Hello once again everyone. Since we already touched on the NFL news and notes of the day in my NFC South preview, let me open this column up with a personal story. It’s a fitting start to my NFC East preview.

Depending on who you talk to in my family, you will get varying answers on which NFL team they root for. Primarily, it is an NFC East family with a few Pittsburgh and New England fans thrown into the mix. When I started this blog a year ago, I went right to my wheelhouse and wrote a preview about the division.

Naturally as my family members passed around my NFC East preview, I got some interesting comments here and there about what I wrote. My favorite comment came from an unexpected place.

Most of my mother’s side of the family grew up in Washington and are big fans of the Redskins. Well, lets just say that some of them thought I took the bashing on Washington’s playoff chances a little too far, notably my late grandfather. Over the years, we have traded barbs about our respective teams, and would occasionally get a phone call from “The Judge” following a Washington win over Philadelphia.

His health would take a turn for the worst late last summer, but he left me with one last laugh that we could share over football. A couple weeks after I wrote the column, my mom told me the story of my aunt showing my grandfather what I wrote, specifically what I said about the Redskins. Upon reading the column with some of the jokes that I made at his team’s expense, my grandfather turned to my aunt and said, “Well it looks like I’m going to have to have a chat with that boy.”

As the one-year anniversary of his passing is coming up, I’ve found myself reflecting on some of these moments we’ve shared over the years. A lot of where I am and the path I’ve chosen for myself was shaped by the shared fandom of many of my family members, “The Judge” included.

Now let’s get back to football, where last season the Cowboys shocked everyone by taking the league by storm. Running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott proved that rookies, no matter where you draft them, could have a massive impact on a team. These two led the Cowboys to a 13-3 record and the NFC East title. They also continued a trend of 12 consecutive seasons with a new division winner.

Already things are working against the Cowboys to finally break that trend, plus New York, Philadelphia, and Washington each have a legitimate shot at the crown. As we all now this division always comes down to the wire with the late season divisional games deciding the champion. Who will walk out of the regular season with the NFC East title? Let’s size up the competitors in another edition of “No Huddle.”

Dallas Cowboys (last season: 13-3)

It was a magical 2016 in Dallas. Tony Romo’s now-career ending injury made way for Dak Prescott to take the reigns of this offense and never look back. His efficient play coupled with the game-changing ability of Ezekiel Elliott made Dallas a formidable team. Things won’t be as easy this season though.

The on-going battle regarding Elliott’s six-game suspension has cast a big shadow over this team heading into this season. It looks like he will play this week, but the suspension is looming. With no clear resolution yet, we can’t be sure of when he will finally serve that suspension, how long it will end up being, or if he serves it at all.

Dallas does have a pair of capable runners to fill-in for Elliott with Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris. They will both be able to allow Dallas to play the ball-control, run-oriented offense that has served them incredibly well in the past. This does mean that Prescott will have to build on his successes from last year and not undergo a sophomore slump.

While Prescott has shown quite a rapport with Dez Bryant, Dallas possibly the toughest schedule when it comes to opposing cornerbacks. Again, this isn’t the best news for a team that needs its quarterback to take a big step forward.

Elliott’s suspension isn’t the only one that Dallas is worrying about this season. On the defensive side of the ball, Dallas already has three players suspended with potentially two more upcoming. Randy Gregory is suspended for the season, David Irving is serving a four-game suspension, and Damontre Moore has a two-game ban. Nolan Carroll could be suspended in relation to a DWI arrest and Damien Wilson could face suspension for an aggravated assault charge.

With most of this defensive line already suspended, the burden will fall on the linebackers and secondary. Sean Lee proved he hasn’t lost a step, but the real story on the field could be the debut of Jaylon Smith. After a devastating knee injury forced the former consensus All-American linebacker to fall to the second round of the 2016 draft, Smith spent all last season recovering. Now it looks like we will finally see Smith suit up, and if he is anything close to the player he was a Notre Dame, the Cowboys could have a star in the making.

It’s going to be tough to predict how this season in Dallas will turn out. Odds are this is a playoff team, but repeating in the NFC East is not as safe a bet. Until the Elliott situation clears up, coupled with their potential defensive issues, temper your expectations for the Cowboys.

New York Giants (last season: 11-5)

Last season was setting up for the Giants to win their first division title since 2009. Then the Cowboys emerged. That doesn’t mean things weren’t great in the Big Apple last season. New York easily clinched a Wild Card berth behind the strength of a dominant defense and a big-play offense. 2017 finds the Giants as the favorite in the division once again.

Despite a poor running game, and a sub-par offensive line, the Giants still managed to have a dangerous offense. Odell Beckham will remedy some of those issues. Eli Manning had to be pleased that Brandon Marshall left the Jets to join the Giants. This offense has massive potential if this offensive line can keep Manning upright. The Beckham-Marshall combination will do wonders for this offense, as they will keep double-coverage off of each other. Sterling Shepard looked good in the slot last season and rookie tight end Evan Engram could be a versatile option.

New York broke the bank to improve its defense last season and it looked like money well spent. The Giants defense ascended up the ranks, finishing second in total defense. A real surprise was safety Landon Collins, who emerged as one of the best players at his positions. Collins made a strong case to be the Defensive Player of the Year.

This defense was the backbone of this team last season, allowing this offense to be opportunistic. If the Giants can replicate its defensive performance and get more consistent production on offense, this will be a bona fide playoff team. The NFC East crown will be theirs to lose heading into 2017.

Washington Redskins (last season: 8-7-1)

The Redskins may not have repeated as division champs, but they were still a very competitive team that just missed the postseason. Washington almost had some serious free agent losses but was able to keep the most important player while adding a very interesting piece in the process.

Kirk Cousins is back in Washington again this season, looking to add to his streak of consecutive 4,000-yard passing seasons. He is playing under the franchise tag once again, so a subplot to this season will be his future with the team. Most quarterbacks wouldn’t be too happy about losing two 1,000-yard receivers but fortunately for Cousins the Redskins front office softened that blow in free agency.

Terrelle Pryor, one of last season’s breakout players, joined Washington in the offseason. The former college quarterback had a stellar season in Cleveland a year ago and is a tailor-made fit for this passing game. He joins shifty slot receiver Jamison Crowder and oft-injured but talented tight end Jordan Reed. These three will give Cousins plenty of options to attack defenses down the field.

While the running game wasn’t great last season, Washington found some stability with relative unknown running back Rob Kelley. “Fat Rob” enters the year as the lead back, but this running game will have to improve overall this season.

Defensively, the Redskins don’t have a unit they can rely on week-in and week-out. Ranking 28^th in the league the past two seasons, they will need to get something out of this unit to get back to the postseason. Hoping that the offense will carry them and outscore their opponents just isn’t going to work. Playing more zone coverage while trying to get a solid pass rush could be the ticket though. If Washington can accomplish that, they can make enough of an improvement. This will mean Josh Norman will be more of a factor in creating turnovers.

Washington will be a tough team to face and very competitive in the NFC East. While they should be able to maintain their production on offense, this is a defense that could hold them back yet again. In a tough division and a deep conference, a playoff berth could be tough to come by once again this year.

Philadelphia Eagles (last season: 7-9)

No team did more in the offseason in the NFC East than the Philadelphia Eagles. After squandered a 3-0 start last season, the Eagles revamped its receiving core to give Carson Wentz more of a chance to improve on his rookie season. The Birds also made some interesting additions to what could potentially be a fantastic defense this season. It is all about taking the next step under second-year coach Doug Pederson.

When the Eagles traded Sam Bradford a year ago, it was clear they believed Wentz was capable of stepping right in as the starting QB. Now GM Howie Roseman has given him capable targets in the passing game. Alshon Jeffery was the splash addition, signing a one-year “prove it” deal with Philly. He could be the most well rounded receiver the Eagles have had since Terrell Owens. Philly also brought in Torrey Smith, who is limited but is a deep-play threat.

To aid the running game, Philly added Legarrette Blount to be the power back. He was magnificent in the red-zone last season, an area where the Eagles habitually have struggled over the years. Blount and Darren Sproles will be a very interesting combination in this backfield.

Over on the defensive side of the football, this could be the year where people finally start taking this unit seriously. Moving to a 4-3 scheme under Jim Schwartz was a good start, but now they are filling in the gaps on this depth chart. To put it simply, this front-seven could be incredible in 2017. Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham were among the best defensive linemen last season so the Birds got them some help.

Timmy Jernigan was a solid interior lineman in Baltimore last season and should take some pressure off of Cox. Philly signed defensive end Chris Long to bolster the pass rush after winning a Super Bowl with New England last season. Keep an eye on rookie defensive end Derek Barnett this season as he looks like an ideal fit in this defense.

The secondary will benefit greatly if this front-seven is as good as advertised. Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod worked well together as a safety pair last season. However the search for stability at cornerback continues for the Eagles. Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, and Patrick Robinson will be the primary corners this season as the Eagles wait for rookie Sidney Jones to recover from his offseason injury.

Overall, there are a lot of positive additions for the Eagles. The question is how all of these pieces fit and mesh together. Add in a brutal schedule and it’s going to be tough to predict where the Eagles will finish. At best this is the team that could win the division. Worst-case scenario, it’s a more competitive team that repeats its 7-9 record from a year ago.

That is it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at the AFC West and my final predictions for the 2017 season. Plus, I’ll be previewing the regular season opener between New England and Kansas City. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney, subscribe to Shooting the Moon on WordPress, and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.