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For most of this year’s Madden 09 campaign, the Dallas Cowboys were the team of choice. One obvious reason was their massive amount of offensive talent. With Tony Romo’s speed and accuracy, he was a combo threat to either run or throw. Terrell Owens gave gamers a viable counterpart for opponents who used the seemingly unstoppable tandem of Tom Brady and Randy Moss. With the new tackle breaking system implemented in Madden 09, Marion Barber has been the prototypical running back.

In most cases, Madden tournament players roll with the Cowboys and are either high scorers or clock controllers. Tourney gamers who can combine both of these elements have had the most success, scoring at will and slowing the game down to keep their opponent off the field with three nice running backs in Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.

In Madden 10, the Cowboys will continue to be a clock killer’s dream. Their running attack will be top five in the game for sure. Barber is easily the every down back. With his lethal speed, Jones can be used for pass catching and toss/sweeps. Choice is a very capable backup who can be utilized just in case Barber or Jones are injured. Running a clock-controlling scheme out of fullhouse will most likely be the main offense used by Cowboy gamers.

Defensively in Madden 09, the Cowboys were a tremendous problem early on. When Adam “Pacman” Jones was added to the game, the Cowboys had three speedy corner backs, including Terence Newman and Orlando Scandrick. The Cowboys defensive front seven was a steady wall to run against and they also had a decent pass rush. The raw combination of strength and speed EA gave the Cowboys made it hard for any offense to counter. The only holes for the Cowboy’s defense in Madden 10 will be safety and the down 3 in their 3-4 defense.

Simply put, the Cowboys are and still will be a great Madden team despite the departure of Terrell Owens and Pacman. The main Madden gamers selecting the Cowboys will continue to probably be clock controller and heavy runners. Although it won’t be as high of a rating as it was just a year ago, the Cowboys overall team rating for Madden 10 will start at 82.

We have all played witness to the rollercoaster career of wide receiver Terrell Owens, as he has gone from an unknown face as a 49er, to a celebrity in Philly, to the toast of the town in Dallas–and now as a Buffalo Bill. The Bills signed T.O. to a one,year $6.5 million contract. With the signing, it leads many critics to wonder if Owens will become the all-too-familiar superstar that he was in recent years, or yet again prove to be another disgruntled nightmare for his newest quarterback, Trent Edwards?

For me, this is a difficult question to answer considering that the Bills already have another No. 1 wide receiver who will line up on the opposite side of the field in Lee Evans, who racked up 63 receptions and 1,017 yards last season. I know T.O. said he came to Buffalo just to help the team win ball games, but that sounds oddly familiar. We heard that from him back in Dallas, and I’m pretty sure none of us have already forgotten how badly that saga ended. When they were winning games, Owens had a big smile, but when they lost, it was certain that he would be blasting off to the media about something. With that being said, the Bills finished last season with a 7-9 record, last in the AFC East.

Like all athletes, T.O. isn’t a big fan of losing. We can assume he will give his all for the first few weeks, but if and when the Bills start losing, I wonder what will happen then? With him being in one the hardest divisions in the NFL, it will be essential for him to keep playing hard week in and week out, or this could be Owen’s first–and last–year as a Bill.