The NFC East is probably the toughest division in the entire NFL. The Dallas Cowboys are one of the favorites to win the 2009 Super Bowl while the New York Giants are the defending champions and both the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles are expected to be better this year and battle for a playoff spot.

All four teams were reportedly in the hunt for the services of defensive end Jason Taylor who the Redskins acquired in exchange for a couple of draft picks last week. The Redskins had to act because they lost defensive end Phillip Daniels to a season ending injury. Washington comes in to the season with a new head coach, two new coordinators and a new offensive system. Jim Zorn takes over for the retired Joe Gibbs and he brought in Sherman Smith to run the offense and bring the West Coast offense to Washington. On the defensive side of the ball, Greg Blache takes over and they aren't expected to add much to their 4-3 defense. It's an interesting year for the Skins. Last year they had to deal with the death of teammate Sean Taylor. Washington seemed to be fueled by it and went on a nice run to win a wild card berth before falling to the Seattle Seahawks. If Jason Campbell can show progress, Washington might just have enough talent to make the playoffs in 2008.

The New York Giants shocked the NFL last year by upsetting the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl. New York was the other NFC wildcard, going 10-6 on the season. The Giants made their own news this week with a trade of their own when they traded Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints. Shockey was injured during last year's playoff run which allowed the emergence of tight end Kevin Boss. It will be a little different with the entire NFL gunning for the Giants this year but if Eli Manning continues where he left off last year, the Giants will again be very good. If Manning goes back to the inconsistent quarterback that was getting booed during the regular season, the Giants could be in trouble this year.

Philadelphia was predicted to be a possible Super Bowl team in 2007 but instead they finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. They big free agent signing for the Eagles was when they shelled out the big bucks to lure Asante Samuel away from the New England. Samuel immediately makes the Eagles a better defensive team. They'll need Donovan McNabb to regain the form that made him a pro bowl quarterback if the Eagles are going to do any damage this year.

The favorite of the NFC East is the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas is also one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. The pressure is on head coach Wade Phillips to get Dallas back to the big game or he will most likely find himself out of a job with Jason Garrett waiting to replace him and is the future head coach of the Cowboys. Dallas is loaded on both sides of the ball but need to win in the playoffs. Last year Dallas was shocked in Dallas by the eventual champion Giants.

The NFC East will open up the 2008 NFL season when the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants and the Washington Redskins kick it off on primetime on Thursday September 4th, 2008. New York is a 3.5 point favorite in week one. Last season the Giants and Skins split their season series. The visitor won both times. The Giants won game one in Washington 24-17 as a 3 point dog and Washington won 22-10 in New York as a 6 point dog.

2008 NFC East Against the Spread records

2008 NFC East Future Odds 

2008 CappersMall.com Predictions