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| (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) |
Once the lockout finally ended, it seemed like just about everyone and their brother was picking the Eagles to win the Super Bowl. Great pick – that city doesn’t even know what a Lombardi looks like. But hey, the Eagles aren’t the only disappointment of the season, the Cowboys continue to underwhelm, the Redskins are still looking for a quarterback to replace Mark Rypien (1988-1993), and the Giants are absolutely lost when it comes to the running game – on either side of the ball.
In the end, this division is still up for grabs, and it’s far from the worst one in the league. In fact, don’t be too surprised if one of the NFC Wild Cards comes out of the East.
Biggest Surprise – The (yet again) lackluster Dallas Cowboys
There is typically never a team that receives as much preseason hype as the Cowboys, but this season, the Eagles stole the limelight. Still, no-one expected the ‘Boys to underperform like they have. Unpredictability is the key here. After sticking with New England for the entire game, and steamrolling St. Louis, Dallas should’ve easily disposed of the mediocre-at-best Philadelphia Eagles. Yet somehow the Cowboys went belly up in the City of Brotherly Love. Another subpar year from Jerry Jones’ squad? Oh, brother.
Biggest Disappointment – The Dream Team Philadelphia Eagles
Does this one really require an explanation? Come on, I mean seriously. I don’t know about you, but I dream bigger than 3-4… Vick has played awful, the defense hasn’t done much either, and the lack of chemistry has plagued this team all season. But did you see the Dallas game? Now that looked more like a dream. It’s officially go-time for the Eagles. They’re home the next two weeks against Chicago and Arizona, so they should effectively roll in to a pivotal contest in New York against the Giants at 5-4. Can anybody say Game of the Week?!
Breakout Player – The Elusive Victor Cruz
This was another easy one – after losing two of their top receivers from 2010 in free agency, the Giants needed someone to step up. They chose Mario Manningham. They chose wrong. As soon as Cruz had a chance to step up, he took no prisoners. As the Giants’ de-facto “third” wide receiver, Cruz ranks 16th in receiving yards and is quickly becoming a favorite of both fans and Eli Manning. Just bear in mind that this is the same Victor Cruz who had under 2,000 receiving yards and only 11 touchdowns in college, didn’t start a game until his junior year at UMass, and went undrafted in 2010. Somebody dropped the ball on that one – but it definitely wasn’t this guy.
Offensive MVP – “Elite” Eli Manning
Okay, maybe we still shouldn’t go that far. But I will go as far as to say that Eli is the only reason the Giants are leading the NFC East. While the rest of the team has dropped passes, missed tackles, failed to move the ball anywhere on the ground, and found other ways to be consistently inconsistent, Eli is having the season of his life. He has the seventh-most passing yards, the fifth-highest passer rating, and the third-highest passer rating in the league. He’s light-years ahead of Michael Vick, Tony Romo, and whoever is behind center for Washington. In fact, if Eli can keep this up for the rest of the year, he’ll end up right next to Brady and Rodgers, on the list of elite NFL quarterbacks.
Defensive MVP – Sack Master DeMarcus Ware
Let’s just be honest. DeMarcus Ware is the Dallas Cowboys’ defense. In fact, DeMarcus Ware is the Dallas Cowboys. Right now, there isn’t a better linebacker in the league. Ware is persistently harassing quarterbacks, week in and week out. He is second in the league with 12 sacks, and he’s on pace to break Michael Strahan’s all-time sack record. Without Ware, the Cowboys probably wouldn’t have a win. His presence is always notable - even in a 27-point loss to the Eagles, Ware recorded a career high 4 sacks. If only he could play quarterback…
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