Dallas Cowboys Strengths: The Cowboys have a lot of things going for them right now and the biggest is QB Tony Romo. Romo is finding the open receivers and might be the most accurate passer in the NFL right now. When Romo doesn't have an open man, he takes matters in his own hands and either runs with it or makes plays on the run. He looks like a young Brett Favre. WR Terrell Owens has been making big plays and not dropping the football like he did in 2006. The Dallas running attack has RB Marion Barber and RB Julius Jones splitting time and gaining plenty of yards. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett seems to go with the hot hand between the two running backs and that's worked so far. The Dallas offensive line, led by LT Flozell Adams and RT Marc Colombo, has given Romo plenty of time in pass protection and hasn't given up many sacks. The defense is among the top 10 in rushing defense and defensive ends Chris Canty and Marcus Spears play a physical style of football that makes it difficult for opposing offensive lineman to move them. Canty and Spears do an excellent job playing in the two-gap 3-4 scheme. Corner Anthony Henry is one of the NFL leaders in interceptions and the secondary has been solid. The Cowboys are playing well in two out of the three phases of the game.
Weaknesses: Some of the Dallas special teams units aren't helping in the field position battle on Sundays. The kickoff return unit is one of the worst in the NFL as far as average per return. RB Tyson Thompson isn't a threat to most coverage units on kickoff return and is more of the "catch the ball and gain positive yards" type of player. The Dallas punt coverage unit gave up a long punt return for a touchdown this past Sunday to St. Louis return specialist Dante Hall and the coverage units need to improve in order to give the defense as much real estate behind it as possible.
Bumps in the road: One of the most anticipated games for the Cowboys this season is on Oct. 14 against the New England Patriots. That could be two undefeated teams battling to stay perfect. A month later, the Cowboys play host to the Washington Redskins and rivalry games are always close games. Then on Nov. 29, the Cowboys will face the Green Bay Packers at home, which should be another great match up and could be another potential battle of unbeatens. The schedule is in the Cowboys' favor with some of the most important games of the season being played at home.
New England Patriots Strengths: It is clearly Tom Brady and the Patriots' multi-dimensional offensive attack led by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Brady remains one of the top-signal callers in the NFL with his outstanding intelligence, leadership, decision-making and composure in the pocket. WR Randy Moss is back playing at a Pro Bowl level, while Wes Welker and RB Sammy Morris have been huge additions to this offense. On top of that, the offensive line is one of the best units in the NFL. The Patriots can run it inside or outside while attacking all levels in the passing game. This places a tremendous amount of pressure on opposing defenses to defend the whole field. Defensively, the whole unit has been very impressive on all three levels (DL, LB, and DB). The Patriots are very difficult to run on due to the strength of their defensive line and experienced linebacker corps. Ultra-versatile Adalius Thomas has been huge addition, along with the play of LOLB Mike Vrabel, NT Vince Wilfork and LDE Ty Warren.
Weaknesses: Assuming they stay healthy and that injuries don't turn a strength into a weakness, there aren't many here. The Patriots' pass defense could be a concern as we move deeper into the regular season if teams can isolate their linebackers/safeties to create individual mismatches they should be able to exploit on the back end. Also, their red zone defense needs to improve, as opponents have scored on each of their six trips in the Patriots' red zone this year. However, head coach Bill Belichick does a great job of keeping offenses off balance and hiding defensive weakness.
Bumps in the road: The Patriots will have a few bumps in the road to run the table for a perfect season starting this month with a trip to Dallas on Oct. 14. Led by QB Tony Romo, the Cowboys are clicking on all cylinders and are the best team in the NFC. And don't forget Dallas ended the Colts' perfect season last year in Week 10. After that, the Patriots return home against an improved Washington team in late October before heading to Indianapolis on Nov. 4 in a rematch of last season's AFC Championship game. This game also should have a huge impact on determining home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. For a Dec. 3 "Monday Night Football" game (ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET), the Patriots will travel to Baltimore before returning home off a short week to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though it's so far down the road, the Patriots face a difficult task to run the season undefeated.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insid...ory?id=3047510
I couldnt find anything on the colts or packers....
10-04-2007, 05:10 PM
ESPN: Who Will Go Undefeated? 
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