The ‘Playbook’ crew of Sterling Sharpe, Brian Baldinger, Matt Millen and Joe Theismann make their Week 4 picks.

The momentum of a previous week’s stirring comeback and opening at home in front of a raucous Monday Night Football crowd aren’t enough to convince our experts that the Cowboys will hand the Redskins their first loss of the year.

Week 2 Playbook picks

Week 1 Playbook picks

Every Wednesday this season, the research staff at “Playbook” will be taking your questions through email (playbook@nfl.com) and on Twitter (@NFLN_Playbook, with #askplaybook hashtag), and answering them in this blog. Here is the first batch of questions we’ve selected.

In the preseason, there are third- and fourth-stringers whose chances of making the team aren’t very good. What a waste of time, right? No. Not to “Playbook.” To us, every second counts. Our research team watches every play for every team. We pour over every blitz, every false step by an offensive lineman and every blown coverage. Now you can go inside it all.

Plaxico Burress is in our studios today, and I can tell you he immediately passed the eye test. Brian Baldinger and Solomon Wilcots immediately noted and commented on his physical appearance, and Burress told me he’s sticking to a strict regimen in South Florida, and his legs feel as strong and explosive as ever. “This is best I’ve felt in years,” he said. Burress is spending his days at Bommarito Performance Systems, an elite training facility, and has been joined there by other top receivers such as Chad Ochocinco and Sidney Rice. He said the ankle issues that bogged him down in the past are long gone, and he will be ready to go whenever the lockout ends. Baldinger asked […]

NFL Network’s “The Top 100: Players of 2011″ has provided a quality source of material for offseason arguments. And as the countdown continues — Nos. 11-20 will be unveiled Sunday at 8 p.m. ET — network producers strong-armed analyst Brian Baldinger and insider Jason La Canfora to come up with their own top-10 lists Friday.

Tim Tebow might be the future in Denver, some NFL observers believe Kyle Orton remains the present.

As far as DeMarcus Ware is concerned, the Dallas Cowboys don’t have a leadership void. From the outside looking in, not everyone shares Ware’s perspective after a season in which the Cowboys finished 6-10, missed the playoffs and head coach Wade Phillips was fired.

After back-to-back seasons in which he missed 19 games because of injuries, Clinton Portis believes he has a lot left in the tank. The latest from Portis is that he would like to take what’s left to the Giants and exact revenge on his former team, the Redskins.

What — if any — separation exists between Nnamdi Asomugha and Darrelle Revis as the NFL’s best cornerback?

NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger outlined some of the trickle down benefits of the addition of Julio Jones for the Falcons, namely the benefit to QB Matt Ryan and the running game behind Michael Turner.

Ronnie Brown is open to a return to the Dolphins, even in a mentor role to second-round pick Daniel Thomas. What isn’t yet known is if the Dolphins feel the same way, though reports suggest the team favors him over fellow free-agent-to-be Ricky Williams.

A report surfaced earlier this week in the New York Post that Barber would “certainly be interested” in restarting his career with the Steelers. Apparently, though, that interest isn’t mutual.