DAL preview

One of the problems with being objective is that it sometimes is at odds with running a NY Giants blog.  Sports team bloggers are boosters of their team.  Reconciling objectivity is a challenge because there is innate bias.

Objectively speaking, I cannot see how the NY Giants win this game tonight vs Dallas.  I will happily eat my words if I am wrong tomorrow.  (I will be attending a Wedding this evening, so a recap won’t be in the cards until late Monday.. please comment on the game using this post.)

Here are the major problems:

• Landon Collins, Cooper Taylor and Uani Unga have seen a grand total of 10 NFL games in their career
• Collins, Taylor and Unga have 0 NFL starts
• This trio will be plugging up the middle of the defense and making playcalls too
• Collins and Taylor did not see a full preseason
• The defense faces a full time menace in the middle, future Hall of Famer Jason Witten
  • Strong Side LBer Kennard will get more of the Witten assignment, but that leaves him with less opportunity to pass rush
• One of the DT spots sees Markus Kuhn and Louis Nix. Kuhn is a question mark and Nix was picked up on waivers days ago.
• They are playing in a brand new defense installed this Spring by Steve Spagnuolo
• Ereck Flowers sees his first start at LT.  Remember he was supposed to see limited action as a rookie until Beatty got hurt.
• Cruz is out, so the Giants will miss his help in making the offense more consistent and potent
  • In future games, Cruz is the kind of player who can move the sticks for Eli. That underneath duty will go to Vereen.

These games are not played on paper, or here on blog game previews.  So it is not as if the Giants have no chance.  The Giants have the best player on the field tonight.  His name is Odell Beckham Jr.  And OBJ can change a game in a matter of seconds.  He is a force.  He is an impact player.  He cannot be underestimated in his abilities.  There is no amount of hyperbole that can be used to overstate his effect on the Giants and their chances.  Listen to the words of Cris Collinsworth, NBC color analyst and former star WR for the Cincinnati Bengals:

“I’ve never seen a guy like that.  Some of the route running I saw from him last year was almost second to none. And I’ve been around Isaac Curtis and grew up watching Paul Warfield. I’ve seen the greats.  He has some innate ability to get in and out of cuts in a way that is pretty remarkable. When you add it to his top end speed and his ability to play that rebound body position game as well, it’s a lethal combination… there aren’t many like him out there that I have ever seen.”

The hope/blueprint for a Giants win is that they win the battle of turnovers and get a few extra offensive possessions than Dallas in order to make up for some of the mistakes that Giants defenders will invariably make.  If the OL can do a decent job of protecting Eli, then throw in some OBJ fireworks and you could have a closer game.  But if the turnovers do not go the Giants way, I just do not see how the Giants offense can keep pace with Dallas, who will feast off the vulnerable Giants defense.  Dallas 41 Giants 23.  Go Giants.  While I want to see the Giants somehow win the game, I will be pleased if Flowers plays well (1 sack or less) , if Collins looks aok out there, and if the Giants can mount a little bit of pass rush.