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A Giant turning point
4:31 PM Wed, Feb 06, 2008 | Permalink
Albert Breer
Remember how we heard how those losses in December were irrelevant?
Well, the Giants didn't think so. In fact, if you listen to those guys, they think the Cowboys late-season swoon emboldened the rest of an NFC that Dallas tore to shreds from September to January.
"We knew we were good team," tailback Brandon Jacobs said. "It kind of started for us when Philadelphia went down and beat Dallas. When they went and beat Dallas, that let us know we were a good football team because we beat Philly twice.
"That kind of opened the door for us, that this team could be beat, they’re not the perfect team. We just started playing better from there."
But the biggest factor remains making your own team better, and that was another thing players at the Super Bowl spoke extensively on.
"You have to continually get better or teams are going to catch up to you and you’re going to give them a chance to beat you in the playoffs," Patriots All-Pro Mike Vrabel said. "You can’t just turn the switch and say, ‘Well, it’s the playoffs, I’m going to play better. Here I am.’ I don’t believe that. It’s a process, where you try to improve your game, improve your technique, improve your conditioning and continue to get better."
Seems like the first part of that statement is, in fact, exactly what happened with the Cowboys down the stretch. Even with wins, the home team was struggling.
And eventually, the mask that ringing up a victory gave the Cowboys came off, revealing a team that simply wasn't what it had been. Now, contrast that to the approach of other teams ...
"You may have won but that’s not where we want to be right now. There were games where we had that," Vrabel continued. "On that walk over to that famous post-game handshake of his, (Bill Belichick is) already thinking what we did wrong and what we can improve on. Everything, it’s the next game and getting better and moving ahead."
Funny thing is, the Patriots -- uncharacteristically -- seemed like another team that was being gained on by its competition, even as it kept on winning.
The moral of the story, nearly a month after the season ended: Every day counts. And if you're not getting better ... Well, since other teams are, you're actually getting worse.
I'm sure there's a lesson here the Cowboys can take with them.
4:31 PM Wed, Feb 06, 2008 | Permalink
Albert Breer
Remember how we heard how those losses in December were irrelevant?
Well, the Giants didn't think so. In fact, if you listen to those guys, they think the Cowboys late-season swoon emboldened the rest of an NFC that Dallas tore to shreds from September to January.
"We knew we were good team," tailback Brandon Jacobs said. "It kind of started for us when Philadelphia went down and beat Dallas. When they went and beat Dallas, that let us know we were a good football team because we beat Philly twice.
"That kind of opened the door for us, that this team could be beat, they’re not the perfect team. We just started playing better from there."
But the biggest factor remains making your own team better, and that was another thing players at the Super Bowl spoke extensively on.
"You have to continually get better or teams are going to catch up to you and you’re going to give them a chance to beat you in the playoffs," Patriots All-Pro Mike Vrabel said. "You can’t just turn the switch and say, ‘Well, it’s the playoffs, I’m going to play better. Here I am.’ I don’t believe that. It’s a process, where you try to improve your game, improve your technique, improve your conditioning and continue to get better."
Seems like the first part of that statement is, in fact, exactly what happened with the Cowboys down the stretch. Even with wins, the home team was struggling.
And eventually, the mask that ringing up a victory gave the Cowboys came off, revealing a team that simply wasn't what it had been. Now, contrast that to the approach of other teams ...
"You may have won but that’s not where we want to be right now. There were games where we had that," Vrabel continued. "On that walk over to that famous post-game handshake of his, (Bill Belichick is) already thinking what we did wrong and what we can improve on. Everything, it’s the next game and getting better and moving ahead."
Funny thing is, the Patriots -- uncharacteristically -- seemed like another team that was being gained on by its competition, even as it kept on winning.
The moral of the story, nearly a month after the season ended: Every day counts. And if you're not getting better ... Well, since other teams are, you're actually getting worse.
I'm sure there's a lesson here the Cowboys can take with them.
