Bucs’ OC Greg Olson wants Caddy to be the featured back. Williams has been productive, but he’s injury-prone, and if the Bucs start giving him 25 touches a game, he’s probably going to break down. This is bad news for Derrick Ward in the short term, but in the long term, it might be a good thing. Ward could be the primary ballcarrier to close the season.

Brandon Marshall seems to be happy again. It’s amazing what a 4-0 start and a sick, game-winning TD catch will do for a guy. Marshall’s talent is undeniable, and it seems like he and HC Josh McDaniels have put the ill will behind them and have found a way to work together. Marshall’s upside is still limited somewhat by Kyle Orton (just ask Eddie Royal owners), but he has been productive of late and has worked his way back to being an every-week start in most formats.

Rashard Mendenhall should start this week. With Willie Parker likely out, look for another big game from Mendenhall as he faces the Lions’ 20th-ranked rush defense.

MBIII is back at practice. The Cowboys face the Chiefs this week, so it’s a nice matchup for the entire offense. Barber should be in most starting lineups, but Tashard Choice is likely to see a lot of work to keep Barber fresh. Choice has been productive, so there’s no reason not to use him.

Frank Gore on track to return in Week 7. The 49ers have a bye next week, so it looks like Sunday may be the last week that Glen Coffee is startable. He has a nice matchup with the 25th-ranked Falcons’ rush defense and should see plenty of work. Regardless, Gore owners should keep Coffee stashed as a handcuff.

For those who couldn’t tune into Monday night’s game between the Cowboys and the Panthers, you didn’t miss much.

The Cowboys were sloppy, the Panthers were sloppier and thus Dallas won the ultimate snooze fest 21-7. Victories are hard to come by in the NFL, but if I were Wade Phillips or Jerry Jones, I wouldn’t be breaking out the party favors and bubbly after this one.

The Panthers are bad – real bad. And it’s not fair to pin all of their problems on Jake Delhomme, who threw two more interceptions tonight to run his season total to 407. Delhomme has been bad, but he’s hardly the only reason why Carolina is 0-3 right now and has little to no chance of repeating as NFC South champions.

The Panthers might as well cheat and set up speed bumps on every play, because their run defense is horrible. The Cowboys rushed for 212 yards tonight on 32 carries (6.6 YPC) without Marion Barber as Carolina made Felix Jones and Tashard Choice look like Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen.

Another issue for the Panthers is their inability to convert on third down. They came into the game tonight ranked 26th in third-down conversions and then on cue, went 1 for 8 against Dallas. Teams can’t win in the NFL if they can’t convert on third downs and Carolina is living proof of that right now.

John Fox and his coaching staff don’t escape blame for the Panthers’ woes either. In three games this season, Carolina has zero third quarter points. That means Fox and his coaching staff is failing to make adjustments at half time and the players are at a disadvantage because they’re always trailing heading into the fourth quarter. I understand that Fox doesn’t pass, block or tackle, but zero third quarter points in three games is just one telltale sign that he has been completely outcoached.

The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for Carolina. They need to figure out how to get back to running the football and taking the game out of Delhomme’s hands. They also need to use the ground attack to keep their Swiss cheese defense on the sidelines and control the time of possession. If they fail to do that, then the Panthers are going to continue to struggle and one has to wonder if Fox is long for his job in Carolina.

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Marion Barber suffered a quad strain in the Cowboys’ 33-31 loss to the Giants on Sunday and could be held out against the Panthers, whom Dallas plays on Monday night.

An MRI taken Monday morning confirmed Barber suffered a quad strain. When asked later in the afternoon if the injury could force the running back to miss some time, head coach Wade Phillips said, “We’ll have to wait and see on that.”

How the injury responds in the next few days will determine if he’s able to play against Carolina.

This is the second year in a row where Barber has come out of the gates like a bat out of hell, only to suffer an injury to slow him down. Last season, he scored nine touchdowns in the first 13 weeks before a toe injury severely limited his production for the rest of the year.

If Barber can’t play, Felix Jones would get the start and split carries with Tashard Choice.

After months of speculation regarding whether or not to release or trade him, Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones has decided to hang onto wide receiver Terrell Owens.

Financially, this was a wise move. Cutting T.O. wouldn’t have created much cap space and there’s nobody on the open market outside of T.J. Houshmandzadeh who matches what Owens brings to the field. That said, Jones better realize that he has nobody but himself to blame if Owens turns around and makes a mess of things in the locker room this season.

Something is wrong in Dallas, this much we know. They have more than enough talent on both sides of the ball to compete for a Super Bowl, yet they can’t even make the playoffs in a weak NFC. For the Eagles to make the postseason after looking so bad mid-year, there’s no reason a team composed of Owens, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Marion Barber and DeMarcus Ware should miss the playoffs. And yes, Barber’s injury hurt the ‘Boys towards the end of the year, but a team as talented as the Cowboys should be able to overcome one player’s absence.

The word that keeps coming up with this team is chemistry. The Cowboys don’t have enough good chemistry to win. If that’s the case, then that hangs on Jones’s shoulders and again, he should be held personally accountable. He put this team together and he’s the one that believes a bunch of malcontents like T.O. and Pacman Jones can survive under one roof.

Jones jettisoned one bad apple (Pacman), but decided to keep another (T.O.). If the decision to keep Owens sours (pardon the apple pun) in the end, then Jones needs to look in the mirror and discover that the main problem is staring him right in the face.

Ravens at Cowboys, 8:15PM ET Saturday NFL Network
It’s a shame that only four people will have the opportunity to see this game Saturday night due to the broadcast being on NFL Network. It appears that Marion Barber will play again this week but he doesn’t have a great matchup against a stout Baltimore defense. The Ravens will continue to pound the ball on the ground and keep rookie quarterback Joe Flacco protected, which was one thing the Giants failed to do last week for Eli Manning when they gave up eight sacks in a loss to Dallas. The Cowboys are playing their best defense of the season right now but will all of their off-field issues eventually catch up to them? Can Terrell Owens behave? Will Tony Romo hold this team together?

Steelers at Titans, 1:00PM ET, CBS
Home field advantage in the AFC is on the line in this game, but Tennessee is in trouble. Not only are the Titans coming off a loss, but they also lost DT Albert Haynesworth for the season and managed to score just 12 points on the suddenly hot Houston Texans last Sunday. The Steelers, meanwhile, continue to play the best defense of any team in the NFL and while they still have of a fair amount of issues on the offensive side of the ball, they appear to be the team to beat in the NFL right now. We’ll find out a lot about both teams this Sunday in a game that should be a massive defensive struggle.

Cardinals at Patriots, 1:00PM ET FOX
New England is currently locked in a three-way tie in the AFC East although a win over Arizona would go a long way in earning a division crown because they wrap up the season against the hapless Bills next week. The Cardinals might have won the NFC West two weeks ago, but at 8-6 they don’t look like a team ready for the postseason. They have yet to beat a quality opponent on the road and their defense looked disastrous last week in allowing the Vikings’ Tarvaris Jackson to throw four touchdown passes and Adrian Peterson to do whatever he wanted on the ground. If they hope to get any momentum before the playoffs, the Cards might want to start with a win this Sunday in Foxboro. But that might be tough to do against a Patriots team on a mission.

Chargers at Buccaneers, 1:00PM ET CBS
The Broncos have kept the Chargers in the playoff mix but San Diego’s hopes are hanging by a thread. One more loss or a Denver win and they would officially be eliminated. Tampa Bay is coming off two straight losses to divisional opponents and injuries are mounting along the defensive line. The Buccaneers’ once stout run defense has been gashed for over 450 yards the past two weeks and if LaDainain Tomlinson can get going, the Chargers might be the next opponent to run amuck on Tampa. Still, the Bucs are in good shape for the playoffs if they can muster a win Sunday and they should have a huge advantage this week with wideout Antonio Bryant going against a spotty San Diego secondary. If the Bucs win out, they’ll secure one of the Wild Card seeds in the NFC and after hosting the Chargers this week, they wrap up the season against the Raiders at Raymond James.

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Upset Watch: 49ers (5-8) at Dolphins (8-5), 1:00 PM ET, FOX
Let me state for the record that I think the Dolphins have been one of the best storylines in the NFL this season. That said – they’re due for a letdown. Just when the public is ready to hop on a team’s bandwagon and ride its coattails the rest of the season, they hit a pothole and send everyone flying off. Miami is a better team than San Francisco and they should win Sunday in convincing fashion. But San Fran is a dangerous team right now because they have nothing to play for and have fiery Mike Singletary leading the way – the same fiery Mike Singletary that is trying to prove he deserves a head-coaching job. The Niners have been more competitive since Singletary took over and quarterback Shaun Hill has been a pleasant surprise. You might think I’m crazy (and I am) for predicting a 49er upset considering Frank Gore is expected to miss the game, but DeShaun Foster is no slouch and is likely craving the opportunity to carry the full load. Just when you think you’ve got the NFL figured out, it throws you a punch to the gut. Do we have another punch coming this Sunday in Miami?

Intriguing Matchup: Buccaneers (9-4) at Falcons (8-5), 1:00 PM ET, FOX
Call this “Sunday’s Best II.” With the Bucs’ loss to the Panthers in Carolina on Monday night, the NFC South is now 0-10 this season when playing on the road against other NFC South opponents. And considering Jeff Garcia has missed significant practice time this week due to a calf injury, things don’t bode well for Tampa. However, Monte Kiffin’s defense has always given the Falcons trouble. Both of these teams are coming off of divisional losses and both need a win to stay in the NFC playoff picture (especially Atlanta), so we can probably expect one hell of a fight. Look for Tampa to take away Michael Turner and the Falcons’ running game and force rookie Matt Ryan to beat them through the air. They had this same approach in their Week 2 victory and Ryan failed miserably, although it’s safe to say he’s a completely different player nowadays and he showed once again last week in New Orleans that he can make every throw in the NFL. Will the Bucs get back on track this week or will the legend of Matt Ryan continue to grow?

Other Notable Games:

Steelers (10-3) at Ravens (9-4), 4:15 PM ET CBS
Call this game “Sunday’s Best III” or “Sunday’s Best 1A.” Whatever you call it, it’s going to be one of the best games of week. Pittsburgh remains one game ahead of Baltimore in the AFC North and currently has the head to head advantage after beating the Ravens earlier in the year. No team is playing better defensively right now than Pittsburgh, but the Ravens have suddenly hit their offensive stride in recent weeks and still boasts one of the best defenses in the league. This game might wind up being a 6-3 final.

Vikings (8-5) at Cardinals (8-5), 4:05 PM ET FOX
The Cardinals may have locked up the NFC West crown last week, but they still have plenty to play for as they try to improve their playoff seeding. And with the Bears’ victory over the Saints on Thursday night, the Vikings must win to stay one game ahead of Chicago in the NFC North. Can backup Tarvaris Jackson lead Minnesota to victory?

Broncos (8-5) at Panthers (10-3), 4:15 PM ET, CBS
With their win over Tampa on Monday night, many purists are talking about Carolina possibly being the No. 1 seed in the NFC come playoff time. But they’ll get a challenge this Sunday from a Denver team trying to clinch the AFC West crown.

Bills (6-7) at Jets (8-5), 1:00 PM ET, CBS
After losing two straight, the Jets now find themselves in a three-way tie with the Dolphins and Patriots for first place in the AFC East. Can they get back on track or will the Bills play spoiler?