Tony Romo and Dallas will aim to break an 11-year playoff win drought this season. John Iacono/SI

4. Dallas -- Sorry, but when you're the only team in the league that owns two first-round picks (No. 22 and 28), the pressure's on you more so than most. Facts are facts. And when you add in the Cowboys' belief their time to win is now, with an NFC-best 13-3 record that wound up ringing hollow in 2007, it ratchets up the stakes another notch or two.

The Cowboys own eight overall picks and while they don't have a litany of needs, they best address two of their three big needs with their pair of first-rounders. Dallas could use another running back to compliment Marion Barber, a receiver to draw some coverage away from Owens and Jason Witten and a cornerback who can make some plays when teams stay away from Terence Newman's side of the field (trading for Pacman Jones would render this draft need moot).

Owner Jerry Jones has ponied up and paid his quarterback, Tony Romo, and has seemingly won the gamble he took on T.O. Now he hungers to put his franchise's 11-year streak of playoff-winless seasons to bed. Dallas has a glitzy new stadium on the way and most of the pieces in place to make a Super Bowl run. The last few components can be the toughest to collect, and that's what makes this month's results so pivotal.

5. Miami -- The Dolphins are another given when it comes to the NFL teams with the most to gain or lose in this year's draft. They went 1-15 and now hold the coveted/burdensome No. 1 pick. What could present a bigger potential fork in the road than that? Factor in the Fish's new regime, headed by the Big Tuna himself, Bill Parcells, and you've got the makings of a watershed moment that only comes around so often (think 1998 Colts, mulling Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf).

At the moment, Miami has more needs than picks, but nine selections may have to be enough for Parcells' first draft in South Florida. It seems pretty clear the Dolphins will wind up taking a lineman named Long, be it defensive end Chris or offensive tackle Jake. That's the smartest, quickest route to respectability. A quarterback with one of Miami's two second-rounders is also a solid bet (Michigan's Chad Henne has caught the Dolphins' eyes).

After that, Miami is probably going to go for defense heavily, trying to shore up the unit that will be asked to keep the Dolphins in games while things build on the offensive side. Linebackers, always a Parcells' forte, should be at the top of the need list. This is clearly a stepping-stone draft for Miami, designed to set the stage for 2009 and beyond. But it's a big first step, with all the hype and white-hot lights that go with the No. 1 slot.

• Another week, another Brett Favre headline. Is this how the entire offseason is going to go? And this week's was a doozy. The guy hasn't even made it six weeks into his retirement and he's already musing about maybe being a long-distance version of the Packers' game-day emergency quarterback? Huh?

It's mind-boggling to me that after Favre bowed out of the game with grace and a sense of good timing that we're already at the point where a sense of clarity about his status has been sacrificed in order for him to keep the slightest comeback option open in his mind. And we're not even to tax day yet.

I understand that Favre was likely just talking off the top of his head to the Biloxi, Miss., newspaper that he has often made news in, but when he starts saying "right now, no'' to the question of whether he's considering a return to the game, it's pretty easy to guess that later could mean yes.

First there was the obsessive Favre retirement watch. And now, and this is even worse, comes the obsessive Favre un-retirement watch. Can't anybody just say goodbye and mean it any more?

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