FanHouse Nfc East

Send your NFL questions (along with your name and location) to NFLFanHouse@gmail.com. Each Thursday, we'll answer the best -- or, if nothing else, most entertaining -- in our NFL Mailbag.

Excluding Brett Favre, which remaining free agent can play the biggest role in 2009?

The easy answer (INCLUDING Brett Favre!!) is Plaxico Burress. He's a high-ceiling, high-impact wide receiver. You saw the way the Giants' offense missed him at the end of 2008, and we've seen a handful of teams express interest in him -- even though nobody knows if he's going to play in 2009. If he is allowed to play, he's your answer. But it looks increasingly likely that he'll be suspended for at least part of the season, if not all. So in the non-Burress division, I have three veterans who could make an interesting impact in the right situation:

In "news" sure to get someone's panties in a bunch, Chris Cooley posted an interesting, we'll say, entry on his personal blog recently. Apparently on his land in Wyoming, the Redskins tight end stumbled upon a cow carcass. Naturally, he and his cohorts set the already-deceased animal on fire to "get rid of it." Cooley has teased a video of the fire, but it's not yet posted. Update: He has decided to not post the video.

My first reaction to this was, "Oh great, now a bunch of people are going to be all up in arms about how disgusting this was." Frankly, I am surprised he posted it on the Internet, what with all the wackos around who will stir up controversy over just about anything nowadays. I guess he doesn't care if it does ignite controversy, so kudos to him for that.

In Mike Wise's Washington Post column from this morning, you'll find a story about Jim Zorn and Joe Gibbs hanging out and shooting the proverbial, uh, well, you know. In it, you'll find discussions ranging from charity work to Zorn's admiration about the legacy Gibbs left as a great coach for the Washington Redskins.

Invariably, the subject of the Redskins' polarizing quarterback came up. Gibbs was specifically asked about how Jason Campbell handled the situation this offseason where the Redskins tried to replace him, not once, but twice. Alas, Jay Cutler is in Chicago and Mark Sanchez is in New York. The Redskins are "stuck" with Campbell and his big arm.

The following excerpt, including Gibbs' quote after he was asked if Campbell was mistreated, grabbed my eye.

Many Washington Redskins fans have recently received what they deem to be very bad news. Fortunately, the news does not involve the team in any direct way, but it does affect fans who like to arrive early, set up shop and tailgate until kickoff. According to a letter recently mailed to some Redskins' suite holders, tailgating around FedEx Field will now be limited to "the last few rows of each lot." Tailgating is flat-out barred in Platinum Lots.

Prior to the 2007 season, when Eli Manning led the Giants to a championship, there were some rumblings that maybe he would never become a franchise quarterback, forget about playing as consistently as his brother.

Those sentiments lingered through most of '07 (rock bottom had to be the Week 17 four-interception effort -- three of the pick-six variety -- in a home game against the Vikings), before it all came together. Manning played like a grizzled veteran during the final weeks of the regular season, and was close to flawless in the run to the Super Bowl.

Last year, Manning was the unquestioned team leader, and if not for an unpredictable Eagles team, the Giants would have returned to the NFC Championship game for the second time in as many years. And now, Manning, who was the first overall pick in 2004, is in line for a new deal.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- He is eating a chicken sandwich with chili cheese fries. He's also drinking water. Now as unhealthy as this lunch was for Jerry Jones on Wednesday, he feels as if his Cowboys team is healthy.

Jones is confident in the ability of his quarterback, Tony Romo, coach, Wade Phillips, the offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, the defense, which led the league in sacks last season, and the overall talent.

Jones has no choice but to believe in this team.

Wade Phillips isn't much to look at, but neither is Bill Belichick. The difference: one comes off as a grandfatherly Gomer Pyle, the other dresses like a hobo -- but has three Super Bowl rings. The point: people don't care how you clean up when you're winning.

So while the "Aw, shucks" persona is perfectly acceptable if you're running a roadside vegetable stand, it's less so as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, an outfit that last won a playoff game in 1996. Fans used to winning are fickle that way.

But according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Mac Engel, don't let Wade's cuddly exterior fool you. Despite appearances, he really does know what he's doing.

Plaxico Burress' immediate future remains uncertain -- there's still a decent chance he spends some time in the clink -- but this much is clear: the Giants have moved on. They released Plax in early April, and then used two of their first four draft picks on wide receivers at the end of the month. The Giants selected Hakeem Nicks 29th overall, and took Ramses Barden two rounds later.

Both are big receivers -- Nicks, 6-1, 215, has been compared to Anquan Boldin; Barden, 6-6, 226, is more physically similar to Burress -- but rookie wideouts are notoriously slow to transition to the NFL, sometimes taking two or three years to get acclimated. There are exceptions -- Dwayne Bowe and Marques Colston come to mind -- but I don't think the Giants are expecting Pro Bowl-type performances from Nicks or Barden next season.

As Calvin Watkins reported first at the FanHouse a couple weeks ago, the Cowboys were looking to trade outside linebacker Greg Ellis.

But as you would expect, the market for 33-year-old outside linebackers/defensive ends with a $6 million contract is pretty small. So rather than pay his $4million-plus base salary, the Cowboys released him on Tuesday. The move will save the team more than $4 million on the salary cap.

So, why did a team who ranked fourth in the NFL in total defense draft a defensive player in the first round?

Because Brian Orakpo fell to the 13th pick, was one of the most versatile defensive players in the draft, and improves an area where the Redskins were lacking. Defensive coordinator Greg Blache doesn't blitz, but that doesn't mean the Redskins couldn't use some pressure on the quarterback. That's (presumably, though we can't really be sure with Vinny Cerrato and Dan Snyder at the helm) why they coughed up a second-round draft pick for Jason Taylor. With injuries hampering Taylor, the Redskins managed only a paltry 24 sacks.

Enter Orakpo.