TDL’s Sports, Wrestling, & Otherwise

I usually do the NFC east last because it’s the division I know the best but I guess since the division gets to open the season that I have to start with it.

Washington Redskins - O/U 7.5, LY 9-7: The Skins got a Wildcard berth by the grace of God last season. They “improved” by bringing in an over the hill defensive player and not improving their quarterback situation. Clinton Portis about 125 in runningback years (he’s aged 50 more years since my yesterdays’ picks column). They’re just remaining a team that’s on the cusp of being good. I just don’t see Jason Campbell as an elite, playoff quarterback and, until he proves me wrong, they’re going to hover around a .500 team. The one caveat to this is that the NFC East draws the NFC West and the AFC North this year. I’m having trouble buying the ‘Skins as a 9-win team this year but their schedule says otherwise. Over. 9 wins.

Philadelphia Eagles - 8.5, 8-8: To save myself time, I’ll just say what I said last year: The warranty on the “mobile quarterback” apparently expires at age 28. Donovan McNabb will turn 31 32 this November. This means McNabb either needs to change his game (difficult) or not get injured. They wisely let their good back-up go to the Bucs (which, I don’t know which decision was more inexplicable… the Buccaneers offering Rich Garcia $5M to “compete for the starting job” or the Eagles not using some of their $11M in cap space to keep him on board for McNabb’s inevitable injury. Now, the Eagles are looking forward to at least four starts by AJ Feeley or Kelly Holcomb. Most of their receivers have been in the league less than three seasons and they replaced Donte Stallworth with Kevin Curtis still don’t have a running game that aren’t Donovan’s McNabb’s shaky wheels. As McNabb declines, so does this team. Under. 7 wins.

Dallas Cowboys - 10.5, 13-3: Has there ever been a more celebrated team that hasn’t won a playoff game in over a decade? Unfortunately for me, the Cowboys have same schedule as the Giants and are sadly a more consistent regular-season team. The Giants win last year was made doubly delicious by the fact it came at the expense of the Cowboys in Dallas. There are images of last year I will have with me for the rest of my life. Wade Phillips’s post-game cry-fest is one. The image of stunned Dallas fans in the stands is another. It will never get old. I’m on the fence with declaring that the Cowboys are the official “team everyone is high on who will underachieve” for some reason or another. But, until the window closes on TO in 2010 or 2011, I just don’t really see it happening. Since they’re more consistent than the Giants I give them the regular season nod again and the over. 12 wins.

New York Giants - 8.5, 10-6: M’boy Bootleg took a jab at the Giants and asked how the defending Super Bowl champions can still be playing the plucky underdog/they don’t respect us card. Here’s why. Last night, I picked up Eli Manning, the Super Bowl MVP, in the 10th round of a 12 team fantasy draft — defenses and Kickers were going before him. The Cowboys, a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since I was in high school, is HBO’s feature team this year. The Jets, who had a 6-win season last year, are dominating the media coverage. Vegas, after marking the Giants as a six-win team last year marks them as a .500 team this year. This is how you play the “no respect” card as a reigning champion. Now, losing the 20+ sacks that Osi and Strahan brought to the table isn’t going to be easy — probably not even possible — but the Giants have an occasionally irritating tendency to draft pass rushers in the early rounds of the draft. They have the supply. The loss of Osi of Strahan move the Giants defense from “excellent” to “very good.” If you asked me to sign for a “very good” defense and a “consistently mediocre” offense, I would. On top of that, the Giants have another favorable schedule, skipping all the elite teams save for the Cowboys twice and the Steelers. They’re playing the NFC West (which may still be the worst division ever in professional sports) and the AFC North (and everyone who thinks the Browns are repeating their out of nowhere season is fooling themselves). That leaves their hard, non-division games as Pittsburgh and Cincy. That’s it. Lock of the season. Giants over. 10 wins

Division Winner: Dallas. Wildcard: Giants. Possible Wildcard: Redskins.