Fanhouse NFL Blog - nfc-east

Eagles Will Release Brian Westbrook

Bruce Ciskie — 2010-02-23T14:20:00 00:00

Filed under: Eagles, NFC East, NFL Free Agency

After he suffered through an injury-plagued 2009 season, there were questions about whether the Philadelphia Eagles would allow running back Brian Westbrook to see the 2010 season at Lincoln Financial Field.

Instead of waiting it out, the team made a quick decision, announcing Tuesday that they will release the veteran. The move will clear Westbrook's $7.25 million salary for the 2010 season off the books.

Westbrook missed eight games with concussion problems in 2009, and he had his worst season (statistically) since his rookie campaign.

The move comes one day after another star running back -- San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson -- was released by his team.

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Antonio Pierce Released By Giants

Matt Snyder — 2010-02-11T13:55:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Giants, NFC East, NFL Free Agency

Antonio Pierce was a Pro Bowler in 2006 and a big part of the New York Giants Super Bowl champion defense in 2007. Thursday, the 32-year-old middle linebacker was reportedly released by the team.

Pierce signed a six-year contract with the Giants prior to the 2005 season after spending the first four years of his career in Washington. He had served as the Giants's defensive captain for the past several years, acting as their on-field leader and emotional mouthpiece. He made 11 tackles in the Giants' upset of the previously undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

"A.P. came right in and took the bull by the horns from day one and was very instrumental in helping the New York Giants win a lot of games and accomplishing a lot of our goals during his time here," general manager Jerry Reese said in a statement. "He has been an outstanding Giant and we wish him nothing but the best for his family and future."

Pierce played just nine games this past season before being placed on injured reserve with a bulging disc in his neck. Pierce believes this injury played a role in his being cut by the Giants, but is feeling great and ready to play again next season -- according to The Star-Ledger.

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Early Odds for Super Bowl XLV Champion Released

Matt Snyder — 2010-02-08T13:35:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West, NFL Gambling, Super Bowl

As is traditional in these gambling days, the Las Vegas oddsmakers have wasted no time in laying out next season's favorite to win the Super Bowl. This time around, it is none other than the team who lost the Super Bowl less than 24 hours ago. The Indianapolis Colts check in as the best bet to win it all, with 13-2 odds. The San Diego Chargers come next at 8-1. This year's champion, the New Orleans Saints, are tied with the Patriots for next on the list -- at 10-1 odds to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.

A common fallacy among casual fans who don't gamble is that these are actual predictions. They aren't. The aim is to make as much money as possible, thus, the teams most likely to garner the most bets are placed at the top and the teams least likely to garner bets are placed lower on the spectrum (in an attempt to attract action). Thus, teams with huge fan bases like the Cowboys and Steelers are likely to always be toward the top in the odds, while teams with lower fan bases like the Jacksonville Jaguars will generally be lower on the list.

This isn't to say there is no attention paid to how good teams are expected to be, it's just that they find a happy medium in order to make the most amount of money possible.

Here are the complete odds, courtesy of bodog.com.

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Redskins Officially Hire Kyle Shanahan as Offensive Coordinator

Matt Snyder — 2010-01-20T15:15:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Redskins, NFC East, NFL Coaching

Wednesday, the Redskins announced something that seemed merely a formality for the past several weeks. They have officially announced the hiring of Kyle Shanahan as their offensive coordinator. They also announced the hiring of two other offensive coaches -- Matt LaFleur as quarterbacks coach and Jon Embree as tight ends coach.

It's true that Kyle is the son of new Redskins head coach and executive vice president Mike Shanahan, but this move doesn't necessarily scream nepotism. Kyle is an extremely qualified candidate for any coaching opening at this point in his career. He has been the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans for the past two seasons where he helped lead one of the NFL's most potent offenses. In both of Shanahan's seasons as coordinator, the Texans established new franchise records in total offense. Under his tutelage, Matt Schaub led the NFL in passing yards and completions, while Andre Johnson has led the NFL in receiving yards for two consecutive seasons.

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Bad Day for Shaun Suisham

Matt Snyder — 2010-01-17T18:00:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Cowboys, NFC East, NFL Playoffs

Earlier this season, the Dallas Cowboys gave up on former Pro Bowl kicker Nick Folk. He had hit more than 90 percent of his field goals in 2008, but fell all the way down to 64 percent in 2009. They had simply seen enough, so they cut him and signed Shaun Suisham -- who had recently been clipped by the Redskins. He probably shouldn't become too cozy in his Dallas locker.

He did connect on a 33-yard field goal, but Suisham also missed two field goals. Sure they were 49 and 48 yards, respectively, but this is the NFL and the Cowboys are a bonafide playoff team. When you battle your way into field goal range in a hostile environment against a great defense, the kicker simply cannot let the team down. It's not acceptable to miss two kicks of less than fifty yards.

Sure, the Cowboys lost 34-3 and there weren't many players who did show up Sunday and put forth their best game of the season, but there are a lot of variables in play for those guys. Kicking indoors should translate no matter who you play. For Suisham, it didn't.

The bottom line? Expect someone else to be the kicker for Dallas next season.

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Did Minnesota Run Up the Score?

Matt Snyder — 2010-01-17T17:35:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Cowboys, Vikings, NFC East, NFC North, NFL Playoffs

At the two-minute warning of Sunday afternoon's divisional playoff game, the Minnesota Vikings had the ball with a 27-3 lead and were facing a fourth down. When they didn't bring out the field goal unit, the smart money was on them simply running the ball up the middle. If they got a first down, they could kneel out the remaining clock and head into the locker room with a blowout victory. If not, the Cowboys still weren't going to muster four touchdowns in less than two minutes.

Instead, Brett Favre dropped back and found tight end Visanthe Shiancoe in the end zone for a touchdown -- making the score 34-3. There was 1:55 left on the clock. Cowboys linebacker Keith Brooking chased Favre to the sidelines and had a heated exchange with Vikings defense end Jared Allen. Brooking later called the play "classless."

Shiancoe's reply: "Hey, you never know. They could score four touchdowns. We scored 24 points in one quarter last game against the Giants. So hey. Stop it."

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Vikings' Sidney Rice Announces Presence With Authority

Matt Snyder — 2010-01-17T17:15:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Cowboys, Vikings, NFC East, NFC North, NFL Playoffs

Outside of fantasy football players, Vikings fans and die hard NFL fans, there probably weren't many casual fans who knew much about Sidney Rice before Sunday. After all, the Vikings have a legend at quarterback and arguably the best running back in football. They also have an explosive rookie receiver and an NFL-high nine Pro Bowlers.

Among those nine players heading to Miami in a few weeks is the 6-foot-4, dreadlocked monster of a wideout, Sidney Rice. Rice had a huge season in 2009, going for 83 catches, 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns. He has it all -- speed, leaping ability, hands and agility. Sunday, Rice showed the masses of casual fans what the die-hards have known all season: he's really good.

The Dallas Cowboys' defensive backfield can vouch for that statement, as he torched them for 141 yards and three touchdowns on six catches in the Vikings 34-3 win. The South Carolina product came at them early (scoring the game's first touchdown) and late (icing the game with a 45-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter).

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Perry Fewell to Become Giants' New Defensive Coordinator

Matt Snyder — 2010-01-14T17:00:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Giants, NFC East, NFL Coaching

Roughly 10 days after firing their defensive coordinator, the New York Giants appear to have found their man. Perry Fewell, who served as the interim head coach for the Buffalo Bills for the final seven games of the 2009 season, will reportedly accept the Giants' offer to become their new defensive coordinator.

Fewell took over the Bills when Dick Jauron was fired after a 3-6 start. The Bills went 3-4 under Fewell and were within a touchdown in three of the four losses. Still, he was let go along with the entire staff once the season finally concluded.

Fewell will get the chance to step in and take over a very capable defense that both underachieved and was ravaged by injuries in 2009. They are just a season removed from being a top-five defense in the entire NFL and two seasons removed from winning the Super Bowl with the defense as their strength.

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Chris Johnson Headlines 2009 NFL All-Pro Team

Matt Snyder — 2010-01-14T11:10:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West, NFL Awards

Add another accolade for Chris Johnson's brilliant 2009 campaign, because the second-year running back -- who set a new NFL record in yards from scrimmage -- has been unanimously selected to the AP NFL All-Pro team. The team is selected by a panel of 50 national football writers. Unlike the Pro Bowl, where a roster of players is filled out for each conference in stage to play a game, the All-Pro team names basically names one mock starting lineup for the entire NFL. Thus, it is for the best player at each position. When considering the amount of great players in the league, it's a huge feat for anyone to be unanimously selected.

On the other side of the ball, someone almost matched Johnson's vote total. Patrick Willis, an inside linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, received 49 of the 50 votes. Charles Woodson and Darrelle Revis both received 48 votes, as did punter Shane Lechler.

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FanHouse Preview: Eagles at Cowboys

R.J. White — 2010-01-09T09:45:00 00:00

by R.J. White

Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, NFC East, NFL Playoffs, FanHouse Previews

In today's NFL, the idea of rivalries has fallen mostly by the wayside. After all, playing 16 games in a 32-team league allows two teams to go a few years before seeing each other. Even when talking about rivalries within a division, the advent of the Wild Card has made it possible for heated division rivals to both make the playoffs in any given year, thereby removing the do-or-die nature of regular season contests. How many NFL rivalries have the intensity of their college counterparts?

The list is very short, and near the top of that list rests Cowboys-Eagles.

The reason is simple -- both teams have had a high degree of success in recent history. The Cowboys peaked in the 90s, but have remained good, if not great, throughout the "Oh"s (this is what I call our last decade; I figure since we spoke of each year as "oh-one", "oh-two", etc, it only makes sense to carry this over as the term for the entire decade). The Eagles peaked earlier in the "Oh"s (or have they?), but they've clearly enjoyed more success than their rivals as of late.

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FanHouse Staff Playoff Predictions

Matt Snyder — 2010-01-08T13:00:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, Bengals, Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, Eagles, Jets, Packers, Ravens, Saints, Vikings, AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West, NFL Playoffs

It's that time of year again. You know the drill. Our NFL FanHouse staff puts ourselves out there with playoff predictions and you tell us how stupid you think we are. Feel free to put your money where your mouth is by making predictions of your own. In fact, that is encouraged. These are simply for entertainment purposes, so please have fun with us.

Each individual has predicted a team most likely to be upset -- which we defined as a team losing at home in their first playoff game. That doesn't mean we think it will be the only one; just the most likely. We also included the conference championship participants (the team who would be playing on the road is listed first) and the traditional Super Bowl picks.

Check it out and add your own.

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Cowboys' 1-2 Punch Churning Out Yards

Nancy Gay — 2010-01-05T22:15:00 00:00

by Nancy Gay

Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, NFC East, NFL Playoffs, NFL Analysis

IRVING, Texas - Two-back offenses in the NFL aren't an anomaly but rarely are they as balanced as the system the Dallas Cowboys have employed since Marion Barber and Felix Jones returned to full strength at midseason.

Sunday's 24-0 beat-down of the Philadelphia Eagles at Cowboys Stadium was stunning in its defensive efficiency, but it was the diversified Dallas offense -- anchored by two media-shy running backs and their willingness to share the load -- that mowed down one of the NFL's best defenses and dominated time of possession and ultimately, the game.

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Eagles Licking Wounds After Falling

Nancy Gay — 2010-01-03T23:00:00 00:00

by Nancy Gay

Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, NFC East, NFL Playoffs

ARLINGTON, Texas -- There was something so unexpected, yet so methodical, about the way the Dallas Cowboys manhandled their division rival at charged-up Cowboys Stadium, the Philadelphia Eagles figure a third meeting this season with the NFC East champions has to go their way.

"We've got a lot more film to watch for it," linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said.

At least that's how some of the rationalization went following Sunday's 24-0 clobbering at Dallas -- the first time the division champion Cowboys have ever produced regular-season back-to-back shutout efforts.

The swirling NFC playoff picture settled enough Sunday to determine that the Cowboys will play host to the Eagles in the wild-card round Saturday at 8 PM ET. And that means a whole lot of things to Philadelphia: revenge, atonement, a gut check.

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Report: Redskins Will Fire Zorn Monday

Matt Snyder — 2010-01-03T16:50:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Redskins, NFC East, NFL Coaching

In a story that would only be shocking if it wasn't true, ESPN is reporting that the Redskins will fire head coach Jim Zorn within the next 24 hours. The 'Skins went 8-8 last year, but have regressed all the way back to 4-12 under Zorn in 2009. There has been rampant speculation all season about Zorn's job status -- to the point that he's seemed a lame duck coach for weeks -- but nothing has ever been concrete.

The Redskins closed their lackluster season Sunday with a loss in San Diego, 23-20. Most of the game was played against the Chargers' backup quarterback, too, as Philip Rivers was resting for the playoffs.

While he didn't exactly do a bang-up job, the proverbial deck has been pretty stacked against Zorn in his two seasons at Washington. He went directly from simply being a quarterback coach to a head coach. Redskins' maligned owner Dan Snyder initially hired Zorn as his new offensive coordinator and eventually moved him to head coach; a move that many thought was simply because he couldn't find anyone else he liked well enough to hire.

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Haynesworth's Troubles Proof that Money Isn't Everything

JJ Cooper — 2009-12-26T21:52:00 00:00

by JJ Cooper

Filed under: Redskins, Titans, NFC East

Less than a year into his seven-year free agent deal, Albert Haynesworth is already completely frustrated with the Redskins' scheme, its coaching staff and his role in the defense.

It's safe to say that Haynesworth won't have to worry about playing for this coaching staff next year, but there's no guarantee that Haynesworth will be any happier playing for Mike Shanahan or whoever else coaches the Redskins.

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Monday Night Football Live Chat: Giants vs. Redskins

Adam Gretz — 2009-12-21T19:45:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Giants, Redskins, NFC East, NFL Live Blogging

The New York Giants enter Monday's game against Washington on the outside of the NFC playoff picture -- making it, essentially, a must-win game. The Redskins, meanwhile, have nothing to play for except their own pride ... and the opportunity to help spoil the Giants' playoff chances. Because, you know, misery loves company.

Our Monday Night Football Live Chat begins at 8:30 PM ET, so please join us for all of the fun and festivities.

More Coverage: Giants-Redskins Box Score | Week 15 Scoreboard

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Cowboys Sinking and Chargers Soaring? Must Be December

Nancy Gay — 2009-12-13T22:30:00 00:00

by Nancy Gay

Filed under: Chargers, Cowboys, AFC West, NFC East, NFL Coaching, NFL Analysis

ARLINGTON, Texas -- There was no point asking Dallas coach Wade Phillips what he thinks about the Cowboys' latest December swoon.

The San Diego Chargers came away from Cowboys Stadium on Sunday with a 20-17 victory, leaving the staggering home team with consecutive losses. And that means that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was the only Dallas voice that mattered in the aftermath.

"This is a bitter pill to swallow here at home," said Jones, whose 8-5 team finds itself fighting for a postseason pulse yet again, with a Week 15 trip to New Orleans to face the undefeated Saints, followed by NFC East battles at the Redskins and against the Eagles at home. "But there's no doubt in my mind when we step out here [in practice], we'll have a good week. And we'll be down there competing to play."

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Sunday Night Football Live Chat: Eagles vs. Giants

Adam Gretz — 2009-12-13T19:45:00 00:00

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Eagles, Giants, NFC East, NFL Live Blogging

We have a classic NFC East throw down this week as the the New York Giants, looking to keep pace in the NFC playoff picture, host Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants are coming off a huge 31-24 win against Dallas last Sunday, but are just 2-5 in their past seven games after starting the season 5-0.

The Eagles are riding a three-game winning streak after thumping Atlanta 34-7 last Sunday.

Should be a good one, so please join us for our Sunday night live chat. Festivities begin at 8:15 PM ET.

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Zebra Report: About That Saints Win

Matt Snyder — 2009-12-10T15:30:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Redskins, Saints, NFC East, NFC South, NFL Referees

In the aftermath of the Saints' dramatic 33-30 overtime victory in Washington, there were herds of complaints from all over the place. Instead of focusing much of the venom in the direction of Redskins' kicker (who has since been cut) Shaun Suisham for missing a freaking 23-yarder, the officials were the subject of Redskins' fans angst on message boards. And why not? Surely the two calls which drew the ire of fans were the only reason the Redskins lost (please note dripping sarcasm).

The first play occurred late in the first half, when Drew Brees threw an interception to Kareem Moore. Moore rolled over his own teammate before hitting the ground and got up to try and garner a quality return. Instead, he was stripped by Robert Meachem (see the picture here), who proceeded to pick up the ball and take it to the house for a huge Saints' touchdown.

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Cowboys' December Collapses Have a Simple Explanation

JJ Cooper — 2009-12-08T08:46:00 00:00

by JJ Cooper

Filed under: Cowboys, NFC East, NFL Analysis

The Cowboys' December collapse has become as much a Christmas tradition as eggnog, Black Friday and your drunken uncle ruining Christmas dinner.

Dallas hasn't had a winning record in December since 1996 (think Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin). And every Cowboys fan knows it, because the start of December ensures that there will be stories detailing the collapse like this, this, this and this.

And get ready to see it again. But not because the Cowboys are chokers.

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