Scouts, Inc. over at ESPN Insider is ranking the top units in football. They started with QB’s the other day and ranked the Cowboys sixth in the league. I thought that was pretty low considering Tony Romo is the starter, but you have to keep in mind they also took into account the backups. But seriously, ranking QB’s on a team is 95% starter and 5% backups. Of course Brady (Patriots) and Manning (Colts) were #1 and #2. After that, the three teams who bettered Romo and Brad Johnson in this analysis were Roethlisberger (Steelers), Brees (Saints) and Palmer (Bengals).

After praising Romo’s big stats and winning percentage in the regular season, the criticisms started.

First off, Romo is surrounded by a lot of talent and has yet to win a playoff game in his two seasons behind center. All of that blame cannot be thrust on Romo alone, but he does need to prove he can elevate the play of his team in crucial situations to be ranked among the top players at this position.

 Uh oh, I know that isn’t going to be popular with some. More reasons why the Cowboys were only ranked sixth.

[Romo’s] pension for fading down the stretch certainly is worrisome, and he faces a brutal schedule in 2008. While Romo is just getting started, backup Brad Johnson's best days are long behind him, and a young signal-caller needs to be groomed.

Today they moved on to RB’s where the Cowboys placed fifth behind the Chargers, Vikings, Jaguars and Steelers. 

When Dallas opted not to re-sign starting RB Julius Jones, it got better.

You got to love an analysis that starts with that. The rest of the breakdown.

Even though Jones was the starter, he split carries with backup RB Marion Barber, who is the more effective runner and receiver. With Barber now thrust into the starting role, the Cowboys are a more physical team that can control the line of scrimmage. Dallas also created solid depth at the position by drafting RB Felix Jones with its second pick in the first round. Jones is a speedster who can turn the corner, catch the ball and create mismatches. The Cowboys' rushing numbers might not be as big as those of other teams because offensive coordinator Jason Garrett leans more on the passing game, but this is a great 1-2 punch.

Two writers over at SI.com went through an interesting exercise. They were tasked with assembling the best team possible from all NFL players while remaining under the salary cap.

You can read about Michael Lombardi’s team here and see the whole team here.

He chose Jason Witten and Andre Gurode as starters. He also chose, interestingly enough, Doug Free and Sam Hurd as backups. I agree about Free, I loved what I saw from him last year at training camp. He likes Hurd because he says his coverage on special teams is among the best in the NFL.

You can read about Bucky Brooks’ team here and see the whole team here. 

He chose Leonard Davis and DeMarcus Ware as starters and Tank Johnson as a backup.

FOX Sports says MB3 is only the #10 fantasy running back. 

Stop the madness.