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Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Redskins in 2012.

Dream scenario (9-7): This would mean Washington's first winning season since 2007, Joe Gibbs' final year as head coach. What has to happen to make it a reality? Well, lots, frankly. Robert Griffin III will need to be very good right away at taking care of the ball and limiting the kinds of mistakes it's reasonable to expect from rookie quarterbacks. Most important, the Redskins' offense must play very well around him. They'll need health from Tim Hightower and continued development from promising fellow running backs Roy Helu and Evan Royster. They'll need Pierre Garcon to play like the potential No. 1 wideout his free-agent price tag says they believe he can be. They'll need the offensive line to stay healthy and play well, with left tackle Trent Williams as its anchor. The Redskins' dream scenario sees Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan cementing their place among the league's top pass-rushing duos, DeAngelo Hall harnessing his ability and playing like a top corner, and something emerging from the muddle they take to training camp at safety. The defense looked like a young defense on the rise last year, and if the Redskins are to threaten or possibly exceed .500, it will have to continue that rise.

Nightmare scenario (5-11): That would mean the same record as last year and one game worse than the year before, and it would drop Mike Shanahan's three-year record as the team's head coach to a rather uninspiring 16-32. That would be what's called, in official NFL terms, "not good." In the Redskins' nightmare scenario, Griffin struggles with the transition, the wide receiver group is as uninspiring as Washington's free-agency critics believe it is, and the offensive line falls apart thanks to injury for the second year in a row. In the nightmare scenario, the secondary remains a big-time weakness of the defense and costs the Redskins dearly in division games against the likes of Eli Manning, Tony Romo and Michael Vick. If all of this happens, the Redskins would enter the 2013 offseason with far more to fix than they currently believe they do, and with questions about Shanahan's future as coach. I don't think there's much that can happen to wreck the Griffin honeymoon between now and January, but if the rest of the team plays well around him and he commits too many turnovers, that particular nightmare scenario could make Redskins fans nervous about the new franchise quarterback going into next season.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Eagles in 2012.

Dream scenario (13-3): The Eagles believed they'd assembled a team last year that could be among the very best in the NFL, and they believe it still. They will need to play defense better, but new middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans and that the year the rest of the players have now spent in the new defensive scheme should help them do that. Michael Vick will need to commit fewer turnovers, but his words in December and so far this offseason indicate a better understanding of his own level of responsibility. In the Eagles' dream scenario, Vick plays safer than he did in 2010 and smarter than he did in 2011, and the meet-in-the-middle result is one of the league's most productive quarterbacks. With DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy around him, as well as his own ability, he has no excuse not to be. The Eagles' dream scenario also has them leading the league in sacks again but covering receivers better this time, especially in the middle of the field. And it has Demetress Bell serving as a surprisingly good replacement for injured left tackle Jason Peters. If these things all come to pass, the Eagles will be capable of beating anyone on their schedule.

Nightmare scenario (7-9): Yeah, as bad as they were last year, they still managed to finish 8-8, and Andy Reid has had only one sub-.500 season since the turn of the century. In the Eagles' nightmare scenario, though, the turnover problem doesn't get fixed, the downgrade from Peters to Bell at left tackle messes with the entire offensive line dynamic, Vick gets hurt again and someone like Mike Kafka or Nick Foles has to start a half-dozen games. In the nightmare scenario, 2011 turns out not to have been just one down year for Nnamdi Asomugha but rather the start of a decline. Maclin can't regain his 2010 form the way he's expected to now that he's fully healthy, and Jackson remains a deep downfield decoy who keeps the safeties back and limits Vick's offense to smaller chunks of yardage instead of backbreaking big plays. The nightmare scenario, in which the Eagles finish under .500 in Year 2 of this big plan, sees the end of the Reid and Vick eras in Philadelphia and leads into a 2013 offseason of great change and upheaval in an organization that prizes continuity as one of its better traits.

The winner of the how-to-order-the-Friday-links contest this week is Michael from Nashville, who suggested tying the order to fantasy sports. I went to the ESPN fantasy football page and looked up the points leaders from last year, and the links are hereby provided in order of each team's highest-scoring fantasy player from 2011.

New York Giants (Eli Manning, 273)

Tom Coughlin says "it's probably going to be close" when asked whether Hakeem Nicks will be ready for the regular-season opener. Nicks broke his foot in practice Thursday and is scheduled to have surgery today to insert a screw into it. The Giants' say the estimated recovery time is 12 weeks, which would be the middle of August, and Coughlin said Nicks is confident he can make that. We shall see.

As I wrote Thursday afternoon, if there's a positive to take out of the Nicks news it's that the Giants will be able to give more offseason and preseason reps to wide receivers Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan, Ramses Barden and Rueben Randle, and extended looks at those players will help them determine which, if any, is best suited to replace free-agent defector Mario Manningham as the No. 3 receiver behind Nicks and Victor Cruz. Hixon says he's feeling good and ready.

Philadelphia Eagles (LeSean McCoy, 270)

The concern with the Eagles is that Michael Vick's history says he's likely to miss at least a game or two due to injury this season. And if he does, there's very little in the way of experience among the backup options behind him. Jeff McLane breaks down the Eagles' backup quarterback situation, which should be Mike Kafka at this point.

As Sal Paolantonio reported the other day, second-year center Jason Kelce will be taking over the responsibility for making the protection calls at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles gave Vick that responsibility last year, and shifting it to Kelce will give Vick less about which to worry, and I think that's probably a good thing.

Dallas Cowboys (Tony Romo, 265)

Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that third-year wide receiver Dez Bryant has had a nice, blissfully quiet offseason and that he's on the verge of greatness. As we discussed many times last year, Bryant is a physical mismatch for almost anyone who tries to cover him, even at the NFL level. It's about committing to his own development and route-running, and once he does that he'll be as good as anyone.

And yeah, two from ESPNDallas.com this morning, as the crew there debates whether the Cowboys can beat the Vegas over/under of 8.5 wins for 2012. I bring this up as a preview to the "Dream/nightmare scenario" posts that are coming from each of our division's teams this morning. So, you know. Look forward to that.

Washington Redskins (Rex Grossman, 141)

In a bit of irony, the Redskins (and the Cowboys) are among the defendants in the NFLPA's collusion case against the league for the spending practices during the uncapped 2010 season. It's ironic because the union says the only way it found out about what it alleges to be collusive behavior was because the league punished those teams for not adhering to the secret agreement regarding 2010 spending. What you should take from this, once and for all, is the fact that the union's collusion case is in no way whatsoever aimed at helping the Redskins and Cowboys getting any relief of those cap punishments. That part of this case is over, they will pay the penalties and that's really it. I promise. No matter how nicely you guys ask.

The Redskins put Robert Griffin III's locker between those of London Fletcher and Brian Orakpo, which LaVar Arrington says could be crucial to the rookie's development. One of the Redskins' strengths as a team is the veteran leadership they have in their locker room, and they'll surely want to put Griffin in the best possible position -- literally as well as figuratively -- to benefit from that.

A good Thursday morning to you all. In honor of Wednesday's failed Vokle experiment, we're not going to try anything new at all today. Regular stuff. Blog posts. Thursday column. And of course, links.

Philadelphia Eagles

Casey Matthews' second year has to be better than his first, if only because he's not going to have to be the Eagles' starting middle linebacker by default and in spite of being unqualified for the job. Now, Matthews can learn, develop and work his way into NFL playing time the way he was always supposed to. He spoke with Les Bowen, who also took a very up-close photo.

Ashley Fox spoke with Michael Vick, who told her he knows this will be "a critical year" for himself and for coach Andy Reid.

Washington Redskins

Stephen Bowen is still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, but he plans on being ready to join his Redskins defensive linemates in time for training camp.

Santana Moss and Anthony Armstrong are well aware that the Redskins have added a lot of people at wide receiver, but that doesn't stop them from wanting (and working) to return to the larger roles they once occupied in the offense. Remains to be seen how the wide receiver situation shakes out, but either of those guys likely needs someone from the Pierre Garcon/Josh Morgan/Leonard Hankerson group to be injured or ineffective in order to get that opportunity.

Dallas Cowboys

So Jerry Jones answered a question about whether or not the Cowboys' Super Bowl window was closing in the vaguely affirmative, and because it's late May and it's the Cowboys this became a huge thing, and so people had to ask Tony Romo about it and he said not really and so you can expect a lot of people to be talking about this again today. Personally, I think it's all very silly, and that if the defense gets better the window will stay open and if it doesn't it will never open.

Bruce Carter and David Arkin were working with the starters at linebacker and guard, respectively, this week at OTAs. They're trying to get younger guys reps with the starters in the hope that it'll help their development. But while Carter is in a competition with free-agent signee Dan Connor at the inside linebacker spot opposite Sean Lee, it's likely that Connor and Mackenzy Bernadeau get those spots once the season starts.

New York Giants

The message for the Giants as they began their offseason workouts was that, as great as it was to win the Super Bowl in February and get their rings last week, it's time to move on and focus on 2012. As was the case when they reached the playoffs last year, the Giants are likely to benefit from the fact that their coaches and veteran players have been through this before.

Big disappointment for Giants cornerback Brian Witherspoon, who re-injured the ACL that cost him the 2011 season and, thus, would appear to be out for this season as well. Attrition injuries like this, in non-contact drills, are reminders of how fragile this all is for these players, and how close each one of them is to having it taken away.

Yeah, sorry about the Vokle chat. Sometimes our technology just doesn't do what we want it to do. There are plans in the works to try again. I hope you'll give us another shot if we try next week.

Anyway, back to the blog. As a twist on the usual Power Rankings, we had a panel of ESPN experts put together something called the NFL Future Power Rankings , basically projecting how the Power Rankings will look three years from now. It's Insider, so you have to pay to read it and I can't give it all away to you here. But if you are interested, the piece explaining how the panelists came to their conclusions is available to everyone and is here.

Here's how the NFC East teams fared, and partial explanations for why:

3. New York Giants

Trailing only the Packers and the Patriots, the Giants got a score of 81.13 out of a possible 100, with coaching, front office and quarterback their highest-scoring categories. Here's Trent Dilfer on the quarterback in particular:

He has the baby-brother look, but Eli Manning turns 32 this season, and since his 1-6 record as a rookie, has started all 16 games in seven straight seasons. He has had his INT issues, but is an elite passer when he gets comfortable with his targets. He has many good years ahead.

7. Philadelphia Eagles

Quarterback was the only place where the Eagles didn't score high, as uncertainty about Michael Vick's age (32) and future in Philly pushed them down to a 5.75 in that category. They had an overall score of 74 out of 100, buoyed but very high marks in front office, draft and coaching. Mel Kiper on their drafting:

A remarkably good draft in 2012 could shore up the defense and make the Eagles Super Bowl contenders. If Vick has any health issues, is Nick Foles the next guy in line? You never know what they'll do at that spot. But they have a system, draft very well and, at least based on my board, maintain a really strong sense of value and how to maneuver.

14. Dallas Cowboys

The highest score the Cowboys got was their 7 in quarterback, and their overall score was 62.06 out of 100. Their lowest marks were for draft and front office, and this is Gary Horton on their roster:

Age is a concern. And unless they do a good job in free agency and the draft, the talent level will drop off in the next couple of years. They should remain fairly young at WR and RB, and they seem to be rebuilding their offensive line. Defensively, they are not very young and their best playmaker of the future will be rookie CB Morris Claiborne, but a lot of replacements are needed.

20. Washington Redskins

An overall score of 56.38 out of 100, with the highest mark their 6.75 in coaching. The panel gave them a 6.25 for quarterback, which is generous since their current starter has never played an NFL game. But the assumption is that he'll fit in well and that he has the talent to be a franchise quarterback. Dragging the Redskins' score down the most is the 4.75 for the current roster. Here's Horton on that:

Obviously, this future will be built around rookie QB Robert Griffin III. The challenge will be to surround him with talent on both sides of the ball with limited high draft picks. Washington doesn't have a lot of young, talented guys at the offensive skill positions. The Redskins tried to upgrade the passing game in free agency and TE Fred Davis is a solid player. On defense, age is a real problem and with the exception of young edge rushers Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan, upgrades will be needed.

So like I said, Insider if you want to read it all. And remember, no one's saying this is definitely how it'll all turn out -- just the way it looks to those experts' eyes from here.

Let's have a little debate, shall we? With nearly four months still to go before the games start, a good, old-fashioned quarterback debate may be just the thing to wake everybody up and get the blood going.

Now, for the purposes of this particular debate, I don't much care which quarterback you think is "better" than the other. Fact is we can't trust you guys to have an unbiased argument about that anyway. Which is fine. You're fans. You're not supposed to be unbiased. I just feel like we can turn this debate a couple of degrees and ask a different kind of question, namely:

Which quarterback is under more pressure to perform in 2012? Michael Vick or Tony Romo?

Yeah, the poll has all four listed, because that only seemed fair. But Eli Manning's a two-time Super Bowl MVP and Robert Griffin III is a rookie in charge of a rebuilding project, so I don't think either of those guys faces the same kind of pressure as Vick faces in title-starved Philadelphia or Romo faces in perpetually unsatisfied Dallas. Go ahead and vote for one of those guys if you really think he's the right answer, but in the context of 2012 only, with Manning coming off a Super Bowl win and Griffin learning the league, I think the answer to this question is between Vick and Romo.

And if you've been reading regularly, you know my pick is Vick. I don't think any quarterback in the NFL this year will be under more pressure than Vick will be. The Eagles are in a must-win situation after their high 2011 hopes flopped, and they can't afford to flop again. Not that the Cowboys can afford to flop, mind you, but I just think Vick is in a higher-pressure situation.

Vick was far more responsible for his team's 2011 flop than Romo was for his team's. Vick has not demonstrated the same kind of year-in, year-out production that Romo has, so he has less of a track record on which to stand. And fair or not, Vick is always going to be judged against his own brilliant 2010 season. A lot of the Eagles' plans last year were based on the idea that Vick could do many things no other quarterback could do, and that that gave them an edge against the other good teams in the league. He may not have to be as incredible as he was in 2010, but he's going to have to show some of that ability in order to make teams fear him and the Eagles.

Vick is in a fascinating situation. He obviously has to mature as a quarterback and a decision-maker in order for the Eagles to succeed. But he has to do so without sacrificing too much of what sets him apart, athletically, from the others who play his position. It may well be an impossible balance to strike. But Vick is being asked to do it anyway, and I think that puts him under a different kind of pressure than Romo or anyone else faces in 2012.

What do you guys think? Play nice!

Remember the video mailbag? Well, we're upgrading it a bit. Or trying to, anyway. At 2 p.m. ET today on this blog, we will be doing a live video mailbag through something called Vokle. The fantasy baseball guys have been using it for live video chats, and we're going to try it here on the NFC East blog and see how it works. Ideally, you'll be able to join the chat (right from the blog, and I think you can sign in through your Facebook or Twitter account so you don't have to go to Vokle.com and set up a Vokle account if you don't want to) and ask me questions. You can type in the questions as you normally would during our Tuesday chats, and I'll read them and answer them aloud. Or, if you have a webcam and a headset (please, only if you have a headset, as without it the echo is really bad) you can ask a live video question and I'll answer it. It'll be just like when I talk to my mom and dad while they're in Florida, only it won't be 25 degrees here this time.

Anyway, swing by around 2 p.m. ET to try this out with us. Assuming it works, it could help us take the blog to unprecedented heights of technological glory. Also, should be fun. Links.

New York Giants

The Giants start their OTAs today, and it's a chance for guys like Matt McCants, a tackle the Giants took in the sixth round last month, to get at least some sense of what it's like to try to block some of the best pass-rushers in the league.

Paul Schwartz writes that Rutgers product Joe Martinek is hoping to make a case for himself as a fullback on the Giants' roster, kind of the way Henry Hynoski did last year when he was an undrafted free agent in camp with the Giants. I guess you never know.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles continue to move Jamar Chaney all around their linebacker rotation. With Brian Rolle and rookie Mychal Kendricks apparently battling for the strongside linebacker spot, it appears Chaney is now the favorite to start at the weak side with DeMeco Ryans in the middle. Chaney, who played the middle in 2010 when Stewart Bradley got hurt and in 2011 when Casey Matthews proved ineffective, continues to roll with it.

And yeah, the offseason storyline has begun to focus on quarterback Michael Vick and what he needs to change about his game in order to help the Eagles achieve their very lofty goals for the 2012 season. As I've written before -- not about changing style of play but more about changing his sense of responsibility about how he plays the position. Decision-making, study habits, things like that. As he has for the past three years, Vick is saying all of the right things. So we'll see.

Washington Redskins

Redskins.com is breaking down some position battles as the Redskins engage in OTAs this week. I like the rundown of the wide receivers especially, but you know it's a team website when you read something like, "the Redskins have arguably the best tight end duo in the league." I mean, they played the Patriots last year, right? So they know about those guys?

Mike Shanahan was back at work a day after being run over on the sideline by two Redskins players. The players who saw it happen said it was a scary sight, but apparently Shanahan is showing no ill effects.

Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones says the window may be closing on the time the Cowboys have to win with their current veteran core, including Tony Romo, Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware. Of course, lest anyone think this means trouble for the coaching staff, Jones is quick to assert that Jason Garrett feels the same way. Those two are BFFs, I'm telling ya.

Our man Herman Edwards says the Cowboys have "a Super Bowl offense," and I agree with him in terms of the talent at the skill positions. I think we still need to see Super Bowl-caliber performance out of positions like center and guard before we start talking that way, though. And of course, none of that matters if the defense doesn't improve. Which I'm pretty sure is part of Herm's point. You play. To win. The game.

Our man Sal Paolantonio sat down with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick for a SportsCenter conversation that touched on a number of topics, including the perception that this is a critical year for Eagles head coach Andy Reid. Sal asked Vick what he thinks when he hears that Reid might not be back in 2013 if the Eagles struggle, and Vick said, "I hate to think about it ... Let's just say that won't happen."

It's well known Vick feels a very strong affection and respect for Reid, who signed him once he got out of prison and with whom he credits his development into the quarterback that took the league by storm in 2010. If Reid's job is in jeopardy, Vick may well be motivated to make that not be the case any longer. We don't know what we'll get from Vick in 2012 -- the brilliant magician of 2010, the turnover-prone quarterback of 2011 or something in between. It could be anywhere on the spectrum with a player of Vick's abilities, and his performance this season will go a long way toward determining whether the Eagles make good on their promise this time.

Sal's a team player, and he sent me a couple of extra quotes from his Vick interview, including Vick's response to "Is this the year?":

"Should be. I don't want to make any predictions, but with the guys that I've got around me that's playing for the Philadelphia Eagles including myself truly believe that we can push for it."

"The window is closing for me as well. I'll be 32 next month and so I'm on the back now. I still feel good, don't get me wrong, but it's only a certain amount of guys can say that they played with the group of guys that I played with and I'm just thankful to have a group of guys around me and the coach that I have. It means a lot."

And we're back. Another Tuesday on the NFC East blog, which means I need to stretch my chat muscles so I don't pull anything. Let's get right to the links.

Dallas Cowboys

I wrote Monday about Mike Jenkins staying away from OTAs and assumed he was doing that to make some sort of statement. I was right, as it came out later in the day that he wants to be traded. As Tim MacMahon says, good luck with that, Mike. This isn't like the Asante Samuel situation in Philadelphia, where the Eagles just wanted to dump Samuel's salary and took a seventh-round pick for him. The Cowboys can still use Jenkins, even if he is now the No. 3 corner behind Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne. And given his health issues of the past year and where we are on the 2012 calendar (i.e., after the end of the draft), it's impossible to imagine any team offering them enough to make it worth their while to trade him.

In the ongoing quest to say sillier and sillier things about Tony Romo, the latest apparently is that the Cowboys don't go to the Super Bowl because Romo is not enough like Michael Young, which I guess means he needs to get on base more.

New York Giants

On the topic of Giants players "under pressure" in 2012 -- a topic we discussed here on the blog last week -- Ed Valentine picks wide receiver Ramses Barden, for whom opportunity looms large. Barden will have to hold off Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan and second-round pick Rueben Randle if he wants that No. 3 wide receiver spot created by the free-agent departure of Mario Manningham. The Giants drafted him thinking he had the tools to do it. The question now is whether he can stay healthy enough and play well enough to take advantage of his chance.

Tom Coughlin is still big in Jacksonville, where he coached the Jaguars before coaching the Giants and where he still holds his annual charity golf tournament. While in town for that, he once again answered questions about his possible retirement by saying it's not even something he's remotely considering.

Philadelphia Eagles

You can blame Juan Castillo and the defense all you like, but the Eagles' coaching staff thinks the biggest problem last year was their 38 turnovers (second most in the league), and they're determined to work with Michael Vick to cut that number down in 2012. Reading this, it sounds as though part of the problem is getting Vick to understand that there is one.

Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg talked about the fine line between leaning on the franchise running back to whom the Eagles just gave a five-year contract and overworking him. LeSean McCoy will only be 28 years old at the end of his new deal, and the Eagles surely can get five good years out of him even if they don't worry about limiting his touches. It will be interesting to see which way they lean.

Washington Redskins

You have to pay attention when you stand on an NFL sideline during practice, and Redskins coach Mike Shanahan unfortunately was looking at the wrong set of drills Monday when a couple of his players slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. "A little woozy" seemed to be the diagnosis, as Shanahan's "toughness" after his knockdown impressed some of his players. Sheesh. It's only the first day of OTAs and already the coach is down. Take it a little slower down there, fellas.

In spite of all he's done as a Redskin, Chris Cooley knows he's in a position this offseason of having to show something. Specifically, he needs to show he's healthy enough to play effectively in a two-tight end formation with Fred Davis. The reports after the first day of OTA practices were encouraging on Cooley.

» NFC pressure points: West | North | South | East
» AFC pressure points: West | North | South | East

Examining who faces the most challenging season for the Philadelphia Eagles and why.

Some of these are easier to pick than others. This one, for example. The person under the most pressure to deliver big-time results for the Eagles in 2012 is clearly, without question, quarterback Michael Vick. The Eagles have put every conceivable piece in place around him. They kept wide receiver DeSean Jackson, giving him the long-term deal he wanted after he sulked through a disappointing 2011 campaign. They just locked up running back LeSean McCoy, who scored 20 touchdowns last season and showed he can alleviate any pressure Vick might once have felt to score on his own at the goal line. They beefed up on defense. They tried to keep the offensive line together, and when an injury to Jason Peters kept them from doing that, they went right out and signed the best left tackle still left on the market.

The Eagles watched what Vick did in 2010 and believed they had something special -- a quarterback of such unique talent that, if all else were equal, he could elevate them above the rest of the league and to Super Bowl glory. But the Vick of 2011 let them down. He was too turnover-prone during the team's slow start, helping cost the Eagles very close games in September and October. He got injured and missed three games late, denying the Eagles a chance to climb back into a winnable division race. He played fine and put up nice numbers when he was healthy, but he didn't do anything to make the Eagles extra-great, and too many times he did things that hurt the cause.

The Eagles have high hopes for 2012, and reason to believe they've addressed trouble spots on a leaky defense. They have star-caliber players at key spots on the roster -- running back, receiver, defensive end, cornerback. They believe they have the pieces in place to be one of the best teams in the league. But they need their quarterback to make it all go, and for that reason Vick faces more pressure this season than does any quarterback in the entire league.

Those Philadelphia Eagles fans worried about a LeSean McCoy holdout can rest easy. The Eagles on Thursday night announced they have agreed to terms with their star running back on a five-year contract extension that runs through 2017. (He was already signed through 2012.) Adam Schefter is reporting it's a $45 million deal that includes $20.765 million in guarantees.

This is the latest internal signing for the Eagles in an offseason that has seen them extend the contracts of wide receiver DeSean Jackson, defensive end Trent Cole and right tackle Todd Herremans. They made little noise in outside free agency, and in fact, their biggest moves of that period were trades -- the acquisition of linebacker DeMeco Ryans and the dumping of cornerback Asante Samuel, whom they'd deemed a too-expensive extraneous piece. The money they're handing out this offseason is directed at keeping their young star players under control and happy for a long period of time.

This tells us a couple of things about the Eagles and where they think they are right now:

1. They really do like the roster that went 8-8 last season and believe it to be capable of much bigger things. The signings they made last offseason failed to make a 2011 splash, as the Eagles struggled at the start of the season with a bunch of new players, new coaches and new schemes. They have said many times that they believe the right thing to do is bring back relatively the same group of players and expect to build on the four-game winning streak with which they ended the season, and their offseason focus shows they're not just talking. They believe they have a strong roster that should win a lot of games.

2. The Eagles believe that not only will they be a strong title contender in 2012, but that this roster they have assembled is built to contend and win for years to come. They are determined to keep together their core of young stars because they're not worried about bottoming out this season, and having to blow up and start over with a new plan, a new coach, etc. Yes, if they flop again, Andy Reid could lose his job. But the Eagles are operating as though they do not believe that's a possibility, building for the future even as they adopt a win-now mentality.

3. If you're a young Eagles player, you can feel confident that the team isn't just blowing smoke when it tells you that you'll be taken care of. Players such as wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie can head into the 2012 season knowing that, if they perform on the field the way they and the team know they're capable of performing, the Eagles will be willing and able to give them long-term extensions and whatever level of security goes with that in the NFL. We don't know what will happen with those two players this season, but if they do great things, the money will be there for them.

The one gigantic question mark that remains is quarterback Michael Vick. He's going to turn 32 next month, and while he did sign a contract extension last summer, the Eagles are able to escape that at the end of this year with minimal remaining commitment if Vick doesn't look like the long-term answer. Undoubtedly, the Eagles' preference would be for Vick to accomplish tremendous things with this core group of young talent -- this year and in years to come. But if they struggle again and if Vick piles up the turnovers again, there's a chance someone different could be leading this group in 2013 and beyond.

However, by dishing out all these deals to players already on their roster, by locking up their best wide receiver and their star pass-rusher and the running back who scored a whopping 20 touchdowns for them this past season, they're also giving Vick the best possible chance to succeed. He will have a happy and hungry group of star players around him in 2012, and the Eagles believe they have spent this offseason setting the proper tone and putting the pieces in place to succeed in the short term and the long term. All that remains to be seen is how it all looks once the games start. And we won't know that for at least four more months.

One thing I have learned in my nearly one full year of running this blog is that everyone is in complete lock-step agreement on how good a quarterback Tony Romo is and on his value to the Dallas Cowboys. Every time I write about Romo, all of the comments are exactly the same, and there is never any dispute about Romo's ability, his worth or his future prospects. We have our share of controversial topics here on the NFC East blog, but when the topic is Romo, no one ever argues or gets upset.

Yeah, right.

Romo's as reliable a lightning-rod topic as this blog has, and hoo boy do I have a doozy for you guys. You might have seen this when it went up Monday afternoon, but it bears a bump this morning: K.C. Joyner has a piece up on the site that says, according to several statistical measures, that Romo is one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Now, if you're still reading, and you haven't already rushed to the comments section of this post to fight with each other about this, or to K.C.'s Insider post to argue directly with him, I'll give you a little synopsis of the man's points. (And I guess I might as well remind you that K.C. was about the only analyst last summer who was predicting the Giants to win this division, so it's not as though his often-controversial opinions have never been right.)

K.C. tells us that Romo's ranking is based on the following, mainly statistics-based reasons:

-Superior route-depth metrics (tied for fifth last year in yards per pass attempt)

-Low bad-decision rate, or "BDR" (fifth-lowest last year among quarterbacks with at least 175 pass attempts)

-High Total QBR (finished fourth in the NFL in 2011)

-A long history of top-level statistical performance (tied for fifth in NFL history in career yards per pass attempt)

-Ability to raise the level of play of those around him (Romo averaged double-digit yards per attempt to his third and fourth wide receivers in 2011)

-Changing of the elite guard at the quarterback position (i.e. disappointing 2011 seasons from Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger, and injury concerns about Michael Vick and Peyton Manning)

-No signs of letting up (still in his prime and surrounded by big-time offensive weapons)

I think what's interesting is that a lot of these areas in which the numbers show that Romo excels are areas of his game that often fall victim to easy criticism from his detractors. "BDR," for example. K.C. acknowledges that games like the Detroit loss last season contribute to a perception that Romo is a reckless gunslinger, but he says the numbers don't back it up:

BDR is a metric that gauges how often a quarterback makes a mental error that leads either to a turnover or a near turnover, like a dropped interception or fumble that is recovered by the offense.

The nine-year track record of this metric shows that a 2 percent or lower BDR is an above-average mark for a dink-and-dunk passer, while gunslinger quarterbacks can take pride in a BDR under 3 percent.

...

As poor as that [Detroit] performance was, Romo still posted a 1.8 percent BDR for the season. That total ranked fifth-best among qualifying quarterbacks (minimum 175 attempts) and is doubly notable because it's quite rare for a risk-taking quarterback to post a BDR under 2 percent.

In the end, though, the issue with Romo remains unchanged. Those who are inclined to dislike him will find plenty of reasons to do so, and will hang their hats on the fact that he's only won one playoff game ever. They'll go back to the botched snap, and the playoff loss to the Giants four years ago, and they'll bellow that he doesn't have what it takes to be great because he hasn't come up big in a big game. And until and unless he does that, no statistical analysis will convince those who don't want to be convinced.

The fact is that Romo is an excellent quarterback who hasn't won yet. And while in this day and age, all that matters to anyone about a quarterback is whether he's ever held the Vince Lombardi trophy up over his head while confetti fluttered down around him, it is in fact possible to be exactly that. Doesn't mean it's fun to be that, but it also doesn't mean Romo's worthless. Two-thirds of the teams in the NFL would trade their current quarterback situation straight-up for the Cowboys' quarterback situation, whether the guy's won or not.

Our NFL columnist, Ashley Fox, has a neat little graphic element up on the site about 10 NFL quarterbacks who are "on the spot" in 2012. I didn't know Ashley was so graphics-savvy, but take a look. One of those slideshow deals where you scroll through and there's a photo and a blurb on each guy.

Anyway, No. 1 on the list is Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles, and No. 4 on the list is Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys. Pretty good representation of our little division, no? Here's Ashley's take on Vick:

The Eagles are built to win this year, but Vick will have to stay healthy and limit his turnovers. He missed three games in 2011 and had 24 turnovers -- and Philadelphia went 8-8 and missed the playoffs.

As we have written many times here, Vick and his turnovers were a bigger part of the problem in Philadelphia last season than was mentioned much at the time or has been discussed much since. As the season draws nearer, I expect the focus on Vick and the pressure he's under to intensify. I agree with Ashley that no quarterback in the league enters 2012 under more pressure than does Vick.

Here's Ashley's take on Romo:

Last season, Romo threw for 4,184 yards with 31 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. But in six years as the Cowboys' starter, he has won just one playoff game. Romo is 32 years old. Jerry Jones won't be patient forever.

I tend to think Jones might actually be patient with Romo forever, if that's what it takes. Romo and Jones are close, and the Cowboys' owner takes great pride in the fact that the undrafted quarterback to whom he gave this opportunity has blossomed into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. I don't believe that Jones feels remotely as critical toward Romo and his oft-cited poor playoff record as Dallas fans and the conventional NFL wisdom do, and I really do think that Romo's play would have to drop off considerably in order for the Cowboys to consider replacing him. I do not think it's possible for that to happen within the course of the coming season.

That said, I do agree that Romo belongs on any list of NFL quarterbacks "on the spot," because few get more attention, and the longer he goes without delivering some playoff success (be it his fault or not), the more he squanders the opportunity to take control of the narrative about his own career. He might not care what people say about him now, but someday he will, and if these shadows remain unchanged (hat tip, Mr. Charles Dickens), the story of Romo's career will be that of promise unfulfilled, not that of an undrafted guy who exceeded expectations.

What will you remember most about Vince Young's time as the Philadelphia Eagles' backup quarterback?

Will you remember him coming in for an injured Michael Vick in Week 6 in Washington and throwing just one pass, which was intercepted?

How about the Seattle game, in which he threw four interceptions and fumbled once in the loss that ensured that the Eagles could not have a winning 2011 season?

Or the New England game the week before that, in which he passed for 400 yards, rushed for 40, threw only one interception, and yet somehow the Eagles managed to lose by 18 points?

Perhaps you're the glass-half-full sort, and you'll remember that Young somehow overcame three interceptions to lead a fourth-quarter drive and beat the eventual Super Bowl champions.

Come on. Who are we kidding? You might or might not remember any or all of those games, but we all know what you and everyone else will forever remember about Young with the Eagles -- the indelible imprint he left on the glum history of Philadelphia sports. Years from now, when you are reminded that Young did in fact play for the Eagles, you'll remember that, in his introductory news conference, when he was asked what he thought of all of the free-agent signings the team was making, he replied, "Dream Team," opening a too-easy avenue for ridicule of an Eagles team that would ultimately fail to meet any of its preseason expectations. That's what you'll remember about Young. He was the guy who said "Dream Team."

Anyway, it's a slow day, and Young signed with the Bills, which are the two reasons I wrote this post. I hope you enjoyed it.

Good morning, denizens of the NFC East blog. We roll on into another offseason Thursday, mining quotes and notes from charity golf tournaments and rookie minicamps for discussion points. And links, of course. Can't forget the links.

Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones says the team is not planning to trade Mike Jenkins and that he actually hopes Dallas can sign him long term. I believe the first part, but I believe that it's a result of a realization that there isn't much of a market for Jenkins right now. I don't believe the second part one bit. Not with as much as they've committed to Brandon Carr and are about to commit to Morris Claiborne. I mean, I'm sure they'd keep Jenkins long term for the right price, but not for what Jenkins likely believes he's worth on the open market. I think they're wise to keep Jenkins for this year, because depth at that position is a good thing. But I don't see how it works beyond this year unless he continues to struggle with injuries and they can get him at a big discount.

Jones also says he's confident about the Cowboys' and Redskins' chances in the hearings that begin today on the salary-cap penalties. I know I wrote in the original Wednesday breakfast links that the hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, and I apologize for the mistake. I wish I had a better excuse than the fact that I didn't know what day it was. I'm caught up now, though. So don't worry.

New York Giants

Chad Jones had hoped to be on the field with Giants players at this weekend's rookie minicamp, but he still hasn't been cleared to do so. Jones' comeback from his car accident remains an admirable story for which everyone's rooting, but this is a reminder that the road back isn't easy and remains long.

As the rookie signings continue to roll in, the Giants have locked up tight end Adrien Robinson, their fourth-round pick. Ohm's rookie preview touched on Robinson recently. He's a high-upside project the Giants hope can achieve his considerable athletic potential under the tutelage of their tight ends coach, Mike Pope.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jeremy Maclin turns 24 years old Friday, and a year ago he was dealing with worrisome medical issues that limited his offseason conditioning work. Maclin and the Eagles hope that this offseason goes more smoothly and that the result is the kind of exciting, productive and fully healthy season he was hoping to have in 2011.

Here's Greg Cosell of NFL Films writing about Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and the steps he needs to take as a quarterback if he and the Eagles are to accomplish their goals in 2012. It's similar to some of the stuff we've been discussing on here about Vick lately -- about how he needs to better devote himself to the quarterback position as a "highly disciplined craft."

Washington Redskins

The Redskins are looking for almost anyone who can play tight end. A couple of weeks back, we learned that second-year wide receiver Niles Paul was taking reps at tight end. Now, it seems linebacker Lorenzo Alexander has been doing some work there. Got to think the Alexander stuff is just in-case-of-emergency stuff, but none of this portends wonderful things for Chris Cooley, whose position on the team was already wobbly to begin with due to his salary and recent history of injuries.

What else, what else ... Oh, John Beck found work. The Houston Texans signed him. Yeah, I know, but it's a slow day and I know Redskins fans have a soft spot in their heart for Beck and the promise he showed in ... which preseason game was that again last year? Jeez, that seems like a while ago.