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Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Cowboys in 2012.

Dream scenario (12-4): The issue in Dallas is the extent to which the defense improves. If the improvement remains incremental, they'll lose some games they should win and have to scrap to stay in the division race. But if the defense takes a dramatic step forward in its second year under defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and with Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne having been brought in to upgrade the secondary, the Cowboys become a Super Bowl contender quite quickly. In the Cowboys' dream scenario, Tony Romo has another big year at quarterback, Miles Austin and DeMarco Murray stay healthy and Dez Bryant takes a big developmental step forward of his own, using his considerable physical ability to dominate matchups in other teams' secondaries and the end zone. The new guys on the offensive line tighten things up in the interior, the move back to right tackle makes Doug Free more comfortable and Tyron Smith transitions seamlessly to left tackle. And in the dream scenario, the improvements in the secondary help the defensive front seven get more pressure on the quarterback, with outside linebacker Anthony Spencer playing the way he did in December of 2009 and DeMarcus Ware playing like... well, like he always does.

Nightmare scenario (6-10): The Cowboys' nightmare scenario, as is the case with anyone's, includes injuries. In this scenario, Austin and Bryant struggle to stay healthy, and the team actually does find itself missing the surprisingly effective replacement Laurent Robinson provided in 2011. Murray also gets banged up, forcing them to rely once again on Felix Jones and little else at running back. Claiborne struggles, as young corners often do, to adjust to the speed and intensity of the NFL game, and Spencer muddles along once again, content to be a pretty good but not great player opposite Ware. In the nightmare scenario, Romo has a bad year, riddled with turnovers and the kind of inconsistency that gives his critics actual evidence for their criticism, and raises legitimate questions about how much longer the Cowboys will remain committed to him. The nightmare scenario includes a slow start against a very tough-looking early portion of the schedule, and sees the Cowboys succumb to the tension and negativity that's always so quick to cling to them in times of trouble. And no, because you're asking, I don't think that even the nightmare scenario puts Jason Garrett on the hot seat. Jerry Jones loves that guy.

» NFC pressure points: West | North | South | East
» AFC pressure points: West | North | South | East

Examining who faces the most challenging season for the Dallas Cowboys and why.

The Cowboys' problems are defensive problems, and for this reason the man under the most pressure in Dallas in 2012 is second-year defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Brought in to fix a defense that ranked among the league's worst in 2010, Ryan enjoyed some good early returns but saw his defense collapse and effectively give away a division title that was within the Cowboys' grasp with five games left in the season.

There was improvement, of course, as there almost had to be. The Cowboys allowed the second-most points in the league in 2010 and only the 17th-most in 2011. And in terms of yards allowed, they improved from 23rd in the league to 14th. But grading a defense against the one the Cowboys employed in 2010 is like grading a song against Rebecca Black's "Friday." Just because it's better doesn't mean it's acceptable. Ryan was brought in to be a savior -- to overhaul the defense and elevate it to a championship level. Not only did he not do that in 2011, but the defense was the clear reason the Cowboys failed to reach the playoffs. The Cowboys couldn't stop anyone in December other than the sorry Buccaneers, and that's why they lost four of their last five.

Now, if the Eagles are allowed to use the lockout and the reduced preparation time as an excuse for why things didn't work as well as they'd planned, the Cowboys can too. It's fair to assume that Ryan's defense will be better in his second year in Dallas, given a full offseason in addition to the year he's already spent installing and running it. And the additions at cornerback -- free-agent cornerback Brandon Carr and first-round draft pick Morris Claiborne -- address what was the defense's biggest problem. But Ryan's got to show something really impressive this year, because if the Cowboys' defense is costing them games again in December, his record and his pedigree aren't going to be enough to spare him the blame.

The Dallas Cowboys drafted Morris Claiborne with the knowledge that he was recovering from wrist surgery and the understanding that he wouldn't be on the practice field before July. But to hear Claiborne tell it, June may well be a possibility. Per Todd Archer:

"I hope to be fully recovered and ready for that," Claiborne said of the Cowboys' June 12-14 mandatory minicamp.

Claiborne had the pins removed from his wrist last week and he remains in a soft cast and unable to do even conditioning work. He said his plan is to be put in a splint next week and able to take part in the beginning of the organized team activities in a limited fashion.

"I'm so eager and ready," Claiborne said. "It's hard just sitting there, watching, knowing you can do it but you've just got one small thing wrong with you holding you back. But I'm looking forward to it and trying to push that up."

Hey, it's a good sign that the young man is eager to get at it. As Todd points out, the final call will be that of the Cowboys' training staff, and they won't let him on the field if there's a chance he could injure himself more seriously and miss more significant time. If he's cleared to play in June, that's a valuable extra couple of weeks running around in Rob Ryan's defense and a greater head start on a season in which the spotlight will be on the rookie. As I said last week, there are few rookies if any in the league who will play under more pressure to perform instantly in 2012, and the more Claiborne can do to be ready to offer a solution to the Cowboys' pass defense problems right away, the better he'll set himself up.

Good morning, and welcome to another fun offseason week on the NFC East blog. As I promised, I did not stay up to catch Eli Manning on "Saturday Night Live." It's on the DVR, and I will get to it. I understand he held his own. It's all any of us can hope to do during these slower parts of the NFL offseason, after all. Links.

Dallas Cowboys

Rob Ryan says just because Anthony Spencer doesn't get a lot of sacks doesn't mean he's not a great football player. Ryan says he thinks Spencer is a great player, and went out of his way to defend him against accusations to the contrary. We get it. We've heard it all before. And it may all be true. But this is 2012. If you're playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense and the guy on the other side of the field is double-teamed on every play and you only come up with six sacks in a season, people have every right to criticize.

The Cowboys are trying to put Dez Bryant through a very structured offseason in the hopes that he doesn't wander off into shopping malls and get into trouble on his own. They believe it's working so far.

New York Giants

Osi Umenyiora has opened a Twitter account, and given the current state of his relationship with the Giants, his dissatisfaction over his contract and the strong possibility of him skipping offseason workouts and/or holding out of part of training camp in protest, it looks like a must-follow.

Ohm's got a review of Eli's performance on "Saturday Night Live," in case you've been missing "Rapid Reaction" since early February and need a fix.

Philadelphia Eagles

Geoff Mosher caught up with Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, who believes this year will offer him an opportunity to cash in on the promise that led the Eagles to use a first-round pick on him in 2010. Graham says he's healthy, and if he is, he could be a valuable part of the defensive line rotation -- a high-energy addition to a unit that tied for the league lead in sacks in 2011.

And Bleeding Green Nation has a nice interview with Evan Mathis, who was a Twitter phenomenon long before Osi got on there. Mathis talks about his rise from little-noticed free-agent signing to indispensable starting left guard, and apologizes to Eagles fans for calling them "idiots" last year for wanting Andy Reid fired. (To clarify: He's not saying they were right, just apologizing for his word choice.)

Washington Redskins

First-round draft pick Robert Griffin III showed enough in rookie minicamp to win the starting quarterback job for the 2012 season, according to Mike Shanahan. Consider this your latest reminder that the Redskins' 2011 quarterback situation was in need of an upgrade. Truthfully, Griffin won the Redskins' starting quarterback job the instant the Indianapolis Colts selected Andrew Luck with the first pick in the draft.

Rich Campbell writes that the next step for Shanahan is to design an offense tailored to the unique skill set Griffin brings -- something Shanahan says he's already begun the process of doing, now that he's had him on a practice field for a few days.

Have the Dallas Cowboys really fixed their defense?

I'll give them cornerback. With the free-agent signing of Brandon Carr and the surprising trade up in the first round of the draft to pick Morris Claiborne, the Cowboys have worked hard to make sure that this year's starting cornerbacks will be much more difficult for Giants fullbacks to jump over. Assuming Claiborne is the instant-impact guy he was drafted to be, he, Carr, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick make one of Dallas' weakest 2011 units a 2012 strength.

But questions remain at other places on a defense whose total system failure was the sole reason the Cowboys lost four of their last five games and the division title. Is Brodney Pool an upgrade over Abram Elam at safety? Can they get reliable production from that other inside linebacker spot from the combination of Dan Connor and Bruce Carter? Will Anthony Spencer be a more effective pass-rusher? Do they have a plan for limiting the wear and tear on nose tackle Jay Ratliff, to help him maintain a high level of performance throughout the second half of the season?

The Cowboys' active and productive offseason has done nothing to directly address the pass rush. There is a theory that the improvements at cornerback will help the pass rush, since better coverage of receivers could give the men up front more time to get to the passer. And that may well be true. But any and all improvements the Cowboys have made on defense remain theoretical until we see that defense on the field. Last year, the party line in Dallas was that the defensive personnel were good and had underachieved and would improve in the first year under new coordinator Rob Ryan. That turned out not to be the case, and now some of the personnel have been changed. But it remains up to Ryan to put it together as a cohesive unit more capable of stopping opponents than the 2011 version was. Right now, we're taking the Cowboys' word that the new faces are dramatic enough upgrades to pull that off. But aside from the money spent on Carr and the high draft position of Claiborne, there's little outside evidence to support it. More could have been done to improve at safety, outside linebacker and defensive line, and it was not. Although Ryan may be able to make it all work, it's hard to feel too certain about it on May 3.

Things didn't work out exactly the way I planned for the Dallas Cowboys in the ESPN blogger mock draft Monday. Yes, the Eagles traded up to No. 7 to take Fletcher Cox, a player the Cowboys like a lot. But for the Cowboys I decided not to get into such excitement. First of all, they don't have the cushion the Eagles have with two second-round picks. And second of all, they need to add depth all along the roster, so I decided that if they traded they'd come away with more picks rather than fewer.

As the draft wound on into the middle of the first round, I was thinking my top Cowboys target, Alabama safety Mark Barron, would be there at No. 14. So when James Walker of the AFC East blog called on behalf of the Patriots and offered a first-round pick (No. 27 overall) and a second-round pick (No. 48), I said no. James pointed out that each side of the deal added up to exactly 1,100 points on the NFL draft trade value chart, and for a second I thought we should make the deal just based on that coincidence alone. But I held off, thinking Barron would fall to 14.

Little did I know, James was also talking to Mike Sando about the Seahawks' No. 12 overall pick. James offered Mike both of the Patriots' first-round picks (No. 27 and No. 31) for the No. 12 pick and a fourth-rounder (N0. 106). Guess I should have asked James for more, because that's a steal for Sando, who happily gave up the No. 12 and began making plans for what to do with his two first-rounders. James moved up to 12 and took Barron for the Patriots, and I started fielding offers for the No. 14 pick.

No one was interested, though, so when 14 rolled around, I took the player I believed would be the highest on the Cowboys' board at that point -- LSU defensive lineman Michael Brockers. What I like about Brockers for the Cowboys is that he's a more polished, NFL-ready prospect than is Dontari Poe (who would fall all the way to the Steelers at No. 24!) and that he's versatile enough to play any spot on the Cowboys' defensive line. He can play inside as a defensive tackle alongside Jay Ratliff when they line up in 4-3 sets. He can play end in a 3-4 (and allow them to move on from Kenyon Coleman or Marcus Spears if they so choose). He can spell Ratliff at the nose when and if they decide to move Ratliff outside. I just felt as though he'd appeal to Rob Ryan as a guy who could do a lot for him -- and do it right away -- in a defense that relies on constantly changing looks and fronts.

I thought about Poe, and Quenton Coples, and Stephon Gilmore, and Dre Kirkpatrick, and Courtney Upshaw. But in the end, I believe that, of the post-Barron choices, Brockers was the one that fit the Cowboys the best.

(NOTE: Stanford guard David DeCastro was also gone, at 11 to the Chiefs, but as you know I believe the Cowboys should be focused on defense in this round. And probably all of them.)

So what do you think, Cowboys fans? Did I get it right? Did I pick the wrong guy? Was I wrong to turn down the Patriots' offer? I eagerly await your feedback.

Sitting here, looking out my window on a Wednesday morning, wondering how it is that April is colder than March was, and chewing on some links.

Dallas Cowboys

If the Cowboys don't take safety Mark Barron in the first round but still want to use the draft to add depth at that position, Oklahoma State's Markelle Martin is a possible option in the second round or the third. Here's Bryan Broaddus' analysis of Martin's prospects at ESPNDallas.com

As for that first round, Nick Eatman thinks drafting a nose tackle such as Memphis' Dontari Poe would offer the advantage of effectively upgrading two positions at once. We talked about this earlier in the week with regard to Mississippi State's Fletcher Cox -- a guy who could start at defensive end but also spell or eventually replace Jay Ratliff at nose tackle. Someone with the versatility to help at multiple positions on the line and allow Rob Ryan to mix and match fronts. Makes some sense.

New York Giants

Jonathan Goff, who's attempting to come back from the ACL tear that cost him the 2011 season, could be the next member of the Giants to leave for another team via free agency. He was in Miami on Tuesday to visit with the Dolphins, and also has visited the Browns. If Goff leaves, the Giants' middle linebacker spot could go to one of last year's rookies. It's also been suggested that they might move Michael Boley inside to that spot.

Brandon Jacobs' contract with the 49ers isn't for much more money than the Giants were offering him, but as Mike Garafolo points out, the timing wasn't right for a deal between Jacobs and the Giants.

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha spends part of his offseason taking high school students on college tours in different parts of the country.

Jonathan Tamari has five questions facing the Eagles in advance of the draft, which is 15 days from now. Included is a question about how much pressure Andy Reid is really under and whether that will affect decisions made during this year's draft.

Washington Redskins

Robert Griffin III was in Washington to meet with the Redskins on Tuesday, and Andrew Luck is there today for the same reason. I was thinking about a blog post on this Tuesday, but not sure how much there really is to say. I imagine that every team, if they could, would have pre-draft visits with every single player they know they might possibly draft in the first round. By hosting Griffin and Luck, that's what the Redskins are doing.

Shortly after the news broke that they'd agreed to terms with free-agent safety Madieu Williams, the Redskins announce that they'd also signed cornerback Leigh Torrence, a former Redskin who adds depth at the position and makes me think they're about done making additions to the secondary. In fact, once they get London Fletcher locked up, it looks as though the remainder of their offseason and their draft can be spent focused on offense -- the line in particular.

In the absence of news, I believe we can just talk about the draft as much and as often as we want for the next 17 days. I assume you all agree. I assume this without asking, because I feel as though I have my finger on the pulse of the readership of this blog.

To that end, we have this from the Dallas Cowboys' official site on something Jerry Jones said about Victor Butler and the pass rush at the NFL owners meetings a couple of weeks ago. Jerry says the team is high on Butler as someone who can help the pass rush in 2012:

"There's some concern with setting the edge with him, but as far as the pass rush we know we can get plays out of Butler. He had the highest ratio of successful plays for the time he played on our defense when he was in there."

That last part of the quote is hard to read and harder to understand, but my initial thought on Butler is that he's a guy that had a great preseason in 2011, and if he was going to help the pass rush, Rob Ryan should have been able to find ways for him to do so last season. It's not as though Anthony Spencer was racking up the sacks and there was no way to take him off the field. If they really believed Butler was a key to unlocking a better pass rush, I believe we would have seen him do that. So I'm not sure how much stock we should put into this offseason talk about Butler from the team's owner.

I still think the Cowboys will look, if they can, to upgrade the pass rush via the draft. Calvin Watkins wrote Monday morning that the Cowboys see guys like Quintin Coples, Melvin Ingram and Courtney Upshaw as too similar to Spencer to make them worthy of a first-round pick. That's an interesting bit of insight and a useful look into the Cowboys' thinking as the draft approaches, and it makes me think that their main reason for drafting one of those guys (if they did) would be the fact that Spencer is only signed for one more year.

If I had the blogger mock draft to do over again, I think I'd give Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox to the Cowboys. He'd help the pass rush right away, whether from the nose tackle or a 3-4 defensive end position. He'd allow them some flexibility in the short term and the long term, especially as it pertains to the idea of moving Jay Ratliff to end. They haven't wanted to do that so far, but adding a strong interior pass-rushing presence like Cox would allow them to move all of their linemen around and find ways to maximize everyone's production and alleviate wear and tear on Ratliff and others. That may be the best draft solution to the pass rush -- a guy who can help right away at a position where they need depth and who can also develop in the system and help down the road, even if they continue with Spencer at the outside linebacker spot.

Back home in New Jersey after four lovely days in Palm Beach at the NFL owners meetings. Man, they had some good links there at the Breakers. But for today, these will have to do.

Dallas Cowboys

Even with free-agent Dan Connor in the fold, the Cowboys might not be done adding to their inside linebacker corps. But Jason Garrett did not make it sound as though free agents Bradie James or Keith Brooking are likely to re-sign.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will have a lap-band procedure to help him lose weight. Ryan's twin brother, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, had the same procedure done in 2010.

New York Giants

Ohm ponders what the Giants will do to replace Brandon Jacobs now that the longtime Giants running back has signed with the 49ers. I agree with Ohm that someone on the level of Carolina's Jonathan Stewart is not a realistic option and that they'll probably sign a cheap veteran running back to throw into the mix with Ahmad Bradshaw and the young guys they have.

Tom Coughlin says he doesn't care if Tim Tebow and the Jets are dominating the New York tabloid headlines, because he and the Giants won the Super Bowl, and he figures the folks reading those papers still remember that.

Philadelphia Eagles

Andy Reid was asked whether old pal Donovan McNabb would be an option for the Eagles at backup quarterback. He did not make it sound as though he would. Some people have asked me about McNabb, but I have no reason to believe he'll play again. For the Eagles or anyone else.

There's a report out there that the Tennessee Titans, who lost Cortland Finnegan to the Rams in free agency, might be one of the teams interested in trading for Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel. And there's a report out there that they're not. So we'll see. Won't be the last team connected to Samuel in this kind of report.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan isn't worried that the league might still penalize the Redskins over bounty programs that may or may not have been in place when Gregg Williams was their defensive coordinator. He's counting on Philip Daniels' recollection to carry the day.

Shanahan also said that left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Fred Davis would have to prove themselves to their teammates, in light of the drug suspensions that ended those players' seasons early.

Unless you were in Buffalo, NFL free agency seemed to hit a bit of a lull Thursday. Maybe everybody was watching basketball. Hard to blame them, but come on. I watched a ton of basketball and still managed to spend the day working my tail off for you, my loyal blog followers. I care about you. And it is in that spirit that I feel compelled to ask this question:

How was your day...

Dallas Cowboys?

"Can't talk. Too busy." Yeah, Dallas was another place where free agency was in full swing Thursday. Nothing like the Mario Williams extravaganza up by Niagara Falls, but the Cowboys are grinding it, filling need after need with players they've targeted for their own reasons. Unlike some past years, when the Cowboys could seem captivated by the market's biggest names, they are employing a focused, systematic approach and generally landing the guys they want. Thursday saw them come to terms with inside linebacker Dan Connor, who will help their run defense and allow Bruce Carter more time to develop if he needs it, and safety Brodney Pool, who played for Rob Ryan in Cleveland and likely replaces free agent Abram Elam. That's six unrestricted free-agent signings in two days for Dallas, and the Cowboys were working on a deal with guard Nate Livings, though he was said to be drawing interest from other teams as well. What they do the rest of the way in free agency -- whether they succeed in getting another lineman, another defensive back or more linebacking help -- could determine what they do in the first round of next month's draft. But the Cowboys are having a very productive offseason and addressing many of their myriad needs.

Philadelphia Eagles?

"Kinda slow." Still can't shake the feeling that the Eagles, who I think are still about $19 million under the salary cap, are saving up for something at least somewhat major. Maybe it's a new deal for LeSean McCoy. Maybe it's one or more of the good linebackers still available on the slow-moving linebacker market. Maybe it's for something no one's thought of yet. But the day after signing DeSean Jackson to a long-term contract and clearing much of that cap room, the Eagles sat patiently and made no noise. They'd like to bring back guard Evan Mathis, who played very well for them in 2011, but they seem okay with him testing the market, and he met with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. Defensive end Juqua Parker left, which was no real surprise, to sign with the Cleveland Browns. But the Eagles' biggest needs are linebacker and a backup running back, and the market doesn't seem to be requiring anyone to hurry to fill either of those positions.

Washington Redskins?

"So-so." They signed safety Brandon Meriweather (and I learned how to spell his name!), a former first-round pick who was cut twice last year and becomes a low-risk, high-reward project for new defensive backs coach Raheem Morris. But they saw Ben Grubbs, in whom they'd be interested for guard, sign with the Saints. And they saw wide receiver Eddie Royal, whom they thought they had signed Tuesday, sign instead with the Chargers. So they're not getting everyone they want. The Redskins do seem to be focused now on offensive line and defensive back (they were scheduled to have Aaron Ross in for a visit Friday), but with Royal out of the picture, watch to see if they look for another speedy wideout who can help in the return game. The biggest looming question for Redskins fans is the status of linebacker London Fletcher, who remains unsigned and on whom there has been almost no buzz. They definitely want him back, but it hasn't happened yet.

New York Giants?

"Blissfully boring." I think the Giants feel about free agency the way Ron Swanson feels about municipal government. They accept that it's there and they have to deal with it, but they don't seem to be very impressed. Sure, they signed tight end Martellus Bennett on Wednesday. But Thursday was dead boring. They agreed to terms with former Redskins safety Chris Horton, a special-teams candidate who was out of the league last year. They had Cowboys receiver/returner Kevin Ogletree in for a visit but did not sign him. While Ross, Mario Manningham, Jonathan Goff and Brandon Jacobs are out shopping for jobs, the Giants are sitting by and waiting things out. Ross and Manningham are sure to find bigger deals elsewhere, and Jacobs is likely to find something as well, the Giants would be fine with either welcoming those guys back at their own price once they strike out or replacing them with cheaper or internal options. It's how they roll, and they believe the Super Bowl trophy they just won after doing very little last offseason validates their approach. They make a pickup or two, but don't expect things to get hot and heavy with the Giants any time soon.

My day? Wonderful. I always enjoy the first day of March Madness, even when my bracket gets crushed and there aren't any big upsets. And I am still energized by free agency and the pace we're all keeping here at ESPN.com to keep you all up to date with it. I'll be up bright and early in the morning again, in case anybody has any questions. But for now, I bid you good night.

The big names are signing elsewhere as the Dallas Cowboys remain focused instead on needs, and on targeting specific players they like to fill those needs. While Mario Williams -- the apple of many Cowboys fans' eyes over the past few weeks in spite of no evidence at all that Dallas was really pursuing him -- was busy looking for a home in Buffalo, the Cowboys on Thursday morning agreed to a deal with free-agent safety Brodney Pool. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett broke the news in a conference call with reporters, Calvin Watkins tells us:

Garrett said the team wanted to sign Pool last year, during the brief free agency period, but was unable to due to finances.

"He has some really good ball skills," Garrett said.

Pool has played with Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan with the Cleveland Browns in 2009. Under Ryan, Pool had a career-high four interceptions and also had 10 pass breakups.

Again, many fans had been asking whether they'd sign someone like LaRon Landry. But while he doesn't have the name recognition or the raw ability of Landry, Pool is a guy who actually plays in games every week. Ryan likes him. He likes Ryan. They need someone to replace Abram Elam, who's a free agent. Makes sense. A day after signing cornerback Brandon Carr, backup quarterback Kyle Orton, fullback Lawrence Vickers and guard Mackenzy Bernadeau, the Cowboys continue to fill the many holes on their roster with players who look like good fits. Former Bengals guard Nate Livings and former Panthers linebacker Dan Connor are in town today to talk contract as well, and each would add depth to positions where the Cowboys are lacking.

A smart, targeted approach to free agency by a team with a lot of different needs. Maybe not the most exciting offseason the Cowboys have ever had, but if I were a Cowboys fan, I'd be enjoying it very much.

Everybody knows the Dallas Cowboys need to upgrade their secondary, and much of the attention has been on cornerback, where Terence Newman is sure to be released and the Cowboys are being linked to cornerbacks such as Brandon Carr and Cortland Finnegan in free agency and Janoris Jenkins and Dre Kirkpatrick in the draft. But they also need to address safety, and the Cowboys' website raises the interesting name of Brodney Pool as a possible solution there. Pool played for Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan in Cleveland and could be a fit in Dallas if it decides not to retain his former teammate, Abram Elam:

Having started alongside Elam in Cleveland, Pool's signing with the Cowboys would mean that Elam will play elsewhere in 2012, most likely. Gerald Sensabaugh has been locked up to a long-term deal, but the Cowboys could use an upgrade opposite him. Pool and Elam are comparable talents, but Pool is three years younger and has a bit more size and athleticism. The team would seem unlikely to use a first-round pick on one of the draft's top safeties like Mark Barron of Alabama, and could hope to buy more time for a young player like Barry Church before inserting him into the starting lineup. Pool is quite capable of bridging that gap.

This is the kind of name that makes sense for the Cowboys at a position where they have a serious need but aren't likely to fill it with a pursuit of the biggest, flashiest names. I wouldn't rule out them taking someone like Barron in the first round of the draft, especially if they like whatever they've done at cornerback in free agency. But there are enough Pool-type veteran safeties on the market that the Cowboys should be able to find someone to give them what they need at the position.

I'm going to miss ESPNDallas.com's Cowboys position series when it's gone. We've relied on it a lot over the past week or so for Cowboys content, and I plan on draining every last drop I can out of it. Today's edition is on safeties, and Calvin Watkins specifically takes up the question of whether the Cowboys will or should bring back Abram Elam:

Signing Elam might be a good thing for the Cowboys since he knows Ryan's defensive scheme, but he might want a long-term deal, and that's something the franchise might be unwilling to offer.

That was the point of bringing in Elam a year ago -- that he'd played for defensive coordinator Rob Ryan the year before in Cleveland and could help translate Ryan-speak to those on the Cowboys' defense for those who might have trouble grasping it right away. For a while, it seemed to work well. Elam was a leader on the defense, and the way the Cowboys played defense in the first half of the season led one to believe they were, in fact, picking up Ryan's system rather quickly.

In the end, though, the defense flopped, and the prevailing theory now is that it flopped because it didn't have good enough players. So as the Cowboys look to upgrade as many spots as possible on the defense, they need to treat Elam as they would any other free agent -- weighing his positives against his negatives, factoring in his contract demands, and deciding how important it is to upgrade the safety spot versus cornerback, outside linebacker, etc.

I agree with Calvin that safety isn't a position on which the Cowboys should be spending free-agent dollars, given the likely field and their other needs. So if Elam wants something long-term, the Cowboys are better off looking at lower-rung options and/or finding a safety in the early rounds of the draft. If they can address their pass rush, their cornerback situation, and their offensive line sufficiently in free agency, then maybe they're in a position to draft Alabama's Mark Barron with the No. 14 pick, as Mel Kiper's latest mock draft suggests they could. But the main reason for bringing Elam in a year ago is no longer as compelling as it was then. So they should be open-minded about how to fill his position. He's a candidate, but should be treated as one of several options.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Yeah, that's right. Breakfast links coming to you live from the host city of Super Bowl XLVI. The AFC champion New England Patriots hit town Sunday night, but the NFC champion New York Giants don't arrive until Monday afternoon, so I really don't have much Giants-related Super Bowl stuff for you until later today.

I am here for you, however, and knowing how much you guys would like to be here, I want to give you some sense of what it's like. There's a lot of walking that goes on when you cover the Super Bowl, and I've brought a pedometer with me to track how much walking I'm doing. On Sunday, after checking into my downtown Indianapolis hotel, I walked 9,979 steps, which roughly equates to 4.6 miles. And that doesn't even count the 4 miles I ran on the treadmill on what wasn't even a real work day! We'll check this number every day I'm here and keep track of how much I've walked, if only to help me explain to myself the way my calves feel.

Meantime, the links don't get a week off just because it's the Super Bowl. The links, like The Dude, abide.

New York Giants

ESPNNewYork.com wants to know if you think Tom Brady was overconfident when he told the crowd that showed up at Gillette Stadium to see the Patriots off that he'd be back for a victory party next week. Thoughts?

Of all the long shots on this long-shot Giants team that barely made the playoffs and finds itself one game away from a championship, Chase Blackburn may be the longest. Johnette Howard has this story.

Philadelphia Eagles

So if you've been sitting around wondering what Andy Reid thinks of the Cleveland Browns' decision to hire Brad Childress as their offensive coordinator, check this out. If you've been sitting around wondering what Andy Reid thinks of the Eagles and who should be their coaches and players next year ... well, you're going to have to keep waiting like the rest of us.

Bleeding Green Nation, for example, would like to know what the Eagles plan to do about DeSean Jackson and his contract situation. It's a mystery, in large part because Reid doesn't seem to feel the need to answer for an 8-8 season.

Dallas Cowboys

You may still be wondering what the Cowboys will do in 2012 for a backup quarterback, but Jon Kitna cares not for your concerns. He has moved on, and will be a high school football coach in Washington.

Oh, and DeMarcus Ware asks for your perspective and patience, as he believes that things will "all pan out" with another year with Rob Ryan as Cowboys defensive coordinator. Ware apparently doesn't understand the era in which he plays, which requires a team to have instantaneous success each and every week.

Washington Redskins

The opportunity to coach the South team in the Senior Bowl this past week was a big one for Mike Shanahan and the Redskins' coaching staff, and Shanahan said he believes the Redskins got a lot of good work in with the senior-class prospects in this year's draft. Keep an eye out and see if anyone from this year's South team gets picked by the Redskins.

The Washington Post offers a nice profile of new Redskins secondary coach Raheem Morris, who was an NFL Coach of the Year candidate last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ah, links by the bay, on the morning after the New York Giants managed to put themselves back in the Super Bowl. Some have been complaining, for the past couple of weeks, that this blog has been Giants-heavy. To those people, I say: sorry. It's not about to get any better.

But you know, when you're after democracy and fairness, you can always count on the links.

New York Giants

Hey! Guess who showed up at Candlestick Park to watch his brother win the NFC Championship Game. Yeah, that's right: Peyton Manning. Peyton is very proud of Eli Manning, as he should be. Eli Manning is a stone-cold killer.

In fact, the biggest difference between this year's Super Bowl-bound Giants and the team that won it all four years ago may be the extent to which this is Manning's team -- and the extent to which the Giants rely on him. Ashley Fox muses eloquently on this idea.

Philadelphia Eagles

Les Bowen has a look at quarterbacks the Eagles could target in the draft, if they want to take a shot on finding a developmental guy in the middle rounds.

Jeff McLane ponders the question: "What if the Eagles' defensive issues weren't the coordinator's fault?" Specifically, Jeff is musing on whether the Eagles' defense has enough size on it.

Dallas Cowboys

New Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson is looking forward to working with Rob Ryan again (the two were together in Cleveland) and has some very definite ideas about the kind of players he wants and the way he expects them to play, as Calvin Watkins writes.

The death of Joe Paterno has had a great effect on the Penn State community, which is a large and far-flung one that includes players and coaches in every NFL city. Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee released a statement through the team about his thoughts on losing his college coach.

Washington Redskins

Wow, it's tough to find Redskins links right now. All of the Washington papers were covering the Ravens this weekend, and the blogs seem a little slow, too. Fortunately, we have Redskins.com, which excerpts a recent Adam Carriker interview in which he discusses how much he enjoyed being around rookie Jarvis Jenkins this year ...

...and has photos of the practice bubble being inflated at Redskins Park. No longer will Washington be the only team in the NFL that has to cancel practice when it rains!