USAToday: Lessons learned from the Cowboys-Giants opener

[WoodysGirl]

By Jarrett Bell and Jim Corbett, USA TODAY

Wednesday night's 24-17 victory by the Dallas Cowboys showed the New York Giants that maybe times have changed. In nine previous meetings, the Giants had won seven times. Here are some other things we learned:

The Giants still can't run the ball.
After finishing dead last in the league last season, averaging 89.2 yards per game, the Giants still have problems. The offensive line had problems getting any push against a Dallas defensive line playing without its best run stuffer, Jay Ratliff, who was inactive because of a high ankle sprain. Ahmad Bradshaw gained 78 yards on 17 carries and found the end zone on a 10-yard, third-quarter run. But rookie David Wilson might be scarred by the fumble that led to his benching.

Eli Manning needs some protection.
Is it too late for Sean O'Hara to unretire? The Giants quarterback was under too much pressure to work any comeback magic Wednesday night. He did well to complete 21 of 32 passes for 213 yards, but too many times the Cowboys collapsed the pocket and either dropped Manning for sacks or forced him to throw the ball away. That sluggish run game is directly related to opening the play-action passing lanes Manning needs to launch his vertical passes to Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

It's time to get Victor Cruz off the red carpet.

The salsa-dancing Giants receiver, who took the NFL by storm last season, had some concentration lapses on his three drops. He insists his whirlwind offseason, which included handing out a Grammy Award, appearing on the Jimmy Fallon late-night show and doing several commercial shoots, will not affect his play, but he needs to prove he's not a one-year wonder.

Read the rest about the Cowboys: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/footb...ned/57626150/1