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Dallas Cowboys: B-
The Cowboys addressed a glaring need by taking offensive tackle Tyron Smith in the first round but then their draft got a little strange. They took an outside linebacker coming off ACL surgery in round two and a running back in round three. They had much greater needs in the secondary but they waited until the fifth round to take a cornerback.

16) Jacksonville Jaguars – Ryan Kerrigan, Defensive End, Purdue

The Jaguars greatly improved the inside of their defensive line in last year’s draft and will look to fix the edges this year. Kerrigan was a three year starter and an Academic All-American who was very productive on the field. Jacksonville managed almost no pass rush down the stretch and Aaron Kampman is coming off his second ACL tear in two years.

17) New England Patriots – Aldon Smith, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker, Missouri

Teams are gearing up for the draft in the competitive NFC East. Lets take a quick look at what each team needs.

Dallas Cowboys: A disappointing 2010 led to Jason Garrett taking over as head coach of a team that has incredible talent yet perennially underperforms, but still they are the NFC East’s favorite to win the Super Bowl. The offensive line and safety spots are both areas of concern, and defensive end could be as well if Marcus Spears is not re-signed. Roy Williams and Marion Barber are both scheduled to make over five million dollars this season so they could be on the chopping block. Look for them to go offensive line when they pick 9th.

The Washington Redskins (5-6) continued to struggle offensively in their 17-13 loss to the Vikings last week, while the New York Giants (7-4) rallied late after a listless first half to get by the Jaguars 24-20, failing to cover the betting line of -8.

The NFL betting odds for this contest list the Giants at -7 with betting odds of -115 at home, while the betting total set at 43½.

This is the first meeting between these rivals this year, but the New York Giants have swept the season series each of the last two seasons, going 4-0 straight up and 3-0-1 ATS.

The Philadelphia Eagles (6-3) did a nice impersonation of the best team in football while dismantling the Redskins 59-28 Monday night while the New York Giants (6-3) were shocked at home by the surprisingly inspired Cowboys.

The NFL betting line for this contest is Philadelphia –3 paying -130 at home with the total set at 48.

Before crowning the Philadelphia Eagles as NFC Champions, keep in mind that the Redskins are a team in turmoil with a defense that has not stopped anyone all year. Once the game got out of hand in the first quarter, Washington just stopped playing. A lot of teams could have piled up gaudy statistics vs. the Redskins’ defense under those circumstances.

We are getting in to the home-stretch of the NFL season where the teams that can truly win under pressure separate themselves from the talented teams that can’t function under pressure (ahem, Dallas). With that said, if you are going to bet on Super Bowl futures, you can get some pretty good deals if you think you know which teams have the right make up to win in high-pressure situations.

The New York Giants (6-2) are the hottest team in the NFL right now having won five straight games, while the Dallas Cowboys (1-7) are the polar opposite of hot and fired Coach Wade Phillips this week.

The NFL betting lines for this contest list the Giants at -14 at home, with the betting total set at 45½.

It was the New York Giants that effectively ended the Dallas season by injuring Tony Romo in that Monday night game three weeks ago in a game where the Cowboys actually looked good up to that point, and they have just been going through the motions ever since, prompting Phillips’s removal.

The New York Giants are coming off of a bye week after effectively ending the Dallas Cowboys season two weeks ago, while the Seattle Seahawks got thumped 33-3 on the road by the rejuvenated Raiders.

The NFL latest line for this contest is Giants -7 on the road, with the betting total set at 41.

Matt Hasselbeck suffered a concussion his last time out, but has been cleared to play. Aside from that, the other good news is that the Seahawks are playing at home. Why is that good news, you might ask? Well, Seattle has always been a very good home team through the years, and this season, they have some of the most severe home vs. away splits in the NFL.

Both the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants are coming off of disappointing losses, as the Titans have only themselves to blame for losing to a Steelers team that was down to its fourth string quarterback, and the Giants were awful in what turned out to be an overhyped Manning Bowl.

The NFL Week 3 odds list the Giants at -3 at home, with the betting total set at 42½.

In actuality though, a case can be made that Tennessee Titans outplayed Pittsburgh, as they outgained the Steelers by over 100 yards. Their loss was entirely due to sloppiness, as they committed an unheard of seven turnovers!

A Look Back – The New York Giants had all sorts of problems with their defensive line last season, and HC Tom Coughlin went ahead and made some sweeping changes to the unit over the course of the season. Only one player started all 16 games on defense. However, stars were born on the offensive side of the ball, as WRs Steve Smith and Mario Manningham both had great seasons replacing the departed Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress.