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Saturday, January 12, 2008
Earlier this week, our scouts filed their advance scouting report on this week's matchup between the Giants and Cowboys. Now they're back with a second look.
Matchup to watch
Dallas LT Flozell Adams vs. New York RDE Osi Umenyiora
Adams is scheduled to become a free agent after this season and obviously has a lot to play for. He won't need that extra incentive to get geared up for this playoff game, but he had better bring his best effort against Umenyiora. With Michael Strahan against Marc Colombo on the other side, Dallas will look to help Colombo first. While Adams will also receive help from a tight end or running back at times, he will often battle Umenyiora one-on-one.
Adams remains one of the better left tackles in the league and did a nice job against Umenyiora in these teams' previous meetings this season, but we still give the edge here to the Giants' fierce pass rusher. Umenyiora offers a wide variety of pass rush moves and can beat his opponent with quickness and speed or pure power and explosiveness. He closes on his target very quickly and also plays the run well for such a good pass rushing end.
What happens if WR Terrell Owens can't play?
While Tony Romo is an excellent quarterback who is having a tremendous season, Owens is the most important player on this offense. He suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 15 and has had time to rest, so we expect Owens to return for this playoff game. If he can't go, or is a shell of what he is capable of, Dallas could be in trouble.
Yes, the Cowboys have a deep stable of weapons and feature a strong running game, but Owens is the one player who keeps defensive coordinators up at night and his presence on the field makes everyone else's job much easier. In reality, he can do it all. He is a touchdown machine who looks to score every time he touches the football. He can go up and get the ball extremely well, has terrific size, amazing strength and is excellent after the catch. Romo will throw him quick hitches, crossing routes, fades, outs, deep posts and just about every other route on the passing tree.
The attention that Owens will demand should free TE Jason Witten to battle with the Giants' linebackers and safeties, who are rather ordinary in coverage. It will also free WR Patrick Crayton and possibly speedster WR Terry Glenn, if he plays (knee), to exploit single coverage. Regardless if Owens plays or not, Dallas will usually keep one or two eligible receivers in to pass block against the Giants' pass rush, so getting the most dangerous players into the routes is imperative against this defense. New York's secondary, which is prone to allowing big plays, is in for a very long day if Owens is 100 percent healthy.
When the chips are down, which quarterback should we expect to thrive?
Both Romo and Eli Manning are very cool customers. While Manning hasn't had nearly as good of a season as Romo, the Giants' signal caller has certainly stepped up his game in a big way of late. Manning's best games this year have come against Dallas, New England and Tampa Bay, which are three of the better teams in the NFL. He has been exceptional over the past 10 quarters and has shown much-improved poise, decision-making ability and accuracy. Granted, he needs help from the Giants' strong, power running game, but Manning has stepped up for the Giants when they needed him most. In two games against Dallas, Manning is 51 of 75 for 548 yards, with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
The last postseason memory we have of Romo is of a wet K ball going through his hands in Seattle, which ended the Cowboys' 2006 season. We don't believe that such gaffes will be a recurring theme in Romo's career and his game has come a very long way from that fateful day. Romo is a student of the game who has an uncanny knack to feel pressure. He has a great awareness of the field and of everyone's assignment. Romo realizes that he needs to get the ball out quickly and into the hands of his excellent weapons. He has the accuracy and touch to drop the ball into tight spaces and put his receivers in a spot to do something with it after the catch. Against the Giants this year, Romo is 35 of 52 for 592 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
However, Romo and Manning have their flaws. Romo can press at times and sometimes run hot and cold. Manning has a history of making poor decisions and throwing off his back foot. When things go wrong for Manning, they often go catastrophically wrong. Because the Cowboys are at home and are the NFC's top seed, there will be more pressure on Romo, but he gets the nod when the chips are down.
Can the Cowboys slow up New York's outstanding pass rush?
The Giants sacked opposing quarterbacks 53 times this year, but only two of those sacks came against Dallas. In Sunday's win over Tampa Bay, DE Michael Strahan recorded the Giants' only sack, but New York harassed Bucs QB Jeff Garcia unmercifully on nearly every throw. It isn't any secret that New York has a phenomenal group of pass rushers led by Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck, who recorded 10 sacks in a backup role and would start for just about every other team in the NFL. Strahan is the leader, but they all are fierce.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is a very aggressive play caller who will overload blitz off the edge, bring heavy pressure up the middle, utilize zone fire principles and even call cornerback and safety blitzes. The Giants got sacks from 11 different players this season. Spagnuolo obviously has a tremendous pass rushing front four and may have to be a bit more conservative with his blitzing due to the Cowboys' tremendous quick-strike ability and supreme talent at their skill positions. But make no mistake -- he will still dial up pressure.
The Cowboys will counter by using TE Anthony Fasano more often. He will team with Witten to give Dallas' offensive tackles outside help. Witten is clearly the better pass catcher of the two, but both players are well-rounded football players and will be instrumental against the Giants. Due to his protection, athletic ability and especially his ability to feel pressure, Romo is a very difficult quarterback to sack and very dangerous when he breaks contain, but we expect the Giants to get to him more often than in their previous meetings.
Scouts' Edge
The Scouts Inc. Position Advantage
QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST Coach
If you judge this game solely by the Scouts Inc. Advantage, it looks as though Dallas is the far superior team, but this is going to be a close game. While the Cowboys have already beaten the Giants twice this year, New York is playing very well right now led by Manning, who has taken his game up several notches and finished the season strong. New York has scored 97 points in its last three games.
While the Giants have only lost one game on the road this season, they are coming off a stretch of excruciating games, including their Wild Card victory in the heat of Tampa Bay. As stated above, Owens' injury situation could have a big impact on the final outcome of this game and it appears that he will be hobbled to some extent for this matchup, but we still expect the Cowboys to edge out the Giants at home in a very close contest.
Prediction: Cowboys 28, Giants 27
Earlier this week, our scouts filed their advance scouting report on this week's matchup between the Giants and Cowboys. Now they're back with a second look.
Matchup to watch
Dallas LT Flozell Adams vs. New York RDE Osi Umenyiora
Adams is scheduled to become a free agent after this season and obviously has a lot to play for. He won't need that extra incentive to get geared up for this playoff game, but he had better bring his best effort against Umenyiora. With Michael Strahan against Marc Colombo on the other side, Dallas will look to help Colombo first. While Adams will also receive help from a tight end or running back at times, he will often battle Umenyiora one-on-one.
Adams remains one of the better left tackles in the league and did a nice job against Umenyiora in these teams' previous meetings this season, but we still give the edge here to the Giants' fierce pass rusher. Umenyiora offers a wide variety of pass rush moves and can beat his opponent with quickness and speed or pure power and explosiveness. He closes on his target very quickly and also plays the run well for such a good pass rushing end.
What happens if WR Terrell Owens can't play?
While Tony Romo is an excellent quarterback who is having a tremendous season, Owens is the most important player on this offense. He suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 15 and has had time to rest, so we expect Owens to return for this playoff game. If he can't go, or is a shell of what he is capable of, Dallas could be in trouble.
Yes, the Cowboys have a deep stable of weapons and feature a strong running game, but Owens is the one player who keeps defensive coordinators up at night and his presence on the field makes everyone else's job much easier. In reality, he can do it all. He is a touchdown machine who looks to score every time he touches the football. He can go up and get the ball extremely well, has terrific size, amazing strength and is excellent after the catch. Romo will throw him quick hitches, crossing routes, fades, outs, deep posts and just about every other route on the passing tree.
The attention that Owens will demand should free TE Jason Witten to battle with the Giants' linebackers and safeties, who are rather ordinary in coverage. It will also free WR Patrick Crayton and possibly speedster WR Terry Glenn, if he plays (knee), to exploit single coverage. Regardless if Owens plays or not, Dallas will usually keep one or two eligible receivers in to pass block against the Giants' pass rush, so getting the most dangerous players into the routes is imperative against this defense. New York's secondary, which is prone to allowing big plays, is in for a very long day if Owens is 100 percent healthy.
When the chips are down, which quarterback should we expect to thrive?
Both Romo and Eli Manning are very cool customers. While Manning hasn't had nearly as good of a season as Romo, the Giants' signal caller has certainly stepped up his game in a big way of late. Manning's best games this year have come against Dallas, New England and Tampa Bay, which are three of the better teams in the NFL. He has been exceptional over the past 10 quarters and has shown much-improved poise, decision-making ability and accuracy. Granted, he needs help from the Giants' strong, power running game, but Manning has stepped up for the Giants when they needed him most. In two games against Dallas, Manning is 51 of 75 for 548 yards, with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
The last postseason memory we have of Romo is of a wet K ball going through his hands in Seattle, which ended the Cowboys' 2006 season. We don't believe that such gaffes will be a recurring theme in Romo's career and his game has come a very long way from that fateful day. Romo is a student of the game who has an uncanny knack to feel pressure. He has a great awareness of the field and of everyone's assignment. Romo realizes that he needs to get the ball out quickly and into the hands of his excellent weapons. He has the accuracy and touch to drop the ball into tight spaces and put his receivers in a spot to do something with it after the catch. Against the Giants this year, Romo is 35 of 52 for 592 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
However, Romo and Manning have their flaws. Romo can press at times and sometimes run hot and cold. Manning has a history of making poor decisions and throwing off his back foot. When things go wrong for Manning, they often go catastrophically wrong. Because the Cowboys are at home and are the NFC's top seed, there will be more pressure on Romo, but he gets the nod when the chips are down.
Can the Cowboys slow up New York's outstanding pass rush?
The Giants sacked opposing quarterbacks 53 times this year, but only two of those sacks came against Dallas. In Sunday's win over Tampa Bay, DE Michael Strahan recorded the Giants' only sack, but New York harassed Bucs QB Jeff Garcia unmercifully on nearly every throw. It isn't any secret that New York has a phenomenal group of pass rushers led by Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck, who recorded 10 sacks in a backup role and would start for just about every other team in the NFL. Strahan is the leader, but they all are fierce.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is a very aggressive play caller who will overload blitz off the edge, bring heavy pressure up the middle, utilize zone fire principles and even call cornerback and safety blitzes. The Giants got sacks from 11 different players this season. Spagnuolo obviously has a tremendous pass rushing front four and may have to be a bit more conservative with his blitzing due to the Cowboys' tremendous quick-strike ability and supreme talent at their skill positions. But make no mistake -- he will still dial up pressure.
The Cowboys will counter by using TE Anthony Fasano more often. He will team with Witten to give Dallas' offensive tackles outside help. Witten is clearly the better pass catcher of the two, but both players are well-rounded football players and will be instrumental against the Giants. Due to his protection, athletic ability and especially his ability to feel pressure, Romo is a very difficult quarterback to sack and very dangerous when he breaks contain, but we expect the Giants to get to him more often than in their previous meetings.
Scouts' Edge
The Scouts Inc. Position Advantage
QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST Coach
If you judge this game solely by the Scouts Inc. Advantage, it looks as though Dallas is the far superior team, but this is going to be a close game. While the Cowboys have already beaten the Giants twice this year, New York is playing very well right now led by Manning, who has taken his game up several notches and finished the season strong. New York has scored 97 points in its last three games.
While the Giants have only lost one game on the road this season, they are coming off a stretch of excruciating games, including their Wild Card victory in the heat of Tampa Bay. As stated above, Owens' injury situation could have a big impact on the final outcome of this game and it appears that he will be hobbled to some extent for this matchup, but we still expect the Cowboys to edge out the Giants at home in a very close contest.
Prediction: Cowboys 28, Giants 27
