As part of an ongoing 8-part series, the Steel City Underground team takes their stab at predicting the 2017 NFL season.

This edition focuses on the NFC East.

	Joe	Brian	Tina	Jimmy	Tommy	Mike	Terry
1	NYG	PHI	PHI	DAL	DAL	NYG	DAL
2	PHI	NYG	DAL	PHI	WAS	DAL	PHI
3	DAL	DAL	NYG	NYG	NYG	WAS	NYG
4	WAS	WAS	WAS	WAS	PHI	PHI	WAS

Here’s some commentary justifying everyone’s picks:

Joe

Sorry Dallas fans, your team is minus Ezekiel Elliott and a host of defenders for a good portion of the season. That’s on top of the players in the secondary who departed while counting on Dak Prescott to not have a sophomore slump. Even a 9-7 record might not net you the second spot in the NFC East.

The Eagles are still rebounding but Carson Wentz is a solid enough option to help this team earn a playoff berth. The Giants will maintain their momentum from 2016, even though I feel they have several problems that could see them fall below the mark.

Washington perplexes me: is Kirk Cousins good enough? Who does he throw to? Will Jordan Reed play a full season? Who runs the football? Is their defense any better than it has been in years?

Brian

Before watching the preseason games I would have easily predicted the Giants to win this division. However, I’m haven’t liked what I saw, and even though I think that they have a shot at the division crown, I went with the Eagles and second year QB Wentz. They did bolster their running game in Philly as well, but I’m not mentioning how. Adding Alshon Jefferies and Torrey Smith also helps what was a meager WR group. The Eagles should be a better team.

The Cowboys, well, maybe not so much. Losing linebacker Anthony Hitchens to a torn ACL and having a bunch of their draft picks miss almost all of camp with injuries put’s their defense in a suspect state. I’ve often said I am not sold on Dak Prescott yet, and this season will tell a lot about the young QBs abilities to overcome and carry the team. I just don’t think it will be enough.

The Redskins are an enigma wrapped inside a riddle. I don’t know what to make of them. They might surprise and contend for a wild card spot, and they might under perform and end up being horrid. I just don’t know so I’m sticking them at the bottom of the heap.

Tina

This division seems to be all over the place season after season and, realistically, doesn’t appear to be any less haywire this year. All four teams are banking big on the play of their quarterbacks: Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott, Eli Manning and Kirk Cousins. Manning has the vet card here…but that’s not exactly a ticket to the top. The Eagles like that Wentz seems to gel easily with his targets, and there are some decent additions in Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery but I’m not sold LeGarrette Blount will be as effective in Philly at RB. Their defensive secondary is young and that could hurt down the stretch, but 10 wins aren’t out of the question.

Losing Elliott to suspension hurts the O overall in Dallas, but with the top-tier offensive line they’ve assembled, they can probably put just about anyone back there and gain some yardage. Not huge, but some. Taco Charlton and Jaylon Smith are two guys the Dallas defense need to play like pro-bowlers. I see that defense waffling and gassed if the offense can’t put up early and big leads, thus the drop to second. Giants and Redskins tie at the bottom of the pack, in my opinion. Manning has too few weapons & goes into desperation mode due to the horrible Ben McAdoo rotation issues on the O-line.

Gruden is tried and true in pound the ball, stop the run. The Redskins struggled with that mentality last season, yet finished 8-7-1 in 2016. If their defense gets on a roll and they don’t let the AFC West teams they play this season knock them right back to 28th in the league, they could slip past the Giants…but that’s asking for way more than I think this year’s roster on both sides of the ball can promise.

Jimmy

Despite Ezekiel Elliott’s 6-game suspension, which may possibly get reduced or even removed depending on how the appeal process goes, I think the Cowboys running game will continue to prosper with 3 pro bowl offensive linemen blocking for Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris.

The sophomore slump has affected many quarterbacks, but Dak Prescott isn’t normal. His 67.8 completion percentage, 23:4 TD:INT ratio and 104.9 passer rating were all rookie quarterback records. He has not lost a step during this preseason completing 18 of 22 passes (81.8%) for 219 yards and two touchdowns in two short appearances.

My surprise pick is the 2nd place team in this division: the Philadelphia Eagles. I loved their draft and the additions of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith only gives quarterback Carson Wentz more options in the passing game. Speaking of, don’t @ me when Wentz takes his game to another level this year. All aboard, the Wentz Hype train! I like that Chris Long will be going back to his natural 4-3 defensive end position, and I think the LeGarrette Blount signing will be worth is as long as they have him going north and not east or west.

The Giants flat out are unable to run the football. Coming off a 2016 season where they were 29th in rushing yards, 30th in yards per rush attempts and last in rushing touchdowns, something had to change. Thus far, their rushing struggles have continued in the preseason. Maybe it’s because I’m not the biggest Eli Manning fan, but I just don’t see them doing well this season. Losing Odell Beckham Jr. for possibly a game or two doesn’t help either.

Living in northern Virginia, I get the pleasure of having the Washington Redskins on my local channel each and every Sunday. Boy, do things look bad. Not only is Kirk Cousins holding them ransom to the tune of nearly $44 million in two seasons of just decent play, but they lost their two 1,000-yard receivers in Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. You’re relying on Terrell Pryor, who admittedly did really well considering the circumstances (playing for the Browns) and a group of young receivers to step up like Josh Doctson, Ryan Grant, and Jamison Crowder. I don’t think Matt Jones or “Fat” Rob Kelley are the answers for the running game, but hopefully, rookie Samaje Perine, one of my favorite players going into the draft, will provide a spark for them offensively.

Tommy

The NFC East is another division that is always hard to predict. Any of these teams could claim the title in any given year. However, I do believe the Cowboys will remain on top again in 2017. Even if Ezekiel Elliott does get suspended all 6 games, the Cowboys have an impenetrable offensive line, a smart quarterback, and a defense lead by one of the best in Rod Marinelli. They should take this division with upwards of ten wins.

Washington comes in a close second this year with a powerful offense and one of the leagues most underrated quarterbacks in Kirk Cousins. Eli Manning had 11 less touchdowns and 2 more interceptions last year than he did in 2015. As his play drops off and questions surround the offensive line play, the Giants could struggle this year. I have them finishing 3rd in the division.

The Eagles are still trying to get things figured out on offense and have had too many moving pieces to take a big leap forward this year. They could still have as many as 7 or 8 wins, but in this division, that’s good for last place.

Mike

The NFC East will be won by the NY Giants. Eli Manning has some excellent weapons at WR and if he can finally cut down on the turnovers, he can take them a long way. I expect the Cowboys to fall back to second place with Zeke being out for six games. I also see Dak Prescott falling back some but this team will take a wild card.  The Redskins will finish third behind another big year for Kirk Cousins and the Eagles will be last as Carson Wentz will have a sophomore crash!

Terry

Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension for will hinder the Cowboys out of the gate but QB Dak Prescott will lead them to a division win. He has the “it” factor. Carson Wentz in Philly is my pick for the most improved player. Adding offensive weapons to the Eagles offense, along with that arm, only helps solidify Wentz as the future of the franchise.

So… Eli and Kirk?

Welp, what can we say? They both are overpaid, overrated and at the moment, not great quarterbacks!

Pedestrian is the word. If they go 9-7 I’d be shocked.