Philadelphia Eagles (o9.5 -155 / u9.5 +135) +140 to win NFC East

Dallas Cowboys (o10 +100/ u10 -120) +160 to win NFC East

Washington Commanders (o8 +100 / u8 -120) +500 to win NFC East

New York Giants (o7 -110 / u7 -110) +800 to win NFC East

The yearly merry-go-round that is the NFC East. If it seems like every year a new team wins this division, that’s because they do. For the most part though, the Giants have not been invited to this party in the past half decade or so. In what is billed as the “weakest” division in the league, these teams tend to go to war with each other. I suspect this season will play out the same, with the winner being crowned in the final week.

Dallas is in a weird transitional change. The perception seems to be they are the same team they were last year. False. This team has lost Amari Cooper and Randy Gregory. They have also managed to lose Tyron Smith for the year with an injury in camp. These are three critical pieces of the team. Michael Gallup will also be gone until at least November after tearing his ACL late last year. This year, the lynchpins of the team are Dak, Zeke and CeeDee Lamb. I expect the Cowboys to be competitive. I just think they regress from last year.  12-5 was an outsized record for a team that got handled in the playoffs by the 49ers. I truly believe Mike McCarthy is coaching for his job this year and anything short of an NFC Title game probably means his demise. With that said, I don’t expect Dallas to make the playoffs. I don’t expect them to go over their 10 game win total. The defense was the team’s strength last year, forcing an inordinate amount of turnovers. Turnovers are mostly luck. I do not envision them being as lucky. Trevon Diggs isn’t going to have 11 interceptions again. That’s ridiculous. Their pass rush will be tamer without Gregory. Dak will be more hurried without Smith at LT. I imagine to make their offense more creative that Tony Pollard might play a slot role as a quasi receiver. However, they aren’t going to have the big chunk plays without all the receiving talent. Jaylen Tolbert will not cut it. I’m looking for spots to fade the Cowboys this year. I’m also looking for their games to go over, as I think the defense is going to take a step back. image and get another head coaching shot. Quinn will institute the Tampa 2 defense and much like Robert Saleh with the Jets, this style works great – if you have the personnel to execute it. The Cowboys do not. They tried addressing the secondary in the draft but have no above average players in the unit currently. The defense should remain poor. There isn’t enough value to bet the Cowboys to miss the playoffs and I’ve already played them to go under earlier this year when the number was 10.5, which no longer is available.

Washington really fell short of expectations last year. The defense that was so vaunted was trash. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was supposed to provide a spark, got injured in the first half of Week 1. The team had to go with a backup QB for the entire year. This year, in comes Carson Wentz. While I do believe this is an upgrade to Taylor Heneike, you just never know what you’re getting from Wentz. Chase Young will be out for the first few weeks putting the defense at an immediate detriment. While the defensive line is their strength, the other two levels of the defense are flat out bad. They wanted Brian Robinson to be their lead RB and he gets shot two weeks before the season. Now the team has to go back to Antonio Gibson, who they marginalized all preseason. The entire organization is a disaster with all sorts of Congressional hearings and bad conduct being aired out. Ron Rivera, who I like, is essentially coaching for this job. Yea, they are getting back Curtis Samuel and drafted Jahan Dotson, cool. But you really never know what you’re getting from Wentz. He crumbles in tight spots and I expect this team to be in mostly close games, as they are not good enough to separate from teams. Washington u8 -120.

Finally, Dave Gettleman was shown the door. In comes Joe Schoen. Out goes Joe Judge and in comes Brian Daboll. While I really thought the Giants should have brought on Brian Flores, I get the Daboll hire. This is the last shot for Daniel Jones and they needed someone to fix him. I believe the Giants drafted well, brining in key pieces of offensive line and defensive line. These are the most important pieces of a team and the Giants certainly upgraded there. The question still remains – will Daboll fix Jones? I do believe he will coach him and scheme the system to his strengths. I expect him to have more protection. The one thing I don’t think Daboll can do (and really can make or break the season) is stop Jones from turning the ball over. Danny Dimes seems to have two blind sides sometimes. I expect Saquon Barkley to have a good year. He will be fed the ball and this is the type of weapon the coach loves. The receiving corps is still a mystery. It’s evident that Kenny Golladay is a bust. Sterling Shepherd is still hurt. Kadarius Toney, who could be something special, is always hurt. WanDale Robinson is 5’7”. Not to mention, I can’t name you their TE. The secondary will be the Giants biggest weakness – not great in a pass happy league. I think the Giants take a step from last year, however, I don’t love the number of 7 wins. They can sneakily win this division, if things go right. But a lot of things would have to go right. I will mostly be on the Unders in their games this year. I will look to bet them as a dog – starting in Week 1.

The Eagles started the preseason as an en vogue pick to go over their win total and win this division. I bet both of those early in the summer. But those were at considerably different numbers – 8.5 wins and +190 to win the division. They are now essentially the favorite to win this division and carry no value in that market. The Eagles have one of the best offensive lines in the league along with a top 10 defensive line. They have improved in the secondary, bringing on James Bradberry and Chauncey Gardner Johnson. They brought in AJ Brown, who will now be teamed with Devonta Smith, quietly one of the best one-two WR tandems in the NFL. The main question is can Jalen Hurts throw when he needs to. I believe the answer is yes. Do not forget that Hurts is a pedigreed guy who was the starter at Alabama before he got pulled for Tua in the National Championship game. He’s also “best friends” with AJ Brown. I think the arrow is pointing up , up, up for Philly. While the value is gone on their wins and division, I think there is value on this team going far into the playoffs. So yea, gimme the Eagles this year. Eagles to win NFC +1000.