Eagles Can't Sleep on 'Bottom' of NFC East

So much of the optimism surrounding the Eagles’ schedule released earlier this week is built on the foundation of the NFC East.

And that’s understandable.

A 9-7 Philadelphia team won what was arguably the worst division in the NFL last season and the two bottom-feeders are still in the process of suffering through the Jim Schwartz-trademarked “start-up costs” of two 2019 first-round quarterbacks, the New York Giants with Daniel Jones and Washington with Dwayne Haskins.

The “that’s-a-win, that’s-a-loss crowd” simply rings up sweeps over the Giants and Redskins while acknowledging a likely split with the more talented Dallas Cowboys.

That’s five wins right there en route to double-digits, a number that almost assuredly put the Eagles in the postseason for a fourth consecutive time, especially with an expanded playoff format.

Too many are focused on the rear-view mirror, however, and not looking at the potential pitfalls ahead in what is a very fluid, ever-evolving environment.

What Washington did when Jay Gruden was still in charge and the team was pivoting from Kirk Cousins to Alex Smith and the fallout of the latter’s devastating injury doesn’t mean all that much to Ron Rivera moving forward. About the only thing I can tell you about Joe Judge is that he’s a Philly guy who sat under the learning tree of the greatest of all-time in New England. That, and he’s not Ben McAdoo or Pat Shurmur.

Even Dallas had has a massive upgrade on paper when it comes to the coaching staff finally clapping its way past Jason Garrett and the Yes Men (a great band name by the way) and moving toward former Super Bowl-winner Mike McCarthy.

Coaching is only one aspect of the changes, however. When you’re bad for an extended period of time you pick at the top of the draft consistently and voila, the talent assembled can all of a sudden seem daunting.

There is no better evidence to that sentiment than San Francisco last season which turned from bottom-feeder into NFC champions almost overnight.

Many fans will superficially talk about Kyle Shanahan’s offense or Jimmy Garoppolo being healthy but those around the league point to Nick Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, joining a murderer’s row of defensive linemen already assembled. The Niners front was unblockable at times last season and Bosa was the final piece of the talented puzzle.

It’s almost eerie how the San Francisco model matches what’s going on inside the Beltway where Chase Young, like Bosa, a No. 2 overall pick out of Ohio State, is set to join four other former first-round picks on Rivera and Jack Del Rio’s front - Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, Da’Ron Payne and noted Eagles’ killer Ryan Kerrigan.

More so, to many personnel executives around the league, Young is farther along than Bosa at a similar stage.

Up the Jersey Turnpike in East Rutherford, the Giants have been quietly assembling top-10 talent on offense year after year with Georgia left tackle Andrew Thomas now setting up an impressive offensive triangle with Jones and Saquon Barkley.

If the members of that group, the oldest of which is Barkley at 23, ever reach their individual ceilings at the same time, watch your head for the upcoming avalanche.

McCarthy even has receiver CeeDee Lamb to add to what already the best skill-position group in the division in quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and wideouts Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup.

If the Eagles aren't careful, that half-full glass which looks 5-1 to you while peering backward could end up being the 2-4 half-empty kind when you pass it on the next lap.

John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every day on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, Every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio, and every weekday on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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