Romo's smile is still there
STEPHEN EDELSON
STAFF WRITER
EAST RUTHERFORD
The 12-sack performance against the Philadelphia Eagles was reduced to some freakish novelty.
The 35 points allowed the previous three games, against the offensively challenged Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, was exposed for what it really was.
And while the chesty Giants spoke of wiping the smile off Tony Romo's face, it was the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback who had the last laugh.
Nothing the Giants' defense accomplished over the previous six games, when they climbed from last in the league back to respectability, was going to mean a heck of a lot unless they backed it up on their home field against the division leaders.
Yet, there was cornerback Sam Madison in press coverage, 1-on-1 with Terrell Owens, the NFC East hanging in the balance in the second half. Romo's target was so open he could have enjoyed a photo op with Carrie Underwood and still made the throw.
Then cornerback Kevin Dockery bumped Owens as he came off the line in the fourth quarter with all the ferocity of a mother burping a baby, leaving safety Gibril Wilson flat-footed against a full-speed T.O. on a post pattern.
Goodbye, six-game winning streak.
So long, division title.
Hello, wild-card scramble.
The Giants' defense has improved since their Week 1 meeting with the Cowboys, but they can no longer be confused with an elite unit. Their flaws were exposed by a solid offensive line and a mobile passer, providing the blueprint for dismantling a unit that used intense pressure to climb back into the playoff picture.
The good news is they're still 6-3, and still very much in the postseason hunt. But statement games like this one say a lot about teams, and the Cowboys took the measuring stick and shattered it over the Giants' helmets.
"I think they tried to talk themselves into the game," Cowboys wideout Patrick Crayton said. "They've been talking all week."
Let's give credit where credit's due. The Giants made sure tight end Jason Witten, their nemesis the past few seasons, didn't beat them, limiting him to two catches for 12 yards.
Unfortunately, Owens finished with six catches for 125 yards, improving his personal record to 8-1 in games against the Giants, with 11 touchdowns.
"Obviously, looking at the total picture, this wasn't what we wanted," outside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said. "We just didn't make plays on the defensive side of the ball."
Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's aggressive style, which had overwhelmed inferior offenses, came back to burn him several times.
He sent eight defenders charging at Romo with 35 seconds left in the first half. Not a single red jersey got there, leaving rookie cornerback Aaron Ross to miss an open-field tackle on Crayton, who then sidestepped Dockery and danced to the goal line, setting the ball in the end zone to put the Cowboys back in front.
Ineffectiveness on third down, an early-season dilemma, was back in town like an old date bent on settling a score. Romo converted four straight to open the second half, which ultimately resulted in the game-winning score and the touchdown that sent everyone scrambling back to their respective parties in the parking lot.
"I'm frustrated. When you don't play the way you think you're capable of, you're going to be frustrated," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "We're still a great team, and we know that. Now we've just got to go out there and prove it.
"We're not going to let this one stumbling block deter us from what we want to do the rest of the season. We've got seven games left."
Said middle linebacker Antonio Pierce: "We lost to a good team. We lost to a team that's 8-1. That's all that means. Would we want to be 7-2? Of course. But at 6-3, we're not going to complain about that, either. We lost a game that everybody claimed was a big game, but next week is a big game, too."
And it takes place at Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions are chasing the Giants for a wild-card spot. A second straight loss and the possibility of another second-half swoon is back in play, complete with the requisite amount of finger-pointing. But the Lions are one of those teams that, while improved, you have to handle if you're serious about challenging in the NFC.
The pretenders will be weeded out over the next few weeks, and if the Giants hope to be considered contenders, their defense has to come up big when it matters most.
They had hoped to inform the Cowboys they were the new sheriffs in the NFC East. Instead, the status quo was maintained and the Giants were left to eat crow.
STAFF WRITER
EAST RUTHERFORD
The 12-sack performance against the Philadelphia Eagles was reduced to some freakish novelty.
The 35 points allowed the previous three games, against the offensively challenged Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, was exposed for what it really was.
And while the chesty Giants spoke of wiping the smile off Tony Romo's face, it was the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback who had the last laugh.
Nothing the Giants' defense accomplished over the previous six games, when they climbed from last in the league back to respectability, was going to mean a heck of a lot unless they backed it up on their home field against the division leaders.
Yet, there was cornerback Sam Madison in press coverage, 1-on-1 with Terrell Owens, the NFC East hanging in the balance in the second half. Romo's target was so open he could have enjoyed a photo op with Carrie Underwood and still made the throw.
Then cornerback Kevin Dockery bumped Owens as he came off the line in the fourth quarter with all the ferocity of a mother burping a baby, leaving safety Gibril Wilson flat-footed against a full-speed T.O. on a post pattern.
Goodbye, six-game winning streak.
So long, division title.
Hello, wild-card scramble.
The Giants' defense has improved since their Week 1 meeting with the Cowboys, but they can no longer be confused with an elite unit. Their flaws were exposed by a solid offensive line and a mobile passer, providing the blueprint for dismantling a unit that used intense pressure to climb back into the playoff picture.
The good news is they're still 6-3, and still very much in the postseason hunt. But statement games like this one say a lot about teams, and the Cowboys took the measuring stick and shattered it over the Giants' helmets.
"I think they tried to talk themselves into the game," Cowboys wideout Patrick Crayton said. "They've been talking all week."
Let's give credit where credit's due. The Giants made sure tight end Jason Witten, their nemesis the past few seasons, didn't beat them, limiting him to two catches for 12 yards.
Unfortunately, Owens finished with six catches for 125 yards, improving his personal record to 8-1 in games against the Giants, with 11 touchdowns.
"Obviously, looking at the total picture, this wasn't what we wanted," outside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said. "We just didn't make plays on the defensive side of the ball."
Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's aggressive style, which had overwhelmed inferior offenses, came back to burn him several times.
He sent eight defenders charging at Romo with 35 seconds left in the first half. Not a single red jersey got there, leaving rookie cornerback Aaron Ross to miss an open-field tackle on Crayton, who then sidestepped Dockery and danced to the goal line, setting the ball in the end zone to put the Cowboys back in front.
Ineffectiveness on third down, an early-season dilemma, was back in town like an old date bent on settling a score. Romo converted four straight to open the second half, which ultimately resulted in the game-winning score and the touchdown that sent everyone scrambling back to their respective parties in the parking lot.
"I'm frustrated. When you don't play the way you think you're capable of, you're going to be frustrated," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "We're still a great team, and we know that. Now we've just got to go out there and prove it.
"We're not going to let this one stumbling block deter us from what we want to do the rest of the season. We've got seven games left."
Said middle linebacker Antonio Pierce: "We lost to a good team. We lost to a team that's 8-1. That's all that means. Would we want to be 7-2? Of course. But at 6-3, we're not going to complain about that, either. We lost a game that everybody claimed was a big game, but next week is a big game, too."
And it takes place at Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions are chasing the Giants for a wild-card spot. A second straight loss and the possibility of another second-half swoon is back in play, complete with the requisite amount of finger-pointing. But the Lions are one of those teams that, while improved, you have to handle if you're serious about challenging in the NFC.
The pretenders will be weeded out over the next few weeks, and if the Giants hope to be considered contenders, their defense has to come up big when it matters most.
They had hoped to inform the Cowboys they were the new sheriffs in the NFC East. Instead, the status quo was maintained and the Giants were left to eat crow.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:36 PM
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