FanHouse Marcus Spears

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Tony Romo was 16 years old the last time the Dallas Cowboys won a playoff game -- Dec. 28, 1996 over Minnesota. Since then, a span of 13 seasons, America's Team has gone 0-6 in the postseason and failed to qualify for the playoffs seven times. It's a shocking drought for a franchise with the history, and more obviously, the pride that Dallas does that there has been more recent on-field success. This is a big season in Big D, for Romo, for coach Wade Phillips, for the future of the franchise. But breaking that postseason jinx won't be easy.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: We know that Tony Romo isn't a fluke. He stepped in last year and had another fantastic season, setting team records in the process. There are questions remaining about distractions (Romessica) and winning a playoff game (none in his two years) which Romo must answer if he wants to take a place among the NFL's elite. Dallas is putting all their eggs in that basket as the only fallback if Romo gets hurt is 39-yr old Brad Johnson who isn't quite the risk taker. Heat Index: 9

Running backs: It's rare when a team loses their starting running back and everyone is fine with the position. Julius Jones is gone, but rookie Felix Jones is in. Jones (Felix) will get a ton of carries this season to keep Marion Barber fresh. Barber, who only started the Cowboys' playoff game, is the NFL's version of Mariano Rivera -- he dominates late in games and finishes drives off. Jones and Barber will combined for that classic "lightning and thunder" combo and should be quite successful doing it in what supposed to be a more run-friendly offense. Heat Index: 7

The earthquake that hit Southern California yesterday was felt at Dallas Cowboys camp in Oxnard, CA. The camp is about 90 miles from the quake's epicenter.

The Cowboys were at lunch at the time after a morning of meetings and before an afternoon of practices. That meant players were in various locations at the time of the quake:

"It wasn't nothing major, just like the ground was moving," defensive lineman Marcus Spears said. "I was in my room upstairs, so we had to get downstairs. That was my first time. You don't get those in Louisiana."

"I was off-guard, just thinking maybe the wind is blowing. Then I realized the wind can't blow me that hard," Greg Ellis said. "That was my first, hopefully my last. ... It's one of those things that I can say I've been through it. Nothing happened, thank God. And I don't want to go through another one."

Ellis was doing a radio interview at the time of the quake. According to DeMarcus Ware, some of the guys were on the toilet when the quake hit ("Some of the guys were on the toilet and they said that ... Excuse me. I'm not going to talk about that.").

But the best story could be from head coach Wade Phillips.

"I was on the elliptical (exercise machine) and I was going. I thought, 'Man, I'm really going now, shaking this place down.' So I didn't even notice it," Phillips said. "I thought I was really working out."

One of the big issues heading into the season was whether defensive end Marcus Spears deserved to be in the "first-round bust" conversation. Some felt he was miscast in former head coach Bill Parcell's version of the 3-4 defense, and that things might be different under new sheriff Wade Phillips.

So far, it's the same ol', same ol' for Spears. Or so thinks San Antonio Express-News' Tom Orsborn:

Roy Williams wasn't the Dallas Cowboys' worst defender last week. Neither was Jacques Reeves, Anthony Henry or any other member of the team's woefully weak secondary. That distinction, hands down, belongs to ends Marcus Spears and Chris Canty.

Yep, that's not good for Spears and Canty because the secondary was a joke last week against the Giants. One of the glaring differences between the Chargers' D that wreaked havoc under Phillips the past few seasons and this Cowboys unit is the defensive line. Merril Hoge pointed out as much last week, and he was right.

And now, with Jason Ferguson done for the year (Dallas is even flirting with the idea of bringing Tank Johnson after he serves his suspension), things could get worse before they get better. Lucky for Spears/Canty, Phillips ain't worried:

"I got their back. They may not have mine all the time ... I just don't think it's right, especially when you win, to go into who didn't do this well and let's dwell on the negative and all that."

So as long as the Cowboys keep winning, it's all good, I guess.

Hat tip: Blogging the Boys