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So when I put together the first All-NFC East team this week and saw that there were New York Giants in four of the five first-team offensive line spots, I smiled, knowing my Giants fans would gleefully point this out to me, and you guys didn't disappoint. But facts are facts, and at those four spots the Giants either have (in the case of right guard and right tackle) the best player or (in the case of left guard and center) the best of a mediocre lot. (To be fair, it could be a lot about which we just don't know much. Evan Mathis could well turn out to be the best left guard in the division -- I just haven't see him there enough to know.)

But while the Giants should feel good about their line relative to the rest of their division, that says a lot about the serious concerns the other teams have on their lines with only four days left until the start of the season.

In Dallas Wednesday, right tackle and first-round pick Tyron Smith injured his knee and will be out of action 2-to-4 weeks. Smith was one of two rookies slated to start on the offensive line in Sunday night's opener and now will be replaced by the team's only backup tackle, Jermey Parnell. Rookie Bill Nagy is still expected to start at left guard with second-year man (and first-year starter) Phil Costa at center.

And in Philadelphia Wednesday, the Eagles apparently demoted their first-round pick, Danny Watkins, and elevated the newly signed Kyle DeVan to the position of starting right guard. Watkins struggled in August and was a big reason why Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was insufficiently protected in the team's second and third preseason games. In the past couple of weeks, the Eagles moved Todd Herremans from left guard to right tackle because of their injuries on the right side, made Mathis the starting left guard and elected to go with rookie Jason Kelce as the starting center over veteran Jamaal Jackson. "Upheaval" isn't an unfair word to apply here.

The Redskins feel good about their line, but it's loaded with guys who have to prove they can perform consistently as week-to-week starters. And even the Giants have a question mark at left tackle, where Will Beatty enters his first year as a full-time starter.

But the O-line situations in Philadelphia and Dallas, where hopes are high for playoff contention with high-scoring offenses, are worrisome and illustrate a key point about what to expect for the early part of this NFL season. Had 2011 been a normal year with no lockout and regular spring minicamps and OTAs, these teams could have sorted out many of their offensive line issues in May and June.

By now, the Cowboys and Eagles could have convinced themselves and their fans that the rookies were reliable players. They might have performed better in preseason games, inspiring more confidence, since they'd have been better trained before those games began. Players like Watkins and Kelce and Nagy and Smith will be better in a few months than they are now, but they're not as good now as they would have been if they'd been practicing since May.

Instead, we're entering an NFL season whose first month or so will be a continuation of the offseason in terms of teaching and learning and developing and putting lineups together. There are many teams -- the Eagles and Cowboys included -- who have new coordinators or new coaches or tons of new faces in new places and haven't had enough time to put everything together yet. The key for teams like this, who are likely to be better in November than they are in September, is how well they weather the early challenges. Do they squeak out a couple of tougher-than-they-should-be wins? Do they bounce back well from tough losses to teams they think they should have beaten? There are very few teams, if any, that are as prepared as they'd like to be for this season. The story of the early part of 2011 will be about that, in large part. The offensive line issues in the NFC East are but one example.

I don't completely understand the phenomenon that is NFL cutdown day. More specifically, I don't understand the fans' fascination with it. But I recognize that said fascination exists, and that it's awkward for you all to be discussing this on yesterday's post. So here's a new post, written expressly for the purpose of providing you with a fresh comments section in which to discuss things like Kellen Clemens' release from the Washington Redskins. I hope you enjoy it.

Once the cuts are in, I will have a post for each team, breaking it all down. Meantime, based on various reports, we've heard:

• That the Eagles have cut defensive tackles Derek Landri and Anthony Hargrove, meaning they'll go with four defensive tackles -- Cullen Jenkins, Mike Patterson, Antonio Dixon and Trevor Laws. Guess they expect Dixon to be healthy.
• That the Cowboys are cutting Igor Olshansky, which we'd seen coming because of the addition/emergence of Kenyon Coleman.
• That the Giants have picked Steve Weatherford over Matt Dodge as their punter.
• That the Redskins have cut Keiland Williams, over whom several running backs jumped in line this offseason, and defensive lineman Doug Worthington, which could mean they're looking to add at that position.

And more, of course, as most of you know who are tracking these same reports. More later. I promise.

OK, there are a number of reasons this took all day and you don't want to hear any of them. It suffices to say I am ecstatic to be done watching preseason football for another year and more ready than ever for the real thing.

As for our New York Giants, who finished their preseason by scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter for a meaningless 18-17 victory over the Patriots in New England ... I don't know. I'm trying to be open-minded about what I see, but what I see with the Giants is almost all disheartening. They just do a lot of things wrong. And yes, it was all backups Thursday night, and if David Carr ends up playing significant minutes at quarterback they're cooked anyway. But there were a couple of things that could matter if they leak into the regular season, and I'm 100 percent certain the Giants' coaching staff feels the same way.

For example, when one of your biggest areas of concern is special teams and you get banged for an illegal wedge penalty on the return of the opening kickoff, that's not a good thing. When you're trying to find a No. 3 receiver and one of the candidates (Domenik Hixon, in this case) fumbles on the first play from scrimmage, that's not a good thing. When you're trying to use a rookie punt returner and the kid can't catch the ball, that's not a good thing.

The Giants had holding penalties and illegal-hands-to-the-face penalties that stopped offensive momentum. They had another significant injury, this one a season-ending ACL tear for linebacker Clint Sintim. They fumbled at the Patriots' 1-yard line. They're effectively playing without a useful tight end. Tom Coughlin's challenges aren't even working.

Now, I continue to believe preseason doesn't mean anything -- that it has no predictive value at all in terms of what will happen once the real season starts. The Giants could snap awake nine days from now and start playing well enough to make everyone forget how inept in so many facets of the game they looked in the preseason. But what we have right now to evaluate is what they've done over the past month, and not even the most myopically optimistic Giants fan can credibly say the preseason went well for them.

Some specifics on what I saw in the Giants' (mercifully) final preseason game of this year:

1. Give Jerrel Jernigan credit for toughing it out. And give the Giants credit for sticking with the rookie even as he continues to struggle with the most critical part of punt returns -- actually catching the ball. He ripped off a 42-yard return on his first chance of the night, which showed why they're giving him all of these chances. But then he muffed two in a row, and there's all kinds of footage of Coughlin and Aaron Ross and everybody you can think of working with Jernigan on the correct form to use when catching a punt. I guess I wonder how hard it is to learn something like this and why they believed he'd be a good punt returner if he didn't already know it. But once the ball is in his hands, it's clear Jernigan can do some things with it. So it appears as though they'll keep giving him chances, even if it could cost them early on. The night had a happy ending for Jernigan, as he made a tremendous catch on the two-point conversion pass that sealed the victory. You had to feel good for the guy, after the month he's had.

2. Tyler Sash looks like an athlete. The rookie safety looked quick and nimble and decisive as he came up with two sacks (one of which forced a fumble) and moved well all over the field. There were a couple of times where Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense ran some tricky looks that caught Sash out of position, but that's bound to happen and there are worse things than getting schooled by Brady in a preseason game. You still get the lesson, and it doesn't count against your record.

3. I like Da'Rel Scott better than Andre Brown. It's not personal. I don't even know Andre Brown. I'm just talking about what they look like when they run. Brown looks fine when he has room to run, but he doesn't blow you away as anything special and he doesn't look as though he does much to make it difficult to tackle him. Scott seems to have more speed, keeps his feet moving better and runs with more determination. He earned those 65 yards he got on that fake-punt touchdown, and with cuts looming tomorrow, that's the kind of play that makes it hard for a coaching staff to keep a guy off the roster.

4. I like Devin Thomas, too. Specifically, I like what he does after he catches the ball. He seems to know where his feet are and what he needs to do to find the sideline or the extra yard or two he needs. He seems like he knows how to keep his body between the ball and the defender and protect it while making those moves. He's got the skills in the return game, and the speed, but I was surprised how much I liked him Thursday night as a receiver.

5. The Sintim injury hurts. But there are rookies to take his spot, and it might help someone like Mark Herzlich or Spencer Paysinger make the roster and/or claim more playing time. The Giants liked the way Sintim had been playing, and he was their clear first option off the bench in the case of an injury to one of their starting linebackers. Now it's not as cut-and-dried, and they'll hope somebody from the rookie group can step in when they need to spell a starter.

With the Dallas Cowboys' and New York Giants' games still to go, I picked the Cowboys to watch first because I wanted to see rookie running back DeMarco Murray. So it was nice of the kid to catch a 48-yard screen pass up the left side on the team's first play from scrimmage. We've seen the Cowboys use the screen game a lot this preseason, with Tony Romo throwing to starting running back Felix Jones, and it appears as though the Cowboys would like to use the weapons they have on offense to spread out the defense when possible and trade on their speed.

Murray looks like a guy who can help with that. He looked excellent when they got him on the outside, in space, around the edge, able to pick up big chunks of yardage in those spots. That speaks to his athletic ability, which surely showed up on pre-draft tape, and wasn't really a surprise. What the Cowboys and their fans wanted to see from Murray on Thursday night was how Murray looked running between the tackles. With a little more than a minute to go in the first quarter, after picking up 9 yards on first down on a run to the outside, Murray drove hard through the middle to pick up the first down on second-and-1.

A few plays later, on a first-and-15, he showed good patience and made a critical cut at the line to pick up 3 yards when it looked as if he wouldn't get any. So he showed speed, power and judgment. Maybe a little more of a straight-line guy than you'd like him to be, but he clearly brings a lot to the table and should be a more than adequate replacement for Marion Barber as a changeup guy who can give Jones a breather here and there. I was impressed, and if the Cowboys decide to commit to the run game this year, it looks as though they'll have good options.

Some other stuff I saw in the Cowboys' final preseason game, a meaningless 17-3 loss to the Dolphins in Miami:

1. Speaking of running backs ... Phillip Tanner! This guy has been one of my favorite breakout preseason studs, and it was nice to hear Jerry Jones say on the broadcast that Tanner had made the team. I don't know what it means for Tashard Choice, and it sounds as though the Cowboys have yet to sort all of that out, but Tanner has played well enough to earn his spot. I just really like the way he runs -- strong, determined, feet constantly moving. He already has down some technique aspects of the running back position that coaches have to work to teach more talented guys. Interesting deep bench option for them, and he's good enough to make Choice wonder where he stands in terms of playing time, if not roster spot.

2. Rookie offensive linemen. Right tackle Tyron Smith didn't have his best game, getting beaten around the edge early in the game and picking up a false-start penalty later in the first half. But there are times -- more often than not, actually -- when he looks like an unstoppable mauler on that right side. I believe he'll be fine. Left guard Bill Nagy had a couple of tough moments as well (I believe the sack of Stephen McGee with 5:00 left in the half was on Nagy), but it says a lot to me that he seemed to be the one on the left side making the line calls with the starters (specifically Kyle Kosier) not in the game. The Cowboys consider Nagy a relatively seasoned rookie who knows a lot about how to play the position -- and a lot about the responsibilities of the other linemen as well. It wasn't surprising to see him with extra responsibility in a game full of backups, but I wonder if it affected his own play. Still looks like he could stand to get stronger. And finally, rookie center Kevin Kowalski, who I guess is now Phil Costa's backup at center, lost his helmet on a play early in the second quarter and kept mixing it up. Which isn't super-smart, but if you're looking for tough, crazy offensive linemen it's the kind of thing you like to see.

3. Montrae Holland surprised. He's been reduced to a backup role, but it's going to be an important one given the relative uncertainty with the starters on the offensive line. Holland came to camp overweight and had some injury issues that kept him out of action, so the Cowboys didn't know how much he'd be able to play Thursday night. But he played the whole first half and looked good, and that helps Dallas feel better about the depth it has on the line.

4. Defense? I don't know. Again, backups all over the field. Bryan McCann got beat by Brian Hartline when he tried to jump a route. Guys like Alan Ball and Barry Church missed tackles on Larry Johnson on Johnson's 22-yard touchdown run. Church made a couple of nice plays otherwise. I was a little more locked in on the offense in this one. Not sure there's much about the defense that bears serious analysis.

5. Receivers. Kevin Ogletree made a nifty after-catch move to pick up a first down near the goal line on a third-down play in the first quarter. Dwayne Harris showed some shiftiness on punt returns. And Michael Irvin, who was once a receiver, was pretty impressive in the broadcast booth! I thought he did a nice job of focusing on serious analysis even when the guys in the booth with him (including Jerry Jones) seemed more interested in trying to talk about Irvin and his career. Felt like he was trying to educate, which good color analysts who played the game at a high level should be doing.

Anyway, next game counts. See ya.

Good morning to ya. Special shout-out to the Giants and Cowboys fans, and a promise that I haven't forgotten you and will be doing "Observation Deck" for your teams' Thursday night game at some point today. Problem was, all four NFC East games were on at the same time and I haven't had time to watch them all yet. The posts on the Redskins and the Eagles are up, though, if you feel like doing some scouting.

If not, we have links.

Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones said after Thursday's game that undrafted running back Phillip Tanner will be on the team. Tanner looked great all preseason and earned a spot. The question is what this means for the Cowboys at running back. Is there a chance Tashard Choice gets traded, or even cut? Or do they go with four tailbacks -- Felix Jones, DeMarco Murray, Choice and Tanner? Jones' comments made it sound as though they were expecting to carry all four, but he didn't commit to that and some things could still need to be sorted out there.

Really crummy break for receiver Raymond Radway, who broke his leg going up for the ball with three seconds left in the final preseason game. I don't know if Radway would have made the team or not, but he showed some things early in the preseason, and it's a shame to see a guy suffer that level of injury on a play as completely meaningless as that one.

New York Giants

And speaking of crummy breaks, what an awful thing to have happen to Giants linebacker Clint Sintim, who was coming off a torn ACL in his right knee and may have torn it again Thursday night. At the very least, Tom Coughlin said, Sintim has a torn patella tendon and is out for the year. This is just the latest in a string of significant injuries to the Giants' defense this preseason and it obviously hurts their depth at linebacker, where they didn't have a lot to begin with. But mainly, you really feel for Sintim, who was apparently pretty emotional about it in the locker room after the game.

Undrafted linebacker Mark Herzlich picked up a sack and has impressed the Giants' coaching staff this preseason. He's not a sure thing, but he's certainly got a very good chance of making the final roster and could even be helped by the Sintim injury, though his most likely contribution is more likely to be on special teams.

Philadelphia Eagles

Andy Reid continues to express confidence in rookie kicker Alex Henery, who didn't have the greatest night Thursday. I don't imagine the Eagles will go out and look for a veteran kicker at this point, partly because the Cowboys seem to have signed them all anyway, but also because they're kind of all-in with Henery after releasing David Akers to make room for the rookie.

Danny Watkins talked his way into Thursday night's lineup and looked... like a rookie, again, writes Jeff McLane. This is what the Eagles have at starting right guard heading into this season -- a guy who's still learning, getting better and making mistakes along the way.

Washington Redskins

Jason Reid says John Beck has all the votes he needs to be the Redskins' starting quarterback. Basically, Jason says, the only vote that counts is Mike Shanahan's. And Jason has wisely been reading this thing correctly all along. Shanahan wanted Beck to show he wouldn't be a complete mess if he got the job. Surely, in spite of Thursday's downer, Beck has shown that. They like his speed, his athleticism, his quick release and the decision-making ability he's shown. Lots of people watched Thursday and thought Rex Grossman had won the job already. I still think it's Beck, and has been Beck all along.

Oh, and earlier Thursday, the Redskins announced plans for a new indoor practice facility that will keep them from having to scrounge for a college facility or some other place to use when the weather prevents them from practicing outdoors, as it did four times last year. This is a nifty new 20th-century notion for the Skins. I hear they're also planning to put more than one bar on the face masks this year...

OK, back to watching these awful final preseason games. I do this for you guys, you know, because I love you. And for no other reason.

The Philadelphia Eagles used only one offensive starter in their final preseason game, a meaningless 24-14 victory over the New York Jets, and so I thought I'd focus on him. He was Danny Watkins, the first-round pick out of Baylor and the Eagles' starting right guard. He played about 20 snaps against backup Jets defenders, looked good on some, looked lost on others, and I came away with no idea how prepared he is to help protect Michael Vick once the real games begin.

The good: Watkins generally looks strong enough to hold his blocks once he gets his hands on his man. He got good second-level push on one of Dion Lewis' runs on the second offensive series of the game. And he did an excellent job getting down field to make a block on a defensive back on the screen pass to Lewis on the play right before the Eagles' first touchdown. (Oddly, he appeared to be beaten on the touchdown play, but it didn't matter since Vince Young made the throw before the pressure got there.)

The not-so-good: There was a three-play sequence on the first offensive series where he looked very much like a rookie. On the first, his man beat him to the outside and got into the backfield. On the next play, he made some progress into the second level, as Howard Mudd is trying to teach his linemen to do, but got knocked to the ground quickly. And then on the next, he was kind of swimming around in the crowd, blocking no one and looking as though he didn't know where he was supposed to be. Two plays later, he failed to pick up a blitzing Aaron Maybin, who got to Young but was unable to sack him because he's Aaron Maybin and so Young completed the pass anyway.

Watkins is a rookie who didn't have an offseason, and as such he's a work in progress. He'll almost certainly be better by Week 4 and Week 9 and Week 17 than he will be in Week 1. The key is that he has to be good enough, consistently, from play to play, to keep Vick from getting crushed and help the Eagles' offense put points on the board early in the season. Because the Eagles are one of these teams, due to the offseason they had, that can't afford to get off to a slow start unless they're happy with the whole world jumping on their backs about it.

Anyway, some more stuff I saw in the Eagles' final preseason game:

1. Dion Lewis! Oh, I don't have any idea how much he can expect to play -- if at all -- in an Eagles offense that features as many dynamic options as it does. He's the No. 3 running back behind LeSean McCoy and Ronnie Brown in an offense that passes more than it runs. So we might not hear much more from him the rest of the year unless they're going to use him on kick returns as they did Thursday. But if we do, man, is he fun to watch. Good burst at the line. Doesn't need much of a hole to squeeze himself through. Fast. Shifty. Patient. Balanced. Tough to bring down. Yeah, against second-teamers. But he's got some obvious skills, and should be a nice option for the Eagles if they suffer an injury or two at that position.

2. Vince Young is the backup quarterback, and a very good one. The idea that Mike Kafka could beat out Young for the backup quarterback spot was rooted in the idea that Young would take a long time to learn the West Coast offense. And Young may not have it all down yet. But he looks more advanced by leaps and bounds than he did in the first preseason game and in the early training camp practices. And his pure athletic ability and experience as a quarterback making throws in the NFL puts him well ahead of Kafka in terms of being a guy the Eagles can put in, should Vick get hurt, and ask him to win them a game. Young did end up leaving this game with a hamstring injury (on a play that wouldn't have happened but for a botched field goal snap on the play before, incidentally), and Kafka with a rib injury, so there's no way to know what the depth chart looks like at quarterback for the opener. But if everyone's healthy, what Andy Reid said after the game about Young being the backup sounds obvious at this point.

3. Defensive backups. Linebacker Brian Rolle looked good, and defensive lineman Trevor Laws had some nice moments after missing the bulk of the preseason due to injury. Defensive end Phillip Hunt also had a sack, and he's an interesting guy as cuts loom, because he made a big-time name for himself in the CFL and is someone who obviously knows how to play the game and the position. But he's so small for his position that you wonder if he can have any impact at all in a real game against first-team offensive linemen. Hunt has been very good this preseason, but nothing is assured for him yet. The Eagles have to decide if his playmaking ability outweighs his measurables.

4. Alex Henery doesn't look great. And hasn't all month. And you do wonder if going with a rookie kicker is the wisest move in the world for a team with expectations as high as the Eagles' expectations are. Henery missed his first field goal attempt of the night -- a 43-yarder -- very badly. He made a 49-yarder late in the game, which is fine. But there's no doubt he can make a kick from almost any distance. What the Eagles would like to know about him is whether he's reliable enough to make every kick they need him to make. And the first-quarter miss is the kind of thing that makes you wonder. On the plus side, rookie punter Chas Henry looks excellent.

Anyway, four games, none of which mattered, and now the Eagles have a week and a couple of days before they need to beat the Rams in St. Louis or everybody starts yelling that the sky is falling. The spotlight -- and the bulls-eye -- will be on this team all year, and fun time is over.

So, when you guys helped convince me to watch the Washington Redskins' game live and the other three on delay, you neglected to tell me the Redskins' game would be the longest one by a half-hour. Sheesh.

Aaaaanyway, this was clearly not John Beck's best work. The Redskins' 29-24 exhibition victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their final game of the 2011 NFL preseason was the worst of the three preseason performances Beck has turned in during his audition to be the Redskins' starting quarterback. He looked much better in each of the previous two games than he did Thursday night, when he was 10-for-21 for 108 yards and an interception.

The question, of course, is what it all means.

Certainly, if Beck's chances of being the starter were riding on his performance in this game, he didn't help himself. But I don't think he necessarily had to play well Thursday in order to win the job. As we have discussed many times on this blog, the competition between Beck and Rex Grossman is not as simple as a straight-up contest based on preseason performance. Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan do not view Beck and Grossman as equal quantities. They like Grossman and feel certain he can operate their offense. But they believe Beck offers more upside, and they wanted to use the preseason to help them gauge how he would handle the pressure of his opportunity.

Beck surely did that in the Redskins' second and third preseason games (after missing the first with a groin injury). And he showed a couple of things Thursday night, too. There was the 2nd-and-9 play where he dodged pressure up the middle and completed the pass for a first down. He hit a big third-down completion to Donte' Stallworth while taking a hit. He showed his obviously quick release and made a couple of smart decisions, including not throwing to Stallworth a couple of plays later when he saw that Stallworth was in double coverage.

But he also did some bad things, including a couple of bad-decision throws into crowds and the interception in the end zone. He looked as though he could have had a touchdown pass to Niles Paul, but he threw the ball to Paul's back shoulder while Paul was going up expecting the throw to be high. Not sure whose fault that was, but it didn't look good.

Now, Beck did play behind the Redskins' starting offensive line. But he didn't have starting wide receivers Santana Moss or Jabar Gaffney, who got the night off. And he had rookie running back Evan Royster, who's not the same factor in the passing game (as a blocker or receiver) as Tim Hightower is. It's hard for me to believe the Redskins' coaches would have sent Beck out there thinking he had to play well in this game to get the job and then not give him Moss or Gaffney to throw to.

Some time in the next nine days, Mike Shananan will name his starting quarterback for the Sept. 11 season opener against the Giants. I still believe, based on the conversations I had when I was at Redskins training camp and what I've seen in the preseason, that it'll be Beck because it's been Beck all along. But if it's not Beck, I don't think he lost the job Thursday night. And I seriously doubt it means he won't be the starter at any point (or even for the majority of the games) in 2011.

Some other observations from the Redskins' final preseason game:

1. Ryan Torain is a good running back. Hightower is sure to open the season as the Redskins' starting running back. But Torain, who missed the bulk of this preseason with a broken hand, will remain a threat to steal carries and maybe the job itself. Torain entered the game late in the first half after Royster started the game, and he ran with obvious power. Torain's issues have been health-related, and if he stays healthy and continues to show something in limited action, don't be surprised to see him get a turn as the starter at some point this season.

2. Josh Wilson got an interception on a nice leaping catch, and it had to feel good. Wilson was brought in to be a starting cornerback, but he's had injury issues this preseason and hasn't looked great when he's been in there. As good as the Redskins' defense has looked overall, Wilson must have enjoyed being a productive part of it going into the season. Still think the secondary as a whole will improve once the starting safeties are in there.

3. Oh yeah, Brandon Banks. After an injury-plagued preseason of his own, Banks got into Thursday's game and showed what he can do on returns, running one back 95 yards for a touchdown. He's so fast and such a sharp runner when he's got a head of steam, and as he crossed the goal line you couldn't help thinking, "Yeah, that gets the guy on the team." Then you saw the replays they were reviewing and that Banks hot-dogged it across the goal line and very nearly dropped the ball before crossing that goal line because of his hot-dogging. And even though the call wasn't overturned and he did get credited with the touchdown, you couldn't help thinking, "Yeah, that's why there's a chance a guy with that kind of speed and talent might not make the team." Good lesson for Banks. Would have been a better one if they'd taken away his touchdown.

4. Second-team defense. Guys like Keyaron Fox and Rob Jackson looked very fired-up and very effective, making you think the Redskins have some interesting depth on defense. But then you remember they're playing against backups on the Tampa Bay defense and that there's no way to know what you're really watching in preseason, and we'll just leave it at that.

The Redskins had a nice preseason. Stallworth's fingertip catch for the touchdown that sealed this meaningless win was a fun way to end it. The way they played this month should help their confidence. No idea if it means they'll have a good regular season. Right now they need to be thinking about how to beat the Giants. And yeah, settling on a quarterback.

So if you've been following along all month, you know that I've been writing rather long review posts of each preseason game involving NFC East teams. I mean, these have been long -- like, 1,000-word posts on what I observed in the games, even though I try my very, very best to make it clear I believe these games to have little or no predictive value whatsoever in terms of the regular season. I do it because I know you guys care, and because I want you to know how much I care about you. It's all about you guys, really. Wait. Hold on. I'm getting emotional...

Okay, sorry. Anyway, the point of this post is to ask you what you'd like me to do about tonight. Each of our four teams is playing its final preseason game tonight. Each of the four games begins at 7:30 pm ET. They are as follows:

Cowboys at Dolphins

Giants at Patriots

Eagles at Jets

Buccaneers at Redskins

Now, I can watch the Giants or the Eagles, because they'll both be on TV where I live (since the Eagles are playing the Jets). And I could watch the other two on the computer if need be. But I can't watch all four at once, so I have to figure out which one to watch live and which to watch late tonight and/or throughout the day tomorrow. I will post thoughts on each of the four teams, as I have been, though they might not be as extensive since the fourth preseason game is generally the most useless even amid the uselessness that is NFL preseason games in general. But I'd like to know, from you, what you consider to be the most pressing issues in these four games.

If I can be convinced that the Redskins' game is the most compelling for whatever reason, I'm happy to watch that one as it happens, tweet about it all night and post something the minute it ends. Same for the Cowboys, Eagles or Giants if I decide by 7:30 -- with your help -- that one of those games has something going on in it that requires more immediate attention. I have my own ideas about this, but I don't want to taint the discussion, so I will comb the comments under this post and figure out what matters most to you guys before making my decision.

Have at it. And please, play nice!

Happy September, everyone. You know what September is? Yeah, the month when football starts. It's one week until the first regular-season NFL game of the year, 10 days until the first NFC East games of the year, and quite honestly there are 15 Division I-A college football games tonight if you're into that sort of thing, which I am. You know what else I'm into? Links.

Dallas Cowboys

Tashard Choice has a bruised knee and won't play in the Cowboys' preseason finale in Miami. This means Choice will finish the preseason with 14 rushing yards on three carries. Cuts are coming Saturday, and I can't imagine Choice is in huge trouble. I mean, if his roster spot were in jeopardy, they'd have to give him a chance to play in the game and earn it, right? But if someone like DeMarco Murray, Lonyae Miller or my personal favorite, Phillip Tanner, has a big night, it could bode ill for Choice's short-term future in terms of carries and maybe even his long-term future in terms of the roster. They're not messing around in Dallas, remember. Just ask Andre Gurode.

Apparently, after Martellus Bennett said that stuff in the offseason about how Jon Kitna had earned the right to challenge Tony Romo for the starting quarterback job, Romo sat down with Bennett to air some things out because he didn't consider Bennett's comments "in the best interests of the Dallas Cowboys." I like it. Sounds like Bennett did too.

New York Giants

Tom Coughlin said he's weighing whether or not to play his starters at all in tonight's preseason finale, since it'd be the Giants' second game in four days due to the rescheduling as a result of Hurricane Irene. Coughlin, like all coaches, laments the fact that the compressed offseason and new CBA rules have limited his ability to get in enough practices to get his team ready for the season. And certain key parts of Coughlin's team have looked awful in these preseason games. But he's probably better off resting regulars like Eli Manning and trusting that his veterans will be ready come Sept. 11 whether they get a few more meaningless game snaps in or not.

Ohm writes that the Giants' defensive players say they're ready for the season in spite of the injuries that have thinned their ranks. I actually thought the Giants looked very good on defense Monday night, for whatever that's worth, which is very little since it was a preseason game. Again, the front-line starters look very good. I'm just not sure the defense could take another significant injury and still do what they're going to need to do. And there are always injuries.

Philadelphia Eagles

The final preseason game is audition time for the players on the bottom third of the Eagles' current 80-man roster, as Tom Rimback writes. Further down in this story, you'll see an indication that the Eagles don't plan to play either of their rookie offensive lineman, Danny Watkins or Jason Kelce, who are projected to open the season as starters for them in tonight's preseason finale. Me, I'd have run them out there for another quarter or so. But as usual, they didn't ask me.

One of the more interesting battles fought in the Eagles' preseason finale could be the one between Vince Young and Mike Kafka to determine which would start if Michael Vick got injured early in the season. Young has struggled to learn the offense since arriving in Philadelphia. Kafka knows it, but he's not 30-17 as an NFL starter. If Young demonstrates that he's picking things up, I imagine he's the first option off the bench.

Washington Redskins

Everybody, including the other players on the Redskins' roster, awaits the decision on whether John Beck or Rex Grossman will be the starting quarterback for the season opener. Rich Campbell wonders if Mike Shanahan is delaying the announcement in part to keep the Giants -- his Week 1 opponent -- in the dark. Something tells me the Giants have bigger worries.

Thomas Boswell thinks the Redskins have finally hit on a key element in their head coach -- one who's not a nice guy. Now, that doesn' t seem very nice on Mr. Boswell's part, does it? I'm not sure Thomas has really taken the time to get to know Mr. Shanahan...

Morning. It's eight days until the start of the NFL's regular season, 11 days until the first NFC East games of the year, and we are counting it down the only way we know how: Link by link.

Dallas Cowboys

Remember, Jerry Jones says, Tony Romo got knocked out of the 2010 season playing behind a veteran offensive line. So what's so wrong with going young there? Sure, it's spin, but it's a worthwhile point that someone you all know very well made yesterday before he even heard Jones mention it -- how much worse can the kids be than what they already had there?

While everyone expects Orlando Scandrick and his new contract to eventually replace Terence Newman in the starting lineup at cornerback, Jason Garrett says that's not happening now. Garrett says he likes Newman and Mike Jenkins as his starting corners and Scandrick in his nickel role, and there are no plans to change it, assuming Newman and Jenkins get back from their injuries sometime soon and actually play.

New York Giants

Mike Garafolo writes that the last time Eli Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass in the preseason was 2004, his rookie year. Mike also demonstrates, with the help of a really cool Star-Ledger graphic that uses different Eli faces (interceptions are upside-down Eli faces!), that the Giants haven't been completing passes over the middle this preseason. It could be because they're still working on finding something reliable in the slot. Could also be that preseason doesn't mean anything. Soon, we'll find out for real. Anyway, click on that graphic. Star-Ledger graphics are excellent, and I'm not just saying that as a proud alum.

The great thing about Tom Coughlin is that he's going to give it to you straight without worrying about his players' feelings. Jerrel Jernigan was clearly a fiasco on punt returns Monday night, and Coughlin said as much on his conference call Monday. There's a chance they could use Aaron Ross, who's now a starting cornerback, to return punts instead, though Coughlin admitted he's hesitant to do that because they need Ross so much now in the starting lineup. Ross hasn't always been the healthiest guy in the league, you know.

Philadelphia Eagles

Amid all of the expected angles on the Michael Vick contract story, Jonathan Tamari actually spoke to Vick's creditors and offers a story about how the new deal affects Vick's rather messy personal finances. Good thinking, Jon.

Evan Mathis said he signed in Philadelphia expecting to be a starter, which he is now, at left guard, after the options at right tackle all fizzled out and they had to move Todd Herremans over there. The Mathis signing got lost amid the bigger-name Eagles signings late last month, because he's an offensive lineman and because those guys have bigger names. But as it turns out, that may have been one of the more important signings they made.

Washington Redskins

I wouldn't be surprised if the Redskins found another defensive lineman to add to their mix once the cuts all come in this weekend. But right now, it sounds as though they're comfortable going with what they have there, even with promising rookie Jarvis Jenkins out with a torn ACL.

And, as expected, Malcolm Kelly was one of the cuts the Redskins made Tuesday to get down to 80 players. The 2008 second-round draft pick had a world of talent, the old Redskins coaches and new Redskins coaches agreed, but he just could never get healthy enough to stay on the field and show it. Kelly is just 24 years old, but the injuries have him considering hanging it up and doing something else for a living.

Really enjoyed this story by Rich Campbell in the Washington Times, breaking down Tim Hightower's 37-yard touchdown run from last week's preseason game against the Ravens. I love stories like this, that get inside the play and tell what went on from the perspectives of the different players who made it work. The Redskins' zone-blocking scheme depends on the linemen and the running backs working together and communicating effectively -- if everyone does his individual assignment well, it looks like a thing of beauty. That appears to be what happened on this run:

"A lot of those plays, if the front side is not there, we're counting on the back side being open as much as the front side," left guard Kory Lichtensteiger said. "Everybody down the line knows that it could be their block on any play that springs him."

What's really exciting for the Redskins and coach Mike Shanahan is the seamless way Hightower has embraced and fit into the zone-blocking system. Yes, he has plenty of motivation to do so, because he surely knows Shanahan's track record of making running backs into stars. But when the Redskins got Hightower in a trade with Arizona at the start of training camp, Shanahan was excited by the multiple ways he thought Hightower could help -- as a pass-blocker, receiver and runner. So far, so good on that with Hightower, who begins the season as the starting running back and should hold the job as long as his old fumble problems don't flare up.

So much focus has been on the quarterback situation for the Redskins, but when I was in their camp early this month, they seemed more concerned about their ability to put a strong supporting cast around John Beck or Rex Grossman than how either would himself play. With less than two weeks left before the start of the season, the Redskins are feeling better about their running game and their line than they did a month ago.

Good morning. Only one more round of preseason games stands between us and real, regular-season football. I, for one, am looking forward to being able to drop the qualifiers and talk about games that actually do mean something and allow us to draw meaningful conclusions.

In the meantime, we have the links.

Dallas Cowboys

Why did the Cowboys cut Andre Gurode? ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon offers a couple of reasons: "He was overrated, overpaid and overweight. Oh, and they’re confident in Phil Costa." Tim says they'll get much more bang for their buck with Costa, even if he's inexperienced, "short-armed" and currently recovering from a knee sprain.

If the Cowboys don't have a good kicker this year, don't say it's because they didn't consider all options. Even with four kickers already on the roster, they're discussing adding Dave Rayner, recently cut by the Lions, to the mix. It's kicker, folks, so it's all about hitting on someone. Most of these guys blow with the wind, and just because Rayner didn't make it in Detroit doesn't mean he can't be the answer in Dallas.

New York Giants

Gary Myers writes that Eli Manning's decision-making must improve over what he showed Monday night, and I agree. When I spoke with Manning about last year's 25 interceptions a few weeks back, he said, "You try to eliminate the bad-decision ones." The second one he threw Monday was a bad-decision one, and he admits that. I'm just going to wait until he starts making them again in the regular season before I start condemning him for it. Because, for the six millionth time, preseason means nothing as far as predicting anything that will happen in the regular season. At all.

Oh, and on a much sillier note, Manning and Plaxico Burress did meet up to talk before Monday night's Giants-Jets matchup. They bumped into each other at the movies. Plaxico was coming out of "The Smurfs," but Brian Costello didn't report which movie Manning and Shaun O'Hara were there to see. Regardless, there can no longer be any question about Manning and Burress' relationship. I didn't see "The Smurfs," but based on my wife's reaction to it after seeing it with the kids, I have to believe Burress was in a pretty lousy mood when Manning found him.

Philadelphia Eagles

Phil Sheridan asks one of many good questions in the wake of Michael Vick's new six-year, $100 million deal -- namely, whether Vick will continue to work as hard and be the same straight arrow he's been for the past two years as he pursued that deal: "As long as that contract was out there, just out of his reach, Vick had literally 100 million reasons to be a solid citizen, coachable player, and consummate teammate. He had 100 million reasons not to be the man he was before he lost everything. Now the deal is done and he has 100 million temptations to go right back to his old ways." Phil doesn't worry that Vick will go back to dogfighting -- just whether he'll go back to being the "arrogant superstar" he was in Atlanta. It's a question worth raising, as it is with anyone with a questionable history who gets a big new contract. Only Vick can answer it. By now he surely knows such questions are here and not going away.

Geoff Mosher writes that the newly configured Eagles offensive line doesn't have much time to get in sync. With only 12 days until the regular-season opener, I see his point. But few seem to be talking about the fact that the line can continue to improve after the regular season begins, too. They'll still be practicing after Week 1, and there's no reason to believe the quality of the line play in the first game will be the same as it is come Week 4 or Week 9 or Week 15. I wouldn't be surprised to see the line play cost them a game or two early in the season, everybody to react as though the sky is falling and then Howard Mudd to continue to coach them up and improve as the year goes along. A lot of what the Eagles are trying to do this year rests on their faith in their coaching staff.

Washington Redskins

Wide receiver Terrence Austin has been one of the more impressive surprises of the Redskins' preseason, and Rick Maese has a look at the road he took to get to this point, where he's seriously challenging for a spot on the 53-man roster. The part about Austin and John Beck practicing together by themselves on Tuesdays last year when the rest of the team was off is especially interesting. Makes you wonder if Beck will look Austin's way more than you might expect -- assuming they're both playing, of course.

Ryan Torain is supposed to be back from his broken hand and playing in Thursday night's preseason finale. LaRon Landry won't, but he still says he'll play in the regular-season opener against the Giants. Landry seems pretty confident the fact that he hasn't played in a game since last November won't hold him back.

Nothing will hold me back today. I'm chatting at noon ET, and have plenty planned for your NFC East enjoyment today as we count it down together on the way to real football.

I'm going to start with the positives, because I get accused too often by overly sensitive New York Giants fans of being too negative about their team. And when they look bad, I promise I'll continue to point that out. But in their second-to-last preseason game Monday night -- a meaningless 17-3 loss to the New York Jets -- I saw a lot of things on the Giants' defense that I really liked.

I'm going to start with Justin Tuck, even though that seems obvious, because he's the Giants' best defensive player and it all starts with him. If Tuck is flying around the field, pressuring quarterbacks and making plays on the edge, the rest of the Giants' defense works off of that. And I think Monday night's Tuck was a Tuck who looks ready for the season. As a result, the defensive tackles looked energized, swingman Mathias Kiwanuka was active and effective, Aaron Ross (pressed into starter's duty after the injury to Terrell Thomas) made several nice plays in pass coverage and the Giants' defense more than handled the Jets' starting offense in the run game and the passing game.

I was especially impressed with Ross, who is a starting-caliber cornerback more than capable of filling in for Thomas if he's able to stay healthy (which, granted, has been a big issue with him). The Giants showcased their depth at safety by moving Antrel Rolle into a slot cornerback role (and bringing Deon Grant in at safety) in the nickel package, and that should work fine until and perhaps after Prince Amukamara returns from his injury. And I think Jonathan Goff looked very strong against the run as he continues to grow in his role as the starting middle linebacker. As I have continued to stress when discussing positives and negatives of all four teams this month, the preseason has no predictive value whatsoever, so I'm not saying the Giants' defense will be great because it was great in this game. But to see their established players putting up strong individual performances this late in the preseason should encourage Giants fans that those players are healthy and their minds are right.

Now, not all can be rosy in this Giants' preseason, and so a good night on defense came with hiccups. Kiwanuka left the game with a groin injury he later described as "not serious," and Tuck left with what the team described as a "neck burner," which they obviously hope isn't serious. But while the Giants' first-team defense was in the game, they looked fired up and ready to go.

Now, about the offense and the special teams ...

1. The running game will be critical. Ahmad Bradshaw's playing time was limited because of a minor back injury, but he looked very good when he did play, especially on a 29-yard catch-and-run on a screen pass in the second quarter. Brandon Jacobs looked outstanding, as he has all preseason, running with spark and power and looking as though he could easily regain the No. 1 running back role should Bradshaw get injured or struggle with fumbles again. Sadly, though, Jacobs spoiled his effort with an idiotic play that got him ejected from the game. Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson baited him into a fight. Jacobs, who fancies himself a boxer, threw a couple of punches, and both players were thrown out. Jacobs is a proven hothead who last season threw his helmet into the stands when he got upset during a game, and it's possible the book on him is that he's easy to rile up and prod into a stupid mistake. He surely did nothing in this game to dispel that.

2. Eli Manning and the interceptions. One was on a fourth-down play where he was trying to take a chance because it was fourth down. The other was just a poor decision. And the fact that there were two of them is, of course, what stands out when we're talking about a guy who threw 25 picks last season. Now, he looked good throwing to Hakeem Nicks (and to Bradshaw), but the lack of depth of receiving options has him looking confused at times. He doesn't always seem to remember that Victor Cruz is on the field, let alone see that he's open. So it may be that there's work to be done for Manning to get used to his new receiving corps. It may also be that he'll look totally different come the regular season, as so many established players who struggle in preseason do. The good thing is that you know a poor preseason performance won't affect Manning's confidence or attitude, even if the same can't be said about the fans watching him. Fact is, Manning's got the job, and if he's going to have a bad season, the team is too and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I think he'll be fine.

3. Not-so-special teams. Rookie Jerrel Jernigan looks as if he already needs a vacation. Muffs, fumbles ... not the kind of stuff you like to see out of your return man. They may need to look at other options. And the kick and punt coverage continues to look terrible, which actually does mean something since those teams are populated by guys playing for roster spots and increased playing time. One bright spot is that both punters looked good again, which I continue to believe means good things for Steve Weatherford and bad things for Matt Dodge. We'll see on that, but whoever gets that job is going to look a lot better if they can cover his kicks.

4. Cruz versus Domenik Hixon. It was all Cruz early in that No. 3 wide receiver spot, with Hixon coming in late in the game again. I continue to believe the Giants have been trying to ease Hixon back from his knee injury and that he's the favorite to earn playing time in that No. 3 wideout role as the season goes along. But the fact that Cruz and Mario Manningham have seen so much time there makes me think they're going to continue easing Hixon back in once the regular season begins and want to know what they have there in terms of other options. Especially since they're not getting much out of the tight end position.

5. Offensive line improvement. New center David Baas appears to be over the issues that plagued him in the first preseason game. And left tackle William Beatty might not look super-smooth over there with his grabby arms and constantly-moving feet, but he's more or less blocking his man. Left guard David Diehl struggled a couple of times early on, as he failed to pick up a few interior pass-rushers on the blitz. But that got better as the game went along. And the run-blocking is just outstanding across the board.

Finally, I'm not too troubled by this inability to punch the ball into the end zone that has everybody so upset. It's preseason. They moved the ball well. Pretty good chance they'll call different plays when it counts, no?

Dallas Cowboys

Tight end Martellus Bennett is going to miss two to four weeks with a sprained ankle and therefore might not be ready for the Sept. 11 season opener against the Jets. Losing Bennett impacts the Cowboys' passing game because it might inhibit their ability to use tight end Jason Witten as their slot receiver if he has more blocking responsibilities. The Cowboys are counting on their depth at tight end to help offset their lack of depth at wide receiver.

Jerry Jones seems almost giddy about the rookies on the Cowboys' offensive line. Kevin Kowalski isn't likely to be the starter once the season begins, but Jones seemed pleased with his performance in Saturday's game. Still seems strange, the treatment of Andre Gurode. Why fly him with you to Minnesota only to make him sit there and watch someone else do his job? Ugly business sometimes.

New York Giants

Mike Garafolo checks in with Jonathan Goff, who's shown signs this preseason of improving in pass coverage. I personally think this is a big question-mark spot for the Giants. There aren't too many positions at which you can point and say, "Yeah, the Giants are actually better there this year than they were last year." As good? Sure. Maybe not too much worse? Absolutely. But better? Not too many. If Goff can show improvement in his second year as a starting middle linebacker (not an outrageous idea, certainly), that would be one.

Victor Cruz was the star of the show in last year's Jets-Giants preseason game. He believes he's come a long way since then and hopes he can star again as he continues his bid for more playing time at wide receiver this year.

Philadelphia Eagles

In the wake of Todd Herremans' move from left guard to right tackle, Les Bowen assesses the remaining issues on the Eagles' offensive line -- specifically whether Jason Kelce is or should be leading the supposed "competition" between himself and Jamaal Jackson for the starting center's job. If Kelce proves to be a complete disaster (as he appeared to be at times Thursday night), then they can always just slide Jackson back in there. But Les is right -- they don't seem as though they want to do that.

The Eagles' receiving corps is gaining strength and depth, it would seem, with two weeks left before the start of the regular season. If Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith really are both going to be ready, it'll be fascinating to see how this offense operates and who gets the targets.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan was known in Denver for his zone-blocking offensive lines. Implementation of that scheme and those concepts didn't go so great in Shanahan's first year in Washington, but things seem to be improving in the second. It does amaze me a little bit that Washington's is the offensive line about which I've written the least in this preseason. Does that say more about what they're doing there or the number of question marks with which the other three teams are dealing?

On the other line, however, the Redskins' options for replacing promising rookie Jarvis Jenkins look grim. Jenkins is out for the season with a knee injury suffered in last week's preseason game, and his playing time will be taken by some combination of Kedric Golston, Doug Worthington and Darrion Scott. "Obviously," Shanahan said, "you cannot replace a player like that."

Yeah, I know the game's not over yet. And I want to see DeMarco Murray as much as the next guy does. But I'm in New Jersey and I'm not sure how much longer the power will stay on. So I thought it made some sense to get something down now, rather than later, about the Dallas Cowboys' preseason game Saturday night in Minnesota.

First off, everybody's going to want to talk about the defense, which gave up 216 yards to Adrian Peterson, Donovan McNabb and the Vikings in the first half. Peterson looked unstoppable, which he often does against many teams. The Vikings' offensive line beat up the Dallas defensive line in the run game, and Peterson cashed in for 69 yards on 11 carries. Safeties Gerald Sensabaugh and Abram Elam got burned on a long touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian, and it's very easy to come out of that first half saying the Dallas defense looks like more of the same from last season, when only the Broncos gave up more points.

But I'm not sure Cowboys fans should be so quick to get so down about this, and for a number of reasons.

First, and most importantly, it's only preseason. I'm constantly preaching here that you can't make sweeping predictions or evaluations about team performance in preseason, because you don't know what you're watching. Some teams game plan, others don't, and sometimes plays get called for the express purpose of identifying how a certain player will do in a certain matchup. To say the Cowboys' defense is in trouble because it gave up a bunch of yards in the first half Saturday night is a classic overreaction.

Secondly, the Cowboys did do some good individual things. Cornerback Orlando Scandrick had a couple of nice pass breakups in big spots against Berrian. Jason Hatcher got his hand on a McNabb pass and Sensabaugh made a nice diving interception before the ball hit the ground. I thought Anthony Spencer was very active and busy around the ball, whether it was pressuring McNabb (he sacked him once) or making a play or a tackle in coverage. Overall, the tackling (which was a major issue for the Cowboys last season) was fine. Peterson had a couple of chances to break long gainers and didn't. So while the Cowboys didn't do a good job containing him at the point of attack, they did manage to keep him from destroying them.

Finally, the Cowboys are not at full strength on defense. They're still missing starting cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman, and starting defensive end Marcus Spears. And those who are playing have had only a month's worth of practices in new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's system. It's perfectly understandable if frustration from last season's defensive performance leaks into this season. But it's unfair to assume based on preseason games that it won't be better. It's a work in progress, getting healthier and more comfortable. And considering how strong the Cowboys' offense should be, remember: The defense doesn't have to be one of the best in the league to make the team a contender. It only has to improve from the back of the pack to somewhere near the middle.

As for that offense, there were quite a number of highlights, which I'll hit on as I mention some other things I saw:

1. Tony Romo looks great. He was pressured early up the middle (remember, Dallas started a third-string center) but held up fine and threw with impeccable accuracy and confidence all night. He was 15-for-20 for 141 yards in the first half, and even some of his misses were well thrown. The near-touchdown on which Kevin Ogletree couldn't get his second foot in bounds was a perfect throw. The throw just out of Dez Bryant's reach at the goal line shortly before Felix Jones' touchdown run was in a place where Bryant was the only one who would have even had a chance to catch it. Romo's accuracy is his greatest strength, and it was on display Saturday.

2. Bryant is a physical beast. He can overpower defensive backs to make a catch. When he makes a catch, he's hard to bring down. He's 6-foot-2, 225 pounds with great hands and great instincts. Once defenses have Miles Austin to worry about as well as Bryant, Romo is only going to look better.

3. Felix Jones continues to impress. But while Jerry Jones is out there saying Tashard Choice needs to play better on special teams to make the roster, Choice looked good on a couple of runs while spelling Felix. Murray was also set to play at some point Saturday (and I'll update with stuff on him if the storm allows), and as great as Jones has been this preseason, it's good for the Cowboys to see what their other options are for giving him a break and helping to keep him healthy.

4. Jesse Holley is working hard to make the team. Made a couple of very nice third-down catches, missed a tackle on a kick return ... mixed bag kind of a first half for Holley, but if Romo's comfortable throwing to him and he's making the catches when he does, that's got to help his case.

5. The offensive line got better as the game went along. As mentioned, there were some issues early with the Vikings getting pressure up the middle. Rookie Bill Nagy still looks like he needs to add strength, and Tyron Smith looked as though he was struggling with his footwork again on the first offensive series. But things tightened up as the first half moved along, and the Cowboys were able to keep Romo clean and allow him to make his plays. On the sack, left tackle Doug Free got beaten by Jared Allen, who forced Romo up in the pocket where Christian Ballard got off a Nagy block to bring Romo down. I wonder if Nagy is supposed to hold that block longer, or if I'm watching the rookie too closely.

6. Shayne Graham should be the kicker. Dan Bailey and Graham each hit mid-range field goals (37 and 38 yards, respectively) at this writing, but given Graham's track record I have to think he gets the job as long as he doesn't miss kicks in the preseason. He didn't look great on kickoffs, but the new rules make that less important this season.

Again, more later if I'm still online. But that's what I have for now.