jday
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The following are two articles written by Jarrett Bell of USA Today one after the other. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/footb...y_N.htm?csp=34
1. Dallas is so soft. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones essentially questioned Marion Barber's toughness for missing Sunday's game at Pittsburgh due to a dislocated toe. That's dicey stuff, trying to gauge the level of pain and discomfort in another man's body — even after you've guaranteed the player $16 million as part of a 7-year, $45 million contract extension. Less murky is how the manner of Dallas' fourth-quarter meltdown against the Steelers further exemplifies the team's weak belly in the latter stages of the season. The Cowboys were bounced in their playoff opener last season after a 13-3 regular-season earned them a No. 1 seed. Before that, a bumbling finish to a playoff-opening loss at Seattle. The pattern has been there for a while. Since Y2K, the Cowboys are 13-29 in games played after Dec. 1, a mark that includes four playoff losses. Dallas hasn't had a "post-Dec. 1" winning record since 1996. Funny, no team plays to the spotlight like the glamorous Cowboys, projected to finally get over the hump this season and advance to the Super Bowl. The current group undoubtedly has gained some stature from hype linked to the franchise's tradition. But it has continually wilted when needed to back up the hype when it matters most. When Dallas extended its lead to 13-3 in the fourth quarter at Pittsburgh, Terrell Owens flexed his muscles and taunted the crowd at Heinz Field. Yet the dominant part of the Cowboys' identity would soon overshadow such bravado.
2. The Giants are indeed capable of being distracted. It would be naive to blame the Giants' flat loss to Philadelphia entirely on the Plaxico Burress drama that blanketed the team last week. But when Antonio Pierce was left to chasing Brian Westbrook on a 40-yard TD catch, the nightclub incident surely came to mind. And when Domenik Hixon dropped what might have been an 85-yard TD catch, it was natural to wonder if Burress makes that play. Even so, the Giants' loss probably had more to do with Brandon Jacobs' knee injury and the team's season-low 88 rushing yards. Add the Eagles to the mix — Philadelphia played the Giants tough and narrowly lost a month earlier — and New York's seven-game winning streak was threatened from the outset. Now New York needs to prevent a funky tailspin that would douse momentum before the postseason. After Sunday night's game at desperate Dallas, the Giants host Carolina and travel to Minnesota — two opponents clinging to division leads.
So, in essence, the Cowboys are soft because 11 different teams wearing the Cowboys uniform have not had winning records in the 11 years prior to this one, the media has the ability to twist Jerry Jones comments into questioning Marion Barbers "toughness," and the loss to the Steelers is somehow the poster child of a theme that has plagued this Dallas team throughout those 11 years without a play-off win known as the "fourth-quarter meltdown." This years failures had nothing to do with the injuries to Romo, Felix Jones, Terrence Newman, Roy Williams, Matt McBriar, Sam Hurd, Kyle Kosier, Marion Barber, etc. and the infamous suspension to Pacman Jones, because great teams find ways to win despite their shortcomings at all their key positions. Even the Giants in our first meeting pointed out that our missing players like Tony Romo, Terence Newman, Kyle Kosier, Felix Jones, and Pacman Jones had nothing to do with us losing, so their support certainly lends credibility to this assessment.
But, wait, wasn't it Amani Toomer who was quoted as saying something like "We dealt with this all week, and played our worst game - I'll let you figure it out," following that loss in reference to the Plaxico incident, in an attempt to explain a way their ill performance at home against the Eagles. But, no, nevermind, that's nowhere close to the same issues the Cowboys have had to deal with. Our media articles have read like Mother Goose stories filled with encouragement for our players. Surely that loss to the Eagles had nothing to do with that OL and RB core the Giants coaches have abused throughout the year being beat up coming into the game. I mean, considering the number of 200 yard ground games the Giants have had, it seems unlikely that the heart and soul of the Giants winning has been rather or not their running game is successful, despite the fact that the Giants are #1 in the league with 2,010 yards rushing and 17th in the league with 2,651 yards passing. So, yeah, I get it...Plaxico, whom they are 3 and 1 without, missing from the game is why they lossed. Thank you so much Jarrett for your unbiased method of clearing that up for the masses. Your fair insight knows no boundaries.
1. Dallas is so soft. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones essentially questioned Marion Barber's toughness for missing Sunday's game at Pittsburgh due to a dislocated toe. That's dicey stuff, trying to gauge the level of pain and discomfort in another man's body — even after you've guaranteed the player $16 million as part of a 7-year, $45 million contract extension. Less murky is how the manner of Dallas' fourth-quarter meltdown against the Steelers further exemplifies the team's weak belly in the latter stages of the season. The Cowboys were bounced in their playoff opener last season after a 13-3 regular-season earned them a No. 1 seed. Before that, a bumbling finish to a playoff-opening loss at Seattle. The pattern has been there for a while. Since Y2K, the Cowboys are 13-29 in games played after Dec. 1, a mark that includes four playoff losses. Dallas hasn't had a "post-Dec. 1" winning record since 1996. Funny, no team plays to the spotlight like the glamorous Cowboys, projected to finally get over the hump this season and advance to the Super Bowl. The current group undoubtedly has gained some stature from hype linked to the franchise's tradition. But it has continually wilted when needed to back up the hype when it matters most. When Dallas extended its lead to 13-3 in the fourth quarter at Pittsburgh, Terrell Owens flexed his muscles and taunted the crowd at Heinz Field. Yet the dominant part of the Cowboys' identity would soon overshadow such bravado.
2. The Giants are indeed capable of being distracted. It would be naive to blame the Giants' flat loss to Philadelphia entirely on the Plaxico Burress drama that blanketed the team last week. But when Antonio Pierce was left to chasing Brian Westbrook on a 40-yard TD catch, the nightclub incident surely came to mind. And when Domenik Hixon dropped what might have been an 85-yard TD catch, it was natural to wonder if Burress makes that play. Even so, the Giants' loss probably had more to do with Brandon Jacobs' knee injury and the team's season-low 88 rushing yards. Add the Eagles to the mix — Philadelphia played the Giants tough and narrowly lost a month earlier — and New York's seven-game winning streak was threatened from the outset. Now New York needs to prevent a funky tailspin that would douse momentum before the postseason. After Sunday night's game at desperate Dallas, the Giants host Carolina and travel to Minnesota — two opponents clinging to division leads.
So, in essence, the Cowboys are soft because 11 different teams wearing the Cowboys uniform have not had winning records in the 11 years prior to this one, the media has the ability to twist Jerry Jones comments into questioning Marion Barbers "toughness," and the loss to the Steelers is somehow the poster child of a theme that has plagued this Dallas team throughout those 11 years without a play-off win known as the "fourth-quarter meltdown." This years failures had nothing to do with the injuries to Romo, Felix Jones, Terrence Newman, Roy Williams, Matt McBriar, Sam Hurd, Kyle Kosier, Marion Barber, etc. and the infamous suspension to Pacman Jones, because great teams find ways to win despite their shortcomings at all their key positions. Even the Giants in our first meeting pointed out that our missing players like Tony Romo, Terence Newman, Kyle Kosier, Felix Jones, and Pacman Jones had nothing to do with us losing, so their support certainly lends credibility to this assessment.
But, wait, wasn't it Amani Toomer who was quoted as saying something like "We dealt with this all week, and played our worst game - I'll let you figure it out," following that loss in reference to the Plaxico incident, in an attempt to explain a way their ill performance at home against the Eagles. But, no, nevermind, that's nowhere close to the same issues the Cowboys have had to deal with. Our media articles have read like Mother Goose stories filled with encouragement for our players. Surely that loss to the Eagles had nothing to do with that OL and RB core the Giants coaches have abused throughout the year being beat up coming into the game. I mean, considering the number of 200 yard ground games the Giants have had, it seems unlikely that the heart and soul of the Giants winning has been rather or not their running game is successful, despite the fact that the Giants are #1 in the league with 2,010 yards rushing and 17th in the league with 2,651 yards passing. So, yeah, I get it...Plaxico, whom they are 3 and 1 without, missing from the game is why they lossed. Thank you so much Jarrett for your unbiased method of clearing that up for the masses. Your fair insight knows no boundaries.
