What to Watch For
The NFL regular season will be underway Wednesday night when
the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants welcomes the Dallas Cowboys
to MetLife Stadium. The division rivals
ended the regular season last year with a 31-14 Giants win and will continue
the rivalry tonight. Here are some
things to watch out for during tonight’s game.
-Replacement Referees
 |
| http://newyorksportnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/dm_120829_nfl_replacement_officials_week1.jpg |
The NFL and the referees are in a labor dispute, meaning
replacement refs will be used tonight.
With it being a primetime game, the best crew of replacement refs will
be assigned to the game, but even the best replacement refs are not as good as
the worst regular refs. It will be
something to watch for as these replacements will have to show a backbone when
faced with adversity like a coach such as Tom Coughlin yelling at them at the
sidelines.
Another thing that has a high chance of happening is a lot
of calls being made that maybe should not have been. With being under a microscope and every move
them make to be picked apart, the replacement refs are more likely to air on
the side of caution then not; this could make for a very choppy game stopped by
a lot of penalties as the refs try to keep control over the game. Also, the replacement refs have had trouble
with the pace of the game, placing the ball on the wrong hashes and not being
able to figure out first downs. With the
regular season now upon us, this will have to be fixed as teams will be running
two-minute drills at the end of halves and games and some teams run a no-huddle
offense.
Referee crews and coaching staffs usually build a rapport
with each other, something these replacements will not have the luxury of. When Ed Hochuli’s crew is working a game, you
know what to expect from them; the calls they are going to make and the way
they go about working the game. This in
turn means you can prepare your players better.
Tonight, each team will go in blind and have to just make adjustments as
the game goes on.
-Giants Left Tackle
(Sean Locklear) vs. DeMarcus Ware
Sean Locklear will get the start tonight at left tackle for
the Giants after having a solid preseason filling in for the injured Will
Beatty who is suffering from a back injury.
Beatty is listed as questionable for the game tonight and could see the
field as an extra blocker.
Locklear will be under the microscope tonight, as left
tackle will be a position to watch all season if Beatty can not get
healthy. This could develop into the
biggest area of concern for the Giants, especially against someone with the
talent of DeMarcus Ware.
Ware averages almost a sack a game in his career against the
Giants, so holding him to none tonight would be quite the achievement for
Locklear. The Giants cannot expect that
to happen though, so expect the Giants to give Locklear some extra help with
the pass rush. Two tight end sets are an
option, as well as Ahmad Bradshaw seeing some third-down duty as he is a good
pass protector.
-Giants Pass
The Giants have made Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s life
miserable when they play on the field.
In two games alone last year, the Giants got to Romo for nine sacks and
hitting him on countless other possessions.
Jason Pierre-Paul was a monster against the Cowboys last
season, accounting for two sacks, a safety, a forced fumble and a blocked field
goal on a potential overtime forcing kick to secure a 37-34 Giants win.
Pierre-Paul is only one of the players the Cowboys will have
to worry about, as the Giants have a three-headed monster at the defensive end
position when you add in Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora.
Stopping these three will be nearly impossible for the
Cowboys, but one way for them to counter it is with a strong running game. If the Cowboys can get a running game going
with Demarco Murray, it will slow down the vaunted Giants pass rush.
-Giants Wide
Receivers vs. Cowboys Re-Vamped Defensive Backs
Last season, the defensive backfield for the Cowboys was a
mess, so this season they made a point of emphasis to change that. Welcome in free agent signing Brandon Carr
and first round draft pick Morris Claiborne.
They will be tested right out of the gate, as the Giants employ one of
the best wide receiver tandems in the NFL.
 |
| http://www.sportshandicapping.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Cruz-Nicks.jpg |
Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz are weapons that Eli Manning
will look to get the ball to early and often.
Nicks and Cruz will look to continue their dominance against the
Cowboys, as they combined for 25 catches, 491 yards and two touchdowns in two
match-ups last season.
Carr started the trash talking earlier in the year, saying
that his arrival in Dallas means
there will be no more salsa dancing for Cruz.
That is more bulletin board material for Cruz and the Giants, as if they
needed any more of a reason to be fired up for an opening night game against a
division rival.
-Giants Defensive
Backs vs. Cowboy Receivers
The Giants defensive secondary suffered major blows during
training camp, losing starting corner back after starting corner back. First, Terrell Thomas was lost for the season
after re-aggravating his torn left ACL in the first week of practice. In the second game of the preseason, rookie
Jayron Hosley suffered a turf toe injury and was put in a walking boot. Game three of the preseason the Giants saw
Prince Amukamara, expected to step up this season by Giants personnel, hurt his
ankle and be put on the shelf for a few weeks.
 |
| http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.3926350.1345940846!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG |
This means that veteran but sparingly used Michael Coe will
be starting opposite of Corey Webster.
Coe will be asked to take on the monumental task of slowing down either
Dez Bryant or Miles Austin. Coe will
have his hands full, but at the same time as a great opportunity to show the
Giants that he is a player worth keeping around.
All of the injuries also mean that covering the slot could
be a potential problem for the Giants.
Safety Antrel Rolle may have to come up in coverage, unless the Giants
feel comfortable enough using rookie safety Will Hill or Hosley. The job of these cornerbacks will become that
much easier if the Giants front seven is able to get the pass rush they are
capable of getting.
No comments:
Post a Comment