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And a good Wednesday morning to all. (Wednesday, right? Yeah, Wednesday.) I'll be with you just as soon as I catch up on my NBA reading. Wait, it says here the Heat only lost one game last night. Man, based on the reaction I saw all over Twitter after the game, I could have sworn it was four. The NBA confuses me. The NFL, though ... that always makes sense. Links.

Dallas Cowboys

Calvin weighs in on the Tony Romo thing, saying that yes, stats are nice and the stats support Romo as a top quarterback, but that doesn't matter until and unless he starts winning playoff games. And yeah, a lot of that's out of his control. But Calvin is right that the outside perception of the guy will not change until the playoff record does. He could have a rotten year and put up lousy numbers in three playoff games, but as long as the team won those three playoff games his reputation would likely improve. Of course, this hypothesis ignores the likelihood that, if Romo had a rotten year, the Cowboys wouldn't have a chance to play in any playoff games.

Michael Irvin thinks the offense is fine and that the biggest problem the Cowboys have had is a defense that hasn't shown an ability to generate turnovers and therefore contribute to the scoring from its end. He believes that this offseason's additions at cornerback may have changed that.

New York Giants

In a private ceremony Wednesday night at Tiffany & Co., the Giants will receive their Super Bowl rings. Thanks to punter Steve Weatherford, there were some pictures of the ring swirling around the Internet on Tuesday. But Justin Tuck says the photo Weatherford put on Twitter wasn't the real ring. So I guess we'll see.

Tuck also says the Giants won't let the Osi Umenyiora contract situation become a distraction to them this offseason, mainly because they're used to it by now. This isn't just talk with the Giants, as we've discussed before. Their veteran locker room is well suited to handle and/or ignore an issue such as the Umenyiora contract dispute, even if it gets far uglier than it is right now.

Philadelphia Eagles

Speaking of contract disputes, DeSean Jackson is happy to no longer be in one this offseason, and the extension he signed with the Eagles has him feeling like a new man as he gets ready to begin offseason practices. Jackson admitted several times last year that the contract situation was bothering him and affecting the way he went about his business. So, you know. No more excuses on that front, right?

Owen Schmitt has signed with the Raiders, leaving Stanley Havili ostensibly as the Eagles' starting fullback. But as Bleeding Green Nation points out, the Eagles don't use the fullback very much, so it's not likely to be a high-impact change.

Washington Redskins

Richard Crawford, the SMU cornerback the Redskins drafted in the seventh round, grew four inches in college and believes that's what helped make him a draftable prospect. We'll see. Lots of opportunity in the Redskins' secondary this offseason.

Former Redskins great Art Monk has been named to the College Football Hall of Fame for the career he had at Syracuse before he became a star in the NFL. Somebody on the chat asked me to give this news a "shout-out," and there isn't much else going on, so there you go.

INDIANAPOLIS — My favorite of today's links is Kate Fagan's diary of the Madonna news conference, and it's not because the Madonna news conference was my favorite part of the week so far. It wasn't. Top five maybe, but not No. 1. And no, it's none of your business what No. 1 was. Regardless, Kate's account of Madonna is an excellent and entertaining read. But for those of you who are more traditionally inclined and conditioned to two links per team per weekday ... well, we have that, too.

Oh, and since I know you're counting — the pedometer says I took 22,031 steps Thursday, bringing the total to 78,896 — or about 37.4 miles. All of them for you. Every single one of them for you. Even the ones that got me free gumbo from the 2013 New Orleans Super Bowl host committee. Which was awesome. I seriously wish you all could have enjoyed it with me.

Anyway, links.

New York Giants

Ian O'Connor says the Giants' pregame talk puts them at risk of being a punch line if they lose Sunday. I guess. Still doubt Tom Brady needs bulletin-board material for motivation to win as many Super Bowls as Terry Bradshaw won. Also, I think I think the Giants will win. But predictions come out... you know... later.

Jerry Reese thinks it's funny that his team won 10 regular-season games last year and missed the playoffs, won nine regular-season games this year and reached the Super Bowl and now people think he's smarter than he was then. This is the rare thing on which Jerry and I agree. I also think that's funny.

Philadelphia Eagles

Sam Donellon thinks Juan Castillo is in a no-win situation. I think Sam would be right if media and fan perception were the ultimate judge of the success of a team and a coach. But since it's not -- and since Castillo's employers, who like him, will ultimately make the call on whether he was responsible for the Eagles' 2012 successes or failures -- I think Castillo has a chance to win and win big.

Sheil has a look at Luke Kuechly, who'd be a pretty sweet pick for the Eagles at No. 15 in the draft this April if he's still there.

Dallas Cowboys

Jean-Jacques thinks the Hall of Fame needs Charles Haley in order to consider itself complete. We'll find out Saturday if the Hall voters feel the same way.

Michael Irvin believes that Dez Bryant will eventually be the best receiver in the NFL. That would be pretty awesome for the Cowboys if that happened.

Washington Redskins

Kyle Shanahan says his opinion on Rex Grossman hasn't changed since a year ago. I guess that's... good? Or bad? I don't know. Still pretty sure they need to upgrade.

Nathan Fenno writes that Sean Taylor's friends and family still await justice.

The Dallas Cowboys' offense was supposed to be firing on all cylinders last week in New England with top wide receivers Miles Austin and Dez Bryant healthy and on the field together for the first time since Week 1. And yet, while they were able to move the ball for most of the game, they couldn't score the touchdown or pick up the first down they needed to put the game away in the fourth quarter. Some of that had to do with the ankle injury to running back Felix Jones, some with unimaginative play calling by coach Jason Garrett and some with the fact that Bryant didn't have a single catch down the stretch.

What's the issue with Bryant, who looks like an elite wideout at times and disappears at others? There are, unsurprisingly, a number of theories. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggests Bryant needs to concentrate harder on learning and running his routes, for instance. And Bryant is a second-year pro who's missed chunks of his first two seasons due to injury, so it's possible time will take care of that.

But as Tim MacMahon writes on ESPNDallas.com, Bryant wears No. 88 for the Cowboys. And because of a couple of guys who wore that number in the past -- Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin -- there's significance and no small bit of pressure that comes with that uniform number. Tim worries that Bryant may be at risk of emulating another, far more disappointing No. 88:

This is such a rare talent that Jones deemed it worth the risk to trade up to end the first-round freefall. The Cowboys decided they could live with the downside to get top-10 quality with the 24th overall pick despite being burned by a similar gamble on Antonio Bryant, a Biletnikoff Award winner whose character issues caused him to slide to the bottom of the 2002 second round.

While Dez Bryant has a clean criminal record, he is guilty of chronic immaturity and irresponsibility. That has manifested itself in many ways during his brief pro career.

There haven't been any unforgivable incidents -- like, oh, throwing a sweaty jersey in the head coach's face on the practice field -- but Bryant's behavioral paper cuts have caused plenty of blood to be lost.

He racked up six figures worth of fines for being late to meetings and rehab sessions as a rookie, an issue he has improved but not eliminated this season. There was the well-publicized, silly run-in over sagging pants with off-duty police working as security at an upscale mall. He still hasn't settled one of his two six-figure debts for jewelry and tickets acquired before the draft. And on and on and on.

That immaturity is also evident in Bryant's game.

A worthwhile point, but again, too early to say. Bryant can be anything he wants to be if he hones his talent and works on his game. But that "other" Bryant who wore 88 so recently for the Cowboys stands as a worthwhile reminder of what can happen when you don't. And until we see Dez Bryant perform with the kind of consistent, healthy brilliance that represents his talent level, we're always going to wonder if his other issues will end up being the story of his career.

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.

All right, yeah, I debated whether to post on this, and I know the wackos will come out of the woodwork to call me names, etc. But the fact that Michael Irvin gave this interview for "Out" magazine, talking about his own gay brother and how he'd make sure to support the first openly gay pro athlete whenever that person decides to come out, is really remarkable. Especially considering that the culture in which jocks and ex-jocks live still allows the careless use of gay slurs as epithets.

Whether you agree with Irvin's views on homosexuality -- heck, even his views on religion -- you have to admit that this is a courageous and well-intentioned stand he's taking. He is not required to take a position one way or the other on homosexuality in sports. Doesn't have to address it at all. But he chooses to, because he's decided he's in a position to help people -- to stand up for a group of people for whom men in his position don't usually stand up. Irvin has certainly not been an exemplary character all throughout his life and career, and something like this doesn't wipe away all of his transgressions. But you can't erase the past. All you can do is the best you can to make your world a better place while you're in it, and Irvin has chosen an impressive way of trying to do that.

Some highlight quotes:

"I think growth comes when we share. Until we do that, we're going to be stuck in the Dark Ages about a lot of things. When a guy steps up and says, 'This is who I am,' I guarantee you I'll give him 100 percent support."

"The last thing I want is to go to God and have him ask, 'What did you do?' And I talk about winning Super Bowls and national titles. 'I didn't do anything to make it a better world before I left? That would be scary."

"I'm not gay, but I was afraid to even let anyone have the thought. I can only imagine the agony-- being a prisoner in your own mind -- for someone who wants to come out. If I'm not gay and I am afraid to mention it, I can only imagine what an athlete must be going through if he is gay."

That's called having perspective, folks. That's called being a man. Good job, Michael Irvin. Well done.

I link, therefore I am.

Dallas Cowboys

"Leaving himself out of it," DeMarcus Ware says Darrelle Revis is the best defensive player in the NFL. Guy knows talent, and yes of course he himself belongs in the discussion. I'm still taking a healthy Troy Polamalu, but I have no issues with Revis as the top choice.

DallasCowboys.com has a slideshow list of the top 10 biggest Cowboys "personalities" of all time. Some interesting and colorful memories in here. Martellus Bennett makes the list, and ... well, I'm not going to give away the winner. I will tell you the top two guys are receivers and leave you to make your guesses. Worth scrolling through.

New York Giants

Sports Business Journal reports that MetLife may be closing in on a deal for the naming rights to the New Meadowlands Stadium for about $17 million per year. May not be as much as the Giants and Jets were hoping to get when they first had the idea to build the thing, but it's probably enough to make Jerry Jones jealous.

And Eli Manning went on the radio recently and said, among other things, that Plaxico Burress would be welcomed back to the Giants more readily than would Tiki Barber because Barber "left on a bad note." Yeah, leave it to Eli to understate things. At this point, it's hard to imagine either of those guys back with the Giants.

Philadelphia Eagles

Free-agent defensive end Jason Babin told Pro Football Focus that there's no lingering animosity that would preclude a reunion between him and the Eagles. "I think any and all feelings if they were bad could be waived by a healthy contract," he says. What's that you guys say? We haven't done free-agent defensive ends yet? Well, I'll go ahead and get right on that!

The Eagles' website looks at the team's wide receiver position and the way it's developed since the Terrell Owens days, in light of the news that Owens had knee surgery and his career could be done.

Washington Redskins

Former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs will be speaking at the NFLPA's rookie program, helping young players learn to handle their finances. He also expressed a great deal of confidence in current Redskins coach Mike Shanahan. Gibbs is one of those guys who the NFL should be glad to see involved at any level. He brings a sense of class and dignity to what he does, and he's had enough success in the league that anybody in it will pay attention to what he says.

Here you can get a look at the way the appearance of FedEx Field has changed with the removal of upper-deck seats for the new "party deck." And apparently all the old seats that were being sold for charity are gone now, so you can't get those anymore. Which is great. Just as long as nobody's reducing capacity to artificially inflate demand or anything. We wouldn't want that, now, would we?

Anyway, chatting today at noon ET. Do stop by, please.

DALLAS -- Deion Sanders is one of the greatest cornerbacks to ever play professional football, and he stamped his ticket to Canton on Saturday evening when he was welcomed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot. He arrived at the media center wearing a "Prime" jogging suit.

Sanders retold the story about how he decided at age 7 that he would find a way to be a rich man. He wanted his mother, Connie Hicks, to be able to leave her job as a janitor.

"I will retire my mama," said Sanders on Saturday, thinking back to his youth. "And she hasn't worked since '89."

He said the children's book, "The Little Engine That Could" had a profound impact on his life.

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can," said Sanders in a dramatic tone.

He talked about his passion for helping kids and said their "call" must be larger than themselves.

Sanders seemed genuinely moved to be flanked on the stage by Marshall Faulk, Shannon Sharpe, Michael Irvin and Rod Woodson. This is a man who knew he was destined for the Hall from the time he first stepped on the field with the Falcons. In addition to being a shutdown cornerback, he was a dangerous punt returner and could also line up at wide receiver. Everyone knew Sanders would make it on his first ballot.

He was a once-in-a-lifetime player who cashed in his constant self-promotion. He's someone who's always craved the spotlight, and he was in it once again Saturday evening.

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Patrick Crayton was never shy about speaking his mind. And last week, the Chargers receiver popped on "The Ben & Skin Show" on to 103.3 ESPN Radio to talk about a variety of topics, including the work of rookie Dez Bryant.

"They let him get away with a lot of stuff. A lot of stuff," Crayton said of Bryant. "Hopefully whoever they bring in as receivers coach, and they say [Jason] Garrett is a disciplinarian, won't let him get away with so much stuff. He'll get locked down and hopefully be the next Michael Irvin."

Crayton's not a fan of Garrett's, as you might have gathered from that little jab. But it's interesting what he said about Bryant, who was reportedly late to several meetings during the season and didn't exactly commit the playbook to memory. Former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus, who now works for 103.3, recently wondered aloud (on the air) whether Dallas might listen to trade offers for Bryant. ESPNDallas.com's Calvin Watkins posed that question to someone in the Cowboys' front office.

"I would think about it," said the source.

I think Bryant has way too much upside for the Cowboys to think about trading him, but it's interesting that someone at Valley Ranch is at least open to the possibility. Even if a team offered a top-15 draft pick for Bryant, are we convinced the Cowboys would turn two first-round picks into gold?

One look at this defense shows you how the Cowboys haven't exactly owned the first round of the draft. Cornerback Mike Jenkins is coming off an awful season, defensive end Marcus Spears is probably headed out the door via free agency and outside linebacker Anthony Spencer disappeared in 2010. On the other side of the ball, Felix Jones has not emerged as one of the top backs from his first-round class.

We've always known Bryant was a top-10 talent who slid in the draft because of character concerns, so let's not act like it's a huge surprise that he's not the first guy to arrive at every meeting. Garrett sent wide receivers coach Ray Sherman packing, in part, because he gained a reputation for coddling some of his more outspoken players. Now that Garrett's in charge, it's incumbent on him to make sure that Bryant continues to mature as a player and person.

It's not like this offense has enough firepower to consider trading a playmaker of Bryant's caliber.

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A look at a player who gave his team a significant boost in Week 3.

Since his arrival during the '08 season, no Dallas Cowboys player has taken as much heat as wide receiver Roy Williams. And the criticism has been deserved, I might add.

But on a Sunday when the Cowboys needed a win to keep their 2010 season alive, Williams turned in one of the best performances of his career. It was only his second 100-yard game with the Cowboys, and this time it led to a win. We'll never know exactly why quarterback Tony Romo and Williams have had such a difficult time finding chemistry, but they teamed to overwhelm a young Texans secondary in the Cowboys' 27-13 win.

Williams had five catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns. He caught passes in traffic and used his powerful frame to beat jams at the line of scrimmage. Williams was plagued by drops last season, but he's caught everything thrown his way this season. To his credit, he's handled all the criticism with a lot of class.

There's a decent chance Dez Bryant will overtake Williams as No. 2 receiver at some point this season, but it's not going to happen after Sunday's game. Williams' willingness to work the middle of the field and take big hits over the past couple of weeks has given this offense much-needed energy. And if a team's going to sell out to stop Miles Austin, Williams will continue to get opportunities.

We've been quick to criticize Williams for his play since the '08 season, so it's only appropriate that he receive recognition this week. He told a Houston radio station Monday that he's been inspired by Hall of Famer Michael Irvin saying the Cowboys were playing "10 vs. 11" because of Williams' presence on the field. And if that's the type of motivation he needs, I'm sure Jerry Jones will encourage Irvin to keep up the good work.

In case you missed it, Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Michael Irvin spent part of last week throwing verbal jabs at wide receiver Roy Williams on the NFL Network. He suggested the Cowboys were having to play "10 vs. 11" because of Williams' presence in the starting lineup. And when Williams said he planned to use those comments as motivation, Irvin shot back, "My criticisms shouldn't inspire him. Looking at his hands with no rings should inspire him."

ESPNDallas.com's intrepid beat man Calvin Watkins tracked down Irvin and asked if he liked how Williams played against the Redskins.

"I did. I really did," Irvin said. "To me I didn’t want to get into all that with Roy. I have a job to do, it's what I do. What I said wasn’t anything against Roy, but I was just talking to another option."

So I'm glad we got that cleared up. Irvin was not speaking out against Williams when he said the Cowboys were playing "10 vs. 11" because of Williams' presence on the field. This may be one of the first times I've heard someone claim he took himself out of context.

Now let's return to your regularly scheduled Alex Barron bashing.

Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Michael Irvin began the week saying on the NFL Network that his former team was having to play "10 vs. 11" because of the poor performance of starting wide receiver Roy Williams. On Friday, Williams told reporters that he would use those words as motivation this season as he promised not to drop as many footballs.

Not to be outdone, Irvin continued the dialogue Sunday morning on the NFL Network.

"My criticisms shouldn't inspire him," said Irvin. "Looking at his hands with no rings should inspire him."

Not that he's asking for my opinion, but I'd advise Williams to walk away from this sparring match.

I always enjoy the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but this one seemed especially good. I didn't envy Emmitt Smith following Floyd Little's sermon, but the Cowboys' great nailed it.

I think the classiest thing you can do is recognize your high school coaches and Smith didn't take long to name his head coach and offensive coordinator.

Now this is just me, but I would've preferred Jerry Jones introducing Smith with a live speech. The video was well done, but Jones is far more entertaining in person.

The Triplets are all in the Hall now, and I thought it was a great touch to have Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin stand during that portion of the speech. Irvin's the one who taught Smith how to work in the weight room and that was cool to see him acknowledge that.

The Darryl Johnston moment was superb. Smith said Johnston protected him as if he were his "little brother." Smith was really torn between Jones and Johnston to serve as presenter.

"Without you, I know today would not have been possible," said Smith of Johnston.

It was also a great decision to name all those offensive linemen. I'm sure Baylor's Kelvin Garmon didn't expect a mention, but he'll take it anyway.

Smith's father, Emmitt James, Jr., was a huge influence and it was neat to hear the Cowboys running back mention his father's athletic career. Sharing the story about the two of them before a Super Bowl was a powerful moment.

This is one of those rare times when Redskins and Cowboys fans can rejoice together. Russ Grimm and Emmitt Smith are two of the greatest players from their respective decades. And they played for two of the greatest fan bases in sports.

I realize that Albert Haynesworth's the story of camp today, but we're going to focus on a truly special day in Canton, Ohio. Here are a few of the stories the Beast enjoyed reading today:

• Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com has a blog entry discussing the speeches that Jerry Jones and Emmitt Smith will make Saturday. Calvin thinks Smith's all-time rushing record will have staying power.
  

• Ron St. Angelo has been taking some nice photographs for ESPNDallas.com.

• Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News has a report from Friday's luncheon.

• Emmitt Smith is not the greatest back of all time, according to a panel that Rick Gosselin put together.

• Emmitt Smith tells Dallas Morning News Cowboys beat man David Moore that he wants to surpass Magic Johnson in the business world.

• Gosselin explains that there's not a bias against the Cowboys when it comes to the Hall of Fame.

• Charean Williams says Emmitt slipped to the Cowboys because he couldn't run.

• Clarence E. Hill takes us all the way back to Ponce De Leon in talking about Smith's upbringing.

• The Washington Post has come up with some great photos of Russ Grimm for its video series.

• Dan Steinberg wrote this story about Grimm's practical jokes in February.

• Michael Irvin had some entertaining things to say about Grimm and the Hogs.

• Did you hear the one about Bubba Tyer setting Grimm's clothes on fire?

• Matt Terl of the Redskins Blog does a really nice job interviewing Joe Bugel and Russ Grimm.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The fact that Santana Moss is one of the most dangerous downfield receivers in the league didn't really matter in 2009. By the time Moss reached top speed, quarterback Jason Campbell was usually in the clutches of a defensive end. And the fact that Jim Zorn had his play-calling duties stripped a few weeks into the season only served to make things more confusing.

That's why I was a little surprised Friday when Moss informed me that '09 might have been his best season as a pro. He averaged a career-low 12.9 yards per reception and only had three touchdowns. So I gave him a confusing look.

"I know it sounds crazy, but even when the going got tough, I was able to stand strong," said Moss. "I told Michael Irvin the same thing recently. I was nicked up really bad, but I just refused to fold my tail and give in to all the misery. I think it was important for the younger guys like Malcolm [Kelly] and Devin [Thomas] to see that it wasn't getting to me."

Moss said he kept telling his young teammates that something good was going to come out of the chaotic season. And when he heard the news about Mike Shanahan being hired, he simply looked at Kelly.

"I just kept telling them that something great was going to happen here," said Moss. "Things had gotten really dull around here and then 'boom!' the storm hit. Now, there's a completely different feeling about this team."

New offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan asked Moss to watch film of Andre Johnson with the Texans. Shanahan had coached Johnson in Houston and watched him become one of the elite receivers in the league.

"He told me that some guys could only do one thing, but he said I could be like Andre and play inside or outside," said Moss on Friday. "I was fighting all these double and triple teams last year, but Kyle's not going to let that happen."

Moss has never been one to complain about not having a better complementary receiver. In fact, he spent 10 minutes bragging on veterans Joey Galloway, Roydell Williams and Bobby Wade.

"I think it's my job to get open," he said. "I've never looked at it like I need someone to help me get open."

Moss joined Donovan McNabb in Phoenix, Ariz., last month for "Hell Week" workouts. He says the chance to bond that week has given the receiving corps a head start coming into camp. I'll have much, much more from Moss in my upcoming Redskins Camp Confidential.

It's been 20 years since a Dallas Cowboys scout had the audacity to suggest that a University of Florida running back named Emmitt Smith would be better than Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett. That's what Walt Yaworsky said about the 5-foot-9, 210-pound Smith, and he turned out to be right.

Smith and Jerry Rice belong in the same Hall of Fame class. They're the best at their positions and they squared off as members of two remarkable organizations in the early '90s. I was junior at a Dallas area high school when the Cowboys weren't able to trade up for Baylor linebacker James Francis and had to settle on Smith. After a lot of internal debate, here are my five favorite moments from his storied career:

5. In November 1991, the Cowboys were a respectable 6-5, but it's not like anyone expected them to start going to Super Bowls. In a game against the Redskins, Smith carried the ball 34 times for 132 yards and surpassed 1,000 yards in a season for the first time in his career. He had better days during his career, but something about the way he kept launching his body into the fray in a 24-21 win stuck with me. Smith's one of the only backs I've seen who could carry it that many times and never let a defender get a clean shot at him.

4. In '94, Smith capped the season by collecting his Super Bowl MVP trophy. The Cowboys buried the Bills in that game and Smith had 158 all-purpose yards. No one loved the stage like Emmitt, and I think Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were thrilled to see Smith receive the MVP. It's virtually impossible to choose the most important Triplet, but on this day, I think Smith would get my vote.

3. It was Oct. 27, 2002, and Smith passed Walter Payton on the all-time rushing list with 109 yards against the Seahawks. I don't believe anyone will ever surpass Smith's mark of 18,355 rushing yards. It was an emotional day, and in some ways, it would be his last great moment with the Cowboys.

2. When Smith was holding out at the start of '93, the Cowboys started 0-2. They were just a completely different team without Smith. He returned to the lineup and raced for 237 yards against the Eagles in October. It was a day when Aikman was hampered by the rain in Philadelphia and Smith simply took over the game.

1. The game that defines Smith's toughness in my mind is when the Cowboys outlasted the Giants 16-13 in overtime in '93. Smith played most of the game with a separated shoulder. The injury would have knocked most backs out of the game, but Smith stayed on the field and even had 10 receptions. One of the best individual efforts I've seen in any sport.