FanHouse Tank Johnson

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.

They don't allow you to take a mulligan in pro football. If they did, one has to believe the Cincinnati Bengals would take it for the whole 2008 season. An injured quarterback, problems on defense, and a controversial and somewhat unproductive wide receiver conspired to take Cincinnati down. After a 4-11-1 campaign, the Bengals are ready to (sort of) start over.

Save the actual act of filling out the pink slip, Greg Ellis' 11-year career with the Cowboys is done. He was hailed as a team leader -- something the organization lacked in recent years -- and his DallasCowboys.com bio confirms as much:

"... Ellis has been a pillar of consistency and production for the Cowboys in his 10 seasons as an NFL player. Whether it be overcoming the adversity of a serious injury or making a position switch in the later stages of his career, Ellis has always responded."

But as you might have heard, the NFL is a business, and players -- even the good ones -- are sent on their way as soon as a coach, scout or owner determines they're no longer useful. And with 2007 first-round pick Anthony Spencer ready to assume Ellis' job, it was a relatively easy decision, at least from a business standpoint.

In February, ESPN mercifully pulled the plug on Emmitt Smith's television career. I think they did it as much for him as for us. Either way, thanks, World Wide Leader. But the NFL rushing leader still has opinions, and when asked, he'll happily share them. Especially if it involves the Cowboys, a team Smith helped win three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

At a Tuesday news conference in Arlington, Texas, Smith talked about the direction of the 2009 club -- one that managed to miss the playoffs last season, and, the year before, lost in the divisional round after a 13-3 record -- and he didn't sound impressed. A lot of that, it seems, has to do with Jerry Jones' decision to cut Terrell Owens.

Cincinnati tempted legal fate on Tuesday by signing Tank Johnson, and on Wednesday, karma evened the score. Cornerback Leon Hall, who had a solid 2008 season, was charged with a DUI and driving left of center in Ohio.

As Ryan Wilson reminded us, the Bengals have been trying to clean up their image since a ridiculous stretch of arrests between June of 2007 and April of 2006. While the frequency of run-ins with the law has slowed, I don't think anyone will be confusing Cincinnati with a Boy Scout troop anytime soon.

There used to be a point, probably during the 2007 offseason, when I might've been surprised had the Bengals acquired another player with a criminal record. By that time, 10 Bengals had been arrested in the previous 14 months, and owner Mike Brown pledged to stock the team with solid citizens.

That didn't last long. The club released Chris Henry prior to the 2008 NFL draft only to re-sign him four months later (against head coach Marvin Lewis' better judgment, it should be noted). And today, their latest acquisition only seems fitting: Tank Johnson, ex-Cook County Jail resident and former Cowboys castoff is now a member of the Bengals. Of course he is.

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.

Last Friday, Dan Reeves decided that maybe working for the Cowboys wasn't such a great idea and, after one day on the job, walked away. But what if Reeves had stayed? What would that have meant for Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett?

During a post-Cowboys-employment radio interview, Reeves said that he would've been heavily involved in coaching the offense. This might've hastened Terrell Owens' departure from Valley Ranch, but more than that, it could've marginalized Garrett's role as the offensive coordinator.

As the Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon pointed out last week, "The Cowboys tried to help Garrett by hiring Reeves, but that isn't exactly a vote of confidence for the highest-paid assistant coach in NFL history."

Apparently Dan Reeves was in the process of decorating his new Valley Ranch office* when he suddenly decided that working for the Cowboys wasn't such a swell idea. Despite spending most of Thursday on the radio, Reeves wasn't willing to elaborate on why things didn't work out (he was too preoccupied with the never-ending Terrell Owens saga).

Today, though, Reeves was a little more chatty. According to the Dallas Morning News, the former NFL head coach wasn't all that jazzed by a clause in his contract detailing how many hours he was expected to work.

The Cowboys' season ended ingloriously three weeks ago, and yet they remain one of the most talked about teams in the league. I suppose that's what happens when the head coach is perpetually in danger of getting fired, the star wideout could possibly be released, and the offensive coordinator has not only fallen out of the owner's good graces, but doesn't have the respect of said star wideout.

With that as a backdrop, the latest scuttlebutt is hardly surprising: locker room chemistry was, indeed, a big problem, along with "team discipline, commitment and accountability." Perhaps we should applaud the Cowboys for finding a way to win nine games in the face of such adversity.

Following Dallas' embarrassing end to its disappointing season on Sunday, there's been some talk that this could be one of the lowest points in the history of the Cowboys franchise. I'm not sure I agree with that, after all, there was the late 1980's, Dave Campo as head coach, and that home playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals a decade or so ago.

This was simply an overrated team that stumbled along at a 9-7 pace while a few egos slowly, but surely, brought the team down from the inside. I mean, what did you really expect when you threw Terrell Owens, Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones and Roy Williams -- the receiver -- in the same locker room under the leadership and guidance of Wade Phillips? That's a recipe for madness.

Having said that, and even though the season is over in Dallas, there's still plenty of time to make this the lowest point in franchise history, and attacking fans outside the practice facility -- allegedly -- is a good place to start.

According to Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram, a disappointed Cowboys fan by the name of Alan Lowe decided to voice his displeasure in sign form, by marching outside the team's practice facility with a pair of signs that read, "The Cowboys have no heart," and "Wade Phillips is an embarrassment to the star."

Linebacker Bradie James was not amused.