Revelations from Giants/Cowboys Season Opener

By: The Football Girl | Posted: September 06, 2012

Much to the chagrin of some NFC East haters out there, last night’s kickoff largely lived up to its hype.  Sure, there was a lot of embedded opening night rust throughout the Cowboys’ surprising 24-17 victory over the Super Bowl Champs, but as the jitters wore there was a lot to deduce.

The Giants have a huge secondary issue. Because of a litany of cornerback injuries to Terrell Thomas (season-ending), Prince Amukamara (out for game), and Michael Coe (injured in game), special teams guy Justin Tryon played much of the second half and got burned by Miles Austin and Kevin Ogletree.  Even top CB Corey Webster couldn’t handle Ogletree on his second touchdown. This unit needs help immediately.

Speaking of Ogletree, the no. 3 receiver had better numbers last night (8 catches, 114 yards, 2 TDs) than his cumulative career.  Can he keep it up? As long as he plays smart and tight, and Tony Romo does as good a job of spreading around the ball, I think Ogletree keeps making an impact. However, don’t expect nearly the same numbers when the Cowboys head to Seattle next weekend.

Can Ogletree keep it up?

Kudos to Jason Witten for going all tough guy and playing with a healing lacerated spleen. But the reality is he should have stayed sidelined another week.  He was virtually non-existent in the passing game and got killed in terms of blocking. If Romo wasn’t such a superstar out of the pocket, Witten’s liability as a blocker would have been a bigger part of the conversation.  This was one of those situations where Jason Garrett really needed to exert better control and rest Witten for one more week.

Victor Cruz had three dropped passes last night. Clearly he needs to focus and remember how it felt to be an undrafted free agent he started at last season.  In a more positive sign, Cruz was the only Giants wideout who displayed good enough route running to get open on a frequent basis.

Cowboys rookie CB Morris Claiborne looks like a stud. He was largely attached to Hakeem Nicks, who wound up with a pedestrian 38 yards on 4 catches. T

Giants fans should not be freaking out, not only because it’s Week 1, but because of recent history. Last season’s opener was a deflating loss to the Rex Grossman-led Washington Redskins. But the Giants bounced back and won their next three. And, of course we all know the Giants specialize in gelling at the right time.

In terms of sheer talent, DeMarco Murray stole the show, particularly on that spectacular 48-yard run filled with bouncing off defenders.

Major thumbs up to the replacement refs last night. Other than a non-call of an Orlando Scandrick hold of Cruz on a third-down at the Dallas 4, the officiating was pretty flawless. It’s even more impressive considering we were watching and instantly judging their every move with even more intensity than we do the regular refs. I wonder if the overall officiating is getting back with each week of experience or this crew was just the crème de la crème. Probably a combination of both. 

The most revealing moment of opening night by a mile? Jerry Jones doesn’t clean his own glasses. 

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Lauren
Posts: 1

Witten
Reply #1 on : Fri September 07, 2012, 11:11:09

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I completely agree with your assessment of Witten. I was surprised to see him on the field and after I watched him miss the block to get Romo sacked I really questioned what he was doing out there. Hopefully he'll get some rest this week and will be in better shape for the Seahawks.


Lauren
www.eligiblereceiver.com