NFC East at the Quarter Mark

New York Giants (3-0) - Looks like the Giants are off to their traditional solid first half of the season. With Plaxico Burress out serving a (somewhat bizarre) team-levied suspension, the Giants will be facing a tough Seahawks run defense with Amani Toomer as their #1 wide receiver. Quite frankly, the Giants virtually have to go into week 7 undefeated in order to safely consider themselves a playoff team. Week 7 starts a series of brutal matchups against Dallas, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Arizona, Washington, Philadelphia, and Dallas again before finishing the season with Carolina and Minnesota. The Giants probably need 12 wins to win the division, and losses to either Seattle, Cleveland, or San Francisco would be a serious setback in a division that does not give playoff berths willingly.

Washington Redskins (3-1) - Jason Campbell truly looks comfortable directing the Redskins offense. He hasn't thrown an interception or fumbled yet this season, and it's not like he's just handing off to Clinton Portis (OK, he does a lot of that too). I always thought the Redskins didn't get enough credit for what amounted to a good showing last season despite a first-round elimination in the playoffs. Santana Moss even looks like the #1 receiver everyone has said he could be, and as a bonus he has consistently had big games. Who saw that coming? It's a far cry from the last time he had to take himself out of a game for dropping the ball 5+ times. Like any team in the NFC East, the Redskins have a good shot at winning the division, and expect the week 16 matchup vs. the Eagles to have playoff implications for both teams. If they can go into Philadelphia and win, they'd have a huge advantage in a tiebreaker situation nearer the postseason on both Dallas and Philadelphia.

Dallas Cowboys (3-1) - Dallas' epic fail against the Redskins clearly has them in a little bit of a tizzy. Terrell Owens is getting uneasy. The Redskins put the Cowboys into panic mode early, and it showed in the playcalling. 8 carries for Marion Barber? Are you serious? It's not like TO was lighting up the show or anything. Unlike last year, I think that the Cowboys will not have the luxury of taking weeks 16 and 17 off and I think it will actually help them. I still expect them to win the division, but laying a few more eggs like they did in week 4 will definitely come back to haunt them. The Cowboys have shown the league 2 years in a row that they aren't mature or disciplined enough to win in the playoffs. This is the year that they have to show otherwise. Wade Philips knows it....

Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) - I'll give McNabb a free pass on the Chicago game due to Brian Westbrook being out, but Buckhalter did fine in his stead. After the ridiculous Monday night game in week 2, the NFL learned that the Eagles were back. McNabb is healthy, and if he and Westbrook can make it through the season (not exactly the "if" statement any Eagles fan wants to hear) the Eagles could go far into the playoffs. If DeSean Jackson wasn't such a moron, the Eagles could very well be sitting at 4-0 right now. The defense is playing beyond their abilities, first against the rush, 11th against the pass, and 7th in points allowed. Those are Super Bowl caliber numbers (except they won't win, because it's Philadelphia).