INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys are set for their 2018 Week 15 matchup on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It's that time of the week where we Connect The Dots between the two teams, presented by Venyu:
Indiana/Texas Connections
• Colts QB-Andrew Luck is from Houston, Texas.
• Indianapolis T/G-Le'Raven Clark is from Rockdale, Texas, and attended Texas Tech from 2011-15.
• Colts DE-Margus Hunt played at SMU from 2009-2012.
• Indianapolis DT-Hassan Ridgeway is a native of Mansfield, Texas, and played collegiately at Texas from 2012-15.
• Colts LB-Matthew Adams played four seasons (2014-17) at the University of Houston.
• Indianapolis General Manager Chris Ballard is a native of Texas City, Texas and served on the coaching staff at Texas A&M-Kingsville for seven seasons (1994-2000).
• Colts Assistant General Manager Ed Dodds is a native of Kingsville, Texas and served as a student coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville from 2000-03.
• Indianapolis WR-Ryan Grant is from Beaumont, Texas
• Colts RB-Jonathan Williams is a native of Dallas, Texas and attended Allen (Texas) High School.
• Cowboys Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach Markus Paul worked for the Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League from 2002-04.
• Dallas LB-Chris Covington attended Indiana from 2014-17.
• Cowboys DE-Randy Gregory went to Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind.
• Dallas G-Zack Martin is from Indianapolis and attended Bishop Chatard (Ind.) High School and Notre Dame (2009-2013).
• Cowboys C/G-Adam Redmond was born in Bloomington, Ind.
• Dallas QB-Cooper Rush is from Schererville, Ind.
• Cowboys LB-Jaylon Smith is from Fort Wayne, Ind. and attended Bishop Luers (Ind.) High School and Notre Dame (2013-15).
• Dallas RB-Rod Smith is also from Fort Wayne, Ind. and went to Paul Harding (Ind.) High School.
• Cowboys CB-Anthony Brown attended Purdue from 2012-15.
Former Cowboys/Colts
• Indianapolis Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus served as the linebackers coach for Dallas from 2011-17.
• Colts Linebackers Coach Dave Borgonzi served as an offensive/defensive assistant for the Cowboys from 2011-13.
• Dallas C/G-Adam Redmond spent time with Indianapolis from 2016-17.
• Cowboys Wide Receivers Coach Sanjay Lal served in the same capacity with the Colts in 2017.
• Dallas Tight Ends Coach Doug Nussmeier spent time with Indianapolis in 1998.
• Cowboys DT-Caraun Reid was with the Colts during the 2017 season and 2018 preseason.
College Connections
• Colts G-Mark Glowinski (2012-14) and LB-Najee Goode (2007-2011) were teammates with Cowboys WR-Tavon Austin (2009-2012) at West Virginia.
• Indianapolis DT/DE-Tyquan Lewis (2014-17) and S-Malik Hooker (2014-16) spent time with Dallas CB-Noah Brown (2014-16), RB-Ezekiel Elliott (2013-15) and RB-Rod Smith (2011-14) at Ohio State.
• Colts C-Ryan Kelly spent time with Cowboys WR-Amari Cooper and Tight Ends Coach Doug Nussmeier at Alabama together from 2012-14.
• Indianapolis CB-Quincy Wilson and Nussmeier were both at Florida from 2014-16.
• Colts WR-Ryan Grant and Cowboys Safeties Coach Greg Jackson were both at Tulane in 2009.
• Grant also spent time at Tulane with Cowboys Assistant Special Teams Coach Doug Colman from 2010-11.
• Indianapolis QB-Andrew Luck (2008-2011) and TE-Ryan Hewitt (2010-13) were both at Stanford when T-Cameron Fleming (2010-13) was there.
• Colts DE-Al-Quadin Muhammad played with Cowboys WR-Allen Hurns at Miami (FL) in 2013.
• Indianapolis DT/DE-Denico Autry and Dallas QB-Dak Prescott were at Mississippi State together from 2012-13.
• Colts G/C-Quenton Nelson and Cowboys LB-Jaylon Smith were at Notre Dame together from 2014-15.
• Indianapolis DT-Hassan Ridgeway and Dallas TE-Geoff Swaim were both at Texas from 2013-14. Ridgeway also spent the 2015 season at Texas with Cowboys G-Connor Williams.
• Colts LB-Darius Leonard and Cowboys LB-Joe Thomas spent the 2013 season together at South Carolina State.
• Indianapolis Defensive Line Coach Mike Phair was playing for Arizona State in 1992 when Dallas Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach Rod Marinelli was there.
• Colts Linebackers Coach Dave Borgonzi and Cowboys Linebackers Coach Ben Bloom were both at Harvard in 2008.
NFL Connections
• Colts DT/DE-Denico Autry (2014-17), Assistant Offensive Line Coach Bobby Johnson (2015-17) and Senior Football Strategy Analyst/Game Management George Li (2011-17) were all with Oakland when Cowboys WR-Amari Cooper (2015-18) and FB-Jamize Olawale (2012-17) were there.
• Indianapolis DE-Jabaal Sheard (2015-16), QB-Jacoby Brissett (2016), CB-Kenny Moore II (2017), Assistant Special Teams Coach Frank Ross (2015-17), Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone (2015-17) and Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo (2014-15) spent time with Dallas T-Cameron Fleming (2014-17) in New England.
• DeGuglielmo and Cowboys LB-Justin March-Lillard both spent the 2017 season in Miami.
• DeGuglielmo was also with the Dolphins in 2011 when Dallas Offensive Line Coach Marc Colombo played there.
• DeGuglielmo and Dallas Wide Receivers Coach Sanjay Lal were both with the New York Jets in 2012.
• DeGuglielmo and Cowboys Strength & Conditioning Coach Markus Paul were with the New York Giants from 2007-08.
• Colts DT-Al Woods and Wide Receivers Coach Kevin Patullo were in Tennessee in 2015 with Cowboys C-Joe Looney. Woods also spent the 2016 season on the Titans with Dallas DT-Antwaun Woods.
• Indianapolis G-Mark Glowinski spent time in Seattle in 2017 with Dallas Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach Kris Richard and March-Lillard.
• Colts Defensive Line Coach Mike Phair (2005-2010), Assistant General Manager Ed Dodds (2007-2016) and Woods (2011) spent time in Seattle with Smith (2015) and Richard (2010-17).
• Phair was with Tampa Bay in 2004 when Dallas Head Coach Jason Garrett played there.
• Phair was in Tampa Bay from 2002-04 with Cowboys Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach Rod Marinelli.
• Indianapolis TE-Eric Ebron (2011-13), Johnson (2013-14) and Defensive Backs/Safeties Coach Alan Williams (2014-17) spent time with Dallas DT-Caraun Reid (2014-15, 2017), Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan (2009-13), Quarterbacks Coach Kellen Moore (2012-14, as a player) and Assistant Wide Receivers Coach Kyle Valero (2010-13) in Detroit.
• Colts CB-Pierre Desir, WR-Dontrelle Inman, Offensive Coordinator Nick Sirianni and DeGuglielmo were with Reid in San Diego in 2016.
• Reid and Colts WR-Ryan Grant were both with Washington in 2017.
• Indianapolis S-Corey Moore spent time in Houston with Dallas G-Xavier Su'a-Filo and Assistant Special Teams Coach Doug Colman from 2015-17.
• Colts Running Backs Coach Tom Rathman (2009-2016) and Ventrone (2013-14, as a player) were with Cowboys Safeties Coach Greg Jackson (2011-14) and Looney (2012-14) in San Francisco.
• Rathman and Lal were both with the Raiders from 2007-08. Richard played for Oakland in 2007.
• Colts RB-Jonathan Williams and Lal were both with Buffalo in 2016.
• Lal was also in Oakland from 2009-2011 with Colts S-Mike Mitchell.
• Indianapolis General Manager Chris Ballard and March-Lillard both spent the 2016 season with Kansas City.
• Colts Director of Sports Performance Rusty Jones (2005-2012), Ballard (2001-2012) and Vice President of Player Personnel Rex Hogan (2003-2014) were all with Chicago when Colombo (2002-05, as a player) and Marinelli (2009-2012) were there.
• Indianapolis Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus and Ventrone (as a player) were in Cleveland with Dallas Running Backs Coach Gary Brown and Linebackers Coach Ben Bloom from 2009-2010. Cowboys Special Teams Coordinator Keith O'Quinn was also with the Browns in 2009.
• Sheard and Brown were both with the Browns from 2011-12.
• Indianapolis Offensive Quality Control Coach Gunnard Twyner (1997-99, as a player) spent time with Dallas Tight Ends Coach Doug Nussmeier (1994-97, as a player), Director of Advance Scouting and Special Projects Judd Garrett (1997-99), Director of Strength & Conditioning Mike Woicik (1997-99), Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach Brett Bech (1996-99), Paul (1998-99) and Jackson (1996, as a player) were all with New Orleans.
• Colts Head Coach Frank Reich and Judd Garrett both played for Carolina in 1995. The two also played for Buffalo together in 1991.
• Indianapolis K-Adam Vinatieri (1996-2005) and Ventrone (2007-08, as a player) spent time in New England with Woicik (2000-2010) and Paul (2000-04).
Hometown Connections
• Colts QB-Andrew Luck, Cowboys DE-Dorance Armstrong and WR-Cole Beasley all call Houston, Texas home.
• Indianapolis WR-T.Y. Hilton, LB-Anthony Walker, Dallas WR-Amari Cooper, Defensive Assistant Ken Amato and WR-Allen Hurns are all from Miami, Fla.
• Colts P-Rigoberto Sanchez and Cowboys TE-Geoff Swaim are from Chico, Calif.
• Indianapolis C-Josh Andrews, Dallas DT-Antwaun Woods and Coaching Advisor Hudson Houck are all from Los Angeles, Calif.
• Colts Pass Rush Consultant/Player Development Robert Mathis and Cowboys WR-Michael Gallup call Atlanta, Ga. home.
• Indianapolis Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone and Dallas LB-Sean Lee both hail from Pittsburgh, Pa.
