As expected, the NFL trade deadline passed with nary a peep from any of the 32 teams. Willis McGahee is still a Raven, Marion Barber is still a Cowboy and as far as I know, Jen is still with Brad. (Come again? What?! When? With who? Home wrecker…)

As Rotowold.com pointed out, the top NFL Insiders (Adam Schefter, Chris Mortensen, Jason LaCanfora, Anthony Stalter) were rather quiet all afternoon, which was an indication that no major deals were forthcoming by the 4:00PM ET deadline.

There was speculation by one of the beat writers at the Baltimore Sun that the Ravens might look to trade McGahee. But head coach John Harbaugh insisted that the team wasn’t actively trying to trade their running back and GM Ozzie Newsome backed up those words on Tuesday by keeping McGahee on the roster.

In other running back trade news, the Cowboys didn’t send Barber packing either. Of course, that has more to do with Barber’s salary (he’s due $3.86 million this year and $4 million in March thanks to a roster bonus, then $4.25 million 2011, $5.75 million in 2012, $6.25 million in 2013 and $7 million in 2014) and production (3.4 yards per carry so far this year) than it does Dallas’ desire to hang onto the 27-year-old back. I can’t imagine that if the ‘Boys were offered a decent draft pick that they would say, “No, please, don’t take our ineffective running back with the bloated salary.”

La Canfora said this morning that Albert Haynesworth may be moved before the trade deadline, but nothing transpired. No team was going to meet the Redskins’ asking price of either a first or second rounder for the disgruntled but talented DT.

Training camp is still a month away but you don’t need daily reports from the grueling two-a-day sessions to see what players are going to have the heat turned up on them this season. I’ve complied a list of 10 players (in no particular order) who, not necessarily the same reasons, face make or break seasons in ’09.

1. Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys
If Romo doesn’t get the Cowboys to the playoffs in 2009 will Jerry Jones look for other options at quarterback in 2010? No. But if you read between the lines, the Cowboys jettisoned Terrell Owens this offseason so that Romo will have every opportunity to be the team’s most influential leader and hopefully go from being a great quarterback to one of the elite. While it might not technically be a make or break season for Romo, his career is certainly at a crossroads. Romo’s numbers last year were solid – 3,448 yards, 26 TDs, 91.4 QB Rating – but his play faded over the last month of the season and the Cowboys imploded. Since then, Romo’s work ethic, offseason dedication and leadership skills have been questioned and it appears as though the QB’s career has come to a fork in the road. If he continues on the path his currently on, he might put up decent numbers and lead the Cowboys to the playoffs a couple more times before his days are done. That’s certainly not bad, but Jones and the rest of the Cowboy faithful want Romo to be extraordinary and if he completely dedicates himself to the game, maybe he can take this talented team to the next level. One thing’s for sure – with T.O. out of the way, this is now Romo’s team and it’s up to him where he and the Cowboys go from here.

2. Laurence Maroney, RB, New England Patriots
Maroney has a ton of factors working against him as he enters his fourth year and tries to bounce back from an injury-riddled ’08 season in which he rushed for just 93 yards on 28 carries. First, the Patriots have roughly 67 running backs already on the roster and Bill Belichick will be damned if he’s not going to use all 67 at some point this year. Maroney is also expected to have more return duties this year, which is a clear indication that New England isn’t counting on him to be its primary back. When he was selected in the first round of the 2006 draft, many pundits thought the Pats had found their running back of the future. But in three seasons, Maroney has rushed for just 1,673 yards on 388 carries (4.3 AVG) and 12 touchdowns. He obviously has a ton of talent, but he needs to get more opportunities. He doesn’t become a free agent until 2011, so it’ll be interesting to see if he emerges as a focal point in New England’s offense or if he continues his path to NFL obscurity over these two next years.

3. Matt Leinart, QB, Arizona Cardinals
It’s kind of hard to label this a make or break year for Leinart when he’s not even going to get the opportunity to start. But for Leinart, this season is all about proving to the franchise that he can still be their long-term answer at quarterback. So far, the offseason reviews on him have been positive. He’s been training harder than any other offseason, has been working out with Tom Brady, and has showed maturity since the Cards re-signed Kurt Warner and delegated Leinart the backup once again. Warner can’t play forever and chances are this will be his final season. Leinart needs to soak up all the knowledge he can, work hard and prove to Arizona that he can be the franchise quarterback when his number is called again in 2010. If not, the Cards will eventually have to cut their losses and move on. And most NFL teams usually don’t jump at the chance to sign a quarterback with bad workout habits and motivational issues.

4. Willis McGahee, RB, Baltimore Ravens
If it weren’t for an $11 million cap hit, the Ravens would have probably already cut ties with McGahee, who showed an obvious lack of effort under Baltimore’s new coaching staff last season. He had his knee scoped and also had surgery on his ankle this past offseason and so far in OTA sessions, he’s been working with the second team behind Ray Rice. McGahee is signed through 2012, but there’s a good chance Baltimore could release him after the season. If he still wants to get paid like a No. 1 back, McGahee is going to have to stay healthy and give a better effort than he did in ’08. Whether it’s for the Ravens or another team, 2009 will be an audition year for McGahee.

5. Ted Ginn Jr., WR, Miami Dolphins
In two seasons since being selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 draft, Ginn has just 90 receptions for 1,210 yards and six touchdowns. Some may call Ginn’s limited production a lack of opportunities, but if that’s the case, his lack of chances reflects his inability to create separation off the line and in coverage. Ginn needs to get stronger so that he can get out of jams quicker and get into his routes. Once he gets his hands on the ball (barring he doesn’t drop it), he has outstanding speed in the open field and he’s a threat to take it to the house every time. But he needs to become a more complete receiver – not just a speedster. The Miami coaching staff has marveled at his development this summer, so ’09 could be a break out year for Ginn. Most receivers don’t reach their potential until year three (see Roddy White and countless others), so it’s not a stretch to think that Ginn just needed a couple years to get accustomed to how the pro game is played. But he needs to improve on all facets of his game before he starts living up to his draft status.

6. JaMarcuss Russell, QB, Oakland Raiders
Much like Tony Romo in Dallas, the Raiders probably aren’t going to kick Russell to the curb if he doesn’t perform well in 2009. But the team would like to see something out of the third year quarterback to justify their decision to take him with the first overall pick in the 2007 draft. Russell’s numbers from ‘08 weren’t horrible (2,423 yards, 13 TDs, 8 INTs), but he had massive trouble moving the offense at times and he has to do better than the 53.8 completion percentage he posted last year. The report on Russell was that he looked awful in May OTA sessions, but has looked better since then. With the signing of free agent Jeff Garcia in the offseason, Russell better put together a good training camp and preseason if he wants to be the team’s Week 1 starter. Granted, the offensive line is still a work in progress, but with Darren McFadden and first round pick Darrius Heyward-Bey at his disposal, Russell needs to make strikes this season or else he’ll be on the fast track to bustville.

7. Trent Edwards, QB, Buffalo Bills
Edwards made a pitch to Buffalo’s front office to sign Terrell Owens after the talented, yet combustible receiver was released in Dallas. Well Trent, you got him – now what? Edwards still has two more years left on his contract, but the Bills would love to see more out of their third year QB than they did last season when he threw for just 2,699 yards, 11 TDs and 10 INTs. After leading Buffalo to a 5-1 start, Edwards and the Bills fell apart and wound up finishing 7-9. The lowlight for Edwards was a 29-27 loss to the Browns on Monday Night Football in which he was visibly petrified to throw downfield after throwing three early interceptions. With T.O. now on board, Edwards can’t look to the check down when things start going wrong, because Owens won’t stand for not getting enough looks in the passing game.

8. Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco 49ers
Anyone who plays fantasy football on a yearly basis understands the massive potential that Davis hasn’t cashed in yet. Davis has racked up just 103 receptions and nine touchdowns in three seasons, but he did have some factors working against him. He missed six games his rookie year because of a leg injury and last season he played in Mike Martz’s offense, which needless to say absolutely loathes the tight end position. Davis has reportedly slimmed down this offseason in preparation of becoming more of a pass-catching TE in new offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye’s offense, so he could be set up for big things in ‘09. Of course, we’ve heard this all before. Martz praised Davis’ playmaking potential last year and then largely used him as a blocker, which in turn irritated Davis, who then irritated head coach Mike Singletary by his lack of effort. If Davis can keep the whining to a minimum and work hard this season, he still has a chance to be a great tight end in this league. But excuse fantasy owners if they remain doubtful that this is finally Davis’s year.

9. Jamaal Anderson, DE, Atlanta Falcons
The former eighth overall pick from the 2007 draft needs to have a great training camp and carry that effort into the regular season. The Atlanta coaching staff likes the way Anderson plays against the run and his ability to play multiple positions on the defensive line, but he only has two sacks in 31 career starts and was drafted to be a pass-rushing force opposite John Abraham. Despite a lot of fans eagerness to label Anderson a bust, the team hasn’t given up on him and still believes he can blossom in his third season. He has the size to be a dominant end, but he lacks explosiveness out of his stance and lacks aggressiveness. The Falcons made it a point to re-sign fellow DE Chauncey Davis this offseason and that could be a sign that they’re prepared to dump Anderson if he doesn’t pan out soon.

10. Michael Huff, S, Oakland Raiders
There was a time (like, 2006) when Huff was considered as the next great young safety. But since being taken with the seventh overall pick in the ’06 draft, Huff has been a massive disappointment. Part of the problem is that Oakland viewed him as a strong safety when he first entered the league and he struggled mightily. By the time they moved him to free safety (a more natural position for him since he excelled in pass coverage while at Texas) last year, his confidence was already gone and he was brutal both against the run and in coverage. He was eventually benched for Hiram Eugene last season and the Raiders unsuccessfully tried to trade Huff this offseason. What he needs most is a change of scenery, but the Raiders will have a hard time eating his salary if they decide to release him outright. He doesn’t have much hope of succeeding in Oakland, but at only 26-years old, it seems premature to write Huff off entirely. Maybe he’ll get a few opportunities to shine this year and finally turn some heads. If not, he better hope that some Cover 2 team views him as a corner and scoops him up if/when the Raiders eventually decide to cut ties.

1. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers—I know some players take a few years to develop, but I live in Tennessee and saw Williams play on TV a lot when he was with Memphis. I drafted him in 2006 because I knew what not everyone knew—his upside was tremendous. Of course, he had 501 yards and a TD that year. But once DeShaun Foster was gone, Williams exploded, and last year racked up 1639 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns. Potential realized, and there’s more where that came from despite Jonathan Stewart sharing the load.

2. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons—Turner “The Burner” finally got out from under LT’s shadow in San Diego and showed with his new team that he can be a #1 RB—in a big, big way. In fact, Turner out-rushed LT by almost 600 yards. Take that, AJ Smith.

3. Thomas Jones, New York Jets—Jones had a big year, with 1519 total yards and 15 scores. But something tells me to expect a substantial drop-off this year. I mean, this is the same guy who scored 1 rushing TD in 2007.

4. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears—A rookie in 2008, Forte was a pleasant surprise and was basically the Bears’ entire offense. Now they have Jay Cutler at QB, which could mean just a bit less focus on the running game. Still, it’s the Bears, and plus Forte is just as valuable a receiver as he is a runner. Don’t expect a re-run of 2008 (1715 yards and 12 total touchdowns) but don’t expect a crappy season either.

5. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings—He may be frequently injured but AP is about as explosive as any player in the NFL. In fact, he may be what everyone expected Reggie Bush to be. Who? Yeah, I know. Anyway, Peterson had 1885 all-purpose yards but only 10 TDs. This season, I’m looking for 2400 yards from scrimmage and 15-20 scores. I can feel it.

6. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles—Off-season surgery is either going to hamper Westbrook or make him better. I’ll still take a Brian Westbrook at 70% than, say, a Willis McGahee at 100%. When Westbook is on the field (1338 total yards, 54 catches, 14 total TDs in ‘08), he’s fantasy money.

7. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants—Jacobs seemed to perform best when he shared carries with Derrick Ward, who is now in Tampa. Jacobs will still share carries, but with Ahmad Bradshaw. Jacobs had his second straight 1000-yard season (Ward also topped 1000 yards) with 15 touchdowns, and there is no reason to believe he’ll fall short of that in ’09. Well, unless the injury bug bites again.

8. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers—I’m still sick about drafting LT #1 last season in my league. I know that having the top pick doesn’t happen too often, and this guy just killed my season and probably everyone else’s that picked him first or second.
I mean, 1536 yards from scrimmage and 12 scores is not bad, but consider LT’s 2006 season—2323 overall yards and 31 TDs. Last year, LT was more like Thomas Jones in a good year.

9. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars—Streaky yes, but a solid player who can run and catch passes effectively. MJD had 824 rushing yards, and 62 receptions for 565 with 14 total touchdowns. With Fred Taylor in New England, expect those numbers to jump this season.

10. LenDale White, Tennessee Titans—This guy was the touchdown bogart for Chris Johnson, with only 773 yards but 15 scores. Should we expect an encore? It’s hard to say, but Jeff Fisher is definitely a creature of habit.

Here are six quick-hit observations on the Steelers’ 23-13 win over the Ravens in the AFC Championship.

1. My thoughts go out to Willis McGahee.
McGahee took a hell of a pop from Steelers’ defensive back Ryan Clark and appeared to be knocked out before he even hit the ground. It looked like Clark was trying to turn his body to level a shoulder hit on McGahee, but clearly caught him with his helmet first. Not that it was intentional, but Clark should have been flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Regardless, McGahee was carted off the field on a stretcher and my thoughts go out to him. Word is he was talking and moving his legs, which is a positive sign. This is just one of the many examples of how nasty the game of football is. Hopefully both McGahee and Clark (who was also shaken up on the play) return to full health and no permanent damage was suffered by the collision.

2. Joe Flacco’s inexperience was bound to catch up with him.
Flacco was perfect the last two weeks because he didn’t turn the ball over and allowed his running game and defense to win games. But all rookies (even good ones like Flacco) are bound to make mistakes and the young signal caller certainly did tonight. He threw three interceptions, with the one to Troy Polomalu in the fourth quarter being the most damaging. It looked like offensive coordinator Cam Cameron didn’t want to handcuff Flacco and allowed him to throw down field, which wasn’t the problem. At some point, you’re going to have to take cracks down field in order to get the Steelers’ defense on their heels. But clearly Flacco rushed some of his throws and tried to force the action when it wasn’t there. His performance Sunday reminded me a lot of Ben Roethlisberger’s play in the 2005 AFC Championship Game against the Patriots. Big Ben (who was a rookie at the time) tried to make plays happen by throwing down field and New England ate him alive. The next season Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory and just like Big Ben did, Flacco will learn from this performance and continue to develop. He’s got a bright future.

3. Let Big Ben do his thing.
Ben Roethlisberger has to scare the beajesus out of his teammates, coaches and fans with the way he plays the game. He hangs onto the ball way too long and sometimes it costs his team dearly because he takes sacks and turns the ball over. But with the way he escapes the pocket and the grasp of would-be tacklers to find receivers that have shaken loose in the secondary, you have to let him play his game. Does he take unnecessary sacks? Without a doubt. Should he be more careful with the football? Yes. But how many times does he keep plays and drives alive by waiting those extra seconds? No coach should recommend that their quarterback play the way he does, but it clearly works for Big Ben and once again, he’s led the Steelers to another Super Bowl despite lining up behind the weakest offensive line of his career.

4. How does Troy Polomalu do it?
Granted, Joe Flacco threw the ball right to him, but Polomalu’s pivotal interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter was yet another example of how good the safety is. How does he always seem to be in the right place at the right time? Well the fact that he never takes plays off has a lot to do with it, but he also has some of the best instincts in the game. Sure, he’ll whiff on plays at times, but even the best defenders miss tackles in the open field. Polomalu consistently is one of the best playmakers in the game and what was great about his pick tonight wasn’t the actual interception, but the return. The play never stopped for him and thanks to a bevy of blocks, he was able to find open space and reach the end zone to turn the game on its head.

5. Way to bounce back, Limas Sweed.
Sweed went from goat to quiet hero over the course of this game. His drop at the end of the second half was a killer because not only was it right in his bread basket, but he was also all alone and would have walked into the end zone. Granted, he should have never had the opportunity to drop the pass because the Steelers got a gift from the officials after a phantom roughing the kicker call on the Ravens, but back to the topic on hand…. Sweed’s drop (his second in as many weeks) was awful, but he made one of the better plays of the game when he turned into a defender late in the third quarter by knocking the ball loose on a pass play in the end zone when it looked like Frank Walker was going to come down with a huge interception. Thanks to Sweed’s play, the Steelers salvaged the drive with a 46-yard Jeff Reed field goal to go up 16-7 with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter. It was a play that will go largely unnoticed (especially compared to his easy drop), but Sweed deserves credit for not disappearing after his embarrassing drop.

6. Cardinals vs. Steelers? I like it.
A lot of football fans consider the Cardinals one of the worst teams to ever make the postseason and will no doubt refer to Arizona as one of the worst teams to ever play in a Super Bowl. But with the way the Cardinals’ offense is clicking, an Arizona-Pittsburgh matchup is intriguing. Some will write this game off as an easy win for the Steelers because their defense will get pressure on Kurt Warner and shut the Cards’ dynamic passing game down. But if we’ve learned anything from this postseason it’s that the Cardinals come to play.

On why he hasn’t been healthy this year: “I tried to do something different this year. They wanted me to come in lighter and I tried to come in lighter, so I relaxed on the weights because the more weights I lift the heavier I get… so I relaxed on that and just tried to work on conditioning, but it didn’t work out so well this year. So I’m just going go ahead and do what I’ve been doing for the past couple of years and just work out and be Willis McGahee.”

On his diminished production: “Yeah, I tried to be someone else’s running back this year and it didn’t work out.”

On if he felt like he needed to change his game: “Naw, I didn’t want to change it, but when you have a new coach and they’ve got a perception of you, you’ve got to try and change to stay on the good side of them.”

On his thoughts on the future, offseason: “I don’t know what this offseason is going to bring. It’s been a crazy year for me with the talks of me not being there next year but regardless, I’m just going to go out there and play for me… I can’t play for nobody else but me.”

How about playing for your teammates, your fans and your coaches, Willis? Is that too much to ask?

Talk about bad timing. The Ravens are trying to prepare for a road playoff game and this selfish idiot decides to bring a little controversy to the table. Why say anything about the injuries? Why not say, “You know what? The injuries were unfortunate this year but they’re just part of the game. The only thing that matters is winning in Miami.”

Is that so hard?

Upset Watch: Rams (2-7) at 49ers (2-7), 4:05 PM ET
Everyone is scrambling to be the first to predict the Jaguars to upset the Titans this weekend, but people have been waiting for Tennessee to fall for weeks and still they remain unbeaten. It’s hardly a huge upset to predict one 2-7 team will beat another, but after their strong showing on Monday night, football pundits might assume this game will be an easy victory for the Niners. While there’s nothing to like about the Rams following their abysmal performance last week against the Jets, this is a better team than what they’ve shown and San Fran is a bit dysfunctional right now after their debacle on Monday Night Football. Jim Haslett is still fighting for a head coaching job (as is Mike Singletary) and there’s no doubt he’ll have his team more prepared than they were last week in New York. Of course, a win for the Rams would mean that Marc Bulger has to get his head out of his ass and someone has to find Torry Holt. But as usual with my “Upset Watch”, I won’t predict an outright win for St. Louis, but I say they at least cover the 5.5-point spread.

Intriguing Matchup: Cowboys (5-4) at Redskins (6-3), 8:15 PM ET
Tony Romo will be back in action this week, but will he need a game or two to shake off the rust? Unfortunately for him, Dallas can’t afford to lose any more ground in a stacked NFC East. The Redskins are also fighting to keep pace in the division and will look to avenge their ugly loss to the Steelers on Monday Night Football two weeks ago. They’ll have to do it without Clinton Portis, however, as he currently is sidelined with a MCL injury. Jason Campbell has been solid this season, but he’ll need to make plays without Portis in the backfield. If the Cowboys are going to walk away with a win, they’ll do so because of a strong defensive effort – not the play of Romo.

Other Notable Games:
Titans (9-0) at Jaguars (4-5), 4:15 PM ET
As previously noted, everyone is waiting for the Titans to slip and this very well could be the weekend they do. But they don’t seem like the team that gets ahead of themselves and every one of their wins has been a dogfight. The Jaguars rebounded with an impressive win over the Lions last week, but let’s not forget that they lost to the Bengals and Browns in two games prior to that.

Bears (5-4) at Packers (4-5), 1:00 PM ET
This is a must win for both teams because the Vikings are right back in the division hunt again. If the Packers lose, they might be able to kiss the playoffs goodbye. Kyle Orton is expected to play for the Bears.

Vikings (5-4) at Bucs (6-3), 1:00 PM ET
We’ll find out a lot about Minnesota this Sunday and whether or not they’ve returned from the grave. A win over a solid Tampa team would go a long way in proving they’ve rebounded from earlier seasons struggles.

Broncos (5-4) at Falcons (6-3), 1:00 PM ET
The legend of Matt Ryan continues this week in the Georgia Dome. Ryan is 4-0 at home this year and will have plenty of opportunities to make big plays against a horrible Denver defense. But Jay Cutler as lit opposing defenses up this year and there could be a wild finish to this game in the making.