Jeff: NFC Least

4. Washington Redskins (4-7 wins)
This division is a good reminder that no matter how good you are, time always catches up with you. Two coaches, including the Skins' Joe Gibbs, have proven in their return to the division that their greatness has receded along with their hairlines. Granted, this is not anywhere close to the Skins glory years Gibbs once coached. Teams that had talent on both sides of the both. They also had hope. This team has neither.
OFFENSE
OH for the glory days of the Fun Bunch. This group is a fun bunch for opposing defenses to line up against, but that's about where the comparisons end. Gibbs' first QB signing, Mark Brunell, was a disaster. Former first round pick Patrick Ramsey didn't fair any better. This year's #1 pick, Jason Campbell, could be a good player down the road--especially if Washington had half the talent his college team at Auburn had. Of course they don't, so whether it's Campbell or Ramsey gets another shot, neither looks to be very productive. The team needs to play to Clinton Portis' strengths (too bad bragging about himself is his biggest one), and hope he returns to All-Pro form he showed in Denver. Especially considering that David Patten is his #1 receiver. He was great as a role player in New England, but might as well be wearing "disappointment" on the back of his jersey. The team dealt their only productive wideout, Laverneus Coles, to the Jets for the undersized, underproductive and oft-injured Santana Moss. Let's just say it's good not to be a Skins fan.
DEFENSE
Lavar Arrington needs to do 2 things: 1) stay healthy. 2) Finally play up to his ability and become the best defensive player in the league. The team has less talent around him than before, and ned him to step up. If FS Shaun Taylor were half as good on the field as he is at whining about his contract and getting arrested (what a shock he played for the Hurricanes), the still potential All-Pro could make this one of the better defenses. Only time will tell (and from the looks of the Florida courts it could be awhile) whether Taylor plays in DC or the penal league this season. And with all the NFL guys they had in The Longest Yard, wouldn't Taylor have been a natural selection? He could have even used his real inmate number.

3. Dallas Cowboys (6-8 wins)
The Tuna still is a coaching legend, but he seems to be running on fumes. In much better shape than Gibbs (not physically), as this Cowboys team has some talent. But they do have plenty of questions as well. After overachieving in 2003, Parcells' boys played to ability and finished under .500. More of the same is probable this year.
OFFENSE
For the first half of last season the Boys looked insane for passing on Stephen Jackson in the draft. Then Julius Jones, who broke his shoulder in the preseason, got healthy and looked like Emmitt Smith. Now if Dallas could just find the second coming of Aikman and Irvin. Drew Bledsoe is certainly not the longterm answer to replace 97 year old Vinny Testeverde, but the statuesque (both in physique and mobility) former pupil of Parcells could have one last gasp in him. And with these receivers, he'll need it. The line will be solid again, and it boasts one of the league's best tight ends in Jason Witten. If Bledsoe can pass enough to keep all eleven guys from ganging up on Jones, Big D could be back in the playoffs.
DEFENSE
Usually a Parcells staple, the Boys' D slipped last year. They tried to make amends in the draft, taking two guys for the front seven in the top 20, in DE/LB Demarcus Ware and Marcus Spears. 2nd round LB Kevin Burnett could start right away, and teaming with Dat Nguyen, gives Dallas plenty of speed from sideline to sideline. The secondary was a dissapointment, and needs to rebound. Because of it they overpaid for corner Aaron Glenn, but if he can provide leadership and depth and push former #1 Terrance Newman towards his potential, it may just be worth it. Safety Roy Williams is the scariest thing in Texas since the death penalty.

New York Giants (9-10 wins)
This is the one team that could close the gap on the Eagles, who more than lapped the field last season. Coach Tom Coughlin had some revolt last year when he (gasp!) actually asked for effort during training camp. The regular season results were mixed, mostly due to the mixed effort. Coughlin has tried to get more of "his kind of guys" for 2005 (which makes the Plaxico signing a little puzzling being that he's never exactly been an overachiever) and hopes to improve on the team's 6-10 finish.
OFFENSE:
Boy you've really got to feel for Eli Manning, don't you? It's bad enough the guy has had to live under his big brother Peyton's shadow (you know, the one of "best-regular-season-QB-who's-won-jacksquat") but the guy also had to recover from the trauma of almost having to play for San Diego. Luckily, he weasled his way out of playing for a team that won twice as many games as the Giants last year, has the best player in football (Tomlinson), and is located beside the ocean where it's 75 degrees and sunny every day. Yeah I think that's a decison we all would have made. Despite that, his decision-making skills on the field weren't bad for a rookie, and with new wideout Plaxico Burress, along with TE Jeremy Shockey possibly showing up for all 16 games, he should look more comfortable this season. Tiki Barber is the key though. The better he plays, the easier life will be for Manning. Not as easy as it would have been in, oh I don't know, San Diego, but easier none the less.
DEFENSE
Other than DE Michael Strahan, not a lot of big names here. But the D was productive, and the G-Men will look for more of the same this season. DT William Joseph could take major strides in his 3rd season (and being that he's a Hurricane he could also get arrested), and well if you know the names of the Giants starting linebackers, you need to get out a little more. 2nd round pick Corey Webster could start at corner and will definitely provide a spark returning kicks and punts.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (10-12)
So TO's reporting to camp "unhappy" which is not a surprise. God-forbid he play for a contract he willingly signed. But as he showed in San Fran and is already showing now, he will be a distraction and a detriment to the team before the year's over, and that means the Eagles dominance in the NFC will come to an end. If they were in a better divison, I think a collapse could be possible this season. As it is, their only real threat is the Giants, so even though they're going to have a less than stellar season, they'll still win the division. And the fact they're in the NFC means they'll still be a Super Bowl threat.
OFFENSE
The line should continue to protect Donovan "your-chunky-soap-ads-make-root-canals-pleasant" McNabb and open holes for Bryant Westbrook or rookie Ryan Moats to run. The team has slim and none lining up at wideout besides TO, so the pressure's is once again squarely on McNabb for the team to return to the Super Bowl. Will he do it? Well we know he'll have his mom and plenty of that damn soup to help him.
DEFENSE
The spotlight's on McNabb but this is the part of the team that really shines. Credit the Eagles' front office for keeping this group intact, with a nice mix of experience and talent. They can match up with anybody, and considering the struggles the offense could have, they'll need to be better than everybody. When you've got guys like Javon Kearse, Corey Simon, Jermiah Trotter, Brian Dawkins and others, it's not only plausible, it's possible.