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OPPONENT PREVIEW - NY GIANTS
Puzzling Giants Await in Big Showdown
by Mike Rabun
The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants will meet on Sunday in what must officially be labeled as a Big Game.
Playoff implications of all sorts will be riding on the outcome. It is the kind of game in which reputations can be made or tarnished. It is, to be sure, must-see television for those who cannot be present in the wind tunnel that was opened 33 years ago a little west of the Hudson River and right off the New Jersey Turnpike.
It is hard to know what to make of the Giants this season. Same could be said for the Cowboys, of course, but that is another story.
The Giants appeared to be headed for the Super Bowl not long after they dramatically won the first regular-season game ever played in Cowboys Stadium. But soon came a four-game losing streak, during which New Orleans put up 44 on the scoreboard and Philadelphia 40.
They surrendered the winning touchdown to San Diego at the last moment and then let a 14-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter against Atlanta before pulling out that game in overtime.
These are nervous times, therefore, in The Apple. New York has been to the playoffs four straight years and its always-passionate fan base fully expects another trip.
We are familiar with the personalities. Eli Manning, who owns the same number of Super Bowl rings as his brother, has twice as many touchdown passes as interceptions and is wholly reliable.
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw make up a solid one-two running game. With Plaxico Burress having run afoul of the law, second-year receiver Mario Manningham has stepped up to join Steve Smith as a dangerous receiver. They both could reach 1,000 yards.
Defensive end Osi Umenyiora is back from his injured season of 2008 to be a pass-rushing threat. The Giants, however, suffered a recent loss when leading tackler Antonio Pierce was sidelined with a neck problem.
Here is the puzzling statistic. Going into last week, only one team in the league (Pittsburgh) had allowed fewer yards than New York. But just two teams (Detroit and Tampa Bay) had given up more touchdowns.
The Giants have a plus-two turnover ratio, so that has not been a factor in this odd equation. And New York has not given up a return or defensive touchdown all year.
What New York seems to be suffering from is red zone disease. Both offensively and defensively.
On the average, NFL teams produce about 60 percent as many field goals as they do offensive touchdowns. New York's opponents, however, kick only 22 percent as many field goals as they score touchdowns. And the Giants also kick about 75 percent as many field goals as they score touchdowns.
So, New York has not consistently slowed down its foes once they have driven the ball deep. And the Giants have not done a good job on offense taking advantage of high-quality field position.
The Cowboys would like to see those trends continue on what could be one of the most significant Sundays of the season.
There have been 13 games in NFL history in which a team has scored at least 62 points. The New York Giants have been involved in five of them, more than any other club in the league. New York lost four of those five games, including the highest-scoring contest ever in the NFL, Washington 72, New York 41 on Nov. 27, 1966.
KEY MATCHUP
Giants RB Brandon Jacobs vs. Cowboys SS Gerald Sensabaugh
While it would appear that any team counting on its strong safety to stop the run must not be very good against the run, the task of slowing down the New York Giants running attack is a bit unique. Not every NFL team has a featured running back that comes through the line of scrimmage like a freight train. Jacobs is one of the league's biggest (6-4, 264) and most physical No. 1 running backs. If he breaks through the first wave of defenders, opponents better have a strong safety that can support the run. Nagging injuries and the loss of key backup Derrick Ward to Tampa Bay have helped limit Jacobs' production this season after a career year in 2008 that included over 1,000 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns. The Giants scored 33 points in their Week 2 victory over Dallas despite Jacobs being limited to 58 yards on 16 carries. Sensabaugh has been battling a thumb injury but has played well in his first season as a Cowboy.
GIANTS UPDATE
By Sam Iannuzzi
The Giants overcame a trend when they defeated Atlanta 34-31 in Week 11. The victory followed New York's bye week and was just the sixth win in 21 post-bye week games for the team.
This is one year the Cowboys will not have the advantage of the long break over the next opponent following the traditional Thanksgiving Day game. New York played Denver in the Turkey Day nightcap to give the Giants the same time off prior to hosting Dallas on Dec. 6.
The last time New York played on Thanksgiving Day was Nov. 26, 1992 in Dallas. The Cowboys beat the Giants and rookie quarterback Kent Graham 30-3.
Eli Manning's personal-best 384 passing yards against Atlanta pushed his career total to over 17,000. Manning moved past Kerry Collins into third place in team history. Only No. 2 Charlie Conerly (19,488) and career leader Phil Simms (33,462) have thrown for more yards than Manning, who is in just his sixth season in the league.
The Giants' overtime win against Atlanta was their fifth straight regular-season victory in the extra quarter. It's six in a row if you count New York's overtime triumph in the 2007 NFC Championship game at Green Bay.
New York's defense took a big hit when middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, the defensive captain who calls all the Giants' signals for the defense, was diagnosed with a bulging disc in his neck. The injury was initially thought to be a less serious and temporary problem following the Giants game against Arizona on Oct. 25. He was examined again during the bye week when he began to feel pain during practice and was sent for more tests, which revealed the disc problem that has him sidelined.
According to NFL.com, there were 35 players with the last name Johnson active on NFL rosters through Week 11. The Giants had five of them: Bruce, D.J., Darcy, Gartrell and Michael.
FOCUS ON STEVE SMITH
t's no surprise that a wide receiver named Steve Smith is a No. 1 wideout having a career year for a playoff contending team. It is a surprise that the player in question is the New York Giants' Steve Smith and not the four-time Pro Bowl performer who plays for the Carolina Panthers.
New York's Smith, in just his third season, has developed a reputation as a tough, clutch receiver with soft hands, and has become the go-to guy for quarterback Eli Manning. This is the role for which the Giants were hoping when they took the former University of Southern California star in the second round of the 2007 draft.
Things got off to a slow start when he played in just five regular-season games his rookie year and caught a mere eight passes as he battled injuries. Once healthy, Smith rebounded to become a major contributor during the Giants' improbable late-season Super Bowl run. The wild-card Giants won road games at Tampa, Dallas, and Green Bay before beating the undefeated New England Patriots in the Big Game. Smith had 14 postseason receptions, including five in the championship.
Last season he had respectable numbers with 57 catches for 574 yards and a touchdown, mostly after star wideout and former Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress was lost for the season after shooting himself in the leg at a New York nightclub. Both Burress and veteran Amani Toomer were released in the offseason.
Even with Smith showing promise, the Giants were so unsure of their wide receiver situation following the 2008 campaign that they went out and spent two high draft picks on wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden. Nicks, their No. 1 selection, had 29 catches for 472 yards and four touchdowns but Barden did not have a catch through 10 games.
Meanwhile, the two receivers who were already in the fold, Smith and Mario Manningham, have led the offense. With six games still to play, Smith's 65 receptions, 798 receiving yards and five touchdowns were all career highs. At the same point in the season, only five receivers in the league had better numbers.
SERIES HISTORY
COWBOYS VS GIANTS
The Cowboys make their final regular season visit to Giants Stadium for the 96th game in the history of the rivalry ... On Oct. 10, 1976, the Cowboys played the Giants in the first-ever regular season contest at what was then the newly built venue in East Rutherford, N.J. Dallas spoiled the party with a 24-14 victory ... Some 33 years later on Sept. 20, New York returned the favor when it beat Dallas 33-31 in the first regular season game at the new Cowboys Stadium ... Since the 2000 season, New York has won 11 of their 19 meetings ... The Cowboys and Giants have played at least twice every year since the 1961 season ... In 2007, the Cowboys won both regular season meetings before losing to the wild-card Giants in the divisional playoffs as the New Yorkers went on to win the championship. It is the only time they've met in the postseason.
Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine, December 5, 2009
Puzzling Giants Await in Big Showdown
by Mike Rabun
The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants will meet on Sunday in what must officially be labeled as a Big Game.
Playoff implications of all sorts will be riding on the outcome. It is the kind of game in which reputations can be made or tarnished. It is, to be sure, must-see television for those who cannot be present in the wind tunnel that was opened 33 years ago a little west of the Hudson River and right off the New Jersey Turnpike.
It is hard to know what to make of the Giants this season. Same could be said for the Cowboys, of course, but that is another story.
The Giants appeared to be headed for the Super Bowl not long after they dramatically won the first regular-season game ever played in Cowboys Stadium. But soon came a four-game losing streak, during which New Orleans put up 44 on the scoreboard and Philadelphia 40.
They surrendered the winning touchdown to San Diego at the last moment and then let a 14-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter against Atlanta before pulling out that game in overtime.
These are nervous times, therefore, in The Apple. New York has been to the playoffs four straight years and its always-passionate fan base fully expects another trip.
We are familiar with the personalities. Eli Manning, who owns the same number of Super Bowl rings as his brother, has twice as many touchdown passes as interceptions and is wholly reliable.
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw make up a solid one-two running game. With Plaxico Burress having run afoul of the law, second-year receiver Mario Manningham has stepped up to join Steve Smith as a dangerous receiver. They both could reach 1,000 yards.
Defensive end Osi Umenyiora is back from his injured season of 2008 to be a pass-rushing threat. The Giants, however, suffered a recent loss when leading tackler Antonio Pierce was sidelined with a neck problem.
Here is the puzzling statistic. Going into last week, only one team in the league (Pittsburgh) had allowed fewer yards than New York. But just two teams (Detroit and Tampa Bay) had given up more touchdowns.
The Giants have a plus-two turnover ratio, so that has not been a factor in this odd equation. And New York has not given up a return or defensive touchdown all year.
What New York seems to be suffering from is red zone disease. Both offensively and defensively.
On the average, NFL teams produce about 60 percent as many field goals as they do offensive touchdowns. New York's opponents, however, kick only 22 percent as many field goals as they score touchdowns. And the Giants also kick about 75 percent as many field goals as they score touchdowns.
So, New York has not consistently slowed down its foes once they have driven the ball deep. And the Giants have not done a good job on offense taking advantage of high-quality field position.
The Cowboys would like to see those trends continue on what could be one of the most significant Sundays of the season.
There have been 13 games in NFL history in which a team has scored at least 62 points. The New York Giants have been involved in five of them, more than any other club in the league. New York lost four of those five games, including the highest-scoring contest ever in the NFL, Washington 72, New York 41 on Nov. 27, 1966.
KEY MATCHUP
Giants RB Brandon Jacobs vs. Cowboys SS Gerald Sensabaugh
While it would appear that any team counting on its strong safety to stop the run must not be very good against the run, the task of slowing down the New York Giants running attack is a bit unique. Not every NFL team has a featured running back that comes through the line of scrimmage like a freight train. Jacobs is one of the league's biggest (6-4, 264) and most physical No. 1 running backs. If he breaks through the first wave of defenders, opponents better have a strong safety that can support the run. Nagging injuries and the loss of key backup Derrick Ward to Tampa Bay have helped limit Jacobs' production this season after a career year in 2008 that included over 1,000 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns. The Giants scored 33 points in their Week 2 victory over Dallas despite Jacobs being limited to 58 yards on 16 carries. Sensabaugh has been battling a thumb injury but has played well in his first season as a Cowboy.
GIANTS UPDATE
By Sam Iannuzzi
The Giants overcame a trend when they defeated Atlanta 34-31 in Week 11. The victory followed New York's bye week and was just the sixth win in 21 post-bye week games for the team.
This is one year the Cowboys will not have the advantage of the long break over the next opponent following the traditional Thanksgiving Day game. New York played Denver in the Turkey Day nightcap to give the Giants the same time off prior to hosting Dallas on Dec. 6.
The last time New York played on Thanksgiving Day was Nov. 26, 1992 in Dallas. The Cowboys beat the Giants and rookie quarterback Kent Graham 30-3.
Eli Manning's personal-best 384 passing yards against Atlanta pushed his career total to over 17,000. Manning moved past Kerry Collins into third place in team history. Only No. 2 Charlie Conerly (19,488) and career leader Phil Simms (33,462) have thrown for more yards than Manning, who is in just his sixth season in the league.
The Giants' overtime win against Atlanta was their fifth straight regular-season victory in the extra quarter. It's six in a row if you count New York's overtime triumph in the 2007 NFC Championship game at Green Bay.
New York's defense took a big hit when middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, the defensive captain who calls all the Giants' signals for the defense, was diagnosed with a bulging disc in his neck. The injury was initially thought to be a less serious and temporary problem following the Giants game against Arizona on Oct. 25. He was examined again during the bye week when he began to feel pain during practice and was sent for more tests, which revealed the disc problem that has him sidelined.
According to NFL.com, there were 35 players with the last name Johnson active on NFL rosters through Week 11. The Giants had five of them: Bruce, D.J., Darcy, Gartrell and Michael.
FOCUS ON STEVE SMITH
t's no surprise that a wide receiver named Steve Smith is a No. 1 wideout having a career year for a playoff contending team. It is a surprise that the player in question is the New York Giants' Steve Smith and not the four-time Pro Bowl performer who plays for the Carolina Panthers.
New York's Smith, in just his third season, has developed a reputation as a tough, clutch receiver with soft hands, and has become the go-to guy for quarterback Eli Manning. This is the role for which the Giants were hoping when they took the former University of Southern California star in the second round of the 2007 draft.
Things got off to a slow start when he played in just five regular-season games his rookie year and caught a mere eight passes as he battled injuries. Once healthy, Smith rebounded to become a major contributor during the Giants' improbable late-season Super Bowl run. The wild-card Giants won road games at Tampa, Dallas, and Green Bay before beating the undefeated New England Patriots in the Big Game. Smith had 14 postseason receptions, including five in the championship.
Last season he had respectable numbers with 57 catches for 574 yards and a touchdown, mostly after star wideout and former Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress was lost for the season after shooting himself in the leg at a New York nightclub. Both Burress and veteran Amani Toomer were released in the offseason.
Even with Smith showing promise, the Giants were so unsure of their wide receiver situation following the 2008 campaign that they went out and spent two high draft picks on wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden. Nicks, their No. 1 selection, had 29 catches for 472 yards and four touchdowns but Barden did not have a catch through 10 games.
Meanwhile, the two receivers who were already in the fold, Smith and Mario Manningham, have led the offense. With six games still to play, Smith's 65 receptions, 798 receiving yards and five touchdowns were all career highs. At the same point in the season, only five receivers in the league had better numbers.
SERIES HISTORY
COWBOYS VS GIANTS
The Cowboys make their final regular season visit to Giants Stadium for the 96th game in the history of the rivalry ... On Oct. 10, 1976, the Cowboys played the Giants in the first-ever regular season contest at what was then the newly built venue in East Rutherford, N.J. Dallas spoiled the party with a 24-14 victory ... Some 33 years later on Sept. 20, New York returned the favor when it beat Dallas 33-31 in the first regular season game at the new Cowboys Stadium ... Since the 2000 season, New York has won 11 of their 19 meetings ... The Cowboys and Giants have played at least twice every year since the 1961 season ... In 2007, the Cowboys won both regular season meetings before losing to the wild-card Giants in the divisional playoffs as the New Yorkers went on to win the championship. It is the only time they've met in the postseason.
Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine, December 5, 2009