Colts Stuff...

L.T. Fan

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They are definitely a flawed team. My only concern is how their strength is elite at the one area we're weakest.

Brandon Carr... /shudder
Depends on who he has to cover. He is ok with receivers that don't have the height to make him jump. When he thinks he will not be able to jump with them he pushes or grabs. Of course other times he gets caught flat footed and thinks he can make up ground. That is when he is at his worst.
 

Cotton

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Cowboys ready if next man up is needed
December, 17, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- DeMarco Murray has a cast protecting his surgically-repaired left hand. The right side of the offensive line is hurt. Tackle Doug Free has painful bone spurs affecting his left ankle. Guard Zack Martin has a sprained ankle that required a heavy tape job for him to continue playing last week.

But the game will go on for the Dallas Cowboys. On Sunday the Indianapolis Colts will be at AT&T Stadium for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff and the Cowboys' playoff hopes are on the line.

Most likely, they won't know for sure until game day if those three starters will be able to play in what will be the biggest game of the season.

"The mentality is if you're on the football team, you have a responsibility to be ready to play and you have to prepare as such," coach Jason Garrett said. "And that's your job. You're a pro football player and everyone's counting on you. So the accountability thing is huge to your teammates and to your football team. So it starts with the preparation."

If Murray, Free and Martin can't play, then the Cowboys will call on the next man. Every team in the NFL operates on a next man up philosophy. The Cowboys have had to do it throughout the season with injuries.

Rookie Anthony Hitchens has had to start games at all three linebacker spots because of injuries to Justin Durant, Bruce Carter and Rolando McClain. Sterling Moore has had to step in for Morris Claiborne at cornerback. Jack Crawford had to play defensive tackle because of injuries and when he was lost for the season due to thumb surgery, others had to replace him.

In games they have had to press safeties Jeff Heath and C.J. Spillman into action. Parnell replaced Free after halftime of last week's win against the Philadelphia Eagles. He started three games earlier this season after Free suffered a broken foot. Mackenzy Bernadeau, who would replace Martin, had to start at left guard for one game when Ronald Leary was hurt.

If Murray, the NFL's leading rusher, can't play, then Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar would split the running back duties. They have 328 rushing yards this season. Murray needed less than three games to reach that total this season.

But at least they have played. And Parnell and Bernadeau have starting experience. It's better that their teammates have already seen them excel and are not unknown commodities with so much on the line Sunday.

"All those guys have experience and we have all the faith in the world," Leary said. "From (Parnell) to Randle to Dunbar, they all bring their own thing to the team. Them coming in, stepping up, it's going to help in a big way."

Garrett made his career as a backup quarterback. When he made his famous 1994 start against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving, nothing gave him more confidence than Michael Irvin telling him what was going to happen the next time the Cowboys ran the same play later in the game after Garrett's pass was intercepted.

"Certainly what happens in those situations is the confidence in other people who have been playing and instilling the confidence in the guy who is coming in to play," Garrett said. "I always benefitted from that. I think the best teams have that in them. They say, ‘OK, here we go. We believe in this guy. He wouldn't be out here if he didn't belong.' I think that's the mentality you have to have."
 

Cotton

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Cotton

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Cowboysrock55

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It's Wednesday. Half our team never practices on Wednesday I feel like.
 

Cotton

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Smitty

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If we win this game, I might be ready to homer out for real. I've been super cautious all season... always felt like the other shoe was gonna drop after the 6-1 start.... after we fell to 6-3, felt like it was dropping.... and even after beating the Bears, it was like "Well, one loss still puts us out of the playoff race."

If we beat the Colts, I'll be waiving the towel. If we do, its possible we get the bye. And then who knows what can happen?

Though the more I think about it, even if we win out, its pretty tough for us to get the bye. If we finish 12-4, it's still likely that 2 other teams also finish 12-4, and we lose all the tiebreakers, so we're always the team that gets eliminated in a 3 team tiebreaker.
 

townsend

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If we win this game, I might be ready to homer out for real. I've been super cautious all season... always felt like the other shoe was gonna drop after the 6-1 start.... after we fell to 6-3, felt like it was dropping.... and even after beating the Bears, it was like "Well, one loss still puts us out of the playoff race."

If we beat the Colts, I'll be waiving the towel. If we do, its possible we get the bye. And then who knows what can happen?

Though the more I think about it, even if we win out, its pretty tough for us to get the bye. If we finish 12-4, it's still likely that 2 other teams also finish 12-4, and we lose all the tiebreakers, so we're always the team that gets eliminated in a 3 team tiebreaker.
I could see it ending with Packers going 13-3 and us beating the 'hawks with a head to head tie breaker, and taking the 2nd seed.
 

Smitty

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We'd really like Arizona to beat Seattle this weekend if we want the bye.
 

Cotton

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Cotton

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Cowboys hope to hear Andew Luck's kindness Sunday
December, 18, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- A Wall Street Journal feature earlier this week on Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck revealed his unique way of getting inside the head of opponents.

After big hits or sacks, Luck will tell his opponent, "Great hit."

Dallas Cowboys Jeremy Mincey was one of those who sacked Luck while playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"He kind of got to me by saying, 'Man, that was an excellent hit,'" Mincey said. "I'm like, 'Dude, don't talk to me. Please.' But I respect him so much. He's such a mature, well-rounded quarterback ... Some quarterbacks do that, they try to be nice so you won't be angry, but I'm not. I'm going to be angry regardless."

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo admits to saying, 'Good hit,' on occasion.

"You don't want them to do it again," Romo said.

Defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford was watching film on Luck against the Houston Texans when he figured the quarterback said something to J.J. Watt after a hit.

"J.J. gave him a little pat on the back," Crawford said.

Crawford hopes to get close enough Sunday when the Cowboys take on the Colts at AT&T Stadium. He has yet to hear a quarterback kill him with kindness after a hit. In fact, he heard something else from Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler two weeks ago when he was flagged for roughing the passer.

Crawford was fined $16,537 for the hit.

"I had a soft little hit and it was funny when [Cutler] said, 'Hey, at least I got the flag,'" Crawford said. "That's about all that I've had like that."
 

Genghis Khan

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That was against better defenses than we will be able to throw at him.
 

Genghis Khan

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Our best chance to keep their offense in check is to stop the run, keep them one dimensional, and hope for a lot of must-pass situations.
 

UncleMilti

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I think the Skins take out the Eagles this weekend. Don't know why, but I think Sanchez is ripe for the picking.
 

Carp

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I think the Skins take out the Eagles this weekend. Don't know why, but I think Sanchez is ripe for the picking.
Sanchez is Mexican...so he is used to picking ripe things, not the other way around.

HEYOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
 

ravidubey

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I could see it ending with Packers going 13-3 and us beating the 'hawks with a head to head tie breaker, and taking the 2nd seed.
Lets hope. In addition Dallas loses conference tie-breakers if they tie both at 12-4.

So they needs help and can also get a first round bye if they win out and either the NFC North or West winners finish 11-5.

So...

Dallas must win 2
... and ...
GB loses @TB and beats DET
... or ....
DET loses @CHI and wins @GB
...or...
SEA wins @AZ and loses to STL and AZ loses @SF


We cheer SEA, TB (or just cheer GB the whole way), and CHI this week and SF in Hairball's finale (that will be hard to do). If all four win Dallas becomes the #1 seed (HFA... yay, I think).
 

UncleMilti

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