Fuente: © Indianapolis Colts
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NFL: COLTS: A QUICK LOOK

A Capsule Look at this Week's Colts Opponent, the Dallas Cowboys

/noticias.info/ By John Oehser - Colts.com

Synopsis: They're one of the NFL’s most talented teams, and one of its most statistically impressive. And they’re certainly among the most high-profile.

They’re also the Colts’ next opponent.

They’re the Dallas Cowboys.

And although the Cowboys have struggled at times this season, as they enter the second half of the season they do so as a team that appears to have found an identity, and as a team preparing for a second-half run for the post-season.

The reason for the mid-season boost of enthusiasm in Dallas?

Quarterback Tony Romo.

Romo, a fourth-year veteran from Eastern Illinois, signed with the Cowboys as a rookie free agent after the 2003 NFL Draft. He spent that season as Dallas’ third quarterback, then spent part of the next season as the top backup. After earning the backup position again last season, he played well enough this preseason to inspire talk of a quarterback change.

Four games ago, during the second half of a loss to the Giants, Cowboys Head Coach Bill Parcells made the switch, inserting Romo into the lineup and removing longtime veteran Drew Bledsoe.

In three complete-game starts, Romo has completed 68 of 101 passes for 862 yards and five touchdowns with one interception for a 106.1 passer rating. The Cowboys are 2-1 when Romo has started, beating Carolina and Arizona and losing on a last-play field goal at Washington.

The Cowboys are far more than their quarterback situation. Wide receiver Terrell Owens, one of the NFL’s most outspoken, controversial players, signed with the team as a free agent during this past off-season. While Owens has been the focus of national media attention, he also has been productive and is tied for the NFL lead with seven touchdown receptions.

While the Cowboys have won back-to-back games only once this season, they have played well most of the season and are one of only two teams ranked in the Top 10 in both offense and defense this season (San Diego is the other).

“What we need to do is put together a streak of wins,” Cowboys inside linebacker Bradie James told Dallascowboys.com this week. “The Colts are next on the agenda, and what we have to do is try to find a way to not be a yo-yo team - win one, lose one.”

The Cowboys have five of their final games at home, with five of the final seven games against teams with winning records.

Like several NFL teams last week, the Cowboys lost a key player for the season to injury. Linebacker Greg Ellis, one of the team’s top pass-rushers, sustained a torn Achilles tendon in Arizona Sunday.

Defensively, the Cowboys play a 3-4 scheme, with linebacker DeMarcus Ware - a first-round draft choice in 2005 - a key to the pass rush.

2006 Record: 5-4, T-2nd in NFC East.

Head Coach: Bill Parcells, 4th season as Cowboys head coach (30-27, 30-28 including playoffs) and 19th season as NFL head coach (168-127-1, 179-134-1 including postseason).

Last Game: Beat Arizona, 27-10, in Phoenix, Ariz., Sunday.

2006 NFL Rankings: Offense – Overall, 6th (373.9 yards per game); Rushing, 5th (135.7 ypg); Passing, 9th (238.2 ypg); Defense – Overall, 3rd (280.3 yards per game); Rushing, 4th (85.4 ypg); Passing, 9th
(194.9 ypg).

2006 Leading Passers: Drew Bledsoe (90-169, 1,164 yards, 53.3 pct., 7 TD, 8 INT, 69.2 rating); Tony Romo (84-128, 1,124 yards, 65.6 pct., 8 TD, 4 INT, 101.2 rating).

2006 Leading Rushers: Julius Jones (180 carries, 734 yards, 3 TD); Marion Barber (73 carries, 374 yards, 7 TD).

2006 Leading Receivers: Terrell Owens (49 receptions, 654 yards, 7 TD); Terry Glenn (36 receptions, 456 yards, 4 TD).

2006 Leading Sacker: DeMarcus Ware (5).

2006 Turnover Breakdown: Plus-4 (19 forced, 15 committed).

2006 First-Round Draft Choice: With the 18th overall selection of the 2006 NFL Draft, the Cowboys selected Bobby Carpenter, a linebacker from Ohio State. Carpenter, an inside backer in the Cowboys’ 3-4 scheme, has played six of nine games this season, playing mostly on special teams. A two-time All-Big 10 selection at Ohio State, Carpenter finished his collegiate career with 14.5 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. He also had three interceptions.

2006 Review: After a 9-7 season last season, and after signing wide receiver Terrell Owens as a free agent, the Cowboys began the season with aspirations of the playoffs and beyond.

After a rough start, partly because of a difficult schedule, those aspirations may be returning.

The Cowboys have played six of their first nine games on the road, and of their four losses, three have come away from Texas Stadium.

And when the Cowboys have won this season, they have done so in impressive fashion. Of their five victories, none has come by fewer than 17 points.

After a 24-17 loss at Jacksonville in the season opener, the Cowboys returned home to beat Washington, 27-10. They then won at Tennessee, 45-14, before losing a much-publicized game in Philadelphia, 38-24. That was Owens’ first game in Philadelphia since leaving the franchise midway through last season.

The Philadelphia loss left Dallas at 2-2, and since then, the Cowboys haven’t had consecutive victories or consecutive losses. A 34-6 victory over Houston was followed by a 36-22 loss to the New York Giants. After that, they beat Carolina, 35-14, in Romo’s starting debut before losing, 22-19 to Washington.

This past Sunday, Dallas moved above .500 again with a victory at Arizona.

Last time in Playoffs: 2003.

Last time in Super Bowl: 1993.

Super Bowl Championships: 1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1995.

2005 Pro Bowl Selections: Larry Allen, OG; Jason Witten, TE; La’Roi Glover, DT; Roy Williams, S.

Quotable I: “It (the victory over Arizona) is something we needed, like some therapy. The one thing you want to do after you lose is hurry up and get back on the field and play so you can prove yourself. Now we've got to do something we haven't done yet – put two of them together.”

--- Cowboys Nose Tackle Jason Ferguson

Quotable II: “With teams that have a lot of talent, a lot of times when they're 4-4, you might think people are going to shut it down. We believe we have a great chance to win. Now it's not going to be easy, but we expect to win games.”

--- Cowboys Tight End Jason Witten notas_de_prensa_archivo