GREEN BAY -- Al Harris wouldn't say what the Packers' defensive game-plan is for the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night -- he chose a more cryptic wait-and-see tease -- but the veteran cornerback wanted to be clear on one thing.

"I can say this: I think this is a much better game plan (this week)," Harris said. "This is the best game plan that we've had since I've been here, in this scheme. I honestly think that. And you can quote me on that."

We just did.

And if the Packers hope to beat the Cowboys Sunday night, they'd better have a better game-plan for Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, who caught seven passes for 156 yards and a touchdown in the Packers' 37-27 loss in Dallas last Nov. 29.

In that game, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett repeatedly sent Owens in motion, effectively countering the Packers' bump-and-run coverage by forcing them to play off and in zones. That allowed Owens, to take over the game like he did last year.

Owens caught seven of the 11 balls thrown his direction in that game. Harris intercepted one that deflected off his hands in the end zone, and Owens was awarded a 12-yard catch on the first pass he saw even though Harris wrested it away from him on the sideline. Most of the catches came via pre-snap motion, which often led to Owens bunching or "stacking" with other receivers in the same area at the snap.

Packers cornerbacks coach Lionel Washington said bump-and-run is rendered useless against in-motion receivers because it requires precise hand-placement on the jam at the line of scrimmage. When a receiver goes in motion, Washington said, the cornerback is forced to play off-coverage instead.

"In those situations, you can't bump guys, you have to play off. That's what they tried to do, so we can't get our hands on them and disrupt the timing of their routes," Washington said. "We understand what they did to us, and we're going to defend it this time. We're going to make an adjustment this week, and we'll see what happens."

The Cowboys are expecting Harris to match up with Owens -- "I think they'll probably keep Al on him wherever he goes; they probably like that match up," Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said, "but we'll be prepared for a few other things as well" -- and Owens certainly doesn't mind it.

"Sometimes you live by the sword, and sometimes you die by the sword," said Owens, who had 34- and 48-yard to set up touchdowns and a 10-yard TD catch of his own in that game but also had a pair of drops. "Sometimes being aggressive or overly aggressive, you try to exploit those things."

Owens had three catches for 89 yards -- including 72- and 4-yard touchdowns -- all in the first half of Monday night's victory over Philadelphia, as the Eagles used all three of their top cornerbacks on Owens before double-covering him after halftime. While they shut down Owens, tight end Jason Witten ended up catching seven passes for 110 yards.

"When you have somebody of my caliber, you are going to try to throw the book at them.. I already expect that going into every game," Owens said. "They are going to try different coverages. If that doesn't work, they are going to try different personnel. If that doesn't work, then, hey, eventually they are going to have three or four guys on me. When that stuff happens, you saw the results of it."

Owens called Harris and Charles Woodson "one of the best cornerback tandems in the league," then added, "Al presents some challenges. I know he's going to play a lot of bump-and-run and I'll be faced with that. No different than last year. Obviously, I think he knows what to expect from me, and I know what to expect from him. With that being said, I think they know what to expect from this team. I think we have a lot of weapons."

Owens' career has been filled with big moments against the Packers, from his name-making last-second touchdown catch in the 1998 NFC playoffs with San Francisco to his 161-yard game with Philadelphia to last year's performance, which clearly still bothers Harris -- or at least how that game is depicted.

"Do you remember the last game?" Harris asked, calling it "the game that I had two interceptions" even though one was nullified. "Let me ask you couple questions: How many yards did T.O. have? 156. How many catches? Seven. How many did you see me around him? Three. That should tell you right there if they had a great game plan for what we were doing. You've got to read between the lines on the rest.."

Romo says he hasn't "changed all that much": Despite being tabloid fodder because of his relationship with Jessica Simpson, Romo, a Burlington native, claims he's remained true to his Wisconsin roots and is still the regular guy he's always been.

"All of a sudden before you know it, you wake up and that's your life," Romo said during a conference call with Wisconsin reporters earlier this week ... "I don't look at myself from afar and say, `Hey, look what's going on with me.' I'm always in the moment and I'm always just doing the same things I've always done. I really haven't changed all that much. I think sometimes some people around you might change, the perception of you might change. But as far as the same stuff I do, I still do the same things that I enjoyed 10 years ago. For me, it's just another part of life and another part of the journey."

That journey will take him Sunday night to Lambeau Field, where he's only been twice before -- in 2004 on the Cowboys' bench as a backup to Vinny Testaverde, and over a decade ago when he went to a Packers preseason game, the only time he's been to the stadium as a fan.

Romo furthered his regular-guy persona last week by helping an Irving, Texas couple with their flat tire on his way home after the regular-season opener at Cleveland. Romo didn't tell anyone about his Good Samaritan act, but the couple, Bill and Sharon White, called the Fort Worth Star-Telegram afterward and the story got national attention.

"I take my job and take what I do in football very serious, but I don't take myself that serious. I don't think I'm that important of an individual," Romo said. "It's not as if I'm someone who is changing the landscape of anything that's of a relevance (or) that's really super important in this world.

"I don't put too much stock in what people say, think and, in a sense, talk about me because I know if that's what is going to make me happy, I'm probably going to live an unhappy life or a life of solitude. I think I understand what's important to me and I try to keep all that in perspective."

Pressure-packed approach: After failing to get much of a pass rush against Romo in last year's meeting, look for the Packers to go after him Sunday night with blitzes.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you what we're doing exactly, but we've got some things that we're working on," linebacker Nick Barnett said.. "If it opens up and there's some blitzing opportunities, I'm sure we'll take advantage of 'em. But we're going to do whatever the coaches schematically put out there. If it's (rushing with) just the font four, it's the front four. If we've got to blitz, we'll blitz."

To which Romo, who was 24 for 32 for 320 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Cleveland in the season opener and 21-for-30 for 312 yards with three touchdowns and one interception against Philadelphia on Monday night, replied: "One of our strengths is our ability to create big plays sometimes when people come after us. I think that's why you see less and less teams try to pressure us -- because of our ability with matchups to create some quick-strike opportunities."

"It's a funny thing. When you bring pressure, you have the ability to get minus plays (and) create turnovers. But at the same (time), it gives the offense a little bit of time, if you pick it up, to create a big play. (But) I suspect this week we'll probably see a little bit of pressure."

Added Phillips: "I'm not speaking for (the Eagles and Browns), but it looked like they played better when they tried not to blitz, because we hurt 'em in the blitz. Although, Green Bay can bring it. And (being) on the road, I think it's tougher. We expect them to try to get after us with the blitz some, and we'll try to pick it up."

In their 37-27 loss to the Cowboys in Dallas last Nov. 29, the Packers decided not to blitz and paid the price, as Romo was 19 for 30 for 309 yards, with four touchdowns, one interception (on a deflected ball in the end zone) and no sacks.

"Last year, we didn't get pressure on him," defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins said. "(This year), we feel like we've got to go out there and establish that early, and hopefully, we can shake them up a little bit with the pressure."

The end zone: It took awhile, but now that center Scott Wells knows what was wrong -- a pinched nerve that was causing his lower back and side muscles to tense up -- and has spent two more weeks on the sideline, he believes he's ready to play in Sunday night's showdown with the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field. "I've only had weird injuries (in my career). This is the most frustrating for the simple fact that it took so long to pinpoint what it was," Wells said. "Each time before I thought I had a handle on it and then I'd come back and reaggravate the problem. I came back three different times and had it flare back up." ... Rookie tight end Jermichael Finley figures to make his pro debut Sunday, even if No. 2 tight end Tory Humphrey (knee) is able to play. "I hope they put me out on the field and let me make plays," Finley said. .... Halfback Ryan Grant (hamstring) and cornerback Charles Woodson (toe) are on the same schedule as last week -- Grant will practice today, while Woodson will go into the game having not practiced a single snap. ... NBC's famous Sunday Night Football horse trailer arrived in the Lambeau Field parking lot Thursday, the same day the commentators for the network held a conference call about the game. Best line of the day: "I'm not sure Aaron Rodgers family could have predicted what would have happened thus far," NBC's Cris Collinsworth said.