What you need to know New York Giants The Giants moved to the top of the NFC East with a comfortable win. The win came at a high price as LaVar Arrington suffered a ruptured Achilles’ tendon and is lost for the year. Osi Umenyiora left the game with a hip flexor injury and Frank Walker injured his hamstring. Eli Manning began well, finding Plaxico Burress on the opening drive for a 50 yard touchdown. Manning also threw a touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey in the third quarter. He did not attempt many passes in the second half as the Giants had control of the game. Tiki Barber became the first player this season to run for a hundred yards against the Cowboys’ defense. But he again failed to find the end zone as Brandon Jacobs scored the Giants’ only rushing touchdown. Plaxico Burress was Manning’s favorite receiver with eight targets. He only caught two passes, but they resulted in a 50 yard touchdown and a 44 yard gain. The wide receivers only caught six passes between them. The Giants played very well on defense. Michael Strahan had a superb game, ending with two sacks, five solo tackles and a deflected pass which resulted in an interception. The defense registered six sacks and four interceptions, as well as a safety and a defensive touchdown. Dallas Cowboys The Cowboys were soundly beaten in a key divisional game. Drew Bledsoe lacked mobility and took too much time on several occasions. One play ended in a safety, and Bledsoe also threw an interception after leading the team inside the five yard line at the end of the first half. He was benched for the second half in favor of Tony Romo, despite running in a one yard touchdown. The change was far from a slam dunk though as Romo was intercepted on his first passing attempt, and he ended with three picks on the day. But there were signs that he was capable of lifting the offense and he threw touchdown passes to Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton. The Cowboys failed to get the running game going. Julius Jones finished with 30 rushing yards and Marion Barber had 29. They only had six attempts in the second half as the game slipped out of reach. Terrell Owens was targeted 12 times and ended with six receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. Owens dropped a key pass on fourth down, and the Giants scored on the following possession to put the team well ahead. Romo’s introduction seemed to spark Jason Witten. All of Witten’s five targets came in the second half with Romo in the game, and he caught four for a total of 72 yards. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------What you ought to know QB Eli Manning, Pass: 12 - 26 - 189 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 Manning had a fast start, completing his first three passes. He found Plaxico Burress in the end zone for a 50 yard touchdown to end the opening drive of the game. He was sacked on the following drive, and fumbled the ball, but the play was challenged and ruled an incomplete pass. Manning should have been intercepted on the Giants’ third drive after looking deep for Amani Toomer, but the defender dropped the ball. Manning found Burress for a 44 yard gain on the following drive. He then targeted Burress in the end zone and Jeremy Shockey at the one yard line, but both passes fell incomplete. Burress was again the end zone target on the Giants’ next drive, but this time Manning was intercepted by Terence Newman. Manning attempted a dangerous pass at the end of the first half, and should have been intercepted. The Giants scored on their opening possession of the second half when Shockey escaped the coverage from Roy Williams for Manning to find him for a 13 yard touchdown. With the game in hand, Manning did not attempt many passes for the remainder of the game. RB Tiki Barber, Rush: 27 - 114 - 0, Rec: 4 - 32 - 0 (4 targets) Barber became the first player this season to gain 100 rushing yards against the Cowboys. He only had three runs in excess of ten yards, but almost every carry resulted in positive yardage. Barber fumbled the ball away in the second quarter and was hurt on the play, but he returned on the following drive and was fine. Barber again gave way to Brandon Jacobs in short yardage situations, and it was Jacobs that scored the Giants’ only rushing touchdown. Barber is still scoreless on the season. He was targeted four times in the passing game, making all four catches for a total of 32 yards. In an interview shown during the game, Barber announced that he will definitely retire at the end of the season. He had his 2000th career carry during the game and lies second in yards per carry to Barry Sanders among players reaching that milestone. RB Brandon Jacobs, Rush: 10 - 40 - 1 Jacobs had one carry in the first half, converting a third and one with a five yard gain. He was used more in the second half as the Giants built a commanding lead. Jacobs was the preferred choice in short yardage situations. He showed excellent strength and carried defenders or broke tackles after initial contact. Jacobs scored on a three yard run after being hit behind the line of scrimmage. WR Amani Toomer, Rec: 3 - 26 - 0 (6 targets) Toomer made a seven yard reception to give the Giants their opening first down of the game. On the Giants’ third drive, he was the target on a deep pass which almost resulted in an interception. Toomer made two catches for first downs in the second half, but had a quiet day. WR Plaxico Burress, Rec: 2 - 94 - 1 (8 targets) Burress began the game by catching a 50 yard touchdown pass on the Giants’ opening drive. The ball was thrown into the end zone and he jumped above a defender to make the catch. Roy Williams might have been able to prevent it, but he was impeded by an official. Burress caught a pass for a 44 yard gain on the Giants’ fourth drive. He was then targeted in the end zone but the ball was knocked away by the defender. He was the end zone target on the Giants’ following drive, but the ball was off target and Terence Newman made the interception. With the Giants building a big lead, Burress was only targeted twice in the second half. He dropped one easy reception. The Cowboys moved Anthony Henry to cover Burress in an attempt to combat his height advantage. WR Tim Carter, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (1 targets) Carter was only targeted once in the game. He made the catch for a 14 yard gain and a first down. TE Jeremy Shockey, Rec: 2 - 23 - 1 (5 targets) Shockey was not heavily involved in the passing game in the first half. Manning targeted him just once in the half at the one yard line, but the ball was uncatchable. Shockey’s role increased in the second half and he scored on the Giants’ opening possession after making a 13 yard catch. Shockey caught a ten yard pass for a first down on the next possession. He again managed to finish the game, dispelling any fears about his fitness. PK Jay Feely 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points Feely made field goals of 31 and 32 yards, and converted his four extra point attempts. NYG Rush Defense The Giants held the Cowboys to 69 net rushing yards, 22 of those yards came on one play near the end of the game with the result beyond doubt. NYG Pass Defense The pass defense allowed several big plays. Most of the damage was done in the second half as Tony Romo was throwing on almost every down with the Cowboys trailing. Terrell Owens scored an eight yard touchdown before Patrick Crayton hauled in a 53 yard reception for another touchdown. Michael Strahan had a very strong game, ending with two sacks and five tackles. He also deflected Romo’s first pass and it was intercepted. The Giants managed six sacks and four interceptions in the game. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------QB Tony Romo, Pass: 14 - 25 - 227 - 2 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0 Romo began badly and was intercepted on his first pass after the ball was tipped by Michael Strahan and caught by Antonio Pierce. He improved after that and found Terrell Owens for an eight yard score on the Cowboys’ third drive of the second half, and ran in the two point conversion himself. But Romo was inconsistent and he made a lot of mistakes. He was intercepted after throwing an inaccurate screen pass intended for Julius Jones. He threw the ball up to avoid a sack on the following drive and should have been intercepted, but the defender couldn’t make the play. After leading the team to the Giants’ four yard line, Romo was intercepted by Kevin Dockery for a 96 yard touchdown. Romo did find Patrick Crayton for a 53 yard touchdown late in the game, but the game was well beyond reach by that point. There were some positives to be drawn from Romo’s performance. He made quick decisions and showed good mobility at times. He was able to buy time for his receivers to get open. Jason Witten became a dangerous target and was very involved while Romo was in the game. QB Drew Bledsoe, Pass: 7 - 12 - 111 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 1 Bledsoe came under intense pressure from the Giants’ pass rush. The offensive line allowed LaVar Arrington to sack Bledsoe for a safety, and Bledsoe had no chance. He was at fault on other plays after taking far too long to release the ball. Bledsoe scored on a one yard run, but the replay showed that he may have been a few inches short. The play went unchallenged and the score stood. The Cowboys had a chance to get back into the game at the end of the first half when recovering a Tiki Barber fumble at the Giants’ 14 yard line. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Bledsoe made a very poor throw and was intercepted by Sam Madison. He was benched for the whole of the second half in favor of Tony Romo. The reasons given were Bledsoe’s mistakes and lack of mobility. RB Julius Jones, Rush: 13 - 30 - 0, Rec: 1 - 25 - 0 (2 targets) Jones was unable to move the ball successfully on the ground, and he finished with 30 yards on 13 carries. His biggest gain of the day came on the Cowboys’ third possession when he took a screen pass 25 yards. Jones was the intended target when Romo was intercepted by Fred Robbins on a screen pass. RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 6 - 29 - 0, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (2 targets) Barber saw action on the few occasions that the Cowboys were in scoring situations. He was unable to make much headway until late in the game when the Giants were playing the pass. Barber broke one run for 22 yards and caught one of his two targets for a 17 yard gain. With the game out of reach, he only carried the ball a total of six times. WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 6 - 98 - 1 (12 targets) Owens was the most heavily targeted receiver in the game. On the Cowboys’ third drive, Bledsoe got the ball back from Julius Jones on a flea-flicker, and looked deep for an open Owens. The ball was tipped at the line and did not reach its intended target. Bledsoe did manage to find Owens deep for a 31 yard gain on the Cowboys’ fifth drive, and then followed it with a 17 yard pass which also found Owens. Brandon Short hit Owens hard on the play, but he was able to jump up unhurt. Owens was an end zone target at the end of the same drive, and drew a pass interference call to set up a Bledsoe one yard touchdown run. Owens could be seen on the sidelines talking animatedly with coaches and Terry Glenn. The announcers of course tried to make that into something but Owens was not a problem. He also encouraged QBs Drew Bledsoe and Tony Romo. Romo targeted Owens eight times in the second half. Owens made an 18 yard reception on third and two but he then dropped an easy pass when open on fourth down. He was visibly disgusted with himself as the Giants moved down the field for a score. Owens caught an eight yard touchdown pass on the following drive and had a 17 yard gain later in the game. He had more chances to get open with Romo scrambling and buying time. WR Terry Glenn, Rec: 4 - 41 - 0 (8 targets) Glenn was targeted four times in each half. He caught four of the passes for a total of 32 yards, including two for first downs. But none of the big plays were made by Glenn on the day. WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 3 - 69 - 1 (4 targets) Crayton was targeted once in the first half and he made the catch for a 10 yard gain. He converted a first down with a six yard reception in the second half. Romo looked for Crayton again near the goal line, but the ball was badly thrown and the play resulted in Romo’s third pick of the day. Romo did find Crayton on the next drive and the play resulted in a 53 yard touchdown. WR Sam Hurd (1 targets) Hurd was targeted just once in the game and was unable to make the catch. TE Jason Witten, Rec: 4 - 72 - 0 (5 targets) Witten was not targeted by Bledsoe in the first half. When Romo entered the game at the start of the second half, Witten looked a lot more dangerous. He was targeted five times and was very effective when he got the ball. Witten had a 31 yard gain to keep alive a drive that led to an Owens touchdown. He caught a 15 yard pass on third and 14 on the following drive, and a 21 yard pass on the next drive. It should be noted that the Cowboys were trailing badly by that point so the Giants may have been focusing on limiting big plays to the receivers. TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (3 targets) Fasano was targeted three times in the game, making two receptions for a total of 16 yards. PK Mike Vanderjagt 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points Vanderjagt made both of his extra point tries. DAL Rush Defense The Cowboys allowed a 100 yard rusher for the first time this season. The Giants had 155 net rushing yards as Tiki Barber gained 114 yards and Brandon Jacobs made tacklers miss for a three yard touchdown. The Cowboys allowed Barber positive yardage on almost every carry, but they did force one fumble which they recovered. DAL Pass Defense The Cowboys gave up a 50 yard touchdown pass on the Giants’ opening drive when Plaxico Burress was able to leap above the defenders in the end zone. Burress was also able to gain 44 yards on another catch. Roy Williams was beaten by a good move from Jeremy Shockey which resulted in a 13 yard touchdown. The defense sacked Manning twice and was able to intercept him once, but the Giants did not have to pass very much in the second half with the game well in hand.
any kind of evidence to support the notion that your explanation is more valid than the FBG one?or better yet - did you even watch the game?
