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Jimmy Johnson is a talented gentleman; it's rare when you see someone in the sport of football achieve success at the college level (Miami), the professional level (Dallas) and in the announcing booth (tell me you don't think Fox is easily the No. 1 preview show on Sundays. Go ahead. I dare you.)

So when given the chance -- courtesy of the fine folks at Proctor & Gamble, who make Old Spice (the official deodorant of NFL locker rooms) and Gillette (same but for the razor) -- to speak with him, podcast-style, about the upcoming season, I didn't flinch. Jimmy and I kick around the 2009 NFL season after the jump and debate whether the Steelers are underrated, if Carolina can win the South, who his sleepers from the NFC are, what he thinks of Emmitt Smith pitching pork and taking a jab at Wade Phillips, among other stuff. Enjoy.

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- One by one the visitors filed into Victory Lane, eager to pay their respects to Mark Martin.

Jimmie Johnson pushed past a throng of fans to get there, while NASCAR president Mike Helton weaved through the grandstands and across the track. Tony Stewart set aside his disappointment from finishing second to make his visit, and Jack Roush stopped by with heartfelt happiness.

Race fans annually vote Dale Earnhardt Jr. as NASCAR's most popular driver, but after Martin's win Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway, it was obvious the honor truly belongs to the beloved veteran.

For the Dallas Cowboys, a team that entered 2008 with Super Bowl expectations only to finish the year with nine wins and no playoffs, there haven't been many changes this offseason. The defensive coordinator and special teams coach were fired and Pacman Jones was released.

Other than that, though, not much has changed. Not 'til combine week, anyway. Jerry Jones slapped his coaching staff with a gag order -- nobody can talk to the media "independently" -- because, as the Dallas Morning News' Todd Archer writes, the Cowboys owner "has been upset with what he feels have been inaccurate stories this offseason."

Somehow, no matter the topic, the conversation always comes back to Terrell Owens. Yesterday, the Cowboys canned defensive coordinator Brian Stewart for Wade Phillips' and Jason Garrett's failings, and today, we're talking about ... T.O. Naturally.

During a Saturday radio interview, former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson said that Owens "... used to be an outstanding player, a great player ... He is still a good player, but you have to weigh the distractions and whether or not he divides the locker room and the problems that he has."

As we get ready for the Wild Card Weekend matchup of the Dolphins and Ravens, Brian Miller from PhinPhanatic and Tony Lombardi from ProFootball24x7 were nice enough to offer some insights on their teams for this week's Behind Enemy Lines feature.

Sportz Assassin: How do both of you feel about how your teams are playing heading into the playoffs?

Brian Miller (PhinPhanatic): I like the fact that no one is giving us any real credit for getting there. Jim Mora says on air that the best AFC East team is New England and there has been little "props" for winning the division as most of the kudos surrounds simply the turnaround. The Ravens are three-point favorites in this game and the Phins are getting tired of feeling second rate.

Tony Lombardi (ProFootball24x7): The Ravens are really beginning to gel in Cam Cameron's offense and now they are getting contributions from Mark Clayton and Willis McGahee. Joe Flacco has come on strong since the last meeting with the Dolphins and has the third highest road QB rating among NFL quarterbacks. And of course the team's defense is always dependable. The Ravens could be a dangerous post season participant.

Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson, according to the Dallas Morning News, got on a BCS related conference call recently, and given that their area of expertise rolls squarely over into Dallas Cowboys territory, reporters were, naturally, curious as to their thoughts re: Coach Cupcake's return to Big D.

Johnson's answer -- despite possibly wanting to get some payback at Jerry Jones for earier remarks -- was pretty stock in terms of the 'Boys owner just not wanting to make changes. Switzer though, was a little less reserved, and called Tony Romo out for a few things.

They stink right now. Romo might be an overrated quarterback and gunslinger, throws the ball, takes too many chances, gambles. I just know that Jerry doesn't want to do that and he's certainly going to give it another year. I think every coach in pro football gets four years.

First off, as Bacon said, how awesome is it that, suddenly, the term "gunslinger" is considered an insult? Just a year or so ago, people were swooning over Romo's similarities to Brett Favre. But after his apparent [over]exposure in New York, we can freely call people g-slingers again with the intent of calling them reckless.

And secondly, Switzer is right -- the Cowboys do stink and Romo is probably overrated; so much is made of his ability to have big games but look at the freaking offense that's around him and then check out his December splits (hint: not good) and it's not that hard to figure out he might be getting more credit than he's due a lot of the time.

As the Detroit Lions gird up their loins to hit the field of battle on another turkey day, they face quite a daunting task. No team in the history of the NFL has ever lost 16 games in the regular season. That's probably because they only play 16. You have to be a really, horrifically brutal football team to finish 0-16, which is why no one has accomplished that feat before.

A peek at the Lions schedule from here on out shows their task. Any win for an 0-11 team would be an upset, but this is a stout group left on the docket for Detroit. They play the Titans (10-1), Vikings (6-5), and Saints (6-5) at home, while traveling to face the Colts (7-4) and the Packers (5-6). The most winnable game would seem to be Green Bay, but beating the Packers in Lambeau on December 28th isn't an easy task for a team used to the indoors.

Simply put, I think the Lions are going 0-16. I actually have for quite some time.

Let's examine their profile against some of the worst teams in NFL history (Super Bowl era) to see where they might rank.

The Dolphins and Ravens have new head coaches, but almost two weeks after Joe Gibbs retired, the Redskins are still searching. The early money is still on assistant coach-defense, Gregg Williams, but the Washington Post's Jason La Canfora writes that there's plenty of speculation that owner Dan Snyder is pursuing a "name coach" and will shock "everyone with [his] choice."

Bill Cowher is still out of the mix, however.

I spoke to people close to Bill Cowher who continue to say nothing has changed with him at all. He's not going back to coaching this year. One source said he knows the kind of money Snyder spends but "I would be very, very surprised if Bill came back."

Another name making the rounds is Dick Vermeil, who says he hasn't talked to the Redskins about the job. Plus, as La Canfora points out, Vermeil is tight with Al Saunders, the current Redskins offensive coordinator who's not quite sure what he'll be doing next season.

Other names for the rumor mill: Jim Fassel, Dennis Green and Jimmy Johnson. All veteran coaches with shiny resumes, but all say they haven't talked with Washington about Gibbs' job.

And then there's this: apparently, Brian Billick has reached out to the 'Skins about "trying to find info on the coaching search and possible openings on the offensive side of the ball." Yes, I could see Billick making the Redskins the offensive juggernaut that Saunders couldn't. Yikes.

The Star-Telegram's Jim Reeves has been talking to Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, I see. He's concocted a crazy plan to keep this off-season's hot coaching candidate, current Cowboys offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett. It's so eloquently simple that it probably never occurred to most of us. Either that, or it's just too ridiculous. Definitely one or the other, though.

Who's more important to the Cowboys and their future? Coach Yuck-Yuck [Phillips] or one of the brightest young offensive minds to show up at Valley Ranch in a long, long time? If it comes to that, here's what Jerry has to do: He fires Phillips and he keeps Garrett.

Risky? Absolutely. Phillips is a known commodity, which is both good and bad. Garrett? Tremendous upside and potential, but he has only three years' coaching experience in the NFL.

Reeves points out that this isn't as mental as it sounds, after all, Jerry Jones is the same guy who fired Tom Landry because he knew Jimmy Johnson would turn things around.