Rivalries are a well-discussed
topic when it comes to sports. Football has a ton of great rivalries, created
for different reasons. We as fans sometimes create our own personal rivalries
with a particular team. That can be because a friend likes a team you don’t, a girlfriend
may be a fan of a different team than yours, or you just flat out hate another
team. The Dallas Cowboys have many rivalries throughout the NFL. None bigger
that the New York Giants.
The New York Giants reside in the NFC East along with the
Cowboys. That automatically makes two teams rivals. Throw in the two recent
super bowls, elimination from the playoffs on a numerous occasions, and some
hard fight battles and you get one of the better rivalries in the league right
now.
Week one of the 2017 regular season will be headlined by
the Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants and it will be must see TV! These two
teams have met 4 times in the last 5 seasons on week one. The Cowboys are 3-1
in those four match ups! These two teams matchup well with each other and both
teams have the potential win the super bowl this season. This will be a very
interesting game and one that I can’t wait to see.
I’ve already done two other blogs on the Packers and
Falcons match ups. I think this week one matchup between the Cowboys and Giants
can jump start a run from either team. The confidence levels for these players
will sky rocket with a win. Think about it, these are two playoff teams playing
in week one. Both teams won over 10 games a season ago. The Giants will pit their
top 10 defense vs the Cowboys top 5 offense. The best thing about this matchup
is that it all starts up front.
Last off-season the Giants spent over $200 million and
revamped that struggling defense and man did it pay off. Damon “Snacks” Harrison
is an absolute monster in the middle of the defense. He gave the Cowboys
interior linemen hell all game. It was something to see this huge 340 lbs man
play the entire game and just cause disruption. He is the single reason that
the Giants are able to play the Cowboys the way they do. He is able to set the
point of attack at the line and create flow lanes for those linebackers. This
allow them to fill gaps and slow down the Cowboys rushing attack. This also
allows them to play man coverage on the outside because they don’t have to
commit the safeties to stopping the run. Throw in Jernoris Jenkins, Dominque Rogers
Cromartie, and Landon Collins and you have a very tough unit. Harrison’s ability
to win at the point of attack is the lone reason that the Giants are able to
beat the Cowboys. I haven’t even mention Oliver Vernon and Jason Pierre Paul (JPP)….
SMH. I didn’t know that Veron was so good in run support. I knew he was a good
pass rusher, but his ability to play the run is what made him special last season.
JPP is just an animal. He is long, strong, quick, powerful, and he just seems
to make plays. This Giants defense was something special and I fully expect
them to be better in year two.
Last year’s week one contest against the Giants was Dak
Prescott’s first game as a starter. He didn’t play bad but he looked like a
rookie. He missed some open receivers, left the pocket sooner than he should
have, and wasn’t being aggressive down the field. With all that said he put the
Cowboys in a position to win the game and had it not been for Terrance
Williams, they may have kicked a long field goal for the win. As the season
went on Dak played excellent and allowed the offense to come to him. The second
game against the Giants was not a great one for the offense as a whole. There
is plenty of room for improvement and the Cowboys have to be better prepared for
this Giants defense this season.
The addition of Brandon Marshall gives this Giants
offense a different dimension. Marshall will not be the number one target. He will
give Eli a big target and an outlet when Eli wants to just throw the ball up
for grabs. Eli did this a lot with Plaxico Buress and Marshall is the same size
and has a similar game to Buress.
The Giants offense begins and ends with Odell Beckum Jr
(OBJ). The Cowboys don’t have an answer for OBJ or Marshall so manning up
probably won’t win them the game. The Cowboys are going to have to get to Eli
early and often. Sacking Eli, forcing bad passes, batting balls down at the
line of scrimmage, and forcing Eli out the pocket is the only hope the Cowboys
have on defense. OBJ didn’t have big games against the Cowboy last season, he
also didn’t have Brandon Marshall on the other side of him either.
I think the difference in this year’s matchup will be Dak
Prescott. When Romo was the starting quarterback, he would kill the Giants with
his mobility and using it to extend plays. Dak will have to do a lot of the
same things Romo did. With an entire off-season to prepare, Dak will be ready
to take on this defense. That means Dak will know how to get Dez involved, when
to leave the pocket vs when to check it down. He will know to find Vernon on
the outside and adjust the protections to help on that side. This week one
matchup should be a great game and will probably be one of the better games all
season.
Comments
Post a Comment