The home of the defending Super Bowl champs, the NFC East swings back into full gear in 2008 with re-vitalized head coaches looking perpetuate their careers. With Joe Gibbs headed to the pits, a born-again Tom Coughlin joins Wade Phillips, Andy Reid and new comer Jim Zorn in a division that appears as wide open as the Grand Canyon.

Can the Giants repeat? Will the Cowboys overcome their one-and-outitis in the playoffs? Are the Eagles ready to resume their lofty status as a premier team in the NFC? Can a neophyte coach win in a tough division? Answers to follow.

Here is my take of teams in the NFC EAST DIVISION for 2008.

NFC EAST

DALLAS
Team Theme - STEEL WOOL

The final year of Cowboy games at Texas Stadium couldn't come and go fast enough for devout Dallas fans. That's because "America's Team" is a paltry 36-29 SU and 34-28-3 ATS at home this decade, including 13-17 SU and 11-17-2 ATS against winning opponents. Those are hardly the kind of numbers associated with a team favored to win its conference in 2008. They'll need to do a better job if they hope to reach the Super Bowl and, according to our 'Fast Fact' (0-6 SU in last six playoff games), a much better job should they reach the playoffs. If it seems Jerry Jones has been pulling the wool over Cowboys' fans' eyes, it's because he has. Over the last eleven years Dallas is nine games under .500 (86-95), yet Jones is building a new $1B steel edifice to house his Boys in 2009. If Jerry had anyone else overseeing this operation he would have fired him long ago.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Green Bay (9/21)

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NY GIANTS
Team Theme - BY THE BOOK

Scripting a fairy tale season in the NFL last year, the Giants pulled off the impossible when they sent the powerful Patriots to the mat in SBXLII. Like the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, New York won every playoff game on the road. In addition, three of the Giants' four post-season victories (Dallas, Green Bay and New England) were against teams they lost to earlier in the regular season. The paybacks were sweet and the end result was storybook, but the next chapter in the novel for the defending Super Bowl champions figures to pale in comparison to the previous. According to my database, defending Super Bowl champions struggle on the non-division road, going 52-71-1 ATS. Now we have a conundrum. What happens to the G-Men's 10-game road win streak? Our guess is that it closes like every good book - THE END.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Cleveland (10/13)

PHILADELPHIA
Team Theme - HANDY ANDY

Second perhaps to New Orleans as the most disappointing team in the league last year, the Eagles put the wraps on an 8-8 season with three consecutive wins to close the year. Like the Saints, Philadelphia topped the NFL in SU favorite losses in 2007 with six. The primary difference, however, was the work ethic manifested by the Eagles on the playing field. Despite a multitude of off-field distractions and injuries to QB Donavon McNabb (shock), head coach Andy Reid kept Philadelphia focused and the Eagles won 11 of their 16 games 'in the stats'. The off-season acquisition of star DB Asante Samuel gives Philadelphia the best (read: deepest) defensive backfield corps in the league. Remember, Reid has missed out on the playoffs only two times in his NFL career as a head coach. His teams went 12-6 and 11-7 the following years.

PLAY ON: vs. NY Giants (11/9)

WASHINGTON
Team Theme - NEW BOSS HOG

For the second time in Joe Gibbs' life he has decided to bow out as an NFL head coach to focus on his life's passion - racing cars. True to his character, Gibbs leaves Washington in much better shape than the disaster he inherited from Steve Spurrier. Last year's 9-8 record could have been much better had the Redskins not blown five second-half leads. He hands the wheel over to Jim Zorn, the former Seattle QB, who will make his NFL head coaching debut. Unlike years past when they annually led the league in new signings, the Hogs were relatively inactive in the free agent market. They concentrated instead on creating a strong draft, which included Hawaii QB Colt Brennan. It will be more interesting to see if Zorn can maneuver his way through an onslaught of hard charging opposition as Gibbs did. It will be a while before Zorn gets a checkered flag.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. NY Giants (9/4)