What happened to the NFC "B"East?- NFL's toughest division struggles in 2013

Just over a month ago the NFC East promised to be the closest the division has been in years. It has always been one of the toughest in the league but this year was looking to be something truly special. Going into the season you had the Giants who are always strong, the Cowboys, the new redesigned Chip Kelly Eagles Offence and the return of RGIII and the Redskins.
    Going into week four and the NFC Beast has turned into something a lot less intimidating. Only three of the four teams were in action on Sunday after the Eagles suffered a loss to the Chiefs and former coach Andy Reid. Two of those teams lost whilst just one team came away with a win from the entire week.
             Let's take a look at the NFC East standings after the opening three games of the season.

1st. Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
2nd. Philadelphia Eagles (1-2)
3rd. New York Giants (0-3)
4th. Washington Redskins (0-3)

In comparison to last season's table at this stage it almost looks like an entirely different division? But what is causing such a big dip in performance from three of the four teams and is there any hope of redemption as we head towards the end of the first quarter in the 2013 season?


Dallas Cowboys- 


Ways to prove critics and the internet wrong.
1. Decimate the St Louis Rams
2. Take advantage of a crumbling NFC East
3. Rush for 175 yards.


Sitting at the top of the division right now, the Cowboys have gotten off to a very good start. Especially after coming out with a 31-7 home win against the St Louis Rams. A lot of that however was down to a fantastic running game from DeMarco Murray as he rushed for a massive 175 yards with the longest being 41. Quarterback Tony Romo finished for a 17/24 completion rate, 210 yards and three touchdowns. A very respectable feat considering the game beforehand they too, like the Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs with Romo averaging 6.8 yards per play. The Cowboys showed real signs of improvement this week in a simply must win situation. Easily the most impressive team in the division at the moment as Romo looks capitalize on the poor form of their three rivals by racking up as many wins as they can. Next up they face the Chargers who were halted by the Titans on Sunday in the final few moments of the game. It will be a very intense matchup, that's almost certain.




Philadelphia Eagles-

A season which started out so promising has slowly taken a turn for the worst as old habits return to the city of Brotherly love. After a week one victory against fellow NFC East team and bitter rivals the Redskins, Philadelphia took a big hit as they lost to the Chargers by a field goal. A few days later they played their most emotional game of the season as 14 year head coach at the team Andy Reid took his Chiefs to a 3-0 record leaving the team exhausted and scratching their heads. 

     Fatigue could be used as an excuse for the team after playing three games in just eleven days. With the tempo that Chip expects his offence to perform at it is obvious that the team will eventually get worn down. The signs have already become evident as star running back LeSean McCoy limped off the field at the end of the first half last Thursday with Vick also showing signs of light injury. If this hurry up style offence is going to work then the Eagles HAVE to stay in top condition. Fighting the unknown is a very hard thing to do, but fighting the unknown who simply give you the ball is a much easier feat to accomplish. The defense did show signs of improvement with a great job at getting the ball back for Michael and the offence but there is only so much the Defense can do if the Offence fail to score. They simply cannot turn the ball over five times and expect to win the match.
    The road from here on out does not get too much easier as they travel to the Denver Broncos next Sunday. Being captained by Peyton Manning and already stamping their authority over the much more tightly contested AFC West where all four teams have taken victories. The Broncos are now 3-0 after a huge victory over the Oakland Raiders where Manning yet again threw for 300 yards and left Oakland trailing 37-21. Still yet to record his first interception, the Eagles will travel to the Mile High stadium with an almighty task on their hands before they face divisional rivals, the struggling New York Giants.


New York Giants-

If you were to place a bet on the Giants going 0-3 in the 2013 season the returns would be huge. If you were to also put a bet on their game against the Panthers being a shutout and losing 38-0 you may very well have become a millionaire. If you also bet on Manning being sacked a whopping SEVEN yes SEVEN times then you could buy the entire franchise.
   New York have had their worst start to a season since 1996 and as if the odds of the Giants making the playoffs weren't low enough, only 3 of the 115 teams that have started 0-3 have reached the postseason. But why are such a prestigious team suffering so much? And why is it that Eli Manning is in a situation where he is being sacked three straight plays in a row?
 For starters the trademark New York "Pass rush" which was once something to be feared was non-existent, the running game ran for a hugely disappointing 17 yards in the first half with 14 coming from a desperate effort to escape being bought down a 23rd this season by Eli Manning. 
     As was the story in the Eagles loss, penalties played a big factor in overshadowing first downs and completely wrecking scoring field position. 
       With all of these factors, the Giants were nothing but a shadow of their 2012 form and it looks like it is going to continue unless something changes dramatically. Yes, the Carolina defense is very good and yes Cam Newton was on fire but the point is a loss is barely acceptable for a dynasty like the Giants, a big loss is angering but a shutout by 38 points must be sending big red warning lights straight to coach Coughlin. Is it time for a coach change or can the Giants break the trend of never making the playoffs after losing their opening three games? Only time will tell as they face the 3-0 Chiefs in week 4 and then Division rivals the Eagles in week 5. A game which both teams need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive and stop Dallas running into the sunset before the season hits the halfway mark. A lot will be on the line and it could very well come down to a few big plays from either team but one thing is for sure, the whole team needs to improve, and they need to do it now.


Washington Redskins- 

Griffin fumbles a promising run and gives Detroit a crucial touchdown.

Where do we start with the Redskins? Divisional champions last year and currently sit with 0 wins and 3 losses. RGIII came back from Knee Surgery after missing the pre season still searching for his earlier form in all 3 games. The defense with the exception of Riley in their first two games seemed to just not have the hunger they did last year. How can we prove this? They're on track for giving up the most yards in a single season and after 53 snaps of the ball in the first half alone against the Eagles, the Redskins are left searching for anything that is going to help them turn their season around.
      Their defense definitely showed signs of improvement against Detroit but it was the team on the other side of the football who let them down. The offense is still yet to produce that explosiveness that they dominated the 2012 season with.
     It doesn't help when Griffin rushes the football with a chance for a touchdown before tripping over and handing it to back to the Lions who as a result won the week 3 matchup 27-20. A reversed touchdown call came late in the fourth quarter which secured victory for Megatron and the Lions and as they head to a 2-1 record, the Redskins are still searching for that first win. Their next game is against Oakland before going into the bye, but Washington are confident that they can come out on top. We will see if that confident converts into success in under a weeks time.



The NFC East has shocked a lot of people this year with its lack of wins. The entire division is 1-7 against opponents who aren't in their divison with the only win coming from the Cowboys against the Rams. As we head towards the end of the first quarter of the season the division is looking to be the least impressive in the entire NFL. We will see how things change in the coming weeks. Can the Giants make history and bring their team to the playoffs? Can Dallas find their form and win their first divisional championship since 2009? Can the Redskins find their winning form from 2012 and just how long can the Eagles keep this high tempo offence running? All will be revealed in the next few weeks.

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RG-III or RG-Knee- why the Redskins are struggling this season

Over the past 4 years, 30 teams have started the season 0-2. None of them made the playoffs. Before the season began, there was a lot of speculation about the Washington Redksins and how Robert Griffin III would perform. But the fans remained optimistic following on from their first division win since 1999.
     But two weeks have passed now and the Washington team have sank to a disappointing 0-2 record. Whilst that may not be the end of the world for fans, something that could be a cause for concern is the fact that they have allowed over 1000 yards in just two games. Here are the five reasons in my opinion, why the Redskins are struggling this season.

The name RG-Knee has been floating around since a big loss against rivals Philadelphia, the Redskins Quarterback has not been playing to the same level as most fans and players alike expected him too. This is probably down to the fact that he is still recovering from his Knee Surgery and is at about 80%. When you have a rookie of the year at the helm and a man who should be as dangerous as Mike Vick when it comes to scrambling and accuracy, he needs time in the pocket to complete a few passes and build up the confidence.
    Unfortunately that hasn't been the case and both the Packers and the Eagles were getting to Griffin too easily halting any chance of a big play. When Robert finally got the ball away, it was either incomplete or worse an interception. 33 incompletions and 3 interceptions over 2 games isn't exactly a statistic that fantasy football players will be drooling over.
           Griffin has shown a trend over both games to improve in the second half but at this stage it's too little too late. He HAS to attack from the start and work out how to get the ball away quickly so he has less time to get hit and more importantly reduce the risk of getting injured. 
   
        There is no point in being able to score on every drive if you concede the very next one. And having only scored 23 points in the opening two games, that means that if the Redskins had any chance of winning it had to come from the defense. Again this hasn't happened and Washington look vulnerable at the line. They have allowed an enormous 1023 yards over just two games and are currently 32nd in the rankings on defense. Something HAS to change.
   Arguably they have had two very difficult games against a hurry up college offense in Philly which subjected them to a first half from hell giving them 53 snaps in one half and then traveled to a ticked off Green Bay who lost against the 49ers in week one and desperately wanted to get that first win on the board. But the defense look like they are being coordinated by a 9 year old!
   There is a lot of confusion between plays and when they finally get to the quarterback through the blitz, the very next play the give up massive yardage and the momentum goes. The defense are in an SOS situation and need one solid game to get their season back underway. But facing the Lions next week and more importantly facing Megatron Calvin Johnson himself is not going to be an easy task. DeSean Jackson made mince meat of the Line Backers, Corners and Safety's so what exactly is a man who had an amazing game against Minnesota going to do? He has unrelenting pace and the ability to shake off some big tackles. Another area where the Redksins are struggling.
     Not all of the blame can be placed on the defensive line, if anything it's the men behind the line who need to be making the big tackles. But none of them are succeeding, two games in a row the tackles are being shrugged off like it's nothing. The main flaw that I have spotted is that when entering a tackle the heads are down. How are you supposed to make a tackle if you aren't looking at what you're hitting? If a player spins away and you're admiring how green the turf looks then the chances of bringing him down are close to nothing.
 
The bottom line is that the entire team needs to find their form and find it quick if they have any hope of making the playoffs this year. There is a small glimmer of hope and that is that all three of the other teams in the NFC East lost this weekend so they just need a single win to be back within contention as no team is running away with the division at this early stage on a 2-0. Against an impressive Lions Defense, RG III needs to show us what he can do, we have seen how amazing he can play throughout the 2012 season but if you live in the past then you will stay there. Griffin needs to focus on the games ahead and get himself in the best shape he can as he fights his way through recovery.
As for the defense, well they need to start completing tackles, collapsing the pocket quicker and more importantly make the right calls at the right time. If they lose another 500 yards against the Lions I fear this could be the beginning of a very long and difficult road for the Redksins. It's do or die this Sunday.

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