Apparently, it doesn't take Terrell Owens(notes) to cause a receiver controversy in Dallas -- all you need is a trade in which Jerry Jones got fleeced by the Detroit Lions, one maddeningly underachieving diva, and an undrafted free agent that came out of nowhere to put up two of the finest performances at his position in recent memory.

The diva in question is Roy Williams, the ex-Lions receiver who hasn't come close to fulfilling the price Dallas paid for him -- first-, third-, and sixth-round picks in 2009, plus a seventh back in 2010. Through Week 8 of the 2009 season, Williams has 14 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He's fourth in receiver productivity on the team, behind Jason Witten(notes), Patrick Crayton(notes), and some guy by the name of Miles Austin(notes), who has put up individual-game performances of 250 and 171 receiving yards in the last month. Austin is getting his first starts this season, and he's making the most of it. The same cannot be said of Williams, whose resemblance to Owens is only in sheer disgruntlement.

"I'm the No. 1 receiver," Williams recently told the Dallas media. "But things are just going No. 2's way." No. 2 is obviously Austin, and Williams wasn't done shifting blame away from himself.

"(Austin) gets the ball thrown correctly his way. I'm stretching and falling and doing everything. Everybody who's been here's balls are there. Our footballs are everywhere right now."

What Williams is trying to say, in a convoluted fashion, is that Tony Romo(notes) is throwing footballs with extreme efficiency to everyone else on the team, and hurling Ryan Leaf goatballs to him. That, and not Williams' sloppy routes and alligator arms, is the reason Dallas' "star receiver" has caught 14 of the 37 balls thrown his way, for a pathetic catch rate of 38 percent (as opposed to Crayton's 51 percent and Austin's 62 percent).

Now, it's come out that Michael Irvin offered tips to Williams and Austin during the Cowboys' training camp about anticipating the snap count and using correct catch technique. Irvin recently said that while Austin was a willing and grateful pupil, Williams wasn't interested. Say what you will about Irvin, but there haven't been many receivers in NFL history with his absolutely demonic competitive spirit once he got on the field. Austin understands that every little bit helps. Williams clearly doesn't.

The Cowboys have a major problem on their hands with Williams. His high price forces the team to put him in a lead role he hasn't earned and doesn't deserve, and it may take more bad plays and blamescaping before this sad experiment comes to an end.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Once again, this week features the Brees/Manning flip-flop at the top, with Brees placing his foot squarely on top of Manning's head this week. He did have the one interception where Falcons DB Brett Grimes climbed air to snatch it out of the sky, but Brees spent most of the game being pretty damn brilliant. I'm not predicting 16-0 for the Saints, but if there's one reason they can get there, it's that the play they get from the quarterback position gives them a very big margin for error in every game. Like last night, for example.
2. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Not a great week for Peyton, but his season so far gives him enough juice to keep the top spot. It's kind of funny that the guy can complete 31-of-48 passes for 347 yards, and I'm calling it "not a great week," but that's the level of quarterback play we're being blessed with this year in NFL National Football League. Sorry, I wanted to try that.
3. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		The Vikings outplayed the Packers, but did Brett Favre(notes) outplay Aaron Rodgers? Sort of yes, sort of no. Favre was just about flawless, but the burden on Rodgers was far greater. The Packers had no Adrian Peterson to lean on, they don't have a great defense, and they didn't get to play with a lead. They asked Rodgers to do everything, and he responded with 287 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. I'm giving the edge to Rodgers based on degree of difficulty. As a side note: You know who has the best quarterback rating in the league right now? It's not Brees, and it's not Manning ... it's Mr. Aaron Rodgers. The top two is dangerously close to being broken up.
4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
		Continuing the Rodgers vs. Favre on Sunday discussion from above, I do have to acknowledge some bias towards Rodgers. I know this, and you know this. I still think a slight edge to Rodgers is the right call. Favre's been amazing, but the Minnesota offense is so perfectly tailored to putting the quarterback in a great position. Obviously, that doesn't mean just anyone could step in and put up the kinds of numbers Favre is putting up, but he doesn't have the weight of an entire offense on his shoulders, either.
5. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A week off for Pittsburgh, and Roethlisberger stays put in the five-hole.
6. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Matt Schaub slides a bit this week after a zero touchdown, two interception performance against the Bills. I don't think Schaub will mind, though, because he also got some good news this week: he might soon have a running game, courtesy of Ryan Moats(notes). If the Texans add a consistent ground game to what Schaub and Andre Johnson(notes) are already doing ... sweet sassy molassey, that's going to be quite an offense.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It's so difficult to hash out the bottom of this list every week, because there's so little separating so many quality quarterbacks, but it seems like Philip Rivers is the one guy who can be counted on for consistency. His QB rating has been 93 or better in his past four games, and he's never been below 84.5 on the year. Thank you, Phil, for making this slightly easier.
8. Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys
		Just 15 minutes and 30 seconds into the Cowboys/Seahawks game, Tony Romo had already hit five different receivers. By the end of the game, 10 different Cowboys had caught passes. I love that stat, because it shows that a quarterback is getting through his progressions, making all kinds of different reads, and isn't relying too heavily on one guy. Three stellar weeks for Romo and counting.
9. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		Here's what Flacco accomplished on Sunday: 20-of-25, one touchdown, no interceptions, one win against an undefeated team and one big, sloppy wet kiss from Dan Dierdorf avoided after the game. I like Dierdorf, but he does tend to get carried away at times ... and yet, the unyielding river of verbal lust that he lavished on Flacco on Sunday was completely warranted.
10. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady had the week off, so let's talk about the two other guys who were considered for this spot. First, Eli. After reaching as high as number two on this list, he is now completely gone. Sorry. There are too many good quarterbacks here for three bad weeks to be tolerated. Second, Mr. McNabb. Great, great game on Sunday, but you know what I'd like you to do? Have two of them in a row. You've burned me before, sir.
Noses pressed against the glass: Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals; Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants; Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos; Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears

Before the start of the 2009 season, most NFL observers without a specific rooting interest would have told you that in the NFC East, the favorites had to be the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins capable of competing for the division only if everything went right. Well, we know how things have gone for the Redskins, but things are definitely looking up for the Cowboys. The undrafted Miles Austin(notes) is looking like a threat of Drew Pearson proportions, Tony Romo(notes) is playing consistently well recently, and the combination of their huge offensive line and three-headed running back attack makes Dallas a very tough team to stop. Now that DeMarcus Ware(notes) has jumped off the milk carton, the Cowboys look strong -- they certainly did when they demolished the weak-kneed Seahawks, 38-17, at the Jerry Jones Den of Iniquity today.

Meanwhile, the Eagles are up to their usual Jekyll-and-Hyde tricks. Two weeks after an embarrassing loss to the Raiders in which the playcalling of Andy Reid was called into question by the boo-birds for the five millionth time, and a mere six days after they took advantage of a Redskins squad who basically forgot to show up for Monday Night Football, Philly took the wood to the Giants, 40-17. They did it without Brian Westbrook(notes), who was out with a concussion, but they did have gamebreaking threat DeSean Jackson(notes). Jackson scored on a 54-yard reception, giving him six plays of 50 or more yards this season. And they did it with the power running (!) of halfback LeSean McCoy(notes) and fullback Leonard Weaver(notes), who combined for 157 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. And they did it with a ravenous defense that limited the Giants to two touchdowns and 163 first-half yards (whole the Eagles were racking up 262). The Giants are flagging, having lost three straight, and they seem to have no answers for an offense that has lost the ability to run with consistency and control the tempo and momentum of a game.

So, when the Eagles welcome the Cowboys to the Linc for Sunday Night Football next week, the game will put the division leaders, each at 5-2, against each other in what should be the first step in a thrillride for supremacy down the stretch. Last time these two teams met, it was in the 2008 regular-season finale. Philly destroyed Dallas, 44-6, going on to the NFC Championship game while the Cowboys simply went home. Don't believe for one second that Dallas has forgotten how their season ended.

Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Again, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees(notes) trade spots. What did Peyton do against the Rams? Nothing too special: 235 yards passing, three touchdowns, no interceptions. Nothing that set the world on fire, but nothing to dispel the notion that he's the best quarterback in football, either.
2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
		Besides, it was more about what Brees did than what Manning did. I don't want to send the message that a game-winning second half is outweighed by a horrendous first half, but if you want the top spot, you can't have one touchdown, three interception days. You just can't. He might've even fallen out of the top two if he didn't lead that tremendous comeback.
3. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		Making the biggest jump this week is Aaron Rodgers, who benefits from a week where a lot of the top guys weren't overwhelmingly awesome. Rodgers -- and this is a sick statistic -- has a quarterback rating of over 110 in each of his past four games. And he does this while leading the league in number of times sacked. Incredible.
4. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		He leads the league in yards passing, and he leads the league in touchdown passes. Whether or not your brain is ready to accept it, Matt Schaub is one of the NFL's most dangerous offensive weapons. Riding Schaub's arm, the Texans are winners of three of their last four.
5. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		There is one quarterback in the NFL completing more than 70% of his passes (actually, there are two, but Peyton Manning doesn't count, because I believe he's actually half robot), and his name is Ben Roethlisberger. He slides a tad, because he didn't have a great day against a tough Vikings defense: 14-of-26, 175 yards, one touchdown.
6. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		Likewise, Favre also slides a bit because he didn't have a great day against a tough Steelers defense. He had a touchdown taken away from him on a phantom leg-whip call, and the interception bounced off of Chester Taylor's(notes) palms, but still, he didn't do enough to win.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		Rivers jumps back up the list a little bit after a week of feasting on the Chiefs secondary: 268 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Even better news for Rivers is that the Chargers showed some slight signs of maybe doing some things that might help him, like, oh, I don't know ... blocking and having a running game.
8. Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants
		Poor Eli continues to tumble down the list. Giants everywhere are tumbling down all kinds of lists, as we see that maybe their dominant start had something to do with the meatballs on their schedule: Washington, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland to start the season. All the sudden, Eli plays two good defenses, and he has two bad games. Perhaps this is not a coincidence.
9. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Handsome Tom drops two spots in the rankings: One for each interception he threw this week. I'm not going to get too down on the guy, though, as he also threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns. He's had big games in the last two weeks against bad defenses, while struggling a bit earlier in the season against some good defenses. He's sort of the anti-Eli, in that way.
10. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		I kept going back and forth here between Kyle Orton(notes) and Joe Flacco. Orton's doing a fantastic job with the Broncos this year, but here's the question that decided it for me: If I had to pick one guy to take his team the length of the field in 60 seconds, where there's no time for screens, slants, or dump-offs, who would I take? I take Flacco. Orton's doing great in a take-care-of-the-ball, don't-risk-much offense, but I see Flacco as the more dangerous quarterback.
Noses pressed against the glass: Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys; Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals; Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Matt Ryan(notes), Atlanta Falcons; Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears

1. Carson Palmer(notes), Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals. That is what the Bengals can look like when Carson Palmer is dominant for 60 minutes (give or take the garbage time they give to J.T. O'Sullivan(notes)). Palmer completed 83 percent of his passes, and five of his 24 attempts went for touchdowns. Chad Ochocinco(notes) was targeted 11 times, and made 10 receptions. This was the game I'd been waiting for Palmer to have. Yesterday, the Bengals went from, "They could be an interesting team" to "If Palmer plays like that, the Super Bowl is not out of the question."

2. Brian Cushing(notes), Linebacker, Houston Texans. Cushing accepts on behalf of DeMeco Ryans(notes), Bernard Pollard(notes) and everyone else on the Texans defense, but the rookie Cushing has been a big part of their recent dominance against the run. In Week 4, they held the Raiders to 45 yards rushing. Fine, no big deal. The next week, the Cardinals got 44. Next, the Bengals had 46, with league-leader Cedric Benson(notes) being held to 44 yards on 16 carries. This week, Frank Gore(notes) had 13 carries for 32 yards. With all their offensive weapons, if the Texans have put together even half a defense, they are a dangerous group.

3. Tony Romo(notes), Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys. Everyone else has sort of gotten lost in the emergence of Miles Austin(notes), but every big play by Austin yesterday was made possible by an on-the-money throw by Tony Romo. Patrick Crayton(notes) made a big touchdown catch, too, that was set up by Romo shaking off about three near-sacks before making the play. Romo was 21-of-29 for 311 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions on the day.

4. Brett Keisel(notes), Defensive End, Pittsburgh Steelers. LaMarr Woodley(notes) and Keyaron Fox(notes) scored the touchdowns and got the glory for the Pittsburgh defense, but it was Keisel who got to Brett Favre and knocked the ball loose to begin with. Woodley scooped it up, and the rest of the Steelers defense escorted him downfield like they were the secret service and Woodley was the president. An impressive play all around by the defense, and that's where your game was won.

5. Alex Smith, Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers. Usually, only winning teams are represented here in the five MVPs, but I will make the exception for a good redemption story. Alex Smith, the 2005 draft bust for the 49ers, took over for Shaun Hill(notes) at halftime yesterday, and very nearly led the 49ers to an unlikely comeback victory. More importantly, though, Smith seemed to have a good on-field rapport with receiver Michael Crabtree(notes), and long-term, that might be the most important thing in determining who plays quarterback for the 49ers.

The Dallas Cowboys are going into their bye week having squeaked by the Kansas City Chiefs, 26-20 in overtime after being down as much as 13-3 halfway through the third quarter. Picking on (and just barely beating) Todd Haley's winless squad may not be all that impressive, but it's how the 'Boys have been putting up wins this year.

When the Panthers beat the Redskins yesterday, it was the first and only time that any team Dallas has beaten this year won a game. The Buccaneers, Panthers, and Chiefs are a combined 1-13. That win over Kansas City might be enough to save Wade Phillips' job another couple of weeks, but it's not indicative of any level of success. Between the penalties (13 for 90 yards, and the offensive line was particularly jumpy), the fumbles (the Tony Romo(notes) botched snap and the Patrick Crayton(notes) muffed punt return), and the drops (three dropped TD passes in the first half alone), this Cowboys team looks more like a replacement-level squad feasting on lesser opponents. Which is exactly what they are at this point.

The problems are everywhere. Romo has been neither efficient nor consistent, and the running game has had to bail the offense out as never before. The defense that led the league in sacks last year with 59 has only 10 through four games. DeMarcus Ware(notes) had 20 quarterback takedowns last season -- this year, he has two. The front five misses Greg Ellis(notes), as Anthony Spencer(notes) hasn't been the same kind of disruptive presence on the edge, allowing opposing offenses to plan more for Ware on the other side. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, once the hottest property in the league, was rightfully slammed for his gameplanning against the Broncos -- especially late in the game, when Jason Witten(notes) was left in to block and Romo had two square-in reads to a receiver covered by Champ Bailey(notes).

The Cowboys had best use their bye to take care of business -- on October 25, they start a four-game stretch against teams (the Falcons, Seahawks, Eagles and Packers) with offenses more than capable of dropping 40-burgers on unsuspecting defenses, and defenses primed to give Romo a case of the shakes. Dallas' exhibition season is officially over; the "fun" begins in two weeks.