We’re merely 28 days from the start of the 2014 NFL season.
Every day, we have reviewed the top storylines from training camps across the NFL, providing who is impressing, who is disappointing and any other significant notes from on and off the field.
Given the news coming out of camps, XN Sports will be naming one difference-maker for each team. Wednesday marks the AFC East and NFC East, and the rest of the schedule is below.
Aug. 6: AFC East
Aug. 7: AFC North
Aug. 7: NFC North
Aug. 8: AFC South
Aug. 9: NFC South
Aug. 10: AFC West
Aug. 10: NFC West
Here are the difference-makers in the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys offense should be formidable; it’s the defense glaring with question marks for a third straight season. And yes, it will have to try and perform without Sean Lee, who’s sidelined with an injury, and DeMarcus Ware, who is inexcusably chasing down quarterbacks for Denver.
I’m not sure there is one player with the ability of transforming the defense alone, but in an ideal world it should be Demarcus Lawrence. If the rookie that was drafted to replace Ware can provide production somewhere in the same vicinity as his predecessor, it’ll give the Cowboys a chance to compete in ball games from a defensive standpoint.
New York Giants
I don’t care if the coaches want Eli Manning to complete 70 percent of his passes or 100 percent of his passes. The key to the Giants’ two Super Bowl victories in the past seven years has been the pass rush. And since Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora have moved on, Jason Pierre-Paul has failed to pick up the slack.
Pierre-Paul’s lack of production the past few years has been due to injuries, but it’s had an effect on the Giants’ entire defensive line, which has failed to generate any pressure on opposing quarterbacks. If Pierre-Paul can bounce back in 2014, it should pave the way for the rest of the unit to also have success.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles’ pass defense finished dead last in the NFL last season. The team went out and added Malcolm Jenkins from New Orleans and Nolan Carroll from Miami, among others, to bolster the secondary, which features Bradley Fletcher and Earl Wolff who impressed last year.
The burden falls on Fletcher to continue his ascension as the team’s best corner. Fletcher finished as the 44th-best corner, per Pro Football Focus. He also battled injuries throughout the season. He needs to stay healthy and continue to produce in order for the Eagles pass defense to improve.
Washington Redskins
Color me Mr. Obvious, but do you remember how awful Washington was with an injured Robert Griffin III under center? As a rookie, RGIII was a game-changer, with the ability to alter the outcome of games with both his arm and his legs. He needs to regain that form to help the Redskins return to contention.
There’s a new coach in town. Jay Gruden helped Andy Dalton succeed; that bodes well for an even more talented quarterback in RGIII. If the quarterback can get his groove back, he has plenty of weapons to do damage with, especially in the NFC East.
