ROMO-LESS COWBOYS USING BLUE-COLLAR STRATEGY
by George Willis
Source: www.nypost.com
A FUNNY thing happened on the way to Sunday's showdown between the GiantsNew York Giants and Cowboys at Giants Stadium. The once high-scoring, made-for-TV Cowboys have taken on the personality of the vanilla Giants.
A lot of it has to do with the injury to quarterback Tony Romo and three losses that jeopardized the Cowboys season before a desperate 13-9 win over the Bucs last Sunday. Now it's no longer about what celebrity Romo is dating, Terrell Owens' latest rant or Adam Pacman Jones' rehab woes.
Instead, the Cowboys (5-3) are focusing on old-school football: limiting their turnovers on offense, using their speed on defense and winning ugly if they have to. Sound familiar?
That's how the Cowboys beat the Bucs at Texas Stadium, and it's the same approach they'll use against the 6-1 Giants, a team Dallas lit up for 45 and 31 points last year before losing 21-17 in the playoffs.
With Brad Johnson at quarterback, Dallas took few very risks against the Bucs, finishing a game without a turnover for the first time in 22 games. It was also the Cowboys' first win in 58 games when scoring fewer than 20 points. Usually, the Cowboys rely on their talent to dominate opponents. Against the Bucs, they needed all the intangibles they could muster.
"I think they just played with more fervor or enthusiasm, whatever you want to call it," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said yesterday. "They made up their minds they weren't going to be denied and they played the way they could play. No turnovers is a key. That keeps you in the game."
Phillips was under fire last week after three losses in Dallas' four previous games. But owner Jerry Jones awarded him the game ball after beating the Bucs, and the coach gushed about his team's heart.
"They have a lot of pride and they felt they haven't played well enough and they stepped up," Phillips said. "It was an important win obviously. People know we'll be stronger after the bye, but need to play well and win some games."
A win is a win, but the Cowboys didn't scare the Giants with how they beat the Bucs. Dallas converted just 3-of-15 third down situations and Johnson passed for just 122 yards as he struggled with accuracy: 19 completions in 33 attempts. On paper, it should be a feast for the Giants' defense.
"For us to go out there and get a win would be really big for this team," Giants linebacker Mathias KiwanukaMathias Kiwanuka said during a conference call yesterday. "Obviously, (it) would say a lot and do a lot for our positioning."
The Giants have a chance to bury the Cowboys deeper in the division standings, but must first deal with questions about whether they might be taking Dallas lightly, which would be absurd. Washington (6-2) is a half-game behind the Giants in the NFC East, and the Cowboys, who have a bye next week before traveling to Washington, could make some noise with back-to-back wins.
"The fact that we're moving back into the division and that it is the Dallas Cowboys (who) are coming off a win, I would think we will be very excited about the game," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin.
The Giants trying to fend off over-confidence isn't how this game was envisioned a few months ago when the high-scoring Cowboys were the popular pick to win the Super Bowl. Now the Cowboys' only chance to win Sunday is to beat the Giants at their own game.
Source: www.nypost.com
A FUNNY thing happened on the way to Sunday's showdown between the GiantsNew York Giants and Cowboys at Giants Stadium. The once high-scoring, made-for-TV Cowboys have taken on the personality of the vanilla Giants.
A lot of it has to do with the injury to quarterback Tony Romo and three losses that jeopardized the Cowboys season before a desperate 13-9 win over the Bucs last Sunday. Now it's no longer about what celebrity Romo is dating, Terrell Owens' latest rant or Adam Pacman Jones' rehab woes.
Instead, the Cowboys (5-3) are focusing on old-school football: limiting their turnovers on offense, using their speed on defense and winning ugly if they have to. Sound familiar?
That's how the Cowboys beat the Bucs at Texas Stadium, and it's the same approach they'll use against the 6-1 Giants, a team Dallas lit up for 45 and 31 points last year before losing 21-17 in the playoffs.
With Brad Johnson at quarterback, Dallas took few very risks against the Bucs, finishing a game without a turnover for the first time in 22 games. It was also the Cowboys' first win in 58 games when scoring fewer than 20 points. Usually, the Cowboys rely on their talent to dominate opponents. Against the Bucs, they needed all the intangibles they could muster.
"I think they just played with more fervor or enthusiasm, whatever you want to call it," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said yesterday. "They made up their minds they weren't going to be denied and they played the way they could play. No turnovers is a key. That keeps you in the game."
Phillips was under fire last week after three losses in Dallas' four previous games. But owner Jerry Jones awarded him the game ball after beating the Bucs, and the coach gushed about his team's heart.
"They have a lot of pride and they felt they haven't played well enough and they stepped up," Phillips said. "It was an important win obviously. People know we'll be stronger after the bye, but need to play well and win some games."
A win is a win, but the Cowboys didn't scare the Giants with how they beat the Bucs. Dallas converted just 3-of-15 third down situations and Johnson passed for just 122 yards as he struggled with accuracy: 19 completions in 33 attempts. On paper, it should be a feast for the Giants' defense.
"For us to go out there and get a win would be really big for this team," Giants linebacker Mathias KiwanukaMathias Kiwanuka said during a conference call yesterday. "Obviously, (it) would say a lot and do a lot for our positioning."
The Giants have a chance to bury the Cowboys deeper in the division standings, but must first deal with questions about whether they might be taking Dallas lightly, which would be absurd. Washington (6-2) is a half-game behind the Giants in the NFC East, and the Cowboys, who have a bye next week before traveling to Washington, could make some noise with back-to-back wins.
"The fact that we're moving back into the division and that it is the Dallas Cowboys (who) are coming off a win, I would think we will be very excited about the game," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin.
The Giants trying to fend off over-confidence isn't how this game was envisioned a few months ago when the high-scoring Cowboys were the popular pick to win the Super Bowl. Now the Cowboys' only chance to win Sunday is to beat the Giants at their own game.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:52 AM
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