Approach to the Game – Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, November 24, 1996: The importance of this game all depends on whether you believe (or hope) that Head Coach Dan Reeves will return or not next year. If Reeves leaves, then it doesn’t really matter what the Giants do in terms of offensive and defensive schemes, because those schemes will all change next year. In other words, there will be nothing to build on and one should view the game more as a chance to evaluate talent rather than looking at the game plan or tactics. It’s strange, but this game has never really developed a really intense rivalry like the Giants-Eagles or Giants-Redskins — probably because Dallas has been so dominant except for the 1986-90 period. OG Ron Stone, a former Cowboy, said that the Giants-Cowboys games have no special significance for the Cowboy players. It would be nice to start changing that.
Giants on Offense: Five more games to go and if the Giants are going to change coaches, then everyone (and we do mean everyone) on offense is now fighting for starting jobs NEXT year. Lost in the recent losing streak is that the Giants’ passing offense has been showing signs of life over the last couple of months. Dave Brown has improved and when he is given time to throw the ball and when his receivers catch the ball, he can be quite effective. As we have watched other teams in recent weeks, we have made it a major point of ours to evaluate other NFL quarterbacks in order to compare them with Brown. Sorry to disappoint many Brown-bashers, but we don’t a lot of QB’s in the league who are playing any better than Dave. Sure, you have guys like Aikman, Elway, and Marino — but those guys are Hall of Famers. Even Rick Mirer (who was rated higher than Brown in the 1993 Draft) has played more poorly. Dave is never going to be a great QB (neither was Phil Simms), but if you give him a strong supporting caste, he can do the job. Regardless, these last five games are extremely important to Dave because the Giants just may have a better QB on the roster in the person of Danny Kanell. Kanell’s major advantages over Brown right now are (1) his quick release, and (2) he hasn’t taken the physical and psychological beating that Dave has over the last three years. If Dave’s not careful, the next coach of the Giants may go with Danny. The Giants face a nightmare situation against Dallas in terms of the passing game on Sunday. If Deion Sanders and Kevin Smith can shut out top WR’s, how do you think they will do against Chris Calloway, Kevin Alexander, Lawrence Dawsey, and Arthur Marshall? Toomer is out and Lewis is ailing and may not play — these guys are the Giants’ best WR’s. The way to attack Dallas through the air is not with your WR’s, but with your tight ends and running backs. However, Pierce is out and Cross is a non-factor in the passing game. For some reason, Reeves doesn’t throw to Way, Wheatley, and Hampton as much as we think he should. This has got to change if the Giants are going to win on Sunday. They must use screens and bootleg passes to the backs; it also wouldn’t hurt to slip Wheatley or Way down the seam or sideline. Cowboy OLB Darrin Smith can cover, but the other Dallas LB’s aren’t as strong in this area. What the heck has happened to the Giants’ running game? We think it is a combination of a number of factors: (1) the young line is still learning to run block as a GROUP, (2) the offense is still too predictable, and (3) Rodney Hampton has slipped (though not as much as the media makes out). The Giants’ season is over. Lance Smith is not part of the Giants’ future. It is time to put Zatechka or Davis in at left guard. It also might not hurt to sneak Oben into the lineup a few times at left tackle (just to get a look). What the Giants can’t do is fool around with the right side of the line. Gragg and Stone are the future there and they must continue to work as a team and become more comfortable with each other. It will be interesting to see how much Tyrone Wheatley and Brian Saxton play this week — will Reeves do what is best for the team or help to build his own resume?
Giants on Defense: More than any other part of the team, the loss to Carolina seems to have affected this unit the most. The Giants went from playoff contender to cellar dweller in two weeks and the defense is a large part of the reason why. That doesn’t mean that the Giants are devoid of talent on defense. They have answered a number of important questions this year: (1) Strahan can play the strongside, (2) Armstead and Widmer can play linebacker, and (3) Jason Sehorn can play CB. What the Giants need is (1) a healthy Cedric Jones and Jamal Duff and (2) a fire-breathing, 300lb DT. These guys can help take off heat from Strahan who faces too many double teams. Five games to go — it’s time to start force feeding Jones into the lineup. Bratzke is a good back-up, but he’s not the future. Same story with Bernard Holsey — let’s see what he can do. We’d also consider waiving some of the deadwood on the team (Rudolph, Beamon) and bringing DT Darnell Gilliard off the practice squad. The Giants will face the best power running football team in football this weekend with Marcus Buckley playing strongside OLB — talk about scary!!! We’d say that these final games are extremely important in determining Buckley’s future with the team. Inside — no more Coleman Rudolph. If Widmer gets hurt or needs a breather, put Doug Colman into the lineup (the guy has been doing a very decent job on special teams). Same story with Armstead-Galyon. Galyon is probably the second best cover LB on the team (after Armstead). The last time these two teams faced in Dallas, the Boys burned the Giants’ blitz with deadly accurate Troy Aikman passes to Kevin Smith and Deion Sanders. Well, now that idiot Michael Irvin is back. We still wouldn’t change the game plan. The Giants must stuff Emmitt Smith and force Aikman to beat them. Since Sparks will most likely cover Irvin; the biggest match-up will be Sehorn/Randolph versus Sanders/Smith. Another key will be TE Eric Bjornson, who has been playing dramatically better for Dallas, versus Jesse Campbell. To be honest, we’re not sure Campbell can cover Bjornson. We would have preferred Rodney Young (he played CB in college), but the Giants have given him absolutely no playing time this year. It will also be interesting to see how much time Tito Wooten and Percy Ellsworth receive this week. Wooten had been improving until last week’s setback. Now the coaches seem to feel that Ellsworth is the better player. Regardless of who is back there, they all have to tackle this week. One blown tackle against Emmitt and it will be six quick. Up front, Strahan, Harris, Hamilton, Bratzke, Agnew, Holsey, and Jones will have their hands full with one of the best offensive lines in NFL history. The Cowboys will have the advantage in size, experience, and confidence. Corey Widmer will have to step it up quick shed the blocks of Daryl Johnston (we’d kill any Giant fan who bellowed “Mooooose” in Giants Stadium).
Special Teams: In talking about ways to improve the team next year, we all keep talking about the offense and defense, but something big has to done next year in order to improve this unit. We need new players and coaches here. Mike Horan is only average and Brad Daluiso is inconsistent. The coverage teams do well for most of a game, then they blow a big return. We need a quality kick and punt return guy, who isn’t a starter, to return kicks and punts. The blocking for returns has been poor for years. Dallas has the best-coached special teams in the league. What’s more important, they take pride in their special teams. The Giants do not.
Outlook: On paper, this game is a mismatch. The Cowboys are playing for the division, the Giants are just trying to stay out of last place. However, after two straight, tough games against the 49ers and Packers (not to mention a short work week), the Giants may have a chance to pull off an upset. It will all come down to how much passion and anger the Giants play with. It would also be nice if Mother Nature made an appearance at the Meadowlands. Giants 15 – Cowboys 13.