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Cowboys-Giants Preview
by John McMullen
It’s Tuna Bowl XXXXXLV..............O.K., as you may have guessed I’ve lost track of how many times Bill Parcells has faced one of his old teams but this truly is a big one.
The battle for the NFC East crown is upon us as the 7-4 Dallas Cowboys arrive inNorth Jersey to take on the 7-4 New York Giants on Sunday. To the winner belong the spoils....the NFC Eastern Division lead.
Both teams are almost a mirror image. They have talent but have flashed the same unpredictable persona.
After watchingDallas
In their first meeting inIrving
With that win already in the bank, another victory forDallas
In other words, the stakes for this game are off the charts.
Cowboys Offense vs Giants Defense
The Cowboys are coached by Bill Parcells and in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Parcells loves to run the football, especially late in the season. The Boys are not a spectacular running team by any means but with Julius Jones and Marion Barber III both available and relatively healthy, Parcells will be able to install the game plan he desires for Sunday. That means, establish the run so you can play action later in the game.
What you have to do to beat the Cowboys is not a big secret. When Drew Bledsoe has time to drop back and survey the field, he is still one of the NFL’s elite with an arm only rivaled by a Brett Favre or a John Elway. But, when he is pressured, Bledsoe might as well be Babe Laufenberg. That means the Giants will have to stuff the run and get to Bledsoe early and often. The Giants certainly have the pieces to do exactly that. Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce has been stellar for most of the season while ends Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora have both played at a Pro Bowl level.
If Pierce can shut down the run and Strahan and Umenyiora can spook Bledsoe, look for it to be a long offensive day for the Cowboys.
Giants Offense vs Cowboys Defense
We talk about it every week it seems. Despite the National media’s assertions, Eli Manning is not playing all that well. A 52% completion rate is this era of the free release and the contact rule is very poor. Don’t think so? Look at all the 60+ completion rates, Manning’s peers are putting up. And remember, it’s not like Peyton’s baby brother doesn’t have weapons to throw too. Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey have been spectacular this year while Amani Toomer has been solid as a rock.
Manning is talented but he still has a long way to go and the Giants‘ offense is at the mercy of his inconsistency week in and week out. Few teams can match-up with the Giants’ trio of Burress, Shockey and Tiki Barber but the only one you can guarantee will be a factor on Sunday is Barber. There is no guarantee in any game Manning will be able to get the ball outside with any consistency.
Eli tends to be awful early and heat up later in games but the one thing he will do consistently from week to week is give a defense two or three good opportunities for interceptions. Look for Parcells to have his secondary jump routes early in the game. To counter that, the Giants may look for big plays down the field and that’s probably a good idea. The Giants offense has consisted, almost exclusively, of big plays because Manning simply does not have the patience or accuracy at this stage of his career to lead his team on those 80-yard time consuming drives.
Day Nguyen is gone for good after an injury plagued season and he isDallas
Summary:
It’s so tough to predict a Giants game simply because you have no idea what you are going to get from the quarterback position. But you have to like the way the team’s defense matches up with the Cowboys. Just like the first meeting, I can’t see Dallas being able to put up a lot of points but they won that game 16-13. It wouldn't surprise me if Dallas winds up with 16 again so the question will be, can Manning do enough for the Giants to put up 17?
John McMullen is a staff writer for Football.com and can be reached at JMcmullen1@comcast.net. He appears every Monday at 3:18pm EST on www.BetUS.com Radio.
The battle for the NFC East crown is upon us as the 7-4 Dallas Cowboys arrive in
Both teams are almost a mirror image. They have talent but have flashed the same unpredictable persona.
After watching
In their first meeting in
With that win already in the bank, another victory for
In other words, the stakes for this game are off the charts.
Cowboys Offense vs Giants Defense
The Cowboys are coached by Bill Parcells and in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Parcells loves to run the football, especially late in the season. The Boys are not a spectacular running team by any means but with Julius Jones and Marion Barber III both available and relatively healthy, Parcells will be able to install the game plan he desires for Sunday. That means, establish the run so you can play action later in the game.
What you have to do to beat the Cowboys is not a big secret. When Drew Bledsoe has time to drop back and survey the field, he is still one of the NFL’s elite with an arm only rivaled by a Brett Favre or a John Elway. But, when he is pressured, Bledsoe might as well be Babe Laufenberg. That means the Giants will have to stuff the run and get to Bledsoe early and often. The Giants certainly have the pieces to do exactly that. Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce has been stellar for most of the season while ends Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora have both played at a Pro Bowl level.
If Pierce can shut down the run and Strahan and Umenyiora can spook Bledsoe, look for it to be a long offensive day for the Cowboys.
Giants Offense vs Cowboys Defense
We talk about it every week it seems. Despite the National media’s assertions, Eli Manning is not playing all that well. A 52% completion rate is this era of the free release and the contact rule is very poor. Don’t think so? Look at all the 60+ completion rates, Manning’s peers are putting up. And remember, it’s not like Peyton’s baby brother doesn’t have weapons to throw too. Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey have been spectacular this year while Amani Toomer has been solid as a rock.
Manning is talented but he still has a long way to go and the Giants‘ offense is at the mercy of his inconsistency week in and week out. Few teams can match-up with the Giants’ trio of Burress, Shockey and Tiki Barber but the only one you can guarantee will be a factor on Sunday is Barber. There is no guarantee in any game Manning will be able to get the ball outside with any consistency.
Eli tends to be awful early and heat up later in games but the one thing he will do consistently from week to week is give a defense two or three good opportunities for interceptions. Look for Parcells to have his secondary jump routes early in the game. To counter that, the Giants may look for big plays down the field and that’s probably a good idea. The Giants offense has consisted, almost exclusively, of big plays because Manning simply does not have the patience or accuracy at this stage of his career to lead his team on those 80-yard time consuming drives.
Day Nguyen is gone for good after an injury plagued season and he is
Summary:
It’s so tough to predict a Giants game simply because you have no idea what you are going to get from the quarterback position. But you have to like the way the team’s defense matches up with the Cowboys. Just like the first meeting, I can’t see Dallas being able to put up a lot of points but they won that game 16-13. It wouldn't surprise me if Dallas winds up with 16 again so the question will be, can Manning do enough for the Giants to put up 17?
John McMullen is a staff writer for Football.com and can be reached at JMcmullen1@comcast.net. He appears every Monday at 3:18pm EST on www.BetUS.com Radio.
