What the DGA nominations mean to the Best Picture Race

The DGA nominations were announced today and with a race of this magnitude (12-13 films are in the running) the DGA, PGA and WGA are going to be the deciding factors for the Best Picture nominees.
Paul Thomas Anderson is the first nominee for There Will Be Blood; a film that was somewhat on the edge, this should be enough to all but guarantee a nod. Ethan and Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men are no surprise, but it is just more support for their film and secures it as the front-runner at this point. One of the biggest surprises is Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton, which really helps it's Best Picture chances. Now I am one of the few that has Michael Clayton getting nominated, but I believe now most believe it will end up in the top five. Sean Penn for Into the Wild is a slight shocker, but not the film. Into the Wild was already going to be a Best Picture nominee, but Sean Penn was not guaranteed an Oscar nod himself. This doesn't make him a lock but it certainly gives him an edge over some other fringe nominees. Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is not really a surprise, but I don't think the film will be nominated for Best Picture. There is usually at least one Best Director nomination that is not correlated with a Best Picture, I believe this will be the one. However, I also do not believe Tony Gilroy will be nominated, so either Joe Wright or Tim Burton will be nominated without a Best Picture nomination as well, if things hold up.
This definitely gave a jolt to the Best Picture race, and really helped Michael Clayton out. I look forward to the WGA and PGA nominations within the next week to see how things continue to shake out.