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January 07, 2008
Monday Musings
I try not to be purposefully controversial in this space. I always hated those columnists growing up, the ones who said the opposite of what everybody knew to be true not because they believed it but rather to be unique.
So I truly mean this when I say: Don't underestimate the Giants.
Reading my esteemed Star-Telecolleague, Charean's offering, this a.m., had me thinking I had watched a different game than her and apparently everybody else. Popular opinion seems to be landing an Eli Manning-led Giants team rather than say 'Skin or Buc' was a fortuitous bounce, a layup drill into the NFC Championship game.
Coach Wade even floated possibly holding T.O. against NYG in preparation for a possible NFC Championship game, like a date with Green Bay is a foregone conclusion.
Say what?
Let's forgo another long, tedious debate on Cowboys and December and whether this team is indeed rolling into playoff time or stumbling. Instead, let's spend a minute on NYG and specifically the other Manning. He looked good to me Sunday, surprisingly good actually, especially when compared to Todd "Oh, That's Why I Sat For So Long" Collins and Jeff "Never Won Squat" Garcia. Obviously, in light of where he had been drafted and what N.Y. gave up to land him, Eli came with bigger expectations than Tweedle Bum and Tweedle Bummer.
And Eli failed all of them. Or he had been until Sunday.
He had been basically been written off, including by yours truly, as a JAG, Just A Guy, after losing to Dallas in November and very rarely do road playoff teams win with JAGs as QBs. Winning playoff games period with such QBs is crazy talk, the Trent Dilfer exception notwithstanding.
And all of this sounds really good for Cowboys chances on Sunday except Eli did not play like a JAG in Tampa. In fact, I daresay he looked a little Phil Simms-ish against a very good Bucs defense, underwhelming raw numbers yet an impressive enough game to free himself from N.Y. media buzzards at least until he reverts to disappointing form in Dallas.
Anybody banking on early or easy capitulation by New York or Eli is sadly mistaken, despite what is being sold locally and by Vegas oddsmakers this morning.
Not many Cowboy players showed for locker room time Monday. Those who did, though, say this Giants team bares very little resemblance to the one they saw in November and Eli's resurrection is Reason 1 behind this turnaround. In fact, linebacker DeMarcus Ware's exact words were "Not at all" followed by a lot of Eli love.
And, unlike certain "What me, worry? We're 13-3" voices at Valley Ranch, players admitted this team was not playing its best in December. As Ware noted, however, how a team is plays in January is what matters. And how this team plays against Eli has a huge bearing on how they play period.
A couple of Cowboys coaches said you usually get a good idea what kind of game you are going to get from the other Manning by how he handles the first two series. If he is nervous or off early, it has a tendency to lead to a funk that lasts all game. Whereas if Eli has a little success early, he tends to build on this.
And if this happens, this is not a Giants team to be taken lightly.
Posted at 03:33 PM in Cowboys | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Monday Musings
I try not to be purposefully controversial in this space. I always hated those columnists growing up, the ones who said the opposite of what everybody knew to be true not because they believed it but rather to be unique.
So I truly mean this when I say: Don't underestimate the Giants.
Reading my esteemed Star-Telecolleague, Charean's offering, this a.m., had me thinking I had watched a different game than her and apparently everybody else. Popular opinion seems to be landing an Eli Manning-led Giants team rather than say 'Skin or Buc' was a fortuitous bounce, a layup drill into the NFC Championship game.
Coach Wade even floated possibly holding T.O. against NYG in preparation for a possible NFC Championship game, like a date with Green Bay is a foregone conclusion.
Say what?
Let's forgo another long, tedious debate on Cowboys and December and whether this team is indeed rolling into playoff time or stumbling. Instead, let's spend a minute on NYG and specifically the other Manning. He looked good to me Sunday, surprisingly good actually, especially when compared to Todd "Oh, That's Why I Sat For So Long" Collins and Jeff "Never Won Squat" Garcia. Obviously, in light of where he had been drafted and what N.Y. gave up to land him, Eli came with bigger expectations than Tweedle Bum and Tweedle Bummer.
And Eli failed all of them. Or he had been until Sunday.
He had been basically been written off, including by yours truly, as a JAG, Just A Guy, after losing to Dallas in November and very rarely do road playoff teams win with JAGs as QBs. Winning playoff games period with such QBs is crazy talk, the Trent Dilfer exception notwithstanding.
And all of this sounds really good for Cowboys chances on Sunday except Eli did not play like a JAG in Tampa. In fact, I daresay he looked a little Phil Simms-ish against a very good Bucs defense, underwhelming raw numbers yet an impressive enough game to free himself from N.Y. media buzzards at least until he reverts to disappointing form in Dallas.
Anybody banking on early or easy capitulation by New York or Eli is sadly mistaken, despite what is being sold locally and by Vegas oddsmakers this morning.
Not many Cowboy players showed for locker room time Monday. Those who did, though, say this Giants team bares very little resemblance to the one they saw in November and Eli's resurrection is Reason 1 behind this turnaround. In fact, linebacker DeMarcus Ware's exact words were "Not at all" followed by a lot of Eli love.
And, unlike certain "What me, worry? We're 13-3" voices at Valley Ranch, players admitted this team was not playing its best in December. As Ware noted, however, how a team is plays in January is what matters. And how this team plays against Eli has a huge bearing on how they play period.
A couple of Cowboys coaches said you usually get a good idea what kind of game you are going to get from the other Manning by how he handles the first two series. If he is nervous or off early, it has a tendency to lead to a funk that lasts all game. Whereas if Eli has a little success early, he tends to build on this.
And if this happens, this is not a Giants team to be taken lightly.
Posted at 03:33 PM in Cowboys | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
