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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.

Observations from the Redskins' 34-31 preseason loss to the Ravens on "Monday Night Football":

Everyone loves a horse race, so it's no surprise so many people who are watching the Washington Redskins' apparent quarterback competition are treating it as one. Rex Grossman bounces a couple of throws, he's in trouble. John Beck hits a deep ball, he's in the lead. Grossman looks sharp in the 2-minute drill, he's not dead yet. Beck throws an interception, he's lost the job! Oh wait! Beck comes back and leads a 95-yard touchdown drive! The job is again his to lose!!!

It's just not as cut and dried as that. The key thing to remember about the preseason games is that we never really know what we're looking at. Some teams concoct game plans, some teams don't, and you have no idea, really, who is trying hard and who isn't. So the evaluations have to be about more than performance and results. And for Mike Shanahan and the rest of the Redskins' coaching staff, they are.

Shanahan and the Redskins know exactly what Grossman is. He doesn't have to show them anything. They believe, if they install Grossman as the starter, they know exactly what they'll get. And so far this preseason, nothing he's shown has done anything to sway them from that opinion.

They believe, however, that Beck has the ability to give them more. That he can make plays and move the chains with his feet. That he has a quicker release, and that he anticipates throws better. They think the upside is higher with Beck, and what they wanted to see from him when this preseason began is how he would handle the pressure of being the starter -- or at least the opportunity to finally be a starter in the NFL.

So while, yes, it matters that Beck made a bad throw that was intercepted on his first play of the second half, it almost certainly matters more that he rebounded to lead that long touchdown drive. You're not going to judge a guy on one throw, good or bad. But to watch Beck engineer that drive, make smart decisions quickly, let go of the ball with that kind of speed ... that's the kind of thing that, if the question is whether Beck can handle the pressure of the situation, the answer is affirmative. Shanahan is not likely to announce his decision for another week or so at least, but I believe Beck has been the favorite all along and has done nothing to lose that status.

Some other thoughts from what turned out to be an exhibition loss when Tyrod Taylor and the fired-up Ravens went in for a touchdown with 22 seconds left:

1. Ryan Kerrigan is an impact player. Sure, he's a rookie still learning to play standing up as a linebacker instead of in the three-point lineman stance he used in college, and he still needs to get used to the coverage schemes. But when they send Kerrigan after a quarterback, he can flat-out get there. He picked up his second sack in two preseason games, and it appears as though he and fellow outsider 'backer Brian Orakpo can be a fearsome combination. Overall, the Redskins' first-team defense looked very good, although it could suffer if the knee injury sustained by rookie defensive end Jarvis Jenkins in the first quarter is a long-term issue. Jenkins has been a star during training camp.

2. Terrence Austin is playing himself into a roster spot. For the second game in a row, Austin was a standout at the receiver position. He caught Beck's touchdown pass and had 71 yards on five catches. He's also served as the punt returner the past couple of weeks with Brandon Banks out (although he got only one chance in this one), and that could help him make the team. If he has a connection with Beck, and if Beck is the starter, it's going to be difficult to cut Austin.

3. Interesting night for DeAngelo Hall. He had the interception return for a touchdown, nicely anticipating the route and sitting on it while Joe Flacco fired it right to him, but he also gave up Lee Evans' touchdown for Baltimore. He had tight coverage on Evans and just didn't see the ball in time to make a play on Flacco's pinpoint throw. In general, the Redskins' secondary has been the weak spot of the defense in this preseason. In fairness, they have been playing without starting safety LaRon Landry and cornerback Josh Wilson -- as well as without inside linebacker London Fletcher, who is not a member of the secondary but is an on-field leader of the defense whose presence and knowledge are missed. It was encouraging to see O.J. Atogwe on the field for the first time this preseason, and Reed Doughty has played well at safety during the injuries to the starters. But once Landry is back there, things will feel much more whole.

4. Santana Moss will be a huge help to whichever guy is the quarterback. Moss is simply a great, professional route-runner. They could use a bigger red zone threat than they have, but Moss is going to be a safety net for Beck and/or Grossman all year as they work on moving the ball down the field. As for that red zone threat ... maybe Leonard Hankerson can develop into it. We got on his case last week for drops, so it should be noted that he made a very nice shoestring catch on the only ball that came his way on this night. And Anthony Armstrong looks like a potential deep threat, as Beck found him for 33 yards on his first throw of the game.

5. Tim Hightower. Not much else to say. He ripped off another big run, didn't fumble the ball and looks like he's moving up fantasy draft boards as the season approaches. Nine carries for 56 yards, no sign of injured Ryan Torain to challenge him and Roy Helu looks like a fun, speedy backup at this point. Hightower is a factor in the passing game as well, as a blocker and a receiver, and if he holds onto the ball, he's going to be an asset.

Once again, no way to know whether the good stuff we've seen from the Redskins will carry into the regular season, and no real reason to think it will. The preseason just doesn't have that kind of predictive value. But even though they lost the game, there were a lot of things about Thursday night to help make the Redskins feel good about themselves, and there is value in that as the season gets ready to start.

Later today, as part of our "Dream Team of Tomorrow" project, you will see my list of the players I think will be the stars of the NFC East in the years 2014-2016. The Eagles' Brandon Graham is the kind of player who could make his way onto such a list -- a 2010 first-round draft pick whose job is to sack quarterbacks. But he's not on my list (which only includes one player per team anyway), because he's injured and might not see the field for a long while. According to reports that surfaced Wednesday, Graham had microfracture surgery on his right knee last December and the Eagles didn't reveal that.

Microfracture surgery is a very serious procedure that involves, as Jeff McLane writes, "the drilling of small holes in the bone in an attempt to stimulate cartilage growth" and likely will keep Graham out longer than was initially forecast when he injured his knee. So in spite of Graham's protests to the contrary ("Everybody needs to worry about this lockout, if anything. I got this!" he wrote on Twitter), it looks as if the Eagles won't be able to count on much, if anything, from Graham in 2011. That's a shame for the young man and the reason we've been hearing so much noise about Philly possibly trying to find a pass-rushing defensive end in free agency. This is a go-for-it year for the Eagles, and they can't wait around for Graham to get healthy. If he can help, so much the better. But if he does come back in 2011, he's likely to find himself playing behind a veteran end.

More Eagles

The Eagles continue to hope the lockout ends in time for them to hold their training camp at Lehigh University, as they always do. Team president Joe Banner tells Philly.com that it's a priority for the team. Interesting nugget in Jon Tamari's story: Apparently, if the Eagles do have training camp at home in Philadelphia this year, fans won't be allowed to see any of it, because the team has an agreement with the residents in the area surrounding its regular-season training facility that they won't hold any fan events there.

Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant says he's dropped 10 pounds and is back to his college playing weight. He says it's helped him get quicker. He says doctors haven't cleared him for football activities yet, but he doesn't sound worried that it'll be too long. And he doesn't want to get into a war of words with Deion Sanders, who keeps needling him in various interviews. Probably a good idea, Dez.

Tony Romo said he believes the lockout will be over "shortly," his broken collarbone is completely healed and that he loves the way the player-organized workouts have gone for the Cowboys. Then he went and played golf. I also understand you can now find his wedding video online, though I don't have a reliable link and frankly wasn't all that interested. Sounds like a lot of Coldplay involved.

New York Giants

Prince Amukamara is apparently seeking and getting some advice this offseason from fellow Nebraska alum Ndamukong Suh on how to handle the transition to life as an NFL player. Good move, Prince.

Giants 101 takes a look back at Victor Cruz's journey to the Giants' 2010 active roster and wonders whether he'll be able to crack the lineup as a receiver on this year's team. Won't be easy, as the Giants remain loaded at that position. But I know the coaching staff thinks a lot of Cruz.

Washington Redskins

Terrence Austin, a 2010 seventh-round draft pick who managed to make the Redskins' roster last year, hopes to be able to be a bigger part of the offense in 2011. Hey, look: I have no idea who from among Washington's current receiving group will emerge or even play. But someone will. If you're a receiver on the back end of the Redskins' roster, you have hope and opportunity.

You will see solar panels in the parking lot if you go to a game at FedEx Field this year. The Redskins are working on trying to reduce their carbon footprint, which is nice, being socially responsible like that. Now, about that nickname ...

Morning, all. Lockout's still on, but the rampant speculation and analysis train rolls along. Santana Moss gave a radio interview in Washington and said he'd like to return to the Redskins if they'll have him back:

"That's the only thing I can think of," Moss told ESPN 980. "I'm a Redskin. I feel like I invested a lot into this team. I would hate to leave and see the team be successful, knowing I was here."

We've joked a bit here over the past week about the Redskins' receiving corps, and it's certainly not among the team's strong suits. But Moss is coming off a very good season, and indications are that the Redskins would like to bring him back. If they don't, they're left with Anthony Armstrong, Brandon Banks, Leonard Hankerson, Terrence Austin and a couple of guys they drafted in later rounds in April.

The free-agent wide receiver market doesn't look sensational, populated as it is by question-mark guys like Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens and the soon-to-be-released-from-prison Plaxico Burress. So while Washington could use an upgrade at receiver, there may not be a clear one to be had. They're probably better off giving Santana his wish and hoping someone like Armstrong, Banks or Hankerson takes the next step and emerges as a starter.

In the meantime, I link, therefore I am:

More Redskins

Mike Jones says Lorenzo Alexander took some snaps at inside linebacker during last week's player-led workouts and thinks it's because rookie Ryan Kerrigan is an OLB and that Alexander will need to play ILB to get playing time. I say that all makes sense, but it doesn't make a difference until a coach tells him to practice there.

Dallas Cowboys

The Tony Romo wedding is the breakfast links gift that keeps on giving. Yahoo! Sports' Shutdown Corner blog absolutely blasts the job Romo and his new bride did filling out their gift registries at Macy's and Crate & Barrel. Apparently, they registered for incredibly cheap stuff like 50-cent tea lights and came up with 150 items from the C&B registry alone:

"In the truest sign yet that the lockout has already started affecting NFL players, nobody bought the couple the three most expensive items on the registries: Calphalon cookware ($569), a Dyson vacuum ($549) and Wusthof cutlery ($399). DeMaurice Smith, you only have yourself to blame if and when Romo and Crawford's poorly cut, unevenly cooked dinners fall on the floor and are unable to be picked up by the world's first bagless vacuum."

Sensational.

In more ... relevant, on-field news, rookie running back DeMarco Murray has apparently been working out with former Oklahoma Sooners teammate Sam Bradford during the lockout and tells NFL.com in a video, "I don't want to sit on no bench." I can see his point, but if he gets stuck there, at least he'll have a really huge TV to watch.

New York Giants

Steve Smith told ProFootballTalk that he expects to be back with the Giants. Some have wondered about that, thanks to talk of a large contract extension that followed Smith's big 2009 season. But his 2010 knee injury likely dampened those plans, and now it seems as if he plans on sticking around in New York. Smith told PFT, "I was going to leave, but then Graziano ranked our WR corps No. 1 in the division, so I have to stay and help make him look good." No, actually. He didn't say that.

If you haven't checked out our "Faces of the Lockout" series we ran yesterday, go ahead and do that. I'll wait right here. Pretty good stuff in there. Ohm Youngmisuk's contribution looks at Barry Cofield's uncertain situation, which people ask about all the time in the printable parts of the mailbag.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles worked out again, this time without the use of a football. Revolutionary practice tactics emerging during the lockout! Read to the bottom to find out why Brent Celek has put a shirt on for the past couple of practices.

And there's more Howard Mudd-related stuff today from Les Bowen, who talked to Todd Herremans about the videos Mudd handed out to offensive linemen back when coaches and players could still do stuff like that together.

I, too, am going to work out without a football today. But I'll be back later with plenty of Thursday goodness here on the NFC East blog. I hope you enjoyed your breakfast.