It's Put Up or Shut Up Time, folks. . .

Reality:

Games Already Played W/L

Jacksonville Jaguars Loss
Washington Redskins Win
Tennessee Titans Win
Philadelphia Eagles Loss
Houston Texans Win
New York Giants Loss
Carolina Panthers Win
Washington Redskins Loss
Arizona Cardinals Win

Remaining Games Current Record

Indianapolis Colts 9-0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-7
New York Giants 6-3
New Orleans Saints 6-3
Atlanta Falcons 5-4
Philadelphia Eagles 5-4
Detroit Lions 2-7

This is where the Dallas Cowboys are as of right now. Top 10 rankings in various statistics are nice, but they didn't help the Cowboys in the last Redskins game or in the New York Giants game or in the Philadelphia Eagles game.

Granted, there's a new quarterback at the helm in Dallas, but he's one on a team of 53 men and can only carry so much of the load. The Cowboys are now missing Greg Ellis, a defensive leader and playmaker, on defense. And the #2 receiver on the team is questionable at this time.

Five out of the seven remaining games to be played are against teams with winning records as of this moment. There's also that fact that the Dallas Cowboys have not consistently played well in December since Troy Aikman was quarterback.

Their first real test against a proven good team is this weekend. The Colts aren't reknowned for their killer defense, so it's very possible that the Dallas Cowboys can put points on the board. Having the home field advantage will surely help matters. The Dallas defense will be surely tested. You can count on Peyton Manning finding out what Carpenter is made of in this game. Having a rookie stepping in on some downs at Greg Ellis' position is an autographed invitation for the Colts to give him a thorough testing. If Carpenter and Ware can't get pressure on Peyton Manning, he'll pick the defense apart.

Is this a winnable game? Of course it is. All games are winnable, given the right circumstances. Good teams create most of their circumstances. Bad teams spend most of their games reacting to circumstances dictated to them by the other team.

A win in this game for the Dallas Cowboys would be huge. It would not make them instantly into a SuperBowl team. It wouldn't even make them instantly into NFC champs, although it would tighten the race considerably.

A loss in this game would put the Cowboys at 5-5, average. . . mediocre. It would also mean they would have to win 5 of their last 6 games, a most formidable task for a team that has so far this season been inconsistent.

What do the Cowboys need to win? More points on the scoreboard than the Colts at the end of the game, of course. Who needs to make sure this happens? On offense, Tony Romo needs another game like the last three he's played. The offensive line needs to be the brick wall we've been expecting them to be all season. Terrell Owens needs to catch the catchable passes thrown to him. The other receivers need to copy Terrell Owens. Julius Jones and Marion Barber need to be effective and consistent. Two more words: No Turnovers!

On defense, there needs to be consistant pressure on Peyton Manning. The Colts receivers need to be well covered and no big plays allowed. The running game of the Colts needs to be stymied so Manning is forced to throw to those well covered receivers. Two more words: Create Turnovers!

Special teams need to do their job superbly. Field goals and extra points need to be made. Tackles need to be made, kicks and punts need to be deep and high so they can be downed deep in Colts territory. No long runbacks for the Colts need to be allowed.

Add to the above two more things:

1. Crowd noise. Just do it.

2. No stupid penalties. In all phases of the game. Eliminate the penalties.

If the Dallas Cowboys can pull this one out of their hat, I'll eat crow and gladly say I have misjudged them and might even start getting some realistic hope for this season. If they lose it because of turnovers, stupid penalties and dropped passes, well, i won't be surprised. I won't be happy, at all. But I won't be surprised.