Week Seven 2014: Giants at Cowboys/Bye Week

I knew the Giants wouldn’t play as terribly against the Cowboys as they did with the Eagles. However, even though they played better, it wasn’t enough to get the win in Dallas. Let’s face it, the Giants could’ve played light years better in Dallas than they did in Philly and it still would’ve been the cinema equivalent to The Room. Here is a clip below. And no, this didn't win any Oscars.

There really isn’t much to take away from this game. The Giants were playing a better team who were red-hot that particular week, but Big Blue didn’t do themselves any favors by making a whole bunch of mistakes. Even with all of the mistakes that would have Coughlin gnawing off his own arms out of rage, the Giants still had a shot to win the game. It makes you wonder how that game would’ve unfolded if they played smarter. Despite the mental errors, you have to stop Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray, and the Giants couldn’t do that either. Long story short, the Giants were out-classed by a superior team.

After their tough loss, I needed to re-assess how I feel about the Giants for the rest of this season. So after some soul searching fit for a Nicholas Sparks book, I came to the conclusion that the Giants aren’t quite there yet.
After this loss to the Cowboys, the Giants have a rough road ahead if they have any chance of making the playoffs. That’s not entirely doing it justice. You’d have a better chance explaining to Superman how badly it hurts stepping on a Lego while barefoot than the Giants have at making the playoffs. As a Giants’ fan, you have to face the facts that the Giants probably aren’t good enough yet.
Realistically, their best shot of making it to the playoffs is by winning the NFC East. Playoff caliber teams are scattered around the NFC like Jose Canseco’s middle finger, so the idea of the G-Men grabbing a wild card is an even bigger stretch then winning the division.

I know Plax shot himself too, but if there was anyone less qualified to own a gun, it's Canseco.

Now even though it’s a stretch that puts the Incredible Hulk’s pants to shame, the division can be won. The Giants are going to need some help from the rest of the league. For the remainder of the season, the rest of the NFC East needs to get pounded on to level the playing field. But even if the Giants get that help, they still gotta take care of their own games. Even though they lost to both the Eagles and the Cowboys, there is still a silver lining... at least they were both away games. This leaves Big Blue to balance out these losses at Metlife Stadium, which is possible.

On to the Next One:
Aside from the big divisional games, the Giants are entering a really rough three game stretch. A gauntlet of tough teams. But for the sake of brevity, I’ll only discuss the first one. The first game is this coming Monday Night against the Colts.
The bearded one, Andrew Luck, is the leader of a prolific offense that can put up an obscene amount of points. The pressure is on the defense to put pressure on Ol’ Beardy and put a lid on the passing game.

"Tell Ezekiel that I'll help raise the barn after the game!"

The Giants are most likely going to struggle with containing the run, especially now that Jon Beason is out for the season. And we all know that Bradshaw is going to be an absolute monster against his former team.
On offense, Eli and his band of misfits need to keep up with the Colts' offense if they have any chance of winning. The offensive line needs to protect Eli and limit their mistakes. Eli’s been much improved this season, but with the amount of points they need to score, I hope he doesn’t revert back to his old, world’s most polite gunslinger self, while trying to keep up.
The receivers need to be there for Eli. They have to run the right routes, make the catches, and not turn the ball over. I’m talking to you, Larry Donnell.
The offensive line has to play smarter. They need to limit their mistakes, and their penalties. That could prove to be the difference in the game.
It’s already confirmed that Rashad Jennings isn’t playing, so it looks like Andre Williams and Peyton Hillis will handle the rushing duties on Monday night.

Either way, this game should be an exciting one. But, prime-time Giants always make me a bit nervous. Hopefully, they can come back well rested and ready to put their hat in the ring for the fight of the NFC East.

So what have I learned?

The Giants really need Rashad Jennings back. The absence of a solid running game is hurting the entire team. In the meantime, I hope that Andre Williams can prove himself to be a reliable starting running back.

The loss of Jon Beason probably won’t hurt as badly as I think. I mean, yes, he’s a great player when he’s healthy. But the problem is that he’s basically made up of porcelain and cold cuts, so the Giants may have grown accustomed to not playing with him.

Jameel McClain isn’t the mike. No matter what Tony Romo says.

"NO, I'M NOT THE MIKE! I'M JAMEEL!"