Tonight is opening night in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys taking on defending Superbowl Champion New York Giants. Today's game not only brings back the game which so many people love so dearly, but offers as good a kickoff game that any sport could offer. This rivalry has heated up in the past few years with the playoff success of the Giants and subsequent failures for the Dallas Cowboys. Once again the Giants fly under the radar starting the season. Not a Superbowl favorite by anyone, hell, some experts don't even expect them to win the NFC East. All the jaw-jacking and back and forth is over with, time to strap on the pads and settle it on the field for all America to see. Here are a few keys to the game.
Dallas Offensive Line vs New York Defensive Line
With all the talent and upgrading that the Dallas Cowboys did this off season, they have yet to put together a group that can be successful in the NFC East. The Giants defensive line has had their way with the Cowboys pass protection each of the past few seasons and is the only thing from keeping Dallas from being a legit contender. The only way to slow down their pass rush is to keep them guessing. Too many times Tony Romo goes a roll hitting five or six passes in a row and then they abandon the run. This feed right into a pass rusher's mentality. If they know they can just pin their ears back and come after you its makes things a lot simpler in their mind. But if you stick with the run, throw some screens and draws that should help this young offensive line and the Dallas offense as a whole.
Dallas Secondary vs New York Recievers
Dallas did all they could to upgrade a terrible secondary from last year. They moved up in the draft to take standout corner Morris Claiborne from LSU and paid a pretty penny to have Brandon Carr be their lockdown guy. They will be tested tonight against a team with a veteran QB and a slew of talent on the outside. Nicks is a bit nicked up, but should be fine tonight. Victor Cruz has been getting number 1 attention since the middle of last year. I do think the secondary will progess as the season goes along, but to have this be your first test is like walking into a Physics test when you've been studying Sociology all night. Eli will test the young corner and how he responds early will give u a good explanation on how the rest of the game will go.
Prediction
Both of these teams are very talented. They play each other a lot and know each other very well. This will be a close game, but I do think the Cowboys pull this game out. They are fighting for pride. They lost the last week of the regular season to see these Giants make that run and become Superbowl champions. That is all they have thought about all off season and will play a motivated game. Although the front four of the Giants can cause damage I don't see the back 7 being able to keep up with the playmakers Dallas has on offense even without Jason Witten. 28-24 Cowboys over Giants
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