In the preview for the Giants-Cowboys game, I said that both QBs ... Tony Romo and Eli Manning ... were very much under the microscope. Well, both came through with flying colors. Both threw for 4 TDs apiece and over 300 yards.
Romo looked like the star he's projected to be. He picked apart the Giants secondary; working the seams and the middle. And not just dinks and dunks, but huge plays [Dallas averaged 14.1 yards per passing attempt]. He found Jason Witten six times for 116 yards and a TD ... and Terrell Owens three times for 87 yds and 2 TDs. He also found Sam Hurd for a 51 yard TD pass. Oh, and dude ran one in himself.
Manning was no slouch himself, completing 28 of 41 passes while torching the Cowboys secondary. His main targets were Plaxico Burress [8 rec, 144 yds, 3 TD] and Amani Toomer [9 rec, 91 yds]. He did some of that after suffering a shoulder injury.
It was the defenses that let them down. Neither, obviously, could stop the other team's QB ... nor could they stop the run game. Julius Jones and Marion Barber combined for 131 yards and a TD for Dallas. The Giants, despite losing Brandon Jacobs to a knee injury and having to use Reuben Droughns as a fullback, still saw backup Derrick Ward rush for 89 yards and catch a late TD. The two teams combined for 916 yards of total offense ... 5.1 yds per rush attempt ... 14.7 yds per reception ... and 13 of 25 on third downs.
Dallas heads into next week's game with the Dolphins trying to figure out how to lock down what was supposed to be an improved defense. The Giants head into their home opener with Brett Favre and the Packers trying to patch up that pourous secondary, as well as deal with injuries to Manning, Jacobs and Osi Umenyiora.
Final Score: Cowboys 45-Giants 35



















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-10-2007 @ 10:54AM
jangelo2003 said...
Same ol crap for my beloved Giants! Our defense not only stinks, but they're clueless as to what the hell they're supposed to do out there! I think the Kiwanuka experiment is over. He's a nice athlete, but he's lost as an outside LB. Way to go Jerry Reese! You took the ENTIRE off season, and made ZERO improvements. At least Ernie TRIED to make us better by signing free agents. You thought that Kiwanuka and Kawika Mitchell were going to be good book-ends for Pierce?? You had one of the WORST overall drafts of anyone in the NFL. Are you just stupid, or did you want to put as BAD of a defense out there as you possibly could, just so you could fire Coughlin at season's end? I know it's Reese's first year as a GM, but he gets an F for his work in his first off season!! Hey Reese, at least you'll get a Top 5 draft pick next year, cause our beloved G-Men have 3-13 written all over them!
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9-10-2007 @ 11:21AM
Sick of Bill! said...
I'm starting to think that the 'Boys better find a safety to replace Roy Williams on passing downs, or this will be a long season! He is just lost in coverage and appears to be a linebacker in a safety's body!
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9-10-2007 @ 4:31PM
john said...
Hey maybe the Boys could use Sam Madison or Corey Webster or any other burnt toast the G-Men are putting out there....Both Secondaries looked like sht and there were holes all over the field to throw into. As a Giant fan I will say this about the Boys d-backs ....at least when they got burned, they were only 1-2 feet away from the Giants receiver. The Giant d-backs weren't anywhere near the Dallas receivers most of the time after the catch. The whole game sucked....Giant fans are dissapointed and down. Dallas fans shouldn't be jumping for joy either.....take the win Boys!!, but beware!!!
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9-10-2007 @ 6:45PM
robert said...
The Cowboys won, but they can't be happy with the way the defense looked against the run or pass, and I thought Phillips was a defensive coach. Even minus Terry Glen the offense looked sharp so give kudos to Garret, Romo, TO, Whitten, and Barber. Please Wade make Roy Williams a linebacker before it's too late.
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