The Cowboys are in good shape at QB for the 2010 season.  30-year old Tony Romo is going to try to get his team into the Super Bowl this year which will be played in Dallas.  He will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders so it will be interesting to see how he responds.  Romo played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he completed 347 of 550 passes (63.1%) for 4,483 yards with 26 TD passes and only 9 INTs (97.6 QB Rating).  Romo also carried the ball 35 times for 105 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Romo has now played in 83 games in his career with the Cowboys and he has completed 1,178 of 1,857 passes (63.4%) for 15,045 yards with 107 TD passes against only 55 INTs (95.6 QB Rating).  Romo has also carried the ball 130 times for 375 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  Romo has a good enough arm and he’s good at buying time with his legs so he’s about as complete a passer that you’re going to find in the NFL.  He has a 38-17 (69.1%) record during the regular season as a starting QB which is outstanding.

37-year old Jon Kitna will back up Romo again in 2010.  He was not needed by the Cowboys last year and he last played in a real game in 2008 with the Lions.  Kitna has played in 128 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,462 of 4,114 passes (59.8%) for 27,293 yards with 152 TD passes and 151 INTs (76.6 QB Rating).  Kitna also has carried the ball 279 times for 811 yards (2.9 ypc) with 10 TD carries in his NFL career.  Kitna is a swashbuckler often getting into trouble when he either forces the ball into coverage or fumbles because of his really small hands.  Kitna has a record of 46-69 (40%) in games  that he has started at QB in his NFL career.

24-year old Stephen McGee will enter his second year in the NFL as the Cowboys’ #3 QB.  He is a good runner but will need to refine his throwing before getting onto the field.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE COWBOYS QBs in 2010:  A-

The Cowboys have acquired 27-year old OT Alex Barron from the Rams in exchange for 26-year old OLB Bobby Carpenter.  Barron is 6′7″, 302 pounds so he has the size to be a very effective player and he is one when he’s not drawing penalties.  Barron played in 16 games (all starts) for the Rams last season and he has played in 76 games (74 starts) in his five years with them.  Barron will battle with Doug Free for the starting LT job in training camp.  Bobby Carpenter never lived up to his potential with the Cowboys.  He played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he had 46 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he had 2 sacks and he defensed 1 pass.  Carpenter played in 58 games in his four years with the Cowboys in which he had 96 tackles, he defensed 2 passes and he had 3.5 sacks.  This was a good trade for the Cowboys as Barron has a lot of talent.

The Cowboys have picked DT Sean Lissemore with the 234th overall pick in the NFL Draft (7th round) out of William & Mary.  Lissemore is a tad small at 6′4″, 286 pounds and he wasn’t very productive in college.  He had 16 tackles, 1 sack and 2 interceptions in his 3 year college career.  This was a incredible reach by the Cowboys as I will be shocked if he ever appears in a regular season game for them.

The Cowboys have picked CB Jamar Wall out of Texas Tech with the 196th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Wall doesn’t have the speed 4.55 40 to play much man to man defense.  But he is very capable as a zone corner and he is a good overall pass defender.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for Texas Tech last season in which he had 58 tackles, he broke up 15 passes, had 2 interceptions, forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  In his four years with the Red Raiders, Wall played in 50 games (38 starts) in which he finished up with 180 tackles, he broke up 32 passes, had 9 interceptions, forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Wall will help out with depth in the secondary for the Cowboys and likely also on special teams.

The Cowboys have picked OT Sam Young out of Notre Dame with the 179th pick overall (6th round) in the NFL Draft.  Young is a big guy as he is 6′7″, 305 pounds but he plays a finesse game.  Young is a better pass blocker than a run blocker because of that.  He should be a fast learner in the pros as he is a very smart guy.  Young played in 12 games (all starts) last season and he played in 50 games (all starts) in his four years at Notre Dame.  Despite being well polished it seems as if Young’s ceiling in the pros will be as a backup tackle.