The New York Giants enter this football game a little banged up and they don’t even match up well with the Cowboys when everyone is healthy. The Giants will have to try to establish a running game with Brandon Jacobs and Reuben Droughns and that will be easier said than done against the rough front seven of the Cowboys Defense. The Cowboys will try to match power vs. power in the running game as NT Jason Ferguson is hard to move in the middle of the defense and MLBs Bradie James and Akin Ayodele are very active against the running game. The Giants offensive line is average at best and they will have problems keeping the Cowboys out of their backfield on Sunday. OLBs DeMarcus Ware and rookie Anthony Spencer will be blitzing like mad men trying to pressure Eli Manning into making mistakes. It’s not good for the Giants that WR Plaxico Burress is banged up because he’s Manning’s go-to guy. Amani Toomer and rookie WR Steve Smith will have problems getting open against CBs Anthony Henry and Terence Newman. It will be fun to watch TE Jeremy Shockey compete against SS Roy Williams and FS Ken Hamlin who also bring the hammer to the football field.
The Cowboys should be able to move the football easy against a Giants’ defense that has a lot of weak links. The Giants will need their defensive line to keep their linebackers clean because they are the best playmakers on the defense. OLBs Mathias Kiwanuka and Kawika Mitchell must contain RB Julius Jones when he runs around the corner and they have the talent to do that. MLB Antonio Pierce will need to be accounted for if the Cowboys hope to attack the middle of the field with Marion Barber. DEs Jason Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan must put pressure on Tony Romo or he is going to pick the Giants secondary to the bone. WR Terry Glenn injured himself and he will miss this football game but the Cowboys will still be explosive. CBs R.W. McQuarters and Sam Madison will have huge problems trying to keep up with WRs Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton. Also, the Cowboys have a huge advantage with their TE Jason Witten against the safeties (James Butler, Gibril Wilson) of the Giants so look for Romo to throw to him more than usual.
Both of these teams have shaky kicker situations that will bear watching. K Lester Tynes of the Giants barely held onto the job in the pre-season. Rookie Nick Folk of the Cowboys won the starting gig when veteran Martin Gramatica hurt himself.
PREDICTION: The Cowboys are going to paste the Giants on Sunday. Think 31-17.
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