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John Clayton has a preview of some of the hot issues teams face as organized team activities (or OTAs) begin this week. The only NFC East mentions in his piece are about the Philadelphia Eagles, and they are this one:

The Eagles signed Demetress Bell to replace left tackle Jason Peters, who is out for the season after tearing his Achilles twice. Bell was previously Peters' replacement in Buffalo but didn't stand out.

and this one:

Dream Team, take two: The Eagles were the winners of the 2011 offseason but losers when they underachieved last season and didn't make the playoffs. The key to OTAs is seeing whether they are going in the right direction on defense. Last year, they brought in man-to-man specialists Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and played them in zone. Andy Reid brought in secondary coach Todd Bowles to help defensive coordinator Juan Castillo sort out the plan in the secondary and see whether the Eagles can match up better with the talent on hand.

And yeah, as was the case when the 2011 season started, I think it's fair to say the Eagles will be the most compelling national story out of our division. Much is expected, and given the way they flopped last year, they'll be under even more scrutiny this year.

But we deal with all four teams equally here, so playing off of John's column, I figured it'd be a good idea to pick something to watch for each of our other three teams this week. Remember that these offseason workouts are voluntary, so not all of the players we're looking at will necessarily be on the field. The Redskins' OTAs begin today, the Eagles and Cowboys start theirs Tuesday and the Giants get on the field Wednesday.

Dallas Cowboys

Lining up the line: The injury that will keep free-agent guard Mackenzy Bernadeau out for the spring and summer deprives the Cowboys of a chance they were expecting to see Bernadeau at center. It also removes him temporarily from the offseason competition for one of the guard spots, and will give players such as David Arkin, Bill Nagy, Nate Livings and Kevin Kowalski a head-start on him as they get an early chance to show the coaches what they can do.

New York Giants

The replacements: The Giants have to figure some things out on the line as well, and they'll take a look this offseason at whether Will Beatty is making progress as the starting left tackle and whether veteran David Diehl is the solution at right tackle with Kareem McKenzie gone. But they also want to see whether first-round pick David Wilson can replace running back Brandon Jacobs, whether second-round pick Rueben Randle can emerge from the crowd hoping to replace wide receiver Mario Manningham, and whether Terrell Thomas and/or Prince Amukamara is healthy enough to replace cornerback Aaron Ross.

Washington Redskins

Here, catch! We know rookie Robert Griffin III is the guy who'll be throwing the ball for the Redskins -- now and, ideally, for the long-term future. But Washington still needs to sort out who's going to catch it. Free-agent signees Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan are obviously going to get the first shot at prominent roles in the receiving corps, and the coaching staff remains excited about 2011 rookie Leonard Hankerson. But veteran Santana Moss will also push for a role, and there are several holdovers at the wide receiver spot who will look to catch the coaches' attention this offseason so as not to get lost in the shuffle. And that doesn't even take into account tight end Fred Davis, who was the Redskins' best receiver last year.

New York Giants

Looking ahead to the 2012 season, Ralph Vacchiano lists five things the Giants must address.

Injured Giants defensive back Terrell Thomas admitted feeling "bittersweet" watching his team win the Super Bowl.

Philadelphia Eagles

New defensive backs coach Todd Bowles is comfortable in his role with the Eagles. Bowles: "I'm not trying to come here to be a defensive coordinator or a head coach. I'm here to coach the secondary. All the other stuff, I'll let everybody else figure out."

Moving the Chains looks ahead to free agency and some of the moves that could impact the Eagles.

Dallas Cowboys

Former Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens reflects on his departure from the team, calling it "disappointing." Owens still has his sights set on returning to the NFL.

Calvin Watkins breaks down the tight ends in the latest installment of his position-by-position analysis.

Washington Redskins

Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post says that if Peyton Manning becomes available, the Redskins need to do whatever is necessary to sign him. Writes Jenkins: "This is one instance in which Dan Snyder needs to be the Dan Snyder we used to know, the check-writer with a signature on the bottom flashier than a fountain."

George Mason University has been ruled out as a possible training camp site for the Redskins.

Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Philadelphia Eagles will hire Todd Bowles as their defensive backs coach and keep Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator for 2012. The decision was a long time coming, and it's widely believed the Eagles were interested in replacing Castillo with Steve Spagnuolo before Spagnuolo took the defensive coordinator's job in New Orleans. But in the end, keeping Castillo for another year was the right thing for the Eagles to do.

Part of the Eagles' problem in 2011 was coping with all of the changes they made on defense -- new coaches, new personnel and new schemes all thrown together in a short period of time in a year that didn't have a real offseason in which to install all of it. To overhaul the defense again would have invited the same kind of early-season chaos that doomed the 2011 Eagles before they got their act together late and finished eighth in the league in total defense.

And yes, there were times when Castillo looked overmatched as a playcaller. He was, after all, the offensive line coach for the previous 13 years. But if you believe, as the Eagles and head coach Andy Reid do, that Castillo is a good coach, you can make the assumption that he'll be better in Year 2 than he was in Year 1 at the parts of the job that challenged him. Eagles ownership is basically giving Reid and his staff a mulligan for this past season on the condition that they make up for it with a deep playoff run next season. If Reid truly believes that the circumstances and not the people were the problem, he should stick with what he believed all along was the right way to go.

Bringing in Spagnuolo or another established defensive coordinator would have required the Eagles to either tell that person he needed to accept the "Wide 9" scheme implemented this past year by first-year defensive line coach Jim Washburn or tell Washburn he needed to scrap it. Either would have created an uncomfortable situation for coaches and players alike, and that would have been yet another thing to overcome at a time when the Eagles need to steer as clear as possible of upheaval. And firing Castillo would have been patently unfair, considering the nearly impossible position in which Reid put him.

The only potential issue with keeping Castillo is if the players don't buy in. The defensive backs in particular chafed last year at the amount of zone coverage they were asked to play. But perhaps the addition of Bowles, a longtime defensive backs coach who most recently was the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins, will help sell the move to Nnamdi Asomugha & Co. if that in fact needs to be done.

The Eagles believe their plan will work, given a full offseason of work and continued dedication to the schemes that were new last year but won't be new this time around. They may be right and they may be wrong. But a plan's no good unless you're willing to stick with it, and a leader's no good if he's not willing to believe in his people. To overreact to the disappointment of 2011 and make major changes again just to appease those on the outside who are upset about it would have been a mistake. The Eagles are staying the course, and this offseason that's the right thing for them to do.

The Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins have enjoyed a good working relationship since Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland set up shop in South Florida. Parcells hired former Cowboys assistant head coach Tony Sparano to become the head coach in Miami in 2008 and the team immediately went to the playoffs.

Now, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will interview Dolphins assistant head coach/secondary Todd Bowles for his head coaching vacancy Wednesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Parcells always thought Bowles had what it took to be a head coach when the two worked together with the Cowboys, and that made an impact on Jones.

Jones was set to interview Cowboys wide receivers coach Ray Sherman on Tuesday, and it's likely that Bowles will be the only other candidate to receive an interview. I still expect the Cowboys to announce Jason Garrett as the head coach this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

Bowles had an excellent relationship with the players during his time with the Cowboys and it wouldn't surprise me if he becomes the defensive coordinator. Garrett wasn't ready to commit to Paul Pasqualoni on Monday, in part, because he doesn't yet have the authority to commit to him.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has all but confirmed that his team will spend a portion of training in Oxnard, Calif., but today's preseason schedule announcement pretty much seals the deal. The Cowboys' third preseason game will be in San Diego, which means the club will likely spend the previous week a couple of hours down the road in Oxnard.

As we already knew, the Cowboys will open the preseason against the Bengals in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 8, in Canton, Ohio. They'll host the Oakland Raiders the following weekend at Cowboys Stadium and then likely depart for Oxnard. The fourth game will be Saturday, Aug. 28, in Houston. This game will be for the famed (wink) Governor's Cup.

The Cowboys will close the preseason at home against their old pals, the Miami Dolphins. They'll be able to reconnect with former coaches Tony Sparano, Bill Parcells, David Lee, Todd Bowles and Kacy Rodgers, as well as current Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland and his right-hand man Brian Gaine.

Is anyone actually stoked about the preseason? Let me hear from you.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was in Denver on Tuesday interviewing for the Broncos' head coaching vacancy. The Denver Post talked to several Garrett family members in an effort to get a read on the 42-year-old Princeton man.

Garrett is the fifth candidate to be interviewed. I still think Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would be Denver's first choice, but there's a good chance he turns the job down. Dolphins assistant head coach/secondary Todd Bowles is gaining some steam right now. I knew Bowles when he was coaching the secondary in Dallas and he'd do an excellent job.

Garrett is pretty tight-lipped, so he didn't say much about the Broncos job -- other than to point out how much he likes quarterback Jay Cutler. It was funny to hear him stumble and say he was pleased to have the opportunity to interview "with the Dolphins."

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

We interrupt your New Year's Day bowl game watching party to let you know the Rams have asked permission to speak to Cowboys wide receivers coach Ray Sherman about their opening at head coach. There's never been a better time to go from a position coach to head coach in the NFL.

Teams have paid close attention to what happened with Tony Sparano in Miami and John Harbaugh in Baltimore, and they're trying to identify the right fit. In the past, teams would either recycle former head coaches or pluck an offensive or defensive coordinator. Now, there's a thought that guys such as Sparano (offensive line in Dallas) and Harbaugh (secondary in Philly) can make the leap to head coach. Of course, Sparano had a season of play calling under his belt before Jerry Jones brought in Jason Garrett.

Now some folks on Sparano's staff in Miami are beginning to receive interest. Todd Bowles was an excellent secondary coach with the Cowboys and it looks like he'll land a couple of interviews. Quarterbacks coach David Lee is the man most responsible for the Wildcat formation that helped jump-start the Dolphins' season, and defensive coordinator coach Paul Pasqualoni is also a solid candidate.