A look ahead: Cowboys verses Colts
Look ahead: Dallas cowboys
Colts hope to continue NFC mastery
By Mike Chappell
mike.chappell@indystar.com
The Indianapolis Colts have set themselves up rather nicely in the AFC. At 9-0, they have a hammerlock on a fourth straight AFC South title and the inside track to home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
They can reinforce both by extending their mastery over the NFC on Sunday in Dallas. The Colts are 14-4 against the NFC since coach Tony Dungy's arrival in 2002, and have won 12 of their past 14 interconference matchups.
Here are some story lines to follow in the coming days:
Another reunion: Another week, another former teammate to embrace. Sunday at Texas Stadium it will be place-kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who established club career records in points (995) and successful field goals (217) during his entertaining eight-year career.
The anti-Marvin: Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison generally goes about the business of catching passes and touchdowns with little fanfare. Not so Dallas' Terrell Owens. The guy's one of the most gifted players in the NFL, but he's also a walking, talking distraction. But don't let his antics cloud the fact he can take over a game in a split second. Owens leads Dallas with 49 catches, 654 yards and seven touchdowns.
Another running threat: The Colts' run defense still ranks No. 32 in the league, but is coming off its best game of the season. It limited Buffalo to 111 rushing yards and 3.6 yards per attempt. Next up: Dallas' Julius Jones and Marion Barber III. Jones is a 5-10, 211-pounder from Notre Dame who can run with power, or run away from defenders. He ranks ninth in the league with 725 yards. Barber is a third-down specialist who has contributed seven rushing TDs.
Rollin' Romo: Coach Bill Parcells had seen enough of Drew Bledsoe. He benched the error-prone veteran at halftime of a 36-22 loss to the New York Giants on Oct. 23, putting the Cowboys' fate in the hands of unproven Tony Romo. The former rookie free agent has warmed to the task. He has compiled a 101.2 ranking -- second only to the Colts' Peyton Manning (104.5) -- by completing 65.6 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Romo is 2-1 as a starter.
Pressure point: The Colts entered Sunday's game with Buffalo with a league-low 11 sacks. They got to Bills quarterback JP Losman four times even though he dropped back to pass only 16 times. Romo is infinitely more mobile than Bledsoe and has absorbed only six sacks. It's incumbent upon ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to pressure Romo. If he's given time, he'll do some serious damage with Owens, Terry Glenn and tight end Jason Witten.
Colts hope to continue NFC mastery
By Mike Chappell
mike.chappell@indystar.com
The Indianapolis Colts have set themselves up rather nicely in the AFC. At 9-0, they have a hammerlock on a fourth straight AFC South title and the inside track to home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
They can reinforce both by extending their mastery over the NFC on Sunday in Dallas. The Colts are 14-4 against the NFC since coach Tony Dungy's arrival in 2002, and have won 12 of their past 14 interconference matchups.
Here are some story lines to follow in the coming days:
Another reunion: Another week, another former teammate to embrace. Sunday at Texas Stadium it will be place-kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who established club career records in points (995) and successful field goals (217) during his entertaining eight-year career.
The anti-Marvin: Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison generally goes about the business of catching passes and touchdowns with little fanfare. Not so Dallas' Terrell Owens. The guy's one of the most gifted players in the NFL, but he's also a walking, talking distraction. But don't let his antics cloud the fact he can take over a game in a split second. Owens leads Dallas with 49 catches, 654 yards and seven touchdowns.
Another running threat: The Colts' run defense still ranks No. 32 in the league, but is coming off its best game of the season. It limited Buffalo to 111 rushing yards and 3.6 yards per attempt. Next up: Dallas' Julius Jones and Marion Barber III. Jones is a 5-10, 211-pounder from Notre Dame who can run with power, or run away from defenders. He ranks ninth in the league with 725 yards. Barber is a third-down specialist who has contributed seven rushing TDs.
Rollin' Romo: Coach Bill Parcells had seen enough of Drew Bledsoe. He benched the error-prone veteran at halftime of a 36-22 loss to the New York Giants on Oct. 23, putting the Cowboys' fate in the hands of unproven Tony Romo. The former rookie free agent has warmed to the task. He has compiled a 101.2 ranking -- second only to the Colts' Peyton Manning (104.5) -- by completing 65.6 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Romo is 2-1 as a starter.
Pressure point: The Colts entered Sunday's game with Buffalo with a league-low 11 sacks. They got to Bills quarterback JP Losman four times even though he dropped back to pass only 16 times. Romo is infinitely more mobile than Bledsoe and has absorbed only six sacks. It's incumbent upon ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to pressure Romo. If he's given time, he'll do some serious damage with Owens, Terry Glenn and tight end Jason Witten.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:40 PM
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