FanHouse MilesAustin

Marc Colombo, Cory Procter and Leonard Davis are members of the Cowboys offensive line and they have this heavy metal group called Free Reign. The man who plays guitar is Justin Chapman -- he's not a NFL player, but he's good at what he does.

The band just signed a deal with Australia's Riot Entertainment. A debut EP should come out in the fall.

Matt Jones has been out of work for three days now, but rangy wide receivers who can run -- even the mediocre, seemingly apathetic ones -- are forever at a premium. And that probably means he won't be jobless for long.

The New York Daily News' Bob Glauber writes that the Jets and Cowboys -- two teams in need of big-play threats -- could be interested in Jones' services. It sounds like nothing more than speculation at this point, but the Jets gave Laveranues Coles his release earlier this month, and they don't have a legit No. 1 wideout currently on the roster. They also don't have a legit No. 1 quarterback, so maybe it doesn't matter.

Just because the Terrell Owens era is over in Dallas doesn't mean we're finished talking about it. In fact, depending on how the 2009 season unfolds for the Cowboys, we could be hearing about T.O. for a while. Good times.

Owner and self-appointed team spokesman Jerry Jones commented last week that releasing Owens made the offense "Romo-friendly." Not only that, Jones is apparently under the impression that the wide receivers currently on the roster are more than adequate. Via the Dallas Morning News' Tim Cowlishaw:

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

It was improbable. The Baltimore Ravens made another playoff run in 2008 based on a defense that used the art of suffocation (oh, and Ed Reed) and an offense that improved dramatically over the previous years. John Harbaugh was impressive as coach, putting a rookie quarterback out to toss the ball around and sticking with him through thick (17-29, 248 yards, 2 TDs in Week 9) and thin (11-28, 115 yards, 2 INTs in Week 15).

Now the team has to figure out what to do about a superstar in Ray Lewis, and how they should handle other important positional players (hello Mr. Stover) in order to return to (and move past) the AFC Championship game without their defensive coordinator.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

You could use just about every adjective for "crazy" to describe the '08 Dallas Cowboys. At the beginning of the year, they were expected to produce, but never did. Quarterback Tony Romo struggled with injury issues and the ability to step up in big games. They still had a chance to advance to the playoffs but couldn't take down Donovan McNabb and company in the last week of the season. Oh, and Adam "Pacman" Jones and Terrell Owens were as psycho as ever. A lot needs to change in Dallas during the offseason to make the Cowboys a contender in their new stadium.

The Dallas Cowboys had to have this one. With seven games remaining, conventional wisdom is that Dallas needed to win five of those games just to have a shot at the playoffs. Beating the Redskins in Washington goes a long way to getting back into the hunt.

The Cowboys got back to basics in this one. A strong defensive showing and a dedication to the running game got them the 14-10 win. Marion Barber rushed for 114 yards and turned into the finisher he was last season. With Dallas nursing that lead late, Barber continued to chew up the Redskins defense and the clock.

He ran for 66 of his yards in the fourth quarter alone, when the Cowboys ate up over 10:00 of clock.

This was Tony Romo's first game in a month and he looked a little rusty. His stats aren't anything great (19-of-27, 198 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) but his calming presence in the pocket was key. In some huge situations, Romo made plays to keep drives alive. One was a huge "push pass" (to coin John Madden) to Miles Austin that resulted in a big first down. Dallas would go on to score the go-ahead touchdown on that drive.

By now you've heard the news that Roy Williams was dealt to the Dallas Cowboys -- not that Roy Williams, but this Roy Williams (see image). Yes sir, the Lions opted to throw in the towel on their debacle of a half-century season and part ways with the former first-rounder. Meanwhile, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys swooped into to grab some more big-name talent under the same business model as the New York Yankees.

It all depends which side of the camp you're on when pegging one side the winner or the other the loser from a football perspective. However, there weren't just two teams affected by this deal. No sir, there were millions upon millions of teams affected by this deal. And that's where we come in with the fantasy spin. Yup, aside from just your fantasy team, there's a whole grocery list of players from both the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions that may have seen their fortunes change for the better or worse today.

Let's start with the Lions...

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his face-mask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's our new feature, Studs and Duds:

Here's Week 5 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Brandon Jacobs, RB NYG (15 rushes, 136 yards, 2 TDs) -- Remember back when you were in fifth and sixth grade and there was that kid who was bigger, stronger and more athletic than you and all your friends? Yeah, well that's Brandon Jacobs, except he's the best running back on the best football team in the world. A dominating performance against Seattle that was highlighted by a 9.1 yards per carry average has the Giants ... umm .... giant?

Even before somebody woke William Clay Ford up long enough to have him fire Matt Millen, there was speculation that 2004 first-round pick Roy Williams might be traded. It didn't happen this offseason, even though the Cowboys were supposedly very interested, and now that Millen's out the door, rumors have resurfaced about Williams' eventual whereabouts.

According to Mlive.com's Tom Kowalski, the Lions have no interest in moving one of their best players, at least not before the Oct. 14 trade deadline.

[New Detroit Lions general manager Martin] Mayhew said that he has no plans to open trade talks involving receiver Roy Williams, who will become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Like every GM in the league, Mayhew said he would listen to any offers but he doesn't expect to make any calls concerning Williams and doesn't expect to receive any.

So there you have it; Williams will finish out his rookie contract in Detroit, and presumably, be somewhere else in 2009 ... unless there's a chance that the home-state Cowboys make a play for him in the coming weeks.

The Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon wonders if the Cowboys might be interested since owner Jerry Jones is forever on the lookout for a "wow" receiver to line up opposite Terrell Owens, but then (correctly, I think) answers his own question.

Another preseason game, another injured wide receiver for the Cowboys. Terry Glenn hobbled his way out of town earlier this summer and Miles Austin could be out for three weeks after hurting his knee in the second preseason game.

And last night, Sam Hurd went down during Dallas' first possession, and according to the Morning News' Jean-Jacques Taylor, "[Hurd] wore a walking boot on his left foot and carried a Bible in his right hand. No one knows when he'll be back on the field."

As it stands, the Cowboys enter the regular season with Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton and, well, that's it at wideout. There's tight end Jason Witten, of course, but it would be nice to have a little more depth beyond the starters, I'd think. Taylor writes that crappy luck has conspired against the Cowboys, but that doesn't mean Jerry Jones will run out and sign the first aged veteran to answer the phone.