Is McNabb the best quarterback the NFC East has to offer?


The NFC East is arguably not only the most competitive division in the NFL, but it may also be the most talented. The NFC East boasts what some still might call the most talented roster (at least on paper) in Dallas, 2008's Super Bowl champion New York Giants, a young but talented Washington team, and the always-contending Philadelphia Eagles.

So what kind of offense could the NFC East rosters put together? Let's find out.



Quarterback

Starter: Donovan McNabb (2nd: Tony Romo)

For me, and really mostly anyone besides delusional Giants fans, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo are the obvious choices here. McNabb gets the nod for obvious reasons, among them the fact that he has won in the playoffs and has taken his team to the biggest stage that the NFL has to offer, only to fall three points short of the ultimate prize.

McNabb is borderline Hall of Fame quarterback, with a Super Bowl ring (or lack thereof) being the only thing that will keep him out of Canton. By the time his career is over, he will join only three other quarterbacks to pass for over 30,000 yards, and rush for over 5,000. The other three are Steve Young, Fran Tarkenton, and the late Steve McNair.

Two of those quarterbacks (Young and Tarkenton) are in the Hall of Fame, and McNair be enshrined one day. Young is the only one of the three to have a Super Bowl ring.

Romo has the skills, but needs to start winning games for his team, rather than throwing them away. Eli Manning has proved he's capable, but is not a standout in terms of production or overall talent. Jason Campbell is still progressing and while I believe he has more upside than Manning or even Romo, must show it before he can be considered.



Running Back

Starter: Brian Westbrook (2nd: Clinton Portis)

When healthy, Brian Westbrook may be the most dangerous player in the NFL. Some may argue Adrian Peterson, but AP does not make the plays in the passing game that Westbrook can make, even though he's miles ahead as a runner.

Portis is an incredibly talented running back, but isn't as explosive as Westbrook is. I suppose they're different types of backs, and it really all depends on what you want to do with your offense, but if you're going to pass to your back at all, Westbrook is the obvious choice.

Marion Barber could make a case for this, but until he shows that he can be a game-changer and take some pressure off of Romo, he won't enter the class of Westbrook or Portis. Brandon Jacobs is a good bruising kind of back but needs a guy to take carries away from him or he'll wear himself down.



Fullback

Starter: Madison Hedgecock (2nd: Leonard Weaver)

Hedgecock is an old school kind of battering-ram fullback, which personally, I love. He's a dying breed in the NFL because while he's able to catch and run out of the backfield, it's not what he's best at doing, or what he'd rather be doing. He wants to stick his nose in there and pop a linebacker to make way for Jacobs, which is how the fullback position is played.

Weaver is part of the evolving fullback. He's a guy who can do it all out of the backfield including taking handoffs and catching over the middle or in the flats, but his blocking suffers because he focuses on these different elements. He's perfect for a west coast scheme, however, and is just what the Eagles need.

Deon Anderson is the kind of triple-threat that Weaver is, but he's not quite on the same level. Mike Sellers is surely a close third and in most any other division might be the very best fullback, but the East is stacked at the position this year. He's an incredibly underrated guy, and I may even be guilty of it now, but putting him ahead of Hedgecock or Weaver didn't seem right.



Tight End

Starter: Jason Witten (2nd: Chris Cooley)

Witten is a top five tight end in the entire NFL, so it's certainly not a surprise that he's on the top of a pretty good crop of tight ends coming out of the East. He can catch, he can block, and better than any other tight end in this division, he can run after the catch. He's a nightmare to cover, then he's a nightmare to tackle. Said simply, the man is good.

Cooley may be the most versatile of the tight ends. He is able to not only play tight end, but can line up in the backfield as a fullback, or even a tailback if necessary. He's a headache for defenses because he moves around so much and can make a catch anywhere. There's not really a specific weakness in his game, he's just not the same caliber as Witten.

Kevin Boss and Brent Celek are guys still coming into their own. Boss is a great security blanket for Manning, whereas Celek is more of a target for McNabb. Both players are very good for their teams and in a few years could be making a list like this very difficult.



Right Tackle

Starter: Shawn Andrews (2nd: Marc Colombo)

Andrews is a difficult guy to place, but when healthy he's hands down the very best. Even though he hasn't played right tackle in the NFL yet, he is making the switch this year and should be great doing it (the qualifer again being "if he's healthy). He played right tackle in college, and was a terrific right guard in the NFL, so it's not a stretch to say he should be just fine.

With Andrews out at the moment, the starter would be Marc Colombo of the Dallas Cowboys. He's a guy who's not going to make any headlines, but he does his job and he does it well. The other two teams don't have a right tackle set in stone, but guys like Kareem McKenzie could be starting for the Giants, and Stephon Heyer for the Redskins.

While both are good players, neither are going to challenge Andrews or Colombo.



Right Guard

Starter: Chris Snee (2nd: Leonard Davis)

Snee is one of the best in the game at the guard position, and is the hands-down favorite to win the spot for the All-NFC East team. Like most linemen, you don't hear a whole lot about Chris Snee, but as an Eagles fan, you know who he is every time you watch him blow up a defender.

The Cardinals must be kicking themselves for not thinking of moving Davis inside to guard and keeping him there, because the man once regarded as a bust has turned into a Pro Bowl-caliber guard for the Dallas Cowboys and only continues to get better. He's a dominating guy on the inside, and should make life easier for smaller guys like Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.

Stacy Andrews should be very good at right guard, but he's coming off a torn ACL and is moving to the inside from tackle, so we'll just have to wait and see how he does. Randy Thomas in Washington is by no means a standout, and on any of the other three teams in the division is only a backup type of player.



Center

Starter: Andre Gurode (2nd: Shaun O'Hara)

Picking a starter between these two was extremely difficult, but in the end Gurode grit and tough play wins him the starting nod over more of a technique-driven player in Shaun O'Hara.

Gurode and O'Hara run their lines very well, and a case could be made for either of these men depending upon what you're looking for out of a center. There really is not a wrong answer, and either way you're getting a Pro Bowl-caliber center.

Jamaal Jackson has been slipping over the past couple of years, or he may be in the conversation, but he'll have to have a stellar year to get back to being regarded as one of the best centers in the game again. Casey Rabach is a viable starter in Washington, but again, not much more than that.



Left Guard

Starter: Todd Herremans (2nd: Rich Seubert)

Left guard may be the weakest position of the stellar offensive linemen that the NFC East has to offer, but it seems to be clear that Herremans is the best of even a weak bunch. Seubert could have a case for the starting spot, but Herremans is younger and a better pass blocker.

Kyle Kosier and Derrick Dockery are certainly not bad players by any means, and at one point Dockery was even considered one of the best in the entire league, but after failing to live up to a huge contract in Buffalo he was released and is trying to rebuild his reputation the same place it started, in Washington.



Left Tackle

Starter: Jason Peters (2nd: Chris Samuels)

Jason Peters is the biggest name on the offensive line, and for good reason. He's one of the best left tackles in the game, and certainly the very best in the NFC East. He's got great feet, and is very good at anticipating a defensive end's movements. The Eagles just traded for him from the Buffalo Bills this past offseason, but he's already the best in the division.

Chris Samuels is another guy with pretty good feet, but on occassion he will be slow out of his stance and allow a defensive end to just run around him. The athleticism is there, so his erratic play is a mystery, and could point to a poor work ethic, but short of spending time around him and the team, there's no way to be sure.

David Diehl may be getting a challenge from rookie William Beatty as it seems as though the Giants aren't ready to cement Diehl as the starter at left tackle. However, Beatty could also be pushed over to right tackle, so it's a story worth watching. Flozell Adams is a good left tackle, but isn't on the same level as Peters, and doesn't quite beat out Samuels.



Wide Receiver

Starters: DeSean Jackson, Roy Williams (2nd: Santana Moss, Kevin Curtis)

DeSean Jackson is the best receiver in the NFC East. Even entering his second season, he has shown that he has the talent and the capabilities to be a No. 1 receiver. He'll get a great chance to put up some big numbers in Reid's offense, and could really open a lot of eyes.

Roy Williams has caught a lot of heat in Dallas and many aren't sure that he's truly a No. 1 receiver. However, looking at his body of work in Detroit, and his new-found work ethic in Dallas, he's gearing up to have a big year catching Tony Romo-thrown passes. He's still a guy that defenses always must keep an eye on, because he has the talent to explode.

Santana Moss and Kevin Curtis are both speedy guys who can be a nightmare if they get behind the coverage. Moss is the better of the two, as he is the No. 1 guy in Washington, but Curtis proved his worth after his 1,000 yard season in 2007 during his first year as an Eagle.

Rookies Jeremy Maclin and Hakeem Nicks may find their way onto this team next year, but for now they are just rookies and will need to show something first. No Giants player made it onto this receiving corps, and the reasoning is simple: they're just not that good. Steve Smith is probably the best they have to offer, and he's a No. 2 guy even on a poor team.