by Kyle Ross, Vegas Experts Staff Writer

As the 2008 NFL betting season approaches, we’re going to take a look at all eight divisions, starting with the toughest of them all, the NFC East. This is a division that NFL bettors need to pay attention to as it features the Super Bowl XLII Champion New York Giants, two other playoff teams (Dallas and Washington), one of which is the favorite to win the conference crown, and another that is a perennial postseason club, Philadelphia.

Below you will find team previews, betting odds and free NFL football picks for every team in the NFC East.

Dallas Cowboys: Odds to win Division 4/7 | NFC 2/1 | SB XLIII 9/2 | Reg Season Wins 11.0

The Dallas Cowboys enter the 2008 NFL season as not only the favorite to win the NFC East, but the favorite to win the Conference Championship. You might find that interesting considering that this franchise has not won a playoff game in 12 years. That means Wade Phillips is on the hot seat. They closed the year on a 0-5 ATS run. The ‘Boys will be the focus of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series, which did not do wonders in Kansas City a year ago. They may also have the most explosive locker room in football, with not only Terrell Owens suiting up, but now Adam Jones as well.

Now, the good news. The team matched a franchise-record with 13 wins last year and they send 13 different players to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl (also a franchise best). QB Romo is very accurate and comes off a season where he passed for 4211 yards and 36 TD’s. He leads the conference’s best offense that features RB’s Marion Barber (4.8 YPC) and Felix Jones (1st round pick) and of course Owens, who tied the franchise mark with 15 TD receptions a year ago. On defense, they added LB Zach Thomas via free agency. The secondary was the liability last year, but they should be better this year, with or without Jones.

Play On Situation: The Cowboys are 8-1 ATS at home off back-to-back SU road wins. They shouldn’t have much problem winning in Arizona and then St. Louis in Weeks 6 and 7, so consider laying the points against Tampa Bay in Week 8.

New York Giants: Odds to win Division 5/2 | NFC 4/1| SB XLIII 10/1 | Reg Season Wins 9.0

The New York Giants kind of remind us of the football equivalent of the 2008 Colorado Rockies. What we mean by that is no one is picking them to repeat as anything. Remember, prior to a six-game ATS win streak (5-1 SU) at the end of the year, this team was 9-5 and not even guaranteed of qualifying for the playoffs. Tom Coughlin entered 2007 as the coach most likely to be fired and finished as a Super Bowl Champion with a contract extension. Still, in a weak NFC, the G-Men have the necessary talent to garner a postseason berth, even if they aren’t likely to win the division.

By virtue of their miracle playoff run, New York enters the regular season on a 10-game road win streak. They only have one away date (St. Louis) in the first month of the season, so we look for them to get off to a strong overall start this year. Playing with revenge is another situation this team seems to strive in, as their final three playoff victories (Dal, GB, NE) all came against teams that beat them in the regular season. The team certainly didn’t miss Tiki Barber last year, so there’s no reason to believe that they’ll miss the retired Michael Strahan, as the Giants ranked #1 in the league in sacks and Strahan ranked just 3rd on the team.

Play on Situation: Everyone will probably be looking to go against the Giants in contrarian fashion in Week 2 at St. Louis. Not us as the G-Men have covered each of the last four meetings with the Rams.

Philadelphia Eagles: Odds to Win Division 5/1 | NFC 18/1 | SB XLIII 45/1 | Reg Season Wins 8.5

This is a real “watershed” year in the City of Brotherly Love. For the 2nd time in three years, the Eagles didn’t make the postseason and for the umpteenth consecutive year Donovan McNabb got hurt. They were tied with the Saints for the most outright losses as a favorite (six) in the league. The good news is that Andy Reid finally seems committed to run the football with Brian Westbrook coming off back-to-back career years. However, the main key remains the health of McNabb. Jeff Garcia isn’t there to back him up like two years ago and the Eagles failed to score 20 points ten times last year.

McNabb hasn’t played more than 14 games in any season since 2004 (Super Bowl year) and last year’s draft choice, Kevin Kolb, is waiting to take the reins. Defensively, the Eagles have one of the best secondaries in all of football after adding Asante Samuel. The main problem we see is the division. Dallas and the Giants are definitely better, meaning Philly will likely have to bank on the division sending three teams to the postseason for a second straight year. We just don’t see that happening, although Reid has never missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since taking the job.

Play on Situation: The law of averages dictates that one team can’t keep cashing in at the expense of another forever. Philadelphia is 0-7 ATS L7 vs. Cincinnati, but 13-1 ATS following Giants week, so take the Eagles in Week 11.

Washington Redskins: Odds to Win Division 8/1 | NFC 14/1 | SB XLIII 30/1 | Reg Season Wins 8.0

Interestingly, despite the sportsbooks projection of Washington to have a worse shot at winning the division and their call for them to win fewer games than the Eagles, they do set their odds of winning the conference and the Super Bowl lower than Philadelphia. We’re not sure what to make of that. What we do know is we like the ‘Skins a whole lot less than we like the Eagles. They have a new head coach in Jim Zorn, who gets to inherit what was a playoff team, lest we forget. However, some quick research reveals the turnover amongst playoff participants from year-to-year is nearly 50%. Washington is one of our first choices of teams not heading back to the postseason.

Washington wasn’t nearly as active in the free agent market as year’s past, mainly because they addressed their needs via the draft (i.e WR). QB Jason Campbell made great strides last year, but will be learning his third offense in four years. That’s a lot to ask of a young signal caller. Todd Collins stunned everyone by filling in admirably last year when Campbell got hurt. Offensive line does not have a single starter under the age of 30. Defensively, the team ranked in the top ten overall and fourth against the rush.

Play on Situation: The Redskins have dominated the Rams in recent years, covering six of eight meetings. St. Louis is a bad road team (2-6 LY) and Washington will be glad to get them in Week 6 following back-to-back division games on the road.

The 2008 NFL betting season is just around the corner, and if you like winning NFL Football Picks, then Vegas Experts is your home for Sports Handicapping. The Vegas Experts have you covered with, free betting trends, free NFL picks, free college football picks and Guaranteed Winners all the way up until the 2009 BCS Title Game and Super Bowl XLIII.