FanHouse Flozell Adams

If there's anything in sports that would qualify as the opposite of Joe Dimaggio's epic 56-game baseball hit streak, it may be what Flozell Adams has cooking for the Cowboys so far in 2009.

Three games into the NFL season, Adams has been fined three times. The third wallet hit, a $7,500 blow, came down Wednesday, as Adams was punished for kicking at Carolina's Julius Peppers on Monday night (video here courtesy of Digital Sports Daily).

Adams was fined $5,000 for an unnecessary roughness penalty in Dallas' Week 1 win at Tampa Bay, and $12,500 for two incidents in a Week 2 loss to the Giants -- one of which was a trip on Justin Tuck that ended with Tuck injuring his shoulder.

Dallas Cowboys left tackle Flozell Adams has been fined $12,500 for his trip on the Giants' Justin Tuck Sunday night, according to the Dallas Morning News. The play occurred late in the first half of New York's win over Dallas -- Tuck blew past Adams en route to quarterback Tony Romo, but Adams stuck his leg out and upended Tuck, who fell hard to the turf.

Tuck spent the rest of the game with his left arm in a sling and reportedly suffered a partially torn labrum on the play, according to Newsday.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A shoulder injury knocked Giants defensive end Justin Tuck out of Sunday night's victory over the Cowboys late in the first half.

Cowboys left tackle Flozell Adams kicked Tuck in the knee as he moved past him, and as a result, Tuck fell hard on his left shoulder.

Tuck did not return, and Adams was penalized for tripping.

After the game Tuck said his shoulder was fine, though he could barely lift it, using his right arm to button his shirt. When asked about Adams' play, Tuck said, "It was bush league. He did it a few times in this game. I'd like to have the rest of the game to punish him for it."

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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

While the offensive line might not represent a direct draft day decision for your roster, few areas of knowledge can offer a competitive advantage in fantasy football like having a good grasp of the various units of trench soldiers around the league. Over the course of the next couple weeks, I'll break down every NFL team's offensive lines into five tiers: the Crème de la Crème, the Highly Competent, the Serviceable, the Pretty Grim, and the Bunk.

Just six NFL offensive lines made their way into the 2008 group of the Crème de la Crème. If you see a team on this list, rest assured your running game is safe, your quarterback with have decent pocket time, and you might just dig up some big time sleepers amongst these rosters. Consider this your early birthday present. You ride with these guys and you're ridin' in drop top, six-four, tinted windows, top down, AC on style.

Read on for the best six offensive lines in the NFL.

It seems kind of odd that whenever the talk turns to the draft and the Dallas Cowboys, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden's name comes up. Not so much that he gets a mention -- depending on who you listen to, he's one of the best running backs in the country -- but that his college backfield mate, Felix Jones, seldom does.

You know the rumors: the Cowboys could conceivably use their two first-round picks to trade way up the draft board to take McFadden. Owner Jerry Jones is an Arkansas alum and allegedly has a Flozell Adams-sized woodrow for McFadden.

Assuming there's even a chance this will happen, let me throw this out there: why wouldn't the Cowboys just stay put and take Jones with the 22nd pick? San Antonio Express-News' Tom Orsborn thinks Jones would be a better fit in Dallas.

Jones has the perfect temperament to share carries with Pro Bowl pick Marion Barber, a restricted free agent Dallas is sure to retain.

For three seasons, Jones was content to operate in the large shadow cast by McFadden. Although he told reporters in Indianapolis he's eager to create a name for himself, Jones acknowledged he enjoyed playing with McFadden because they were a "tremendous tandem."

If nothing else, Jones should get points for selflessness. Ultimately, it comes down to on-field production, which goes back to why the Cowboys would give up so much for McFadden. For all the money it will cost to sign him, he'd have to be a feature back. With Barber currently on the roster, that seems like a dumb idea.

Which is why there's no chance it hell it happens. Right?

Sports Illustrated NFL writer Paul Zimmerman, also known as Dr. Z, is a cranky old guy who doesn't sit in press boxes, doesn't go into locker rooms and doesn't care who Tony Romo is dating.

No, Dr. Z just watches the games from home, obsessively, spending all week watching tapes and taking detailed notes. The result is that Zimmerman doesn't break news or generate scoops, but he does have by far the most reliable All-Pro team of any NFL writer. If Zimmerman says a guy is an All-Pro, then that guy is an All-Pro.

And Zimmerman says Flozell Adams of the Cowboys was the best tackle in the NFL in 2007. Going through the Cowboys' schedule, game-by-game, Zimmerman explains that some of the best defensive players in the league routinely finished games having accomplished absolutely nothing when Adams was blocking them: Osi Umenyiora of the giants, Jason Taylor of the Dolphins, Rosevelt Colvin of the Patriots, Andre Carter of the Redskins: All were shut down by Adams.

So congratulations to Flozell Adams. There's no recognition an offensive lineman can receive that means more than the Dr. Z seal of approval.