The Cowboys drafted 12 players last April but only one of them (kicker David Buehler) made any impact with the them in 2009.  The first pick for the Cowboys last April was LB Jason Williams (3rd round, #69 overall) out of Western Illinois.  He played in 5 games for the Cowboys and he made 3 tackles.  The Cowboys other pick in the third round (#75 overall) was OT Robert Brewster out of Ball State who spent his rookie year on the Physically Unable to Perform list.  QB Stephen McGee (4th round, #101 overall) out of Texas A&M did not play last season but the Cowboys are grooming him to be Tony Romo’s back-up down the road.  DE Victor Butler (4th round, #110 overall) out of Oregon State played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he made 17 tackles, forced a fumble and he had 3 sacks.  DE Brandon Williams (4th round, #120 overall) out of Texas Tech spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.  CB DeAngelo Smith (5th round, #143 overall) did not make the Cowboys and he finished up on the Lions roster but he didn’t play in any games for them.  FS Mike Hamlin (5th round, #166 overall) out of Clemson played in 6 games for the Cowboys last season but he only made 1 tackle.  Kicker David Buehler (5th round, #172 overall) out of USC was the Cowboys’ kickoff specialist last season as he played in all 16 games in which he made 3 tackles.  SS Stephen Hodge (6th round, #197 overall) out of TCU spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.  TE John Phillips (6th round, #208 overall) out of Virginia played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season in which he caught 7 passes for 62 yards (8.9 avg) and he made 2 tackles.  CB Mike Mickens (7th round, #227 overall) out of Cincinnati didn’t play for the Cowboys and he finished the season on the Bengals without playing in a game.  WR Manuel Johnson (7th round, #229 overall)  out of Oklahoma got cut before the year started.

GRADE FOR 2009:  F

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  D-

The Dallas Cowboys were completely outplayed in their NFC Divisional Round loss to the Minnesota Vikings over the weekend.  Coming into the game the Cowboys were looking like one of the top teams left in the playoffs, but they looked nothing like the team that beat up on the Eagles 34-14 only one week prior.  The offense could not get anything going, mainly due to the lack of protection the offensive line gave to quarterback Tony Romo.  Romo was sacked six times and looked rattled very early on.  He went 22/35 for 198 yards and an interception.  Even the Cowboys great running game was kept in check, getting only 92 yards as a team after getting nearly 200 against the Eagles.  The Vikings defensive line was just too much for the Cowboys to handle and the only offense the Cowboys could muster up was a 33-yard Shaun Suisham field goal early in the second quarter.

The Cowboys defense did not do their part either, letting Brett Favre pick them apart for 4 touchdowns.  Favre did make some great throws, but the Cowboys’ secondary broke down way too often.  They did a terrible job covering Sidney Rice, who caught 6 passes for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Favre finished with 234 yards and the 4 touchdowns on 14/24 and did not turn the ball over.  The Cowboys also gave up 109 rushing yards.  This was an ugly way to end the season for the Cowboys, but the Vikings looked like the better team.  Wade Phillips did finally get the Cowboys a playoff win this year, so Jerry Jones says he is sticking with him as the head coach next season.

The Dallas Cowboys have been playing some great football, and definitely looked like the best team in last weekend’s Wild Card games.  Tony Romo finally got himself a playoff win and I think his confidence will be through the roof in this game.  The Cowboys are going to need another strong performance from Romo, especially since the Vikings have such a good defense.  The Vikings do a great job shutting down the run, so Romo will need to make some good plays through the air.  If Felix Jones can have a game like last weekend, it will make things a whole lot easier.  Marion Barber is probably going to be very limited with a knee injury, so Jones needs to be ready to get a lot of carries.  I don’t think he will have the success he did against the Eagles though, especially since the Vikings hold teams to just 87 rushing yards per game this season.  The Vikings are great at getting to quarterbacks too though, so Romo needs to be ready to use his legs and buy himself some time.  He is great a rolling out to his right and making plays on the move, so I think Romo will be able to handle the Jared Allen led Vikings line.

Brett Favre loves the big stage and will be ready to face the Cowboys strong defense.  Favre is rested, but hopefully rusty after two weeks off.  So, if Favre makes some erratic throws the Cowboys secondary needs to take advantage and try and get some turnovers.  Teams that win the turnover battle win over 80% of the time, so if the Cowboys can get an interception off the old gun-slinging Favre it will be huge.  They also have to worry about Adrian Peterson, but Peterson hasn’t been putting up the numbers he used to.  He hasn’t rushed for over 100 yards since week 10, and the Cowboys are holding teams to 90 rushing yards per game this year, so I think they should be able to contain him.  I expect a close game, and even though the Cowboys are the underdog on the road, I think they are playing great football and will take down Favre and the Vikings.

PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 28, Minnesota Vikings 24

The Dallas Cowboys can finally take a little sigh of relief, as they ended their 14-year playoff drought with a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles.  Tony Romo, who has been labeled a choke-artist, was probably most relieved.  The talented quarterback had a QB rating of 104.9, throwing 2 touchdowns on 23/35 for 244 yards.  He also led the Cowboys to a huge second quarter, helping the Cowboys easily put away the Eagles by outscoring them 27-7 in that quarter.  Romo got a ton of help from his running backs too, with the Cowboys gaining 198 rushing yards as a team.  Felix Jones had a huge day, rushing for a touchdown and 148 yards on 16 carries for a great average of 9.3 yards per carry.  Tashard Choice helped as well, working hard for 42 yards and 1 touchdown on 14 carries.

The Cowboys defense was outstanding in this game too, forcing the Eagles into 4 turnovers and holding them to just 56 rushing yards.  They sacked Donovan McNabb twice, but they pressured him all game holding him to 230 yards on 19/37 passes, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.  Bradie James was a nightmare for McNabb, as the linebacker had 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 QB hits, and 1 pass defensed.  The Cowboys completely dominated this game on both sides of the ball and it was an emphatic way to end their playoff-win drought.  The Cowboys have won four straight and are looking more and more to me like the favorites to come out of NFC playoffs.  They will have to go through Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings next week in Minnesota.

The Dallas Cowboys made a big statement with their convincing 24-0 win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week, giving them home-field advantage in this rematch and the NFC East Title.  That doesn’t mean it will be another easy win for the Cowboys though, as Andy Reid and the Eagles will have revenge on their minds and they have also dominated the Cowboys in recent playoff years.  The Cowboys have been playing great though, and Tony Romo needs to get the big monkey off his back and finally win a playoff game.  He had one of his best seasons this year and the Cowboys are finally peaking at the right time.  With Romo playing well and the running combo of Marion Barber and Felix Jones, you have got to feel good as a Cowboy fan heading into this game.

The Cowboys’ defense has been doing more than their part for the Cowboys lately, getting great pressure on quarterbacks and not missing tackles.  They had a ton of success against the Eagles last week, giving them their first shutout in a few years.  They did it with strong pressure on Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb, which limited McNabb’s opportunities to look down the field.  McNabb and DeSean Jackson led the league in passing plays of 50+ yards, so the Cowboys secondary can’t let the speedy Jackson get behind them.  If the Cowboys can stop the Eagles’ big plays, then they will really limit what the Eagles’ offense can do.  They don’t run the ball great, but they did average 104 yards per game, so they can’t just focus on McNabb and the pass.  If they shut down the run, it will make things even harder on McNabb.  McNabb has proven he can do it with just his arm at times though, buying time with his athleticism, so the Cowboys need to keep him contained.  This should be an exciting game, but I think the Cowboys are the better team right now and will beat the Eagles again.

PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 27, Philadelphia Eagles 17