KiwiSupaFlyNuka Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Cowboys will lose, but don't blame Jessica By Seth Wickersham ESPN The Magazine (Archive) Updated: January 9, 2008 <LI class=pt-comment>Comment <LI class=pt-email>Email Print Getty Images With Eli Manning hot (6 TD passes past two games), Jessica Simpson distracting (Tony Romo sits to pee fling) and Brandon Jacobs on a roll (5 yards per carry), the Giants are a lock Sunday, Seth Wickersham writes. What's that? You want nine reasons the fifth-seeded Giants will beat the top-seeded Cowboys? Sure, in a New York -- er, New Jersey -- minute. 1. Eli Manning Note that it's "Eli Manning" and not "The Eli Manning Factor." Now, that's not to say Manning is forever over his inconsistent ways. In fact, Cowboys fans are praying he regresses into one of his 13-of-38 afternoons. But it won't happen, not this Sunday. Not when Manning has hit 42 of his past 59 passes with six touchdowns and one interception against teams with a combined 25-7 record. Not against a defense that, since November, has struggled to stop Aaron Rodgers, Jon Kitna, Jason Campbell, Todd Collins and, in stretches, even Matt Moore. Watching Manning the past few weeks: He's shaking secondaries around with his eyes, freezing them with pump fakes, hanging in the pocket and finding the open guy -- and the Giants' pass-catchers, after leading the NFL in drops with 42, are holding on to the ball. Manning won't be fazed by two losses to Dallas this year. His confidence, after all, is sky high because … 2. The loss to New England was a good thing Tom Coughlin made the right call in playing his starters against the Patriots in Week 17, even if it cost him a few of them. He put it on his players to dig deep against the best regular-season team in history, and they responded, even though they lost. Now, the Giants think, "Hey, we almost -- maybe even should have -- beat the Patriots. Why should we fear anyone else?" Last Sunday, that meant the Bucs. This Sunday, the Cowboys. Hang around the Giants for a little while, and you hardly recognize them. Last year's famously divided locker room is now tight and confident. Guys pass each other and say hi. Players rumored to be prima donnas (Plaxico Burress) are leaders. Leaders who specialized in self-promotion (Tiki Barber) are gone. Nowhere in this group will you find a player who, oh, declares the star quarterback's girlfriend unwelcome around the team and its fans. Which leads us to … 3. Jessica Simpson No, she's not a problem. Nor was Tony Romo sits to pee vacationing with her last week in Mexico. But the media's talking about their relationship can be a problem, not to mention an infuriating irritation for those involved. On Tuesday, there were three Dallas-area newspaper headlines referring to Romo sits to pee's bye-week vacation, compared to one about Terrell Owens' injured ankle. In Dallas, they're talking about Mexico. In New York, they're talking about how … 4. The Giants are hot By any objective measure, the Cowboys are a better team than the Giants, with a better coach, better quarterback, better weapons, not to mention 12 Pro Bowlers. But the Giants have been the better team during the past month, and being hot matters more than being a No. 1 seed. Just ask the '06 Chargers, '05 Colts, and the '04 and '01 Steelers. And the Giants are on a roll in part because … 5. They can run Among backs with 1,000 or more yards, only Adrian Peterson and Fred Taylor averaged more yards per carry than Brandon Jacobs' 5.0. He's the next Larry Johnson, minus the enigma factor. Mix in Ahmad Bradshaw (17 carries for 151 yards against the Bills in Week 16), and New York has enough to keep Dallas off balance and control the clock. And time of possession will be a headache for the Cowboys because … 6. They can't run Not consistently, anyway. Rushing yards the past five games: 105, 87, 53, 148, 1. (1!) Which wouldn't be such a big deal, but … 7. Dallas has serious questions at receiver We know about T.O.'s ankle. He'll gut it out, like he did in Super Bowl XXXIX. But how effective will he be? Suddenly, the guy who elevates Dallas' passing game to another level might not even merit a double team. The Cowboys are happy to have Terry Glenn back, but who knows what kind of threat he will be after missing virtually the entire season. Their timing will be off, unlike that of the Giants' offense, which is reaping the benefits of the fact that … 8. The rest of the '04 QB class has arrived Three playoff teams -- Pittsburgh, New York and San Diego -- put the game into the hands of their respective first-round quarterback from 2004. Opposing defenses wanted the game in the hands of those quarterbacks. Well, the one with the most playoff success in the past, Ben Roethlisberger, turned the ball over four times. The ones who hadn't won a playoff game, Manning and Philip Rivers, carried their teams to wins. Now, amazingly, Manning has had more playoff success than Romo sits to pee, not to mention … 9. Two good thumbs Seth Wickersham is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and a columnist for ESPN.com. For Wick's Picks, click here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGreenistheBest Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 The day I listen to Wickersham's analysis is the day I hang up my fan card for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRAB Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I suppose Dallas doesn't stand a chance. The NY roster magically became more talented than the Dallas roster that was much more talented than them just a few weeks earlier. I can't stand Romo sits to pee and his team, but playing at Texas Stadium isn't going to be like playing a pathetic Bucs team that was lucky even to be sniffing the post season. Too bad we couldn't have played Tampa instead of Seattle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboysSaintsFan Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Either way-this game will be a slugfest. There were a few plays in both of our games that could have EASILY gone the Giants' way. Otherwise, it could have been US grinding it out with Tampa, while Eli and the Giants would have had fun baking under the sun with Lindsey Lohan last weekend. And our playmaker likely will be out(while their slot receiver, Steve Smith, we'll be facing for the first time), so the playing field could be potentially even-fielded.:2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 There is no way I can win with this game. I want Dallass to lose, but to the Giants? To send them to a conference championship game? That's a bad taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiSupaFlyNuka Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 Get used to this on Sunday..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PC84 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 And our playmaker likely will be out( Reggie Bush is gunna be out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr1 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 There is no way I can win with this game. I want Dallass to lose, but to the Giants? To send them to a conference championship game? That's a bad taste. :applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr1 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Reggie Bush is gunna be out? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCranon21 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 There is no way I can win with this game. I want Dallass to lose, but to the Giants? To send them to a conference championship game? That's a bad taste. This is a fail-fail situation for us. But to see Dallass lose again in the playoffs is priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Jones Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 The Giants fans have read too many puke fan posts this year because they are starting to sound just like them. I was thinking the same thing Dock. Watching the pukes lose would be sweet and bring plenty of fuel for the off-season. However, I thought the Giants were done and having them go to the NFCC with a possible berth in the SB would not be a pretty site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeMarco Murray 29 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 What is with this Eli Manning is 'hot'? He has played decent and not turned the ball over. He has helped win games. But he put up better numbers in both games against us. So the Eli is 'hot' is trash. A loss is a loss and a late TD made it closer then it was People think thats a problem 2-2 Giants ... 2-2 Cowboys. Yes, New York is SOOOOO HOT right now. Our strong suit on D is stopping the run. Only allowed ONE 100 Yard rusher all season. If we can pass it, we will run it. That simple. People seriously think Owens will miss this game? Honestly? He has 2 maybe 3 years left in his career. We are not guranteed anything those years. Could be his last shot at a ring. Once again, Big Ben ... Game manager. Rivers is nothing special. Manning is playing well, but not Montana esq. Romo sits to pee has had plenty of time to rest including the Skins game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Jones Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 What is with this Eli Manning is 'hot'? He has played decent and not turned the ball over. He has helped win games. But he put up better numbers in both games against us. So the Eli is 'hot' is trash. A loss is a loss and a late TD made it closer then it was People think thats a problem 2-2 Giants ... 2-2 Cowboys. Yes, New York is SOOOOO HOT right now. Our strong suit on D is stopping the run. Only allowed ONE 100 Yard rusher all season. If we can pass it, we will run it. That simple. People seriously think Owens will miss this game? Honestly? He has 2 maybe 3 years left in his career. We are not guranteed anything those years. Could be his last shot at a ring. Once again, Big Ben ... Game manager. Rivers is nothing special. Manning is playing well, but not Montana esq. Romo sits to pee has had plenty of time to rest including the Skins game The number one question is which puke team shows up and will TO have an impact? Have to wait and see. TO will obvious play, but history shows he will play well and history shows the bye week team usually shows up to play. The Giants have been really confident this week to point of over-confident and that usually does not bode well for them. Should be a good game to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeMarco Murray 29 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 The number one question is which puke team shows up and will TO have an impact? Have to wait and see. TO will obvious play, but history shows he will play well and history shows the bye week team usually shows up to play. The Giants have been really confident this week to point of over-confident and that usually does not bode well for them. Should be a good game to watch. Good post, Fred. I agree with that 100% man. If we show up like the team that played in early November we should win this game by one or two TDs. If the team of December shows up it could be a long day with New York destroying us. I don't like injuries, but the injury I see hurting New York the most is Shockey. Shockey vs. Roy is one of the biggest mis matches of all time. As Shockey beats Roy for 1-2 TD's on average a game. So that could benfit Dallas big time. With Newman against Plaxico it's a push. But Toomer should have the edge over Henry and especially Reeves. Reeves is the human 3rd down conversion. In the Skins/Dallas game it got ridiculous to the point where on 3rd down Moss would run a simple post on 3rd and infinity and be wide open every time. Toomer could eat Reeve's lunch all day. I hope for a blow out in Dallas's favor! But I know it won't happen. I would loveto see Dallas roll in this one, but I know it will be close. Owens will play, I gurantee that. His time to shine in the spotlight? In the playoffs? His type of game. He knows the media will be on his jock for playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboysSaintsFan Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Good post, Fred. I agree with that 100% man. If we show up like the team that played in early November we should win this game by one or two TDs. If the team of December shows up it could be a long day with New York destroying us. I don't like injuries, but the injury I see hurting New York the most is Shockey. Shockey vs. Roy is one of the biggest mis matches of all time. As Shockey beats Roy for 1-2 TD's on average a game. So that could benfit Dallas big time. With Newman against Plaxico it's a push. But Toomer should have the edge over Henry and especially Reeves. Reeves is the human 3rd down conversion. In the Skins/Dallas game it got ridiculous to the point where on 3rd down Moss would run a simple post on 3rd and infinity and be wide open every time. Toomer could eat Reeve's lunch all day. I hope for a blow out in Dallas's favor! But I know it won't happen. I would loveto see Dallas roll in this one, but I know it will be close. Owens will play, I gurantee that. His time to shine in the spotlight? In the playoffs? His type of game. He knows the media will be on his jock for playing. Reeves has done a servicable job this year when Newman and Henry were injured. He may not be a world-beater, but nonetheless, he gave us solid depth at corner. However-he is what he is, a ZONE CORNER. He's way better than, let's say, Jason David, but he would be much better suited for Dungy's Cover 2 D in either Indy or Tampa. With that being said, I wouldn't mind him being let go, and let Alan Ball or Quincy Butler take over the nickel role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiSupaFlyNuka Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 This guy now looks like a Genius "How bout dem Cowboooyys" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiSupaFlyNuka Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 What is with this Eli Manning is 'hot'? He has played decent and not turned the ball over. He has helped win games. But he put up better numbers in both games against us. So the Eli is 'hot' is trash. A loss is a loss and a late TD made it closer then it was People think thats a problem 2-2 Giants ... 2-2 Cowboys. Yes, New York is SOOOOO HOT right now. Our strong suit on D is stopping the run. Only allowed ONE 100 Yard rusher all season. If we can pass it, we will run it. That simple. People seriously think Owens will miss this game? Honestly? He has 2 maybe 3 years left in his career. We are not guranteed anything those years. Could be his last shot at a ring. Once again, Big Ben ... Game manager. Rivers is nothing special. Manning is playing well, but not Montana esq. Romo sits to pee has had plenty of time to rest including the Skins game You were saying? :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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