Quincy Carter and NFC East Predictions

In my preseason predictions for the NFL, I reluctantly chose Dallas to win the NFC East. Now the Cowboys have shocked everyone and released Quincy Carter without explanation, just a few days after Coach Parcells said, "[Carter] has a leg up on pretty much everybody because he was the guy that played the best and started last year. Obviously I have that in mind. He is in a good position to be improved. And that is what I'm looking for.'' So, will Dallas still win the East with Vinny Testaverde as the starter? I don't think so.

Vinny has done good things over the years. He is a member of the very exclusive club of quarterbacks to have thrown for over 40,000 years in his career. But he hasn't had too much success since the 1998 season, when he led Parcells' Jets to the AFC title game. Last year, he took the reins of a defending division winner and went 2-7. One of the weaknesses of the Cowboys is the offensive line, who gives up a lot of sacks. Carter was at least mobile. Vinny is a statue who will be toppled repeatedly. Such abuse raises the specter of injury, and the Cowboys now have no depth at quarterback. Vinny was the depth. They have Tony Romo, an undrafted player who has never taken a snap in the NFL, and Drew Henson, a 6th round draft pick who has been playing minor league baseball the last few years.

The Cowboys have now lost last year's starting running back (Troy Hambrick), quarterback (Carter), and one of the leading receivers (Joey Galloway). They have all been replaced by older, some might say over the hill, players: Eddie George, Testaverde, Keyshawn Johnson respectively. While all three bring talent and experience, they are new to the system and their talent is very much in decline. Add that to the fact that they play behind a creaky offensive line and one is forced to conclude the Cowboy offense isn't going anywhere this year.

So if Dallas is out, who will win the East? As I said originally, all the other teams in the division have the capability of winning it, and all have considerable question marks. The Giants and Redskins have the biggest question marks of all. How well will a veteran team like New York respond to an authoritarian coach like Coughlin? (Remember how well the Redskins responded to Marty Schottenheimer?) Does Kurt Warner have anything in the tank? For Washington, there's little question about how the team will respond to Gibbs and there's little question that they have good players on both sides of the ball. The question mark is the offensive line, which was abysmal last year and has the same personnel this year. So I'm left going back to Philadelphia. Yes, I know what I said the first time. I don't think they will be as good as they were last year (or the previous two). But they won't fall so far as to lose out to the more questionable teams in their division.