Why My Beloved Dallas Cowboys Will Not Win the NFC East

             Yes, this is in part an enormous reverse-jinx but mostly just the plain truth that my favorite professional football team (American Football that is) has no shot at winning their division this year and probably will miss the playoffs once again. In this article I will breakdown a few key reasons why I believe this to be true.



1. Offensive Line- Big questions here like usual for the Cowboys... they cut Pro-Bowl Guard Leonard Davis recently but did re-sign left tackle Doug Free. The starting line looks like this: LT Doug Free, LG Kyle Kosier, C Andre Gurode, RG Montrae Holland (?), RT Tyron Smith. Holland may start at tackle but that would mean a different guard would have to step up out of rookie David Arkin, 2nd year player Pepa Letuli or a free-agent pick-up. Very tough right side but at least Romo's blind side will be well protected by Free.

Doug Free- bleacherreport.com

2. Defensive Secondary- I HATE Terrance Newman. Saying it once isn't enough, I HATE Terrance Newman. The first-round draft pick from 2003 has been a huge disappointment and last year's career high 5 interceptions is nothing special to gawk at. He may have had a career high in INTs but he had a career low in PD (Passes Defensed), which is the real stat that matters in a game. Michael Jenkins is no better, I thought like many other people that the kid out of South Florida would be a star but he just cannot seem to figure it out and threw up an awful 1 INT and 9 PD season last year. Alan Ball stepped up nicely in a safety role but will need to continue to improve to help out the ghastly corners in the pass game more. Orlando Scandrick is almost the same player as Alan Ball and still needs to step up big. Big questions and the big weakness of the defense. Gerald Sensabaugh may return but it is unclear at this moment to help the safety depth.

Terrance Newman- bestsportsphotos.com

3. Running Backs- So the biggest move in the off-season was cutting Marion Barber III. FINALLY!! The man runs like a galloping horse and gets stuffed at the 1 yard line more than I did when I was a fullback on my freshman football team! Felix Jones gets the full confidence of Jason Garrett and will hopefully be a great fit. Tashard Choice and rookie DeMarco Murray will be his backups if he wavers at all.

Felix Jones- graphichunts.com

4. Coaching Staff- Jason Garrett did not prove much to me in his short tenure last year but Jerry Jones believes in him and somehow that has rubbed off a bit on me. I give you 1 year Garrett... don't screw it up and for the love of god please be creative with play calls. Rob Ryan coming in to be the defensive coordinator adds a swagger and toughness to the squad but I worry that the players we have aren't built for the "Ryan System" like other clubs (Jets, Ravens).

Jason Garrett- dallascowboys.com

           So in a nutshell I am seriously worried about the Offensive Line, the Defensive Secondary, the Running Back situation and the Coaching Staff of the Dallas Cowboys. I won't even go into the worries of Tony Romo or Dez Bryant's injury recoveries. Let's hope this post brings some good ju-ju to America's Team and will be a productive season in the always tough NFC East.

Breaking Down the MLB Trade Deadline

Well the MLB trade deadline has come and gone and a lot of good players were on the move over the weekend but a few were surprisingly staying in their place. Let's look back and see what teams made good moves and what teams stayed pat.

Arizona Diamondbacks- Acquired SP Jason Marquis from the Nationals and acquired RP Brad Ziegler from the Athletics for a handful of medium talented minor leaguers. Grade: B-, Marquis isn't flashy and neither is Ziegler but both help the squad. Loss of Stephen Drew to injury hurts though.

Atlanta Braves- Acquired OF Michael Bourn from the Astros for OF Jordan Schafer and 3 minor league pitchers.  Grade: A-, should've gotten another arm but Bourn is a great talent and table-setter.

Baltimore Orioles- Acquired SP Tommy Hunter and 1B Chris Davis from the Rangers for RP Koji Uehara and traded 1B Derrek Lee to the Pirates for Aaron Baker. Grade: B-, Uehara is a great reliever and Lee is old so they certainly upgraded a bit in young talent.

Boston Red Sox- Acquired SP Erik Bedard and minor league P Josh Fields for 3 minor league prospects from the Mariners. Grade: C+, Sox got a pitcher... just not a great one.

Chicago Cubs- Traded Kosuke Fukudome to the Indians for 2 minor leaguers. Grade: C, surprisingly the Cubs didn't shed some payroll since they are on their way to another losing season.

Chicago White Sox- Stayed put... no moves. Grade: C, if they thought they had a shot they should have upgraded their roster a bit but underachievers like Rios and Dunn really hurt.

Cincinnati Reds- No moves over the weekend but they did trade Jonny Gomes to the Nationals for 2 minor league prospects. Grade: C-, their bullpen needs help and they are injured in the middle infield.

Cleveland Indians- Acquired SP Ubaldo Jimenez from the Rockies for 3 minor league players and a player to be named later. They also acquired Kosuke Fukudome as earlier stated from the Cubs. Grade: A-, they gave up a lot for Ubaldo but they feel they have a real shot and they certainly made a big splash.

Colorado Rockies- As I just wrote, they traded away Ubaldo Jimenez for 3 prospects, 2 being highly regarded talent. Grade: C, they gave up Ubaldo who has a reasonable contract for a few prospects, no sure things.

Detroit Tigers- Acquired SP Doug Fister from the Mariners. The Tigers could have used some extra arms in their bullpen but decided they were good enough as is. Grade: B.

Florida Marlins- Stayed put at the deadline. Many thought the Marlins would sell but they are committed to turning it all around next year in their new ball park. Grade: B.

Houston Astros- Acquired OF Jordan Schafer and 3 prospects from the Braves for OF Michael Bourn as well as acquired a few top prospects in 1B Jonathan Singleton and P Jarred Cosart from the Phillies for all-star OF Hunter Pence. Grade: B+, Bourn was somewhat of a losing trade, but they did get a lot of prospects for Pence.

Kansas City Royals- Acquired 2 minor leaguers from the Red Sox for INF Mike Aviles. Grade: C, not much went on for the Royals who are still super young and are gaining some experience.

Los Angeles Angels- Stayed put at the deadline. Angels are in a pennant race and made no moves... seems odd but they are confident. Grade: C-.

Los Angeles Dodgers- Acquired a high minor league prospect in OF Alex Castellanos for oft injured SS Rafael Furcal. Grade: C+, I thought the Dodgers would be more of a seller but they stayed pretty foot but did move a costly piece in Furcal.

Milwaukee Brewers- Acquired INF Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Nationals for a minor leaguer but their bigger move was after the all-star game, when they acquired RP Francisco Rodriguez from the Mets. Grade: B+, bolstered the bullpen and got infield depth which helps even more since Rickie Weeks went down with an injury.

Minnesota Twins- Stayed put at the trade deadline. Jason Kubel was thought to be moved but was not. Grade: C.

New York Mets- Acquired P Zack Wheeler from the Giants for OF Carlos Beltran. They also traded away costly closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers earlier in July. Grade: A-, Mets were obvious sellers and got good value for Beltran and freed up money to resign Reyes.

New York Yankees- Stayed put at the trade deadline. Unbelievably they did not make a move. Grade: C-, needed another SP and could have used another bullpen arm or two.

Oakland Athletics- Acquired two prospects from the Diamondbacks for RP Brad Ziegler. Grade: C, this move didn't do much and the A's had a few pieces they could have moved like Willingham, Dejesus or Crisp.

Philadelphia Phillies- Acquired Hunter Pence for prospects as mentioned before from the Astros. Grade: A, the Phillies got a huge OF bat and upgrade to Dominic Brown and look primed for a deep run in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Pirates- Acquired Derrek Lee from the Orioles as stated earlier, and also acquired OF Ryan Ludwick from the Padres for a player to be named later or cash. Grade: B+, the Pirates got 2 bigger bats for a very poor offense, so these moves should really help their playoff push without risking the farm.

San Diego Padres- Acquired two top pitching prospects from the Rangers for RP Mike Adams. Also traded away Ryan Ludwick for almost nothing to the Pirates. Grade: B-, Heath Bell stayed put but they did get a lot for Adams.

San Francisco Giants- Acquired Carlos Beltran from the Mets for top prospect Zack Wheeler. Grade: A-, got a big bat to help in the playoff push and didn't give away any pro-ready prospects.

Seattle Mariners- Traded away SP's Erik Bedard and Doug Fister for a handful of prospects from the Tigers and Red Sox. Grade: B+, the Mariners are going no where fast and these moves are certainly for the future.

St. Louis Cardinals- Traded away OF Colby Rasmus in the three-team deal with the Blue Jays and White Sox earlier in the week and received SP Edwin Jackson and a few relievers. They also acquired SS Rafael Furcal for a prospect from the Dodgers. Grade: B+, they got another power arm and a very good SS replacement.

Tampa Bay Rays- Traded INF Felipe Lopez to the Brewers for cash. Other than that deal the Rays did nothing. Grade: C-, the Rays couldn't find anyone to take BJ Upton off their hands and that will hurt them this year.

Texas Rangers- Acquired relievers Koji Uehara and Mike Adams from the Orioles and Padres respectively to bolster their bullpen and help them return to the World Series. Grade: A-, the Rangers did a great job not giving away their coveted top 2-3 prospects but could have used another bat off the bench since Beltre went down.

Toronto Blue Jays- Acquired Colby Rasmus in that 3 team deal described. Traded OF Juan Rivera to the Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash. Grade: B, Rasmus has a great upside but the Jays need some help in the rotation desperately.

Washington Nationals- Traded away INF Hairston and SP Jason Marquis and acquired a few prospects for them. Grade: C+, could have done more but still look good for the future.

Hope you enjoyed my breakdown of the MLB Trade Deadline!