With Dallas winning last night over New Orleans, the Giants’ chances for a playoff appearance have dropped. All of this is irrelevant in the big picture, because the Giants are going nowhere this (post)season.
Barring a miracle where all of a sudden the defensive breakdowns are eliminated, the Giants do not have defense and will lose in the playoffs. So watching Dallas win last night and staying ahead of the Giants for the last playoff spot does not mean anything. The endpoint is golf in January for the Giants.
Francesa made a big deal about how shocking it was to see Dallas win. While I would not have picked Dallas to win the game, it is NOT a shock. Dallas has the ABILITY to play up and down to the level of their opponent, a classic sign of a poorly coached team. This was a hallmark of Fassel, who would play footsie with bad teams, not handling any prosperity. Wade Phillips similarly does not know how to handle prosperity and squanders opportunities. His teams are undisciplined and they make mistakes. They are (arguably much) better than 9-5. Norv Turner on the Cowboys, whom his team played after the Giants beat them: “Dallas DOMINATED the Giants and (yet!) lost.” On the other side of the ball, the Saints are still a great team but they have been playing on fumes the past few weeks. It is a little bit surprising that the Saints lost (because it was at HOME), but not shocking considering how this team has fallen behind in a number of games (Dolphins, Panthers, Redskins) and needed later rallies. They emptied their emotional tank on that Monday night win vs the Patriots and have not played Saints football the past three weeks. I’ll go on record as saying that this loss will enable the Saints to reestablish their focus. They NEED to play through these last two games regardless of what the Vikings do. As long as they do that, they will beat a team like the Cowboys the next time they play them.
Phil Simms on the NFL
Simms went out of his way to praise Tony Romo, who he feels has played very well the past 3 games despite this “December” hyperbole. You cannot put the Cowboys troubles on Romo, because “he has manned up.” Dallas has a lot of talent (singling out Spencer and Ware last night). But Dallas makes mistakes. Last night they played with greater intensity and emotion, and that helped limit mistakes.
In order to beat Brees, get that pass rush in his face, he does not throw the ball as well and does not see the field.
It is not the cold or snow for QBs, it is the wind. Snow actually is good because the moisture/air is better for QBs. Cold does not bother QBs nearly as much as the wind. Cannot muscle the football in the wind because more speed and power on the football turns a small wobble into a large one, resulting in a very badly thrown ball.
Norv Turner and Phillip Rivers dominate the Chargers. Despite the Chargers not being able to block the Dallas DL last week, Rivers still made plays under duress.
Favre might quite possibly still have the best arm in the NFL. Favre runs a basic offense and his talent makes it happen for Minnesota. “He is throwing the ball that well.”
The loss of Chris Henry hurts the Bengals tremendously.
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