A capsule look at reasons for concern among teams in the NFC East: Dallas Cowboys 1. Lack of touchdowns. The first-string offense has scored only one offensive TD in 12 possessions — an 8-yard drive set up by a turnover — and has shown little production rushing or passing. Obviously, they don't do much game-planning or sophisticated play-calling in preseason, but they didn't do it last year, either, but were a lot more productive in preseason.

Leinart trade rumors blow ahead of Cardinals' final cuts While rumors swirled about his future with the Arizona Cardinals, Matt Leinart was competent in limited action Thursday — which has been the case all preseason, SN correspondent Kent Somers reports. And that, Somers says, might be enough for him to remain with the team. Before kickoff against the Washington Redskins, stories began to circulate that the Cardinals had given Leinart's agent permission to pursue a trade.

If the Arizona Cardinals find themselves in need of a backup quarterback, Max Hall believes he can do the job. The undrafted rookie from BYU made a strong case on Thursday night for at least making the Arizona roster, completing 7 of 9 passes for 126 yards and scoring on a 6-yard run in the Cardinals' 20-10 victory over Washington, although the performance came against a Redskins team made up…

With the start of the NFL regular season just a week away, teams around the league are waving goodbye to the preseason.

And just plain waiving players.

Tuesday marked the cutdown deadline, forcing teams to reduce their rosters from 80 to 75 players. On Saturday, teams will have to trim down to 53 players for the regular season.

While most of the players cut are likely to be have-nots, has-beens, and future CFL’ers and Arena leaguers, there are bound to be some familiar names and former All-Pros left looking for employment on the NFL’s cutting room floor.

The Cincinnati Bengals got a lengthy head start when they cut the volatile and oft-injured Antonio Bryant last week, whom they had signed to a four-year, 28 million dollar deal in the offseason.

That’s eight million dollars guaranteed to a guy who will never play a single regular season down in Cincy.  Ouch.

Who else, aside from Bryant, might be severed by Saturday?

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Watching Donovan McNabb with the Redskins, I kind of feel like someone whose ex-wife has just taken up with a new man.  While you may not want the new relationship to fare too well, you also feel somewhat obligated to give the new guy some advice, because you know just how crazy life may get for him.

So here is my advice to Redskins fans on how to handle life with Donovan McNabb as your team’s quarterback:

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We are so close.

Starting today, September 2, 2010, I am doing a four-part series leading up to the Dallas opener, predicting the outcome of every game of the season for the Washington Redskins.

I will most likely be totally wrong, or I will be lucky and get them right! We will know the outcome of all the games soon though.

Let’s start our series by predicting the Dallas game and three others. Then in a few days I will predict the next four, and so on.

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Do sports agents or NFL front office personnel ever sleep?

The Washington Redskins signed backup quarterback John Beck to a two-year extension, according to Ryan O’Halloran staff writer for CSNWashington.com, during their flight to Arizona.

No details of the figures were released at this time.

Beck, who is anticipating taking quite a few snaps against the Cardinals, will do so knowing that he is likely a part of the 53-man roster leaving Richard Bartel to sweat out his future alone.

Beck is having a mediocre preseason at best up to the Arizona game. He’s gone  9-of-18 passing for 103 yards, 0 TD 0 INT.

Bartel has played significantly less but made the most of his opportunity, coming in late against the Jets going 3-of-5 passing for 44 yards and 1 TD. Not to mention that was the game-winning touchdown.

Beck and Bartel should see increased time against Arizona with Rex Grossman planning on sitting out most, if not all, the game and Donovan McNabb still nursing his tender ankle for the season opener against Dallas.

Is it a lost cause for Bartel to play his heart out tonight with Beck already being signed?

Coach Mike Shanahan’s original plan to only keep two quarterbacks on the depth chart is obviously out the window, and Beck has been on his radar since coming out of Brigham Young University three years ago.

Beck has been a member of the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens since coming in the league but has not started or played in a regular season game since 2007.

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Okay so it’s more bazooka this time.

Tonight’s loosely football-related event involving the Washington Redskins and Arizona Cardinals is the reason there is a “hate” component to my relationship with preseason.

Backups’ backups will line up opposite backups’ backups.

There will be no gameplanning.

There will be no setup, sequencing, or flow to playcalling.

There will be no schematic adjustments.

After the first couple of possessions, there will be few names, faces or numbers on the field anyone will recognize. Which matters little because by Saturday evening after final roster cuts, we won’t need to.

There will be even less reason than the last three weeks for any rational person on the sidelines, booths or playing field to give a genus rattus’ empennage about the scoreboard at any point during the course of the evening. 

Most of the players on the field tonight will have one thought in mind: lane discipline my ass, I’m making a play. 

It’s the Arizona Cardinals…without Kurt “Is My Wife Watching?” Warner.

It starts at 10 o’clock p.m.

My alarm goes off at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

I’m turning 50 in six weeks.

Wish list for tonight?

2) Don’t forget to thank someone I didn’t have to fly to Phoenix.

1) Don’t let anyone even remotely likely to make the final roster get anything worse than a scraped elbow, sore pinky or bruised ego.

Yes, the NFL scheduled it. Yes, it’s going to be on television. Which means at least one sap (me) is going to not only be watching but actually trying to pay attention, from start to finish, because he has committed to doing another stream-of-consciousness recap.

But I gotta tell ya, if I wasn’t, tonight would be a sapling falling in the proverbial woods with no one around to verify its auditory footprint.

I mean, it’s not like you are going to be watching.

Are you?

Read more Washington Redskins news on BleacherReport.com

The Arizona Cardinals are shopping quarterback Matt Leinart, who probably has more grumbles this preseason than…

It’s quite normal to hear a buzz this early on in the season in regard to a possible championship repeat.  This time around, it is the New Orleans Saints who are the featured team, and as many of you have most likely noted, just about every sports magazine or media show has been discussing this debate quite heavily.

Historically speaking, the chances of a repeat are nearly a million to one.  So far only seven teams have been successful in reaching this historic feet, with the oldest being the the 1960’s Green Bay Packers, and the most recent being the 2000’s New England Patriots.

For the most part, it’s fair to say that it takes a lot of character to repeat this momentous occasion.  Firstly, all things have to go right for said team in just about every regular season game, and to reach the big dance for the second year in a row requires tremendous work ethic along with a desire to win that cannot fade, due to the previous championship success.

More importantly though, it’s the talent on and off the field that makes the chances of a repeat all that more likely, as obviously, a good quarterback and a great coach go hand in hand when it comes to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy high.

While we’re on the topic of the New Orleans Saints, the past statement relates to the reigning Super Bowl champions in just about every aspect. 

It feels like years ago now, but realistically it was only four seasons ago that saw head coach Sean Payton take over a previously 3-13 franchise.  The days were dull in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, and much like the Detroit Lions of new, the paper bag aisle in the local Wal Mart was sold out for much of the season.

When Sean Payton originally took over this former tragedy of a team, his first step was to bring in what he deemed to be a “good” quarterback.  Therefore, the birth of Drew Brees fresh from the San Diego Chargers appeared in front of Saints fans’ eyes, and from then on things continued to look up for a team that seemingly had no positive future.

However, the Saints story is complete.  Sure the city of New Orleans would love a shot at repeating, but at the end of the day the Saints have delivered their fans with a trophy, and have proven themselves to be a legitimate team in the league.

So on this note, it’s time for a new team to step up to the plate.  It’s time for a newcomer to shock the world, and grasp the Lombardi Trophy in five years time and have everybody saying “Wow, what a ride, I surely wasn’t expecting that”.

But who will this mystery team be exactly?

I mean, there are several likely candidates, and if I were to name a few off the top of my head, teams such as Miami, Green Bay, Dallas and Baltimore are all favorable teams to put forward the goods in the coming years.

Still, these teams I’ve just listed aren’t exactly surprising.  No, for a real shocker to be seen by the whole world a team needs to rise from the ranks similar to the New Orleans Saints, and really take the world by storm.

And who better to fit that mold than the Washington Redskins?

Yes, the Redskins.  Say what you will about the team right now, they show very similar characteristics to the New Orleans Saints some four years ago.

Firstly, the Redskins have brought in Mike Shanahan.  I think we’re all aware of this man’s impact on the game of football, and when it comes to pure motivation and team leadership, the former Denver Bronco coach easily takes the cake.

When the Redskins went ahead and announced that Shanahan had become the leading man, I think everybody stood to attention.  Here was a guy that was renowned for winning, and for him to take over such a deprived franchise like the Washington Redskins, had fans sitting back in their recliners pondering the possibilities.

Secondly, the Redskins have also brought in a new quarterback.  As much as some Redskins fans may miss Jason Campbell, the arrival of Donovan McNabb from Philadelphia does look promising right now, even though he may miss the season opener this year.

Not only was this a right step toward winning, Mike Shanahan followed Sean Payton’s thinking of “gaining a good quarterback” even though Shanahan more or less didn’t intentionally copy Payton’s original strategy.

Now I know what your thinking,  “Just because the Redskins have gained two promising characters, doesn’t mean that they will be Super Bowl champions any time soon”.  While this is for the most part true, there is also a case to be made for Washington, when it comes to the NFC East division.

Let’s look at it plainly, the Giants have already won a Super Bowl.  Sure they could win one again sometime soon, but this is a very young team, who has notable struggles at the linebacker position, not to mention a barrage of very young and inexperienced wide receivers.

Eli Manning is a good quarterback, but the other factor here is that Tom Coughlin’s days may be running dry.  The Giants have had a good stint with Coughlin, but sooner or later this team was going to enter a rebuilding stage, and the process of that has just begun this season.

Away from the Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles are also a very young side.  They are now minus a good quarterback, and with young Kevin Kolb stepping in, it is fair to say that the Eagles may be in for a rough year or two ahead, considering their tough schedule.

DeSean Jackson is still in the green and white, however it is hard to find much talent away from himself and Asante Samuel.  The Eagles have been known to rebound against the odds, but right now they look to be down a little.

Finally, we reach the Dallas Cowboys.  Perhaps this is the Cowboys year to win it all, and if it is, that’s great for the Washington Redskins.  Dallas do have a overly talented side, but if New York and Philadelphia both slip a little, in slides Washington.

For years the Redskins have always been distant with their Texas rivals, and maybe in the next five years, we’ll see the two move a little closer, and reenact the Green Bay vs. Minnesota rivalry that is currently occurring.

For those of you reading this and taking this thought extremely seriously, I suggest you don’t.  This is merely just an idea to play with over the coming years, as the Redskins do resemble what the Saints set out to do four years ago.

Will fate reign true again?

We’ll wait and see, but if all things go to plan and Mike Shanahan, Donovan McNabb and others excel not only this year but in the future, we may see ole’ uncle Lombardi back in the nations capital in no time.

Ryan Cook is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also an NFL columnist for Real Sports Net and a Green Bay Packers writer for Fan Huddle and PackerChatters. Ryan is also a contributing writer for Detroit Lions Talk, Gack Sports and Generation Y Sports.  Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter.

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