With less than two weeks to go before the 2023 NFL season begins, one of the most competitive divisions will be the NFC East. The Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders will seek to wrest the divisional crown from the Philadelphia Eagles. However, can they do it?
Eagles, going for another NFC championship
The Eagles had one of the best defenses last year and unbelievably managed to improve it for 2023 after a trip to the Super Bowl. Through the Draft, management, led by GM Howie Roseman, and head coach Nick Sirianni drafted defensive tackle Jalen Carter and linebacker Nolan Smith in the first round and took a raw gem in the fourth. in the figure of cornerback Kelee Ringo. The rookies will have to replace Javon Hargrave, TJ Edwards and James Bradberry, respectively.
On offense, the responsibility of leading the team to the playoffs will rest on the shoulders of quarterback Jalen Hurts. He will be in charge of distributing the ball between wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert and running backs D’Andre Swift, Kenneth Gainwell and Rashad Penny. Added to that, this It will be Brian Johnson’s first season as offensive coordinator in the NFL after spending the past two seasons as the Eagles’ QB coach with a close relationship with Hurts.
The schedule will not be kind to the Eagles. The team will have more road games and the campaign will start at Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots. The toughest visits will be to the New York Jets (09/15), the Kansas City Chiefs (11/20), the Dallas Cowboys (12/10) and the New York Giants (07/01/2023).
Cowboys and the eternal dream of the Super Bowl
Quarterback Dak Prescott and linebacker Micah Parsons are the icons of the Cowboys on offense and defense, respectively. Both players believe that ‘America’s Team’ is ready to compete for the Super Bowl in the 2023 NFL season for various reasons.
Dallas made up for the loss of tight end Dalton Schultz by drafting Luke Schoonmaker in the second round. With him, Prescott will have a huge 6-6, 250-pound target that will serve up short-yardage plays and in the end zone. Last year, the Cowboys visited the red zone (within the rival’s 20-yard line) 56 times and in 40 of them they came out with a touchdown, which earned them to be the best offense in that area.
An important change in the offensive line of the Texan team is the position of Tyler Smith. The second-year player served as tackle his rookie year and will now replace Connor McGovern at right guard. He, along with Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin and Terence Steele will be in charge of establishing the running game with Tony Pollard and protecting Dak Prescott.
On defense, the biggest addition is first-round pick Mazi Smith. He will serve as NT in the Cowboys’ 4-3 formation. Micah Parsons will continue to pressure opposing QBs while Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore will patrol the deep zone of the opposing air attack. Also, the Mexican Isaac Alarcon he will try his luck as a defensive lineman after spending three years on the other side of the trench.
new york is blue
Brian Daboll hopes his second year as New York Giants head coach will be better than his first. The running offense was the hallmark of the ‘G-Men’ last season and Saquon Barkley will have to have another spectacular year to guarantee a long-term contract after the contract dispute he had with the administration when he was signed with the player tag franchise.
The general manager is sure that Daniel Jones is the franchise quarterback they were looking for after the retirement of Eli Manning and that is why they gave him a four-year contract and 160 million dollars. Now, the Duke graduate will have to make every penny count from the first play of the 2023 season.
In a division that includes quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott, the Giants have decided to take a chance on rookie Tre Hawkins III and Deonte Banks as starting corner backs. That’s understandable when the pass rush is made up of Kayvon Thibodeaux, Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence II.
The new regime in Washington begins with Howell
There’s a new regime in Washington after the sale of the Commanders from Dan Snyder to Josh Harris was completed and everything looks different, even though it’s essentially the same team that went 8-8-1 last year.
After a year experimenting with Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke, coach Ron Rivera is willing to entrust the reins of the offense to second-year QB Sam Howell. The young passer will have all the tools available and the main one will be the help of Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator; he was essential in the last five years of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. In case things go wrong, the insurance policy is veteran Jacoby Brissett.
One of the reasons that light up the panorama of the Commanders is the new offensive line. In free agency they were reinforced with tackle Andrew Wylie and guard Nick Gates, who will serve as center. In addition, in the last Draft they expanded their rotation with rookies Ricky Stromberg and Braeden Daniels.
The Commanders had the fourth-best pass defense last year and now they added cornerback Emmanuel Forbes in the Draft. Also, Chase Young is in a year that could define his next contract and he’ll want to have good numbers.
2023-08-26 18:20:28
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