The Dallas Cowboys (1-7) invade Giants stadium Sunday at 4:00 Eastern sporting a new Head Coach in Jason Garrett, (who's sister I once met in Aspen CO. but that's another story) and a new Defensive Coordinator. Wade Phillips is gone, and along with him the soft treatment and built in excuses for his team's poor play. Garrett seems to want to toughen the Cowboys up, and hold them accountable, but I can't see them suddenly changing their stripes. If the players themselves couldn't instill a little pride and work ethic, I'm not sure how a familiar face with a different title will make a huge difference. However, this is one of those games you will be uncomfortable with until it is put away.
The two keys for the game as I see them are: Do the Cowboys run the ball more than they have been, and can the G-Men walk up and down the field on offense as they did against this same Dallas team three weeks ago. I'm not sure anyone was holding Garrett back from calling running plays when he was the coordinator, so how the offense changes will be interesting. I think the Cowboys will be more aggressive on defense, but still have the problem of covering wide-outs with safeties, and undersized corners.
The GIANTS on the other hand have some injury problems again. The offensive line is re-shuffled. Look for Andrews, Boothe, Seubert, Snee and McKenzie to start, with Mitch Petrus filling in when necessary. This lack of healthy O-lineman also impacts the two tight end formation that the Giants like to employ. This will be a bit of a concern, and will bear watching as the game progresses. The really big blow is the loss of Steve Smith. Smith, who usually has his biggest days against the Cowboys, hurt his pectoral muscle in practice Thursday and is thought to be lost for a few weeks. In steps Mario Manningham, Duke Calhoun, and Ramses Barden. It would seem that Hakeem Nicks will draw a lot more attention from the Cowboys this week, probably giving up on the notion of covering him one-on-one with a safety. He will have to fight for his catches Sunday, and someone will need to step up for Eli, be it Kevin Boss, Travis Beckum, or one of the other previously mentioned wide-outs. Of course the best case scenario would be to run the Cowboys out of the building. The Dallas team is down three defensive ends. If the O-Line can dominate one side of the line, they can pound the Cowboys all day with the running game and open the passing game up when necessary. This is the Giants best chance to not only dominate the Cowboys, but break their will early and make the second half a laugher.
The G-Men defense will be smart and have a solid plan as always. They will be prepared for an increased running attack if it shows up, but will also be prepared for the increased performance of Dez Bryant. Bryant showed in the last game how dangerous and how physical he can be, he won't catch anyone by surprise this time. Look for most punts to go out of bounds, and for the kickoffs to be managed like they were in Seattle last week.
This needs to be an old fashioned, NFC East ,outdoor, smash mouth, in your face game. The Giants can stay on their impressive roll if they stick to the script.
Enjoy!
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