One year ago at around this time, we made a case for why DeMarcus Ware was the best player in the NFC East. That wasn't a highly controversial position to take, because Ware had more sacks and pressures than any pass-rusher in football between 2008 and 2011 and was coming off a 19.5-sack season.

This year, though, things have become a little more complicated. 

Ware's sack total plummeted to 11.5 while he struggled with injuries in his age-30 season. Jason Pierre-Paul's sack total also dropped from 16.5 to 6.5, Eli Manning had a down season, Tony Romo threw a tied-for-league-high 19 interceptions, Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, Sean Lee and Hakeem Nicks got hurt and Trent Cole and Nnamdi Asomugha were disappointments, along with pretty much everyone else in Philadelphia. 

Victor Cruz, Jason Witten, Anthony Spencer and Evan Mathis deserve some love, as per usual, and you could make a valid argument for any one of them, but two players in particular emerged to such a degree that I'm prepared to give them an edge over everyone else.

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Bad news, Dallas Cowboys fans. It looks like you'll be stuck with a Doug Free/Jermey Parnell combo at right tackle again in 2012. 

There is some good news, though. With Free taking a sizable pay cut on Thursday, the Cowboys have wiped a significant amount of money off the books for this year, next year, 2015 and 2016. 

Free was scheduled to make $15 million over the next two years, but that total has dropped to $7 million, with only his 2013 salary of $3.5 million guaranteed. The 'Boys probably could have had a free agent like Eric Winston for a similar price (and this move might even give them the flexibility to still make that move), but it also would have cost Dallas $7 million over two years to release Free on June 1. 

In other words, this is by far the cheapest scenario. I know that doesn't please Cowboys fans, but let's keep in mind that this is a team that is currently slated to be more than $20 million over the salary cap entering the 2014 offseason after reworking a slew of deals this spring. 

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We kicked off the week here by looking at the uphill battle rookie fourth-round pick Matt Barkley would have to overcome to be a successful starter at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. The odds certainly aren't in Barkley's favor. 

However, they weren't in Tom Brady's favor 13 years ago, and Brady's rise from pick No. 199 of the 2000 NFL draft to three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback has since given fuel to anyone trying to argue that a mid or late-round pick could become a star. 

That's what NFL.com's Bucky Brooks does with Barkley:

Brooks has four specific reasons to back his argument up. First, he says Barkley has the high football IQ required for a quarterback to strive in Kelly's up-tempo offense; second, Barkley and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur both have backgrounds in the West Coast system; third, Barkley has the weapons in place to excel right away; finally, Michael Vick's presence could give him a year to prepare. 

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For two years running, Doug Free has been one of the worst starting offensive tackles in the NFL. But the Dallas Cowboys don't have a ton of options at right tackle and Free's cap hit is slated to exceed $10 million in each of the next three seasons. 

Free might still be released on June 1, which would give Dallas the ability to spread out the guaranteed money left on the four-year, $32 million contract he signed after the 2010 season. But the Cowboys are in a tough spot no matter what happens and how you break it down. 

Naturally, frustrated fans want to point the finger at somebody, and ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon thinks that Free is fully responsible for this mess.

Yes, Free is the guy who has failed to live up to expectations here, but the Cowboys didn't have to hand him a contract worth $17 million in guaranteed money based on a year-and-a-half's worth of quality performances. 

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Watch New York Giants rookie defensive end Damontre Moore on tape and you'll find it hard to believe the former SEC standout at Texas A&M dropped into the third round of last month's NFL draft. 

Moore, who was at one point projected by many to be a first-round pick, saw his draft stock slide this spring because teams wondered about his commitment in practices and his work ethic in general. He may have had 21 sacks, five forced fumbles and 39 tackles for loss during his final 24 games with the Aggies, but embarrassed himself at the combine and couldn't run due to injury at his pro day, and as a result he fell into New York's lap in Round 3. 

Oh, and a 2011 arrest on charges of marijuana possession didn't help his cause. 

But extremely early signs indicate that the Giants might have wound up with a steal, with Moore possessing the ability to replace the departed Osi Umenyiora for years to come. If he can stay focused and continue to produce on game days despite the transition from Saturday to Sunday, superhero pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul could have his edge-rushing sidekick. 

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Based on what we pointed out on Monday, it's pretty much a consensus in the D.C. football society that second-year running back Alfred Morris is the nicest player on the Washington Redskins (and quite possibly in the history of the world). 

But is it also possible that Morris is the best player on this Washington team?

Keith McMillan of the Washington Post pointed out on Tuesday that Morris was listed ahead of Robert Griffin III on the top-100 list released this week by CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco. 

You could argue that Griffin is far too low in the No. 83 spot, but that's a discussion for another day, and Prisco does have RG3 bunched with fellow second-year pivots Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick. Besides, Griffin's injury could have factored in. 

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Last month, it was deemed by voters at NFL.com that Philadelphia Eagles star DeSean Jackson single-handedly executed the greatest football play of all time. Said play took place against the New York Giants in 2010, when Jackson recovered his own muff and went 65 yards on a game-winning punt return with no time left on the clock. 

Jackson hasn't scored on a punt return since that day, as he's rarely been used on special teams. But with all things seemingly new in Philadelphia right now, something old could become new again under Chip Kelly and Co. 

"Punt return is going to be a big factor," Jackson said earlier this week after fielding punts in practice, according to PhillyMag.com's Sheil Kapadia. "Kind of bring my niche back out there and help that punt return team. Not only that, just go out there and make plays, get that electrifying unit back, to be able to go out there and score touchdowns at any given time."

Jackson returned just a single punt in 2012, and it went for a three-yard loss. In 2011, he had the fourth-lowest average in the league (6.7) among those with at least 16 returns. And even his 2010 average of 11.6 (ninth in the league) was boosted dramatically by that play against the Giants.

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Soon after the Dallas Cowboys finished the 2012 regular season 8-8 and out of the playoffs for the third straight year, owner Jerry Jones vowed that big changes were coming. On defense, those changes are glaring, with Dallas switching to a 4-3 after changing coordinators. But on offense, things remain murky in Big D. 

It's beginning to look as though the biggest "change" the Cowboys will undergo on offense is a transition of power from Jason Garrett to Tony Romo.

Romo—as I'm sure you've heard—is planning to play less golf, and Jones has made it clear that he wants Romo to increase his office hours to Peyton Manning-like levels. He reportedly played a role in drafting Gavin Escobar and Terrance Williams, and there's even talk that he could gain some play-calling duties. 

This isn't surprising. After all, Romo was signed to a fresh seven-year, $119.5 million contract earlier this offseason, indicating Jones believes he can handle an increased workload. But by practically turning the 33-year-old into a player-coach, the Cowboys could be pushing it. 

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