Pro Football Weekly considers the Dallas Cowboys as the #9 team in the NFL going into training camp.
9. Dallas Cowboys -- Can Bill Parcells and Terrell Owens co-exist in perfect harmony? Parcells has a good track record when it comes to dealing with volatile personalities, so the hope is T.O. will mind his manners. But beyond that, perhaps the biggest challenge for "Big D" is keeping Drew Bledsoe upright. The O-line surrendered a whopping 50 sacks (though the statuesque Bledsoe shares in the blame) and generated only 3.6 yards per rush. On defense, it should be fun watching the continuing progress of DE Marcus Spears and OLB DeMarcus Ware. Suddenly, this could be a now-or-never season for the Cowboys, who haven't won a playoff game since 1996.
Not a bad analysis, although I'm not sure what the writer is implying by the "now-or-never" statement. Is he referring to the possible retirement of Parcells? If so, I would say that doesn't rise to the level of dire predictions, as long as Jerry Jones does the right thing and hires a qualified replacement. (Read: Charlie Weis). Perhaps the author is referring to the potential meltdown of Terrell Owens after a one-year honeymoon. Now, that is a legitimate threat, and one that is impossible to predict.
By the way, they have the Redskins at #7.