Every year this is the game I look forward to the most. One of, if not the most, hated rivals of the Cowboys comes into Jerry world and the circumstances could not be further from the preseason predictions of both myself, experts, and everyone inbetween. The Cowboys are reeling at 1-4 and the its sickening to watch the wheels fall of the spokes for this team. This is the final straw for the Cowboys despite the youth of the season. If they lose this game, despite the overall weakness of the NFC, I believe it will be too difficult for them to come back to even make the playoffs.
The Giants on the other hand are coming in hot. They looked pitiful at the season's begining and I really expected them to go in the tank after the Tennessee disaster. Now they are riding high and are firing on many, if not all cylinders. Their vaunted defensive line is finally back to 2007 form, racking up 21 sacks so far this season. Osi has 7 Sacks and 6 forced fumbles in the last 3 games alone! That is staggering! The Cowboys defense only has 12 sacks total despite their so called "talent."
So how will this game play out? It's tough to say. Clearly there is more pressure on the Cowboys. They are literally hanging on for dear life and everyone in that locker room knows that its now or never. Week after week we are barraged with the same old story, same old apology and a nauseating re-commitment speal. It's pathetic and its time to turn those actions into words. No one is questioning their talent but this teams toughness, intelligence, and discipline is very questionable. Their very manhood is on the line this week. For these reasons it would seem that the Cowboys will come out, on their home turf, in a roaring fashion and deluge the Giants with every thing they have. The problem is that a lot of the gaps in the Cowboys play seems almost unfixable and the Giants are downright dangerous.
Despite being in the top 4 in the NFL in both yardage categories on offense and defense the Cowboys continue to trip over their own feet (sometimes literally) week after week. They are second in the league in penalties committed. That is an embarrassing statistic. That stat should be reserved for teams like the Lions, Rams, and Raiders, not the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys running game (2nd in total yards last year) is pitiful this year. It seems the O-Line cannot open up holes and their running backs numbers pale in comparison with that of Bradshaw and even Jacobs.
Further more, the Cowboys offensive line can't pass block either all of a sudden. Not a good time to forget how to do that when you're going up against the hottest pass rush in the league. Osi and Tuck could single handedly decide this game if the offensive line struggles and plays the way it has in the past few weeks. (Guard Kyle Kosier is nursing an injured achilles and is questionable, so watch out for that as well). Quietly, the G-men have the highest rated defense in the league and have let up the fewest total yards.
Offensively, Eli has been solid the past few weeks and Hakeem Nicks just catches touchdowns. The Cowboys secondary has looked egregious at times this year and they face another stiff challenge come Monday night. In order for the Cowboys D to be successful, DWare and co. really need to get after Eli. The Giants offensive line is exploitable and we all know that Eli can implode and play like a rookie at any moment. Wade Phillips needs to start thinking a little more creatively and find ways to get after the quarterback. The Cowboys blitz packages have become as predictable as Mike Francesa in a room with a Cheetos bowl. Hey! Maybe try that saftey blitz with Sensebaugh again. (It was the first saftey blitz of the season but it worked). If the Cowboys can get to Eli they will be successful. If they can't it's going to be another nail-biting shootout that most likely will end in despair for the Cowboys. Most likely they'll score a game winning touchdown and get it called back on a penalty....either a blatant hold or an excessive facial expression penalty on Wade Phillips.
For the Cowboys on offense, it all starts up front. I don't mean to sound redundant but all the shortcomings of the boys offense really originates with that big boys up front. Romo also has to play smarter. His reads have been shaky at best the past two weeks and he has 5 ints in those games to show for it. He needs to stop forcing the ball and calmly make his reads. (It would also help if the Cowboys recievers could stop deflecting the balls into defenders hands with their fingertips) And for Godsakes put the ball in the endzone. Jason Garett needs to go back to the drawing board on the redzone offense. Can we please use Jason Witten down there more? It seems like the only way for the Cowboys to score TD's this year is via Roy Williams ( Who would've thought!)
Oh yeah, lets maybe try to play some special teams this week. You know that thing...kicking...covering? They're kind of important.
I'm not going to predict the outcome of this game. It really is a tossup.
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