Know Your Dallas Cowboys

Here is the postgame press conference from yesterday’s game:

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Mickey Spagnola had an interesting comment about how the Cowboys handled the three wide receiver sets:

The Cowboys kind of tinkered with their nickel defense to combat those Arizona three-receiver sets on first and second down when the run still was prevalent. Instead of taking out a safety to bring in Aaron Glenn as the third corner and basically playing man on the receivers while keeping all the linebackers in the game to watch for the run, the Cowboys substituted Glenn for defensive end Marcus Spears. They then put Greg Ellis’ hand on the ground as a defensive end and moved DeMarcus Ware to the strong side tight on the line of scrimmage. That basically created a 4-2 front, but with three linebackers still in the lineup and five defensive backs. A possible precursor for the ultimate three-wide offense the Colts will bring to Texas Stadium next Sunday.

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Greg Ellis appears finished for the season after suffering an Achilles injury:

The loss of Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis was summed up in two words by Kevin Burnett: “He’s everything.”

Ellis, the veteran outside linebacker, is probably out for the season after he suffered a left Achilles’ tendon injury with 2:26 to play in the third quarter of Sunday’s victory over Arizona.

Ellis will get the official word today from team doctors when he’s examined, but on-the-field team trainers told him his Achilles was torn.

“It felt like somebody kicked me,” said Ellis, who needed crutches to leave the field after the game. “But obviously it wasn’t a kick. It was torn. They just knew it right away. It was a tingling feeling. I tried to get up, and I couldn’t get up.”

Ellis said he wasn’t sure how he the injury occurred during a play when Arizona quarterback Matt Leinart threw an incomplete pass to Anquan Boldin in the middle of the field.

“He was in a lot of pain,” nose guard Jason Ferguson said of the nine-year veteran. “He couldn’t get up, and that’s not like G. I knew something was wrong when he couldn’t get up.”

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For those who have a few more minutes, here is the Post Game Show:

[audio:http://lb.dallascowboys.com/mp3/postgame_111206.mp3]

Tony Romo threw for 308 yards, Patrick Crayton had more than 100 yards receiving, and the Cowboys forced three turnovers as they defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-10 on Sunday afternoon. Dallas now stands at 5-4, tied with Philadelphia and Atlanta in the NFC. Carolina plays on Monday night.

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Dumbest statement I’ve made in days: I thought the ball was slipping out of Romo’s hand at the beginning of the game, so I commented on the Blue and Silver chat room that the ball might be wet. Except the game was being played in Arizona. In a dome. CaliCowboy and OCF were quick to point out that I’m an idiot without using the word idiot. I’ll use the word here.

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This idiot has been taking screen shots of RealPlayer files and then linking to them, not realizing that you can embed these files. Wow, I need more sleep.

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And the story from DallasCowboys.com:

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo didn’t have Terry Glenn as a target this Sunday, but he got plenty of help from the rest of his receivers.

Romo completed passes to five different receivers, including a pair of deep touchdowns to Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton, and the Cowboys (5-4) cruised to a 27-10 victory over the Arizona Cardinals (1-8) here at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Cowboys’ 10-point halftime lead ballooned to 24 in the fourth quarter following Akin Ayodele’s interception of Cardinals rookie quarterback Matt Leinart. One play later, Romo found Owens streaking down the left sideline for a 51-yard touchdown.

Leinart was picked off by rookie safety Pat Watkins on Arizona’s next drive, and Marion Barber scored on a 5-yard run six plays later. Watkins was active for the first time in two games in place of Marcus Coleman, who was released by the team on Saturday.

But the Cowboys’ victory was tempered a bit by a left Achilles’ injury to Greg Ellis, who left the game late in the third quarter. Details of Ellis’ injury were not known immediately after the game. Rookie Bobby Carpenter and Al Singleton replaced him in the lineup.

Romo completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Crayton in the second quarter, and he also fired a touchdown pass to rookie Sam Hurd with three seconds left in the first half, but an offensive pass interference call on Crayton wiped out the play. The Cowboys settled for a 38-yard field goal by Mike Vanderjagt as time expired.

Glenn was inactive after missing most of practice all week with irritation under his kneecap, where the quadriceps muscle attaches. Hurd started in his place and made a nice 16-yard sliding catch leading up to Crayton’s touchdown.

Julius Jones and Barber combined for 110 rushing yards on 29 carries.

Rookie receiver Miles Austin returned kickoffs in place of Skyler Green, who was inactive.

Need a hero during the first half? Try Patrick Crayton, with some reservations. He has four receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown thus far. But he also fumbled after a reception, and it looks as if he came close on some other plays. He was also called for offensive pass interference that negated a [...]

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