After the dust settled in the race for the NFC East Title in 2013, a new prince had been spotted in quarterback Robert Griffin, III aka RGIII, aka The Washington Redskins. The team had capped a remarkable turn around to their season in which they reeled off seven straight regular-season wins to capture the NFC East crown for the first time since 1999. In doing so, they issued notice to the league that they now have a franchise player and super-star talent in Griffin.
The king of the division that they supplanted for the crown was quarterback Eli Manning, two-time Super Bowl MVP, aka The New York Giants. Manning and the Giants have consistently wreaked havoc in this division for the last half-decade (two Super Bowls in 6 years), with a professionalism that has been unrivaled during that span.
One could argue that the Philadelphia Eagles are the only team-of-note outside of New York in the division. The Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, albeit the two most lucrative teams in the NFL, have not mattered where it counts the most — on the field — for more than 15 years. Sure… a playoff appearance here and there has occurred. But neither team has been as competitive as the G-Men or the Eagles during that span.
Things should change now as the 2013 regular season kick-off rapidly approaches. The division looks to be in the best shape it has been in a long time. The Eagles have a new coach in former Oregon Ducks’ coach, Chip Kelly. He will bring his high octane offense to the league and see how it fairs. The weapons are in place in the City of Brotherly Love to make football interesting again.
The Cowboys have the weapons to challenge for the division as quarterback Tony Romo signed a six-year, $108 million contract extension on March 29 to become the highest paid player in Dallas Cowboys history. Will this translate to a playoff appearance for a franchise that has not had a season-of-note themselves for a long while?
This division comes down to the defending NFC East champion Redskins and the Giants. New York is less than two seasons removed from, not just winning the division but taking the whole darn thing (21-17 over New England in Super Bowl XLVI). They went through what a lot of Super Bowl-winning teams have gone through, i.e., not even making the playoffs the year that they are defending their crown. But make no mistake about it… the Giants still feel that they are the best team in the division.
I spoke to several Giants players and, although they have great respect for the other teams in the division, they feel that, if they play up to their capabilities, no other team can stay with them. For them to have that confidence, one needs to look no further than to Eli Manning.
The joke in New York amongst fans has always been: “Which Eli will show up on Sunday?” Will it be “Two-Time-Super-Bowl-MVP-Winning” Eli or the “Blank-Stare-When-Things-Are-Not-Going-Well” Eli? However, I expect that, as the quarterback goes, the Giants will go. And that’s why they should be battling, not just for the division crown, but for a Super Bowl as well.
It might be a forgone conclusion that the Giants are my pick to win the division but, they’re not. It is actually the new prince who should turn into a king this year… and that would be Robert Griffin, III and the Washington Redskins.
I know some will say, “Lake, you live in Ashburn Va., just a few yards from Redskins Park. You covered this team for several years. You break bread with the players… yada, yada, yada!”
But that all has nothing to do with it. I have no vested interest in the Washington Redskins as an organization. Yes… I have friends on both teams. Players that have helped my company and made appearances on my broadcasts (Victor Cruz, Ryan Torain, and Selvish Capers from New York; Santana Moss, Darrel Young, Ryan Kerrigan, and about 35 others from Washington) over the years come to mind.
But to me, this comes down to the “IT Factor”.
“What is the “IT Factor?” you may ask. To me, it’s when a team believes that they have not scratched the surface of their true potential. It’s when a team or group of individuals knows that it is good but wants to be great. Sure, the Giants have these attributes. But they are an older team now that will start looking for contributions from their younger players.
The Redskins are a young team that has just won a division title with many first-year core players. Players who only know winning. These were first-year players (for Washington) that were either rookies or free agents; like Griffin, running back Alfred Morris, wide out Pierre Garçon, kicker Kia Forbath, back-up quarterback Kurt Cousins — and several more — were the core pieces behind this new-found attitude. Over the past two seasons, the Redskins have 18 players who were drafted that are still on the current roster.
Washington won last year with youth and talent. You mix that with success and the meal tastes really good. Consider that they didn’t even field their true starting line-up through a majority of the season. Injuries to tight end Fred Davis, former starting running back Roy Helu, Jr., Garçon, safety Brandon Meriweather, outside linebacker Brian Orakpo, defensive end Adam Carriker and, of course, Griffin; kept this team from placing all the ingredients in the meal. But still, it tasted great. Add all of these spices to the table now, combined with how tasty it was last year and its hard to see this team not being equally successful — at the very least.
The Giants have more experience, yes. Despite what happened last year, they know how to win and win big. But I see a changing of the guard in the division. The Redskins have a young, hungry team that wants to prove that when their superstar quarterback is at full strength (as well as a few other of their Pro Bowl-caliber players), they can go further in the playoffs than they did last season. Had they had all those starters on the field, perhaps the division race would not have been so close.
The 2013 season will indicate whether Washington is ready for prime-time. The NFL appears to think so by way of giving them five chances to prove it on national TV.
The question is, are the Giants ready again for prime-time? This competition has the makings of two epic division games… which will end up being battles for NFC East supremacy.
My prediction for this year’s NFC East Division final standings are as follows:
Washington Redskins: 12-4 (Redskins get the NFC East championship on a head-to-head tie-breaker or, best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs and best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division)
New York Giants: 12-4
Dallas Cowboys: 9-7
Philadelphia Eagles: 7-9