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NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys' projected starting line has one former first-rounder, two seventh-rounders, and two undrafted players. This is why the Morris Claiborne trade was a questionable move. The Cowboys gave up a second-round pick, which they could have used to boost their offensive line, to take a cornerback, who will probably play badly in his first season. In all likelihood, that trade makes Dallas a worse team in 2012, even if Claiborne improves them in the long term.
New York Giants: Sometimes a mediocre-to-good team gets lucky every week for a month. Sometimes a mediocre-to-good team plays a little bit better during a string of games, based simply on natural human variation. Sometimes a team plays its opponents to a standstill for a few weeks in a row, but wins each game close thanks to a fortuitous break here or there. When the team is closer to mediocre, and the string of luck comes in November and December, you end up with the Tebowmania Broncos. When the team is closer to good, and the string of luck comes in January, you end up with that team winning a Super Bowl. The fact that it has been the same team twice in five years could also just be part of that randomness.
Philadelphia Eagles: The problems in the secondary actually lasted longer than the problems with the front seven, which is a bit odd since it was obvious to pretty much anyone who understands football that the Eagles were using Nnamdi Asomugha wrong. The Eagles were so happy about signing one of the best cornerbacks in football that they totally ignored the roster problem they had created for themselves: They now had three cornerbacks who were much better on the outside and only two places to put them. So defensive coordinator Juan Castillo decided to use Asomugha as a "joker" defender who could move all over the field. He played slot corner. He played deep safety. He played strong safety, almost like a dime linebacker. He did crossing moves where he started at corner and then switched with a safety. He blitzed a little bit. None of these are things Nnamdi Asomugha is good at.
Washington Redskins: It's really hard to overstate just how valuable first-round draft picks are in the NFL. Using that classic draft value chart, Washington gave St. Louis more value for the rights to draft Robert Griffin III than the Giants gave San Diego for Eli Manning, or the Falcons gave San Diego for Michael Vick. And those picks are worth even more now than they were in 2001 or 2004 because of the new slot-controlled salaries for first-round picks. There's no way Griffin can live up to the hype without making double-digit Pro Bowls. An essay by the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective suggested that for the Redskins to get equivalent value for the picks they gave up, Griffin will need a career as productive as Tom Brady's.
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys' projected starting line has one former first-rounder, two seventh-rounders, and two undrafted players. This is why the Morris Claiborne trade was a questionable move. The Cowboys gave up a second-round pick, which they could have used to boost their offensive line, to take a cornerback, who will probably play badly in his first season. In all likelihood, that trade makes Dallas a worse team in 2012, even if Claiborne improves them in the long term.
New York Giants: Sometimes a mediocre-to-good team gets lucky every week for a month. Sometimes a mediocre-to-good team plays a little bit better during a string of games, based simply on natural human variation. Sometimes a team plays its opponents to a standstill for a few weeks in a row, but wins each game close thanks to a fortuitous break here or there. When the team is closer to mediocre, and the string of luck comes in November and December, you end up with the Tebowmania Broncos. When the team is closer to good, and the string of luck comes in January, you end up with that team winning a Super Bowl. The fact that it has been the same team twice in five years could also just be part of that randomness.
Philadelphia Eagles: The problems in the secondary actually lasted longer than the problems with the front seven, which is a bit odd since it was obvious to pretty much anyone who understands football that the Eagles were using Nnamdi Asomugha wrong. The Eagles were so happy about signing one of the best cornerbacks in football that they totally ignored the roster problem they had created for themselves: They now had three cornerbacks who were much better on the outside and only two places to put them. So defensive coordinator Juan Castillo decided to use Asomugha as a "joker" defender who could move all over the field. He played slot corner. He played deep safety. He played strong safety, almost like a dime linebacker. He did crossing moves where he started at corner and then switched with a safety. He blitzed a little bit. None of these are things Nnamdi Asomugha is good at.
Washington Redskins: It's really hard to overstate just how valuable first-round draft picks are in the NFL. Using that classic draft value chart, Washington gave St. Louis more value for the rights to draft Robert Griffin III than the Giants gave San Diego for Eli Manning, or the Falcons gave San Diego for Michael Vick. And those picks are worth even more now than they were in 2001 or 2004 because of the new slot-controlled salaries for first-round picks. There's no way Griffin can live up to the hype without making double-digit Pro Bowls. An essay by the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective suggested that for the Redskins to get equivalent value for the picks they gave up, Griffin will need a career as productive as Tom Brady's.