[BrudLee]

My pick for the finish:

Eagles (10-6): There is just about no way the Owens saga ends with him playing out the season. The first inaccurate pass will be cause for vocal complaints, which will mercifully ends his tenure in Philly. I'd say the over/under on his season is 10 games, and I'm taking the under. That being said, they won the East a few years ago with McNabb hurt and A.J. Feeley at QB for four games, because of a dominating defense that (while older) is still there.

Redskins (10-6) - Wild Card: This time, it's about consistancy. The same coaching staff (except the QB coach) is in place, which is about as frequent as a Halley's Comet sighting in D.C. The positional turnover at WR is troubling, but remember that the two players that left were responsible for around a dozen drops - not a healthy stat. Even if the overall receptions from the WRs goes down, if that number is reduced and the routes spread the field, the effectiveness of Portis will skyrocket.

Giants (7-9): There may actually be a two-headed monster at RB this year. Barber, who saved my fantasy season last year (like you care), should see his numbers drop because of 4th round pick Brandon Jacobs. 6'4", 265 lbs, and 4.6 speed should give Jacobs some angry yards so Barber can rest in short yardage situations. The defense, however, is old; and Eli Manning still has some growing to do.

Cowboys (5-11): Worse than last year? You bet. A team that loses 7 games by 14 or more points, then acquires (a) a slower quarterback in Bledsoe, (b) an injured offensive lineman in Rivera (who required neck surgery two days after signing), and (c) a new defensive alignment - but not necessarily the personnel to run it - well, that team doesn't rise in my brown eyes (How's that for a run-on sentence?). As for Julius Jones, an eight game season (albeit a very good one) shouldn't be enough to give every Cowboys fan the hope required to dream about a winning season.