All-Purpose yards that are as much combined with the other backs that will be joining him. Their Defense is still there. They have the best depth at D-Line in the league and can interchange linemen with ease while not missing a beat all game. Their Secondary still remains the best in the NFL without a Single whole. Brian Dawkins remains the best overall Safety in the League, while Michael Lewis is a great PURE Strong Safety that plays against the Run. Sheldon Brown has been the most consistent corner in the league over the past two years, and Lito Sheppard is solid. The only concern defensively is if these average(including Trotter) Linebackers can pick their play up to aid in the passing defense and against the rush. Now onto the Patriots...
The Patriots are not dead. In the draft the Patriots managed to get, not only the best WR in Chad Jackson, but arguably the best Halfback in Lawrence Maroney. They add this to a corp that, like the Eagles, doesn't have any Superstars, excluding the Quarterback, but is deep with depth. The Patriots, like the Eagles, have a bunch of individuals that can bring in balls. With Maroney, Pass, Dillon, and Faulk, they can bring in roughly 90 balls alone from the backfield. Not to mention their 2 Tight End Set, with 2 very talented young men, Ben Watson and Daniel Graham, both of which can offer up another 25 receptions each for quite a few yards given their career averages. Rounding out this crew of players are Branch, Caldwell, Jackson, and Tim Brown. Each with the ability of, at worst, a No. 2, given the way Brady distributes the ball, each can bring in 30 receptions as they each will spend some time at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots this year. On the Defensive side of the ball I am not so sure as they have a solid Front 3, but their LB Corp is porous and Rodney Harrison is still on the PUP list. However, Asante Samuel is a greatly underrated corner, paired with Harrison at one of the S positions, will help that D out greatly. Simply put, offense, as proven by the Bengals and Giants, is enough to get you into the playoffs. However, is it enough to make it to Miami? I don't think so, but I expect to, at worst, see both of these teams as Wildcard teams.
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