I enjoy watching Jeffri Chadiha verbally battle Skip Bayless on ESPN’s 1st and 10. I especially give credence to anyone that can hand Bayless his hat in those contrived arguments. However, Chadiha’s latest bit of information does not sit so well with me, and it may be the same for other Cowboy fans. Jeffri, a Senior NFL writer for ESPN, gave his list of the 10 most indispensable players in the league. Just as every other top 10 list this off-season, the Cowboys have a contribution.

The oft misunderstood but never undervalued Terrell Owens comes in at number three, behind Fly-Guy Tom Brady and the heir to Brett Favre’s throne (in the record books), Peyton Manning. Though I am not disagreeing that TO is a commodity that Phillips can ill afford to be without, I would argue that Tony Romo is way more indispensable to the team than “The Receiver.”

Value cannot solely be measured in touchdowns, but it’s a good start. The Real 81 found the endzone 15 times. That accounts for about 42% of the receiving touchdowns and more than a quarter of the total TDs. Those are big numbers, but Tony Romo was responsible for 100% of Owens’ scores. He was also responsible for 100% of the team’s 36 passing touchdowns.

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USA Today has stated in an article that was based off of Parcells HBO “RealSports” interview that Tony Romo is to blame for his retirement from coaching. In Parcell’s interview he makes comments about the simplicity of kicking a field goal and it was the inability of the Cowboys to make that last field goal after going so far as a team that lead to his retirement. However, he never directly says that Tony Romo is the reason he quit.

The reporter for USA Today came up with the conclusion all by himself. Tony Romo isn’t to blame, it was the disappointment of not being able to put the icing on the cake when it was obvious the cake was theirs to be eaten. You have a great team and you don’t take that team the distance, it hurts, it takes a toll on you mentally. That was Parcells breaking point, not when Romo dropped the snap.

Training camp is almost here and its time to take a look at the season ahead; particularly the competition in the NFC East. Several teams have made some key off-season additions. Let’s look at them team by team.

Dallas Cowboys – (13-3 in 2007)

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t go crazy this year, but did add two key players that could mean trouble for the rest of the NFC. (and maybe for the Cowboys themselves) They drafted RB Felix Jones in the first round, who looks to be a good complement to Marion Barber. (I hate to admit it, the dude is just a beast) We’ll see how he does in the NFL, but I would suspect that he will do fairly well, and will give Barber some rest; although I hope he doesn’t work out, and Barber is exhausted by the fourth quarter of every game. They also added troubled CB Adam “Pacman” Jones (I don’t care if he’s dropping the “Pacman,” its not going anywhere) We don’t even know if this guy is going to be able to play, although he probably will. Commissioner Roger Goodell temporarily lifted Jones’ suspension so that he could practice with the Cowboys, but he could still be suspended for the season. Again, I’m pretty confident he will be on the field. The good thing for Eagles fans is that Jones hasn’t played since 2006. We can hope he’s lost something in that time. I doubt it, but there’s always hope. With troubled players and draft picks, its always a risk. We’ll see if these players work out. If they do, the Cowboys could once again take the #1 seed in the NFC. They are the number one competition, not only for the Eagles, but the entire NFC.

New York Giants – (10-6 in 2007)

The Giants were relatively quiet this year as far as key acquisitions go. They did draft WR Mario Manningham, and S Kenny Phillips, but their off-season is more on what they lost. They lost three of their starters to free agency; S Gibril Wilson, LB Kawika Mitchell, and LB Reggie Torbor. The biggest loss to the Giants has to be the retirement of Michael Strahan. Strahan’s retirement was bitter sweet. As an Eagles’ fan I was glad to see him go. We won’t have to see that guy put McNabb on his back anymore. As a fan of the game, and an Eagles’ fan, I’m going to miss him. He’s a great guy (at least he’s going to be on Fox’s pregame show.) His battles with big Jon Runyan were great. I’m going to miss that feud. I would think with Giants’ fans, its going to be a wait-and-see mentality for the upcoming season. Which Manning will they get? 20 interceptions in a season, or the near perfect QB we saw during the playoffs? Can the defense repeat with all the losses? We’ll all find out soon enough. Dallas may be the biggest competition, but the Giants are the team to beat.

Washington Redskins – (10-6 in 2007)

Who knows what to think with this team? Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs retired from the game, again. Some say the game passed him by, and I have to agree. They made the playoffs twice, but also went 6-10 in 2004, and 5-11 in 2006. The Redskins made no huge splash in free-agency, seeing as how they were almost maxed out on their salary cap.

They did have a fairly good draft though. They picked two big receivers in the draft in Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas. Thomas is a high risk-high reward pick. He came out after a very productive junior year, but was relatively quiet in his other two seasons. We’ll see how he turns out. Kelly was most noted for his complaining about the turf he ran his forty on during his pro-day. After switching to a different turf, he still didn’t do all that hot, but when it comes to playing the game, does it really matter was his pro-day forty time was? I don’t know what to really expect from the Redskins. Honestly I don’t expect much, and I see them bringing up the rear in a tough division.

Philadelphia Eagles – (8-8 in 2007)

You would think after an 8-8 season it would be hard to get your hopes up. Not so for Philly fans. McNabb is back and healthy. We got little production from the tight ends, and you have to believe with L.J. Smith back to full health, and Brent Celek having a year under his belt, that this will change in 2008. The Eagles were not quiet during the off-season, especially on defense. I think they took it personally, and they should, that the Giants won a Super Bowl using their defensive scheme. The Eagles signed CB Asante Samuel, possibly the biggest name on the free agent market, and DE Chris Clemons, (a situational pass rusher for the Oakland Raiders), on the first and second day of free agency. Samuel has had 16 interceptions in his last two seasons. (The Eagles only had 11 last season as a defense) There are questions as to whether he was only productive because of New England’s system, or if he’s really just an outstanding playmaker. I’m going to have to go with the latter. I don’t care how good the system is, 16 interceptions in two seasons, 22 career, is just outstanding, and you have to be a special player to do that no matter what system you are in. Clemons only played about 35% of the snaps last season and was able to rack up 8.5 sacks. That’s pretty impressive in itself. You have to think he will be able to help our pass rush.

There wasn’t anything too exciting about the draft. The Eagles traded out of the first round, again. They did draft WR/PR Desean Jackson and DT Trevor Laws. Jackson is an immediate boost for special teams, and looks to actually get on the field as a receiver. Laws lead the nation last year in most tackles for a loss. He should be a great help to our run defense, and will give Bunkley and Patterson some rest.

Andy Reid was dealing with family issues last off-season. (his two sons were arrested on drug charges) You have to believe that was affecting him during the season. With this issue somewhat cleared up, Reid should be back to the great coach he has been for so many years here in Philadelphia.

The outlook for this team is high, and to answer the question, the Eagles are able to compete within the division and the NFC. Our defense should be even better than last year. With added pressure on the QBs, we should see turnovers go way up. Our run defense is solid and should be a top ten again this season. Our offense should look more like it did in 2006. We came up short on the big plays (plays over 20 yards) last year, unlike 2006 when we were tied with Saints for first. Things look good for 2008 and the Eagles should be contenders, not only in the NFC East and the NFC, but throughout the NFL.

It’s reaching the final hour for teams to sign their franchise players, and it appears that one team that is going to get a deal done with their franchise player are the Cowboys with safety Ken Hamlin.  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that the team and Hamlin are close on a multi-year contract, and the deal could be wrapped up by the end of the day.

Hamlin was slapped with the franchise tag back in February, and he and the team have been talking about a long-term deal ever since, and now it appears that it will get done.  The 27-year-old Hamlin was drafted in the 2nd round by the Seahawks back in 2003, and played there four seasons before moving to Dallas in 2007.

Last year he played in 16 games, making 62 tackles and five interceptions.  He will be the fourth big name safety to sign a deal this offseason - Kerry Rhodes signed a five-year, $33.5 million dollar deal with the Jets. Gibril Wilson signed a six-year, $39 million dollar deal with the Radiers, and Madieu Williams inked a six-year, $33.75 million dollar deal with the Vikings.

The Tampa Tribune has posted a couple of teams that are interested in Bucs QB Chris Simms, who continues to sit in limbo as he waits for the team to release him or trade him. The teams pointed out as with interest are the Cowboys, Bears and Lions. This is the short list, and if Simms is free to go anywhere, there will be more teams vying for his services than that.

The Cowboys are in the hunt for a backup to Tony Romo, which makes them a team that would like to look more into Simms. The Bears have issues all the way around with their QB’s - Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton. The Lions have Jon Kitna penciled is as their starter for now, but there has been rumblings about Drew Stanton getting some snaps at somepoint this year if the team struggles.

The bottom line on Simms is that he’s not going to be in a Bucs uniform, and the thought is that the team is going to end up moving him for a conditional draft pick or a late draft pick.

There seems to have been some sort of “anonymous” poll done by ESPN where all of the NFL coaches were asked a variety of questions including which Pro bowl player they would NOT have on their team.  For some unknown reason, 14 of them said they wouln’t want WR Terrell Owens.  All I have to say to that is it is absolute proof that there isn’t an intelligence test required to be an NFL head coach.

Come on, he only scored more points last season that some AFC North teams, which is where the results were originally released, on an AFC North blog site.  I understand that he has had a somewhat tumultous past with other teams, but one can’t deny his contributions have greatly outshined any trouble he has caused since coming to Dallas.  I also admit to not being quite happy with the decision to bring him here, but I am quite literally eating my words about it, so what do these coaches know that we don’t?

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We gave you the positives of the defensive side of the ball the other day here on Gridiron Gab, and now it’s time to break down the best offenses of the league. There are plenty to choose from, but below are the teams we feel are going to light it up with high-powered offenses in 2008.

1. New England - This offense is simply sick. From a QB that threw for over 4800 yards and 50 touchdowns, to a wide out that caught 23 TD’s to another that had a league high 112 catches, the Pats are as unstoppable as they come. This is not to say that they need to tweak some things, like improving on the O-line as well as getting some more help from the running game. Overall though, it’s hard to think that the Pats will take much of a step back in 2008.

2. Indianapolis - If there is a team that can match New England from an explosion standpoint, it’s probably the Colts, who still employ Peyton Manning and a wealth of talent all over the offensive side of the ball. They averaged close to 360 yards per game, and Manning is still one of the top 2-3 QB’s in the game, if not the best. Look for an even better season for RB Joseph Addai, and for TE Dallas Clark to build on his best season of 2007 with a career high in catches, yards and TD’s.

3. Dallas - While it was their offense that in the end cost them against the Giants in the playoffs, there is not denying the talent that the Cowboys bring to the table on the offensive side of the ball. Tony Romo is telling people that his focus is on the team, and not bimbo blonde Jessica Simpson, which is good. Jason Witten is a stud at TE, Terrell Owens has 1-2 good years left, and the running game should have a solid 1-2 punch with Marion Barber and rookie Felix Jones.

4. San Diego - When healthy, this offense can match just about anyone points for points in the league. RB LaDainian Tomlinson is as good as they come, and Philip Rivers proved his toughness gutting it out in the AFC Title loss to the Pats. The WR core is a little on the weak side, but they do have a great TE in Antonio Gates to fill the void and get Rivers out of trouble on a lot of plays. Bottom line is the Chargers are another explosive team.

5. Cleveland - It’s a big year for the Browns, who are being counted on to make another serious run at the playoffs and this time finish the job. Derek Anderson combined with WR Braylon Edwards is a solid 1-2 punch, and combine that with TE Kellen Winslow, and the running of RB Jamal Lewis, the Browns can put up points. Last season they had games of point totals of 51, 41, 33, and three games where they scored 27, showing how good they are and can be.

A few days ago we threw out what we felt were going to be the five worst offenses in the NFL coming into 2008. Now on the positive side, we’re back to give you the other side of the ball - the defenses, and what five teams are going to have have top notch and the best defenses entering the season.

1. San Diego - The Chargers have a great blend of speed and power, and their three main parts of their defense - D-line, linebackers, and secondary all have playmakers. Shawne Merriman is a beast among linebackers, Antonio Cromartie is one of the most exciting corners in the league, and Jamal Williams, Luis Castillo and Igor Olshansky make up a solid front three. This team is going to be tough to move on in 2008.

2. New York Giants - The defending Super Bowl champs return with a solid defense that should again make life tough on QB’s in 08. Even losing Michael Strahan, they still have a solid front line with Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck, LB core led by Mathias Kiwanuka, and good enough secondary to get the job done. The safety position has a few question marks, but overall this team is all about pressure, as their 53 sacks a year ago proved.

3. Dallas - Getting Adam “don’t call me Pacman” Jones will help a secondary that needs a boost, now the only question is will be eligible to play this year. Adding Zach Thomas brings some leadership to the defense as well as a guy that can still play. The LB tandem of Greg Ellis and DeMarcus Ware will give QB’s nightmares, and should result in turnovers and hurried throws that will play right in the hands of the secondary.

4. Pittsburgh - After DE Aaron Smith went down last season, the Steelers D was never the same. They get him back in 2008, and the team should be able to regain its early season form of 07. Dick LeBeau is a master at confusing QB’s, and with young studs at linebacker like Pro Bowler James Harrison and 2nd year player LaMarr Woodley, he will have two players that can make a QB’s day very long. The secondary has it’s issues, but if Troy Polamalu is back to 100 percent, the unit can make strides under coach Mike Tomlin.

5. Minnesota - Love what this team did in the offseason, snatching sack crazy Jared Allen from the Chiefs. His play, along with that of Kevin and Pat Williams will make offenses have some sleepless nights. E.J. Henderson is solid at MLB, and Chad Greenway and Ben Leber also had good seasons a year ago. The signing of Madieu Williams gives the secondary another weapon as well, and he’s better than Dwight Smith, who he replaces.

Drexel Perry - Total Titans

Cowboys vs Redskins

Just as the Cowboys and the Indians battled each other in Western movies, the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins have had their share of violent skirmishes on the gridiron.

Highlights of one of the NFL’s fiercest rivalries include head-to-head battles in two NFC Championship Games, with the Redskins winning both of those contests (1972, 1982). In 1989, a shocking 13-3 victory over the Redskins gave the Cowboys their only win in Jimmy Johnson’s forgettable 1-15 debut as an NFL head coach.

Toss the W-L records out of the window, because you can expect a full-fledged war each time two of the NFL’s flagship franchises face off during their bi-annual NFC East grudge matches.

Brian Miller - Phinphanatic.com

An AFC East Point Of View

Breaking down rivalries in the AFC East is no easy task. Ask a Bills fan..he says Miami, ask a Pats fan and he says Miami, ask a Jets fan and he will throw bottles and batteries…at Miami. Ask a Miami fan
and the answer is not so clear.

While the Dolphins and Patriots have had some memorable games, the Bills and Jets would probably fall into a more “bitter” rivalry. In the 1990’s the Bills and Dolphins rekindled a dwindled rivalry with
epic games between Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. Despite the Bills and the Bryan Cox 2 finger salutes to the Bills crowd, it is the Jets that make Miami fans and players’ blood boil. A long history that dates
back to the Don Shula led Colts losing in Super Bowl III, the Dolphins and Jets have had some amazing and memorable games. From ultra high-scoring affairs to a fake spike, from a Monday night miracle
comeback to a rain soaked playoff game. If you want rivalry. Bitter hold no bar rivalry, you don’t have to look any further than north on interstate 95.

The NFL has had some great rivalries over the years. The 49ers vs. Cowboys during the 1990s was awesome. The Colts and Patriots in recent years has been the best in the NFL. The historical rivalries that include Packers vs. Bears and Steelers vs. Browns are steeped in tradition. But there is one rivalry that stands far above the others.

A Media Member Who Has Covered the NFL for Over 13 Years

The Raiders vs. Anybody

True, this rivalry isn’t what it used to be because the Raiders are just so bad. Still, no team draws as much ire and vitriol like the Raiders. Maybe it’s the fans – because it isn’t about what they have done on the field in recent years – but teams still enjoy beating the Raiders. A lot. Especially the teams AFC West opponents. And really, that doesn’t seem like it will die down in the near future.

Matt Loede - NFLGridironGab

Pittsburgh vs Cleveland

Being in Cleveland the rivals of the Browns over the years include the Bengals and Ravens, but no rivalry is quite as heated as the one against the city about 90 miles away - Pittsburgh. The Steelers and Browns have had some fierce battles over the years, and despite the fact that the Steelers have owned the series since the Browns return since 1999, this one continues to be a good one, and in 2008 it should only get better.

We reported here a few days ago that the Cowboys may have an interest in unhappy Falcons WR Joe Horn, a player that could come in and basically be Terry Glenn if things between Glenn and the team don’t get settled.  Now the Dallas Morning News is reporting the Horn to Dallas tidbit is not going to happen, and it’s coming from the mouth of the man who signs the checks - Jerry Jones.

Jones told ESPN during the AFL Dallas Desperado’s game at the American Airlines Center that Horn is not in the teams plans.  “Yeah, that’s not correct,” Jones said. “I haven’t expressed any interest there and haven’t evaluated him. That’s just not correct.”  Horn is 36, so him coming in and having any sort of impact on the Cowboys in 2008 is probably just a pipe dream.

The Falcons are due to owe Horn $2.5 mil in 2008, and they likely with their recent movement to get younger want to either trade Horn or dump him.  Someone will likely give Horn a look this season, but right now, he does not look like he’s on the Cowboys radar.