NFL owners and players have announced a target date of July 21 for the end of the lockout. If they meet that deadline, they will have until July 25 to re-sign players who are now unrestricted free agents under the new CBA.

Cowboys left tackle Doug Free is entering his fifth season in the NFL and would be a restricted free agent under the old CBA. However, leaked details of the new collective bargaining agreement state players with only four years of service will now be unrestricted free agents. That means Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones will have one shot to retain the most sought after free agent left tackle in recent memory.

Of course, Free isn’t the only free agent the Cowboys will have a mere three days to try and keep for the future. Defensive ends Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher and Marcus Spears will both test the market unless they re-sign with Dallas by the tentative July 25 deadline. Receiver Sam Hurd, linebacker Leon Williams, guard Kyle Kosier, offensive tackle Alex Barron and safety Gerald Sensabaugh will also be set free unless Jones can come up with an attractive in a short amount of time.

The Cowboys are not the only team with key players who are now suddenly unrestricted free agents during this dreadful off season. The Carolina Panthers will now have three days to retain star running back DeAngelo Williams. The Indianapolis Colts are in the same boat with Joseph Addai as well as the New York Giants with Ahmad Bradshaw. Oakland Raiders tight end Zach Miller and safety Michael Huff, New York Jets receiver Santonio Holmes and cornerback Antonio Cromartie, Minnesota Vikings receiver Sidney Rice, Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Mike Sims-Walker are all now on the open market two years before expected.

A full list of all 2011 NFL free agents under the new CBA can be found here.

The NFL Draft is quickly approaching whether we’re ready for it or not. I’ve been listening to everybody and their dogs argue about whether the Dallas Cowboys should draft specifically for need or the best player available at their No. 9 spot. So we’re going to examine several scenarios that could occur on April 28 and what the Cowboys should do if each occurs. But first, we have to remember that very recently Dallas team owner and general manager Jerry Jones actually announced publicly that head coach Jason Garrett will have some influence on who the Cowboys draft, but Jones will ultimately have the final say. So with that said, now we will start our analysis.

The Cowboys absolutely do not need a defensive end, defensive tackle, wide receiver, quarterback, or outside linebacker. Don’t come at me with the whole our-current-players-aren’t-good-enough-at-those-positions talk. The fact that Dallas’ current players on the offensive line are so bad trumps any silly argument that anyone can make. For example, let’s say Georgia receiver AJ Green falls to 9th when the Cowboys’ logo appears on the ‘current pick’ screen. Do not draft him! We don’t need a receiver, no matter how talented he is. It’s not like he’ll go to the Redskins and automatically make them a contender in the NFC East. With Miles Austin and Dez Bryant on the outside, the Cowboys do not need a receiver. Period.

If you’re a big Georgia fan, please try to understand. This also goes for flashy positions like quarterback. I would be willing to bet a substantial amount of money that Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert will still be available at No. 9 even though he’s ranked 6th overall on ESPN’s draft board. If the Cowboys draft Gabbert, it will be the dumbest pick in franchise history. I have nothing against Gabbert or Missouri, but Dallas does not need a quarterback right now. Don’t give me the Aaron Rodgers talk and how the Green Bay Packers drafted him when they didn’t need him. That’s Stephen McGee. We have already done that. Besides, there are tons of Cowboys fans who are screaming for McGee to be the starter in 2011. You already have your quarterback-in-waiting.

In the same manner, the Cowboys don’t need to draft Texas A&M outside linebacker Von Miller. He’s currently listed at No. 9 on ESPN’s draft board, so he could very easily be there when the Cowboys’ first pick rolls around. However, we don’t need him. DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer were both first-round picks that have turned out pretty well for us. Dallas does not have the depth to give up on a former first-round draft pick. That’s my take on cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman, too. All four of the players I’ve mentioned in the last two sentences cannot be replaced yet. We spent a first-round pick on all of them and are paying them first-round pick money.

What the Cowboys do need is a guy like Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder or Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi. The Cowboys showed in 2010 that the offensive line desperately needs help and depth. Right tackle Marc Colombo isn’t getting any younger or healthier. He and left guard Kyle Kosier both suffered multiple injuries in 2010 that caused them to miss valuable time and cost the Cowboys valuable victories. The Week 1 loss at Washington is a prime example. Backup tackle Alex Barron committed three holding penalties, including one on the game’s final play that wiped out receiver Roy Williams’ game-winning touchdown catch. It doesn’t matter that both Solder and Carimi are not in the top 10 on ESPN’s draft board. Those rankings are only correct about 13% of the time. Just ask the Raiders about JaMarcus Russel.

Now I’ve already written my rant about the Cowboys not needing to take LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson or Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara. Both of those guys are in the top 5 of ESPN’s draft board, but I already alluded to the Cowboys’ lack of need at that position. Yes, I’m more aware than you are that Jenkins and Newman failed to perform at their Pro Bowl levels this past season. But as I also mentioned, both of those guys are first-round picks. Dallas cannot afford to spend that kind of money on another cornerback. As much as you want a new, flashy cornerback to make big plays, think about what that would do to us. We would become the Oakland Raiders! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want people laughing at us for making stupid picks in the draft like they do. Come on, Cowboys fans; stay reasonable!

Garrett called a Hail Mary on the last play of the first half against Washington that resulted in a Tashard Choice fumble. The Redskins’ DeAngelo Hall scooped up the loose ball and scored his team’s only touchdown of the game, which turned out to be the difference-making play. Any football coach in their right mind would have kneeled the ball in that situation, but everyone makes mistakes. So we’ll let him slide on that one. However, how do you call 98 pass plays in two games that both result in losses? If that’s not enough, how about your running game averaging over four yards per carry between three dynamite running backs and an energetic rookie fullback. It’s like having an umbrella and not using it when it’s pouring outside; it just doesn’t make sense. The worst part is Garrett is getting paid to help the Cowboys lose while fans and analysts like me cringe at his play calls. I’ll try to keep my rants to a minimum on this Rant Sports website.

[picappgallerysingle id="9813936"]Penalties have been a huge part of the Cowboys’ 0-2 start, and that falls on the head coach. Wade Phillips very well may throw his headset in disgust after each foul, but that doesn’t erase the yardage marked off against his team. First it was a newly-acquired backup in Alex Barron in Week 1, but this week it was a savvy veteran for whom Barron was only filling in. The Cowboys have been called for 20 penalties for over 150 yards in two games this season. As mentioned, those penalties have ranged from young guys who are expected to make those mistakes to leaders who have no excuse for such. Many picked Dallas to host the Super Bowl this year, but the sixth-most penalized team in the league through two games won’t be playing for the title anytime soon.

Against Chicago, the Cowboys ran the ball to the right nearly twice as many times as the left. That was mainly due to Colombo’s absence and the team’s lack of faith in Barron. A 2002 first-round draft pick by the Bears, Colombo will be looking to open holes for Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice against his former team. Dallas ran the ball well to the left side of the line with Montrae Holland filling in effectively for Kosier. Head coach Wade Phillips can be confident in Holland if Kosier needs a break in his first game back. Expect offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to use his starters and run the ball more evenly to both sides of the field.

Even though they have both returned to practice, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said neither Colombo nor Kosier have been cleared to play against the Bears. Colombo was carted off the practice field in Oxnard, California on August 15 and underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose cartilage in his knee. The ninth-year veteran was expected to miss 2-4 weeks and has exceeded that time period by two days. Kosier limped off the same practice field three days later after getting his leg tangled up during normal blocking drills. An MRI confirmed Kosier sprained his MCL and he was expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Wednesday marked exactly four weeks, so Kosier seems to be recovering faster than expected. However, Phillips has made it clear the team won’t rush either veteran back onto the field. That means we probably won’t know the status of either player until just before Sunday’s noon kickoff.

[picappgallerysingle id="9550615"]With Barron at right tackle against the Redskins, Dallas ran the ball only seven times to his side of the line of scrimmage. Even though the left side sported another backup in left guard Montrae Holland, the Cowboys recorded fifteen carries to that side. Not only was Barron’s pass-blocking sub-par, the coaching staff did not even trust him to block for the running game, either. Barron is officially listed as a left tackle, a position that requires quick feet while protecting right-handed quarterbacks’ blind sides. In his defense, the former Ram had to play out of position, which does not fit his skill set. The right tackle should be a stronger, nastier guy who can plow into defenders while blocking for the pass or the run. Unlike the finesse Barron, there is another backup lineman on the Cowboys’ roster who fits that description.

Second-year tackle Robert Brewster was a third-round pick in 2009 but missed his entire rookie season due to a torn pectoral muscle. Now in his true rookie year, Brewster has made it through training camp and the preseason cuts. What’s on my mind and probably everyone else’s is why was he not inserted into Barron’s place after the second holding penalty? Yes, Barron and Holland are backups, but Holland played great and did not get a single penalty called on him. You have backups for other reasons besides injury; just ask Redskins’ quarterback Donovan McNabb about his days in Philadelphia. Barron should have been benched before what would have been the game-winning drive ever started. Alas, the Cowboys are 0-1 to start this “Super Season” and Phillips is already under fire. The prayer chain has begun for Colombo and Kosier’s speedy recoveries.

As a team, the Cowboys were called for fifteen penalties, although two were declined. The thirteen that were upheld accounted for 101 total yards, just two yards less than Dallas had rushing as a team. There were twelve different Cowboys called for penalties during the game. That’s more than the number of Redskins’ players who touched to ball! It wasn’t just rookies and brainless guys like Barron who were called, either. All-Pros Jay Ratliff and DeMarcus Ware were both flagged and first-rounder Dez Bryant pushed off once. Anthony Specner and Orlando Scandrick each jumped offsides on defense while left tackle Doug Free and Pro Bowler Miles Austin both went early on offense. Austin had a dynamite game catching the ball, but his false start would have put the Cowboys five yards closer on the game’s last play. Every penalty would have put them closer had they not been called. Nothing is more deflating than stupid penalties on big plays. Just ask Alex Barron.

[picappgallerysingle id="9753411"] Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett may have lost every ounce of respect I had built up for him through the game when he spoke to the media afterward. After what I thought was excellent play-calling throughout the entire game, Garrett jumped off a cliff while grabbing head coach Wade Phillips and dragging him down, too. “Yeah, obviously a disappointing play right before the half, one that really hurt us,” Garrett said. “In hindsight, you take the knee there and get out of Dodge. But it’s certainly a pivotal play in the game.” Garrett is certainly the one to be making that statement; he calls the offensive plays! I don’t know if it was him or Phillips who called that catastrophe, but neither should be saying anything except, “It was my fault.” Everyone in their right football mind would know to kneel the ball in that situation. Everyone watching the game knows you are not going to score on one play from your own 36-yard line while the defense is backed up to the end zone. Garrett has only fueled the wrath of the Dallas faithful with his comments.

The hardest part of the whole thing for a Dallas fan to swallow is the fact that the Cowboys managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory once again. Ever since the glory days faded in the ‘90s, Dallas has always fumbled (sometimes literally) when the team has been poised for greatness. Quarterback Tony Romo fell from grace exceptionally fast when he fumbled the snap on a field goal attempt in the Cowboys’ playoff loss to Seattle in 2006. Romo regained that faith after a 13-3 season in 2007, but fell again after losing to the Giants in the playoffs. It’s all or nothing in Dallas because the Cowboys are historically the best team in the sport. Giving the game to the Redskins in a season where the team is picked by some for a home Super Bowl is simply unacceptable. I can’t stress enough how much penalties had to do with this catastrophe. It wasn’t McNabb throwing deep to Santana Moss or Clinton Portis running for a big gain that beat the Cowboys. It was mental errors; things that should not happen.

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Last year’s Super Bowl teams were among the least penalized teams in the league in 2009. The Colts and the Saints were called for 4.4 and 5.6 penalties per game last season, respectively. Turmoil teams like Dallas and Cincinnati saw 6.9 and 7.1 yellow flags thrown per game. Those fouls make a big difference. The Cowboys and Bengals were each ousted in the playoffs while Indy and New Orleans won fourteen and thirteen games each. I’m not bashing on Phillips because I’m actually a big fan, but penalties reflect on coaching. Teams can’t be great without a good coach. Teams don’t go to the Super Bowl without a good coach. Those teams in the Super Bowl didn’t have a lot of penalties. I’m no math whiz, but two and two are screaming four in this case. Just sayin’.

Ninth-year veteran Montrae Holland has taken Kosier’s place in the starting lineup, just as he did for two games in 2008. Backup tackle Alex Barron is day-to-day with a sprained ankle, so third-year greenhorn Robert Brewster will start at right tackle for Colombo if Barron is not ready by Sunday. Concerns about protection for Romo came way before these two major injuries. Romo was sacked three times against Oakland with all of the starting offensive lineman on the field. Those concerns are heightened as the Cowboys head to San Diego for their third preseason game against the Chargers on Sunday. The Chargers’ defense recorded thirty-five sacks in 2009, just two less than Oakland, so Dallas has to be concerned about keeping their Pro Bowl quarterback healthy.

[picappgallerysingle id="6063569"]I’m no fan of preseason, so I’m definitely not making a big deal out of the protection problems against Oakland, but one of the reasons why I hate the exhibitions is the injuries they create. There is no sensible rhyme or reason why Romo should play at all against the Chargers. Romo had stiffness in his back following those three sacks against the Raiders, so why risk his health with two backups starting on the offensive line? When asked about it, head coach Wade Phillips said, “The starters will play longer this game, certainly. They need to play and play together as a team.” That quote came after Kosier’s injury, so apparently Phillips is not concerned with Romo’s health. Phillips went on to say Romo is going to play against San Diego and he’s going to play a lot. It’s Wade’s funeral if something happens to his quarterback.

The Cowboys took the game’s first possession and it was the only series for quarterback Tony Romo and the starting offense. That first drive saw Romo complete passes to Phillips, Miles Austin, Roy Williams, and Patrick Crayton. It only lasted five and a half minutes, but even Marion Barber and Felix Jones had 2 and 3 carries, respectively. Although each of them should have had one more instead of Romo throwing three incomplete passes inside the 5-yard line. Alas, David Buehler got his first field goal attempt due to the stall, and he converted what was basically an extra point. Buehler also hit field goals of 23 and 34 yards with his only miss coming from 49 yards out.

[picappgallerysingle id="9512379"]Fourth-year linebacker Leon Williams led the Cowboys with five tackles, and sixth-round draft pick Jamar Wall was next in line with four. All of the Dallas defensive units played well, forcing four turnovers and allowing only one score in the final minute of the game on a 1-yard pass following a 63-yard punt return by Cincinnati rookie receiver Jordan Shipley. Bengals third-string quarterback Jordan Palmer played most of the game, completing half of his twenty passing attempts. Palmer also threw two interceptions, with the latter taken back for a 6-yard touchdown by rookie linebacker Brandon Sharpe. Such plays by young players are crucial in determining their future with the club. Ryan’s injury increases his chances of being released significantly, as does Brock.

Left guard Kyle Kosier did not see the reps at backup center that many expected. Instead, those plays went to second-year guard Travis Bright. It’s never a good thing for a starter to be the primary backup for another starter, so it was relieving to see Bright snapping the ball. The fact that Bright played as much as he did almost ensures him a regular season roster spot. Like Palmer, third-string Dallas quarterback Stephen McGee took most of the offensive snaps. McGee fared much better than Palmer, completing 12 of 22 passes for 116 yards. The biggest positive factor for McGee was no turnovers. Palmer will never unseat his older brother on the depth chart, but could lose his roster spot if he keeps throwing multiple interceptions against backup defenses. I wish we could see McGee against a starting defense besides the Cowboys’.

[picappgallerysingle id="9512425"]The biggest question many fans had heading into the game was the production of former Cowboy Terrell Owens. The outspoken receiver only played the first series, but caught two passes for 18 yards. Terence Newman was the primary defender of Owens, with Mike Jenkins busy with Chad Ochocinco. The simple fact that both of those receivers play for the same team is astounding in more ways than one. Ochocinco did not catch a pass while Owens caught two, so we’ll see if there is any early complaining this week about sharing. The game went smoothly with Owens talking with his former teammates without causing any major ruckuses. Fortunately, Dallas will not have to play Cincinnati again unless the two teams meet in the Super Bowl. Heaven forbid…