Giant Rivalry to Open 2012 Season

The NFL is taking a completely new approach to open the 2012 season by throwing together the Super Bowl winner, the New York Giants, and their NFC East rival to the south, the Dallas Cowboys. In an unusual turn of events, the game is being held on a Wednesday night instead of its typical Thursday evening due to a scheduling conflict with Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. The NFL pot has been ridiculously stirred as of late with Peyton Manning heading to Mile High, Tim Tebow taking off to join the Jets, and New Orleans’ less than saintly “Bountygate” scandal taking over the headlines. Yet pitting the Giants against the Cowboys is turning some heads especially to open the new season.

Has the NFL sidestepped an important tradition by allowing the Giants to play a team that didn’t even make the playoffs last year? Or are the NFC East rivals so popular that the game seems like the right way to begin the 2012 season? That’s for the fans to decide.

This is only the second divisional match-up in the past ten years, with the previous one happening in 2008 when the Giants played the Washington Redskins. NBC is yet again hosting the festivities as they did last year when the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints opened up 2011 at Lambeau Field. Speaking of which, it would appear that the Packers should be playing the Giants in East Rutherford to open the season since they were the Super Bowl XLV Champions. It would be an appropriate opener that would coincide with last years opening ceremony, but the NFL has obviously decided against that route and has taken things in a completely different direction.

However the game plays out, the Giants do seem to have the edge considering previous Super Bowl winners usually open the new season with a win, not to mention the Giants will be playing with home field advantage. But if circumstances play out in Dallas’ favor, Jerry Jones is certainly going to be welcoming in the new season with glee.

The 2012 season can’t come any quicker and while there still may be a plethora of stories out there yet to be told, the NFL has made a bold choice in throwing the New York Giants and Cowboys together to begin the much-anticipated 2012 season. It’s definitely not the game some pictured, such as myself, but it’s surely one that has a lot of potential.

Let’s hope the season opener isn’t a bust.

What do you think about the Giants and Cowboys squaring off in the season opener? Thoughts?

Fantasy Football:

Week 16 matchups:

Eagles at Cowboys

Giants at Jets

Vikings at Redskins

Week 17 matchups:

Cowboys at Giants

Redskins at Eagles

NFC East Playoff Breakdown

Every year there is a division whose playoff race goes down to the wire. Last year it was the NFC West, this year we have been gifted with two of these divisions, one in each conference. In the NFC the focus is on the East division where any one of three teams could still make the playoffs, one of which is the Eagles with the alignment of the stars and a 8-8 record that mocks even the Seahawks playoff ticket from a season ago.

Here’s the Breakdown:
 

Dallas Cowboys (8-6)

Quietly consistent the Cowboys have found themselves in first position in the NFC East. They have done this by picking up wins at home and are 5-2 this year, no other team in the East is above .500 at home which highlights the importance of having a solid home advantage. The Cowboys must not be complacent going into the final two match-ups of the regular season as they are facing division opponents, so losses would significantly hurt their chances of getting to the playoffs. If the Cowboys were to get into the playoffs, they would be encouraged by their win at San Francisco in Week 2 of the regular season.

Make the playoffs if:

• They beat the Giants in Week 17 regardless of Week 16 results OR
• They beat the Eagles in Week 16 and the Giants lose to the Jets.

New York Giants (7-7)

The Giants shot out of the gate to start the season opening with a 6-3 record, unfortunately for them since then they have gone 1-4 and have allowed the Cowboys to leapfrog them for first place in the NFC East. However, with top players on offense and defense a journey deep into the playoffs is still possible for the Super Bowl XLII champions. The Giants still have the power to qualify in their hands, they know that if they win out their final games then they will be in the playoffs.

Make the playoffs if:

• They beat the Jets in Week 16 and the Cowboys in Week 17 OR
• The Giants and Cowboys lose in Week 16, the Giants win and the Eagles lose in Week 17.

Philadelphia Eagles (6-8)

Before the season began this roster was labelled the “Dream Team” with free agents taking less money in the belief that they would secure themselves a Super Bowl ring playing in Philadelphia. In contrary to this belief the Eagles have struggled this year and currently sit in third in the NFC East. This has resulted in some Eagles fans blaming the coaching staff for the under-performance of the team, which is further fuelled by some players having had public disputes with the coaches. Despite this the Eagles have won enough games to still have a chance to qualify for the postseason though results would have to favor the Eagles. It is worth noting that the Eagles are 3-1 in the division this year with only division teams to play.

Make the playoffs if:

• The Eagles win and the Giants lose in Week 16, the Giants and the Eagles win in Week 17.

Washington Redskins (5-9)

The Redskins shocked fans and pundits alike when they started the season 3-1, unfortunately for them the bye week came at the wrong time and after it they went on a 6 game losing streak. The streak all but eliminated Washington from playoff contention, before they were mathematically ruled out with losses to the Jets and Patriots in Weeks 13 and 14 respectively. The Redskins are now playing for pride, although they may not wish to win too many more games this year in order give themselves the best draft position that they possibly can.

The Redskins cannot make the playoffs.

Fantasy Football:

Your job as the General Manager, President, CEO and owner of your fantasy football team is to give your team the best chance to win. The easiest way, this side of flat out cheating or blackmailing your biased commissioner, is finding value. Whether it’s LeGarrette Blount off of waivers rushing for 1,000+ yards or snagging a player with 2nd round output in the 4th or 5th round, it’s all about maximizing your value. The difference between a fantasy champion and a fantasy big, fat loser is correct analysis of expected value. That’s basically just a complicated way of saying “pick the guy who will do well”, but someone who I feel is headed towards a better season than most anticipate is Miles Austin.

  Here are some intriguing numbers in regard to Austin:

• Miles Austin, D.K.:  144 yards and 0.5 TDs per game average.
• Miles Austin, P.K.:  53 yards and 0.46 TDs per game average.

***As everyone knows , D.K. and P.K. stand for During-Kardashian and Post-Kardashian, respectively. However, since we’re fortunately running out of Kardashians and, as much as we’d love to, we can’t force our fantasy players to date who we want them to, let’s look at a different set of numbers:

• Miles Austin, D.R.A.F.T.S.: 102 yards and 0.75 TDs per game average.
• Miles Austin, P.R.A.F.T.S.:  49 yards and 0.5 TDs per game average.

***Of course, D.R.A.F.T.S. and P.R.A.F.T.S. stands for During Romo As Full Time Starter (including the 2009 season) and Post Romo As Full Time Starter, respectively.  As you can see, the difference is staggering. Austin goes from a low-end number two WR/ high end number three to a full-fledged fantasy superstar just by adding Tony Romo. Passes are more accurate, the chains keep moving, and defenses wear out earlier in the game. These are all conducive to keeping your fantasy star in the game and putting up stats. By the way, I’ll spare you Tony’s love-life/football output correlations or else we’d be here forever.

Current average draft positions indicate Austin as the 11th WR coming off the board, behind the likes of Greg Jennings and DeSean Jackson. Well, let’s take a trip down “I’m about to convince you, so hold on tight” lane. In the 5 games that Jermichael Finley played, Jennings averaged a whopping 36 yards per game on less than three grabs. 36 yards!!!! While Finley himself averaged 60 yards on more than 4 catches, and that includes the game he got injured in early. I know what you’re thinking: “Yeah, but… um…well, he…” Okay, stop. The numbers are what they are, unmanipulated (yes, I just made that word up). By the way, Finley is coming back healthy and ready to be Aaron Rodgers’ number one target again.

Meanwhile in Philadelphia, DeSean Jackson might be the most overrated player in fantasy football. He’s fun to watch, he’s exciting because he plays with Michael Vick and is a blur on the screen even with the finest HDTV in the business. But hey, let’s go back to old reliable: the stats. DeSean turned in a “what?! That’s it?!” type of season when he finished with 1,056 yards and 6 TDs. He might have turned the NFL into his personal playground for five weeks ( 98+yds and at least 1 TD) topped off by his mind-numbingly explosive 210 yards on four catches, but he also turned the NFL into his personal nap time for at least seven weeks (50 yards or less). The other two weeks he turned the NFL into book reading or coloring time (51-90 yards), but that’s still up for debate. Not to mention missing two weeks outright. However, the biggest problem with Jackson is his lack of opportunities. He had 47 catches on the season. To put that in perspective, Roddy White had that many catches by halftime of his 7^th game. Since we talk about giving yourself the best chance to win, DeSean only gave you 63 opportunities to accumulate points last year when you include rushing attempts. This doesn’t sound like someone who will be the backbone of your team, even though he is being drafted as such.

Whenever Miles Austin is brought up, Dez Bryant’s name is used to detract from the glamor of Austin’s potential. However, historically there have been several receiver tandems who flourish because of having the other receiver around, not despite them. Another potent weapon across the field means more man to man coverage with one cornerback for each of those receivers, which means maybe less looks, but definitely more quality opportunities. Tandems such as Randy Moss and Wes Welker, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, Chad Johnson (he was actually normal at one point in time) and T.J. Houshmanzadeh all flourished as tandems, and the list could go on and on. Also, Miles himself had his outstanding year in 2009 when he finished with 1,320 yards and 11 TDs when Roy E. Williams was alive and producing touchdowns on the opposite side of the field as well.

The question is, how did Miles Austin’s name become so muddied that the fantasy football world let a guy who did worse with his starter (DeSean) continuously be drafted ahead a guy who did better with his 38 year old, noodle armed backup (Miles)? There are no style points in fantasy football. You don’t get any extra few points for having a knuckleheaded WR. The stats are what they are. I won’t even bother with a projection for Miles Austin. We just know that his absolute floor potential, barring injury of course, is his numbers from last year. Logically, adding Romo would only increase those numbers, if even ever so slightly. So go ahead, turn off that stupid Kardashian show, and go draft Austin as the 11th WR and watch him outperform those drafted ahead of him.

Fantasy Football:

Let’s see how the networks and talking heads can spin this one.  With the Dallas Cowboys sitting at 1-5, riding a three game losing streak and losing quarterback Tony Romo for what looks to be six to eight weeks due to his broken left clavicle, the playoffs look to be no more than a pipe dream.  The media has been trying to crown the Cowboys the best team in the NFC for about a year now.  The problem is the team has not lived up to the hype.  That is the problem.  Even before the injury to Romo this team has been all hype and very little in the way of results.  The mainstream media is finally burying the Dallas Cowboys for the season after their 41-35 loss to the division rival New York Giants, but looking past the hype, this team should have been buried long before.

Everyone knows the Cowboys are supposed to be ‘America’s Team’ and that is a big reason for the expectations that their fans, the media and their owner place on them.  During the days of Aikman, Smith and Irvin, they more than lived up to the name, but since that run of success the results just have not been there.  Since the glory days of the mid-Nineties and their last championship at the end of the 1995 season the Cowboys have won a total of two playoff games.  That is over a decade of mediocre football.   According to the hype, that mediocre play was supposed to stop when they discovered Romo and plugged him in as the starting quarterback.

Romo took over for Drew Bledsoe in the middle of the 2006 season.  In 2007 they looked like they had turned the corner.  They won the division with a 13-3 record and earned a first round bye.  The Giants went into Dallas and upset the Cowboys 21-17.  After missing the playoffs the next season they came back and had a good regular season.  That got the Cowboy’s Super Bowl hype machine revved up again.  They actually looked the part in the Wild Card round toying with the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14.  Going into Minnesota the next week the Cowboys were actually favored to beat a team who – granted struggled down the stretch – had not lost a home game all season.  Not surprisingly, Dallas didn’t live up to the hype again getting blown out 34-3.

That brings us to this year.  Many people were expecting the team to take the next step and become a Super Bowl contender this year, but outside of hype, where did this belief come from?  Romo, while a great fantasy football quarterback, had won one playoff game in his career.  Head coach Wade Phillips has never had great success in his stints as head coach.

After they went into the bye week 1-3 the talk was the winner of the Cowboys and the disappointing Vikings game was still alive and the loser – even in the watered down NFC – would be buried in the playoff race.  After losing again the Cowboy media apologists tried to convince NFL fans their team was not dead and buried.  Only a fifth loss in six games and the loss of Romo have finally snapped the Cowboy faithful into reality.  The reality is this team is just not that good.

What made them good last year was a running game that took the pressure off Romo and the defense.  For some reason the coaching staff has abandoned the running game and put all the pressure on Romo and a suspect offensive line.  Against the Vikings the Dallas coaching staff knew of these problems and combated it by throwing short all game because they didn’t trust the offensive line to protect Romo.  While Minnesota couldn’t get to Romo as much as they hoped, the nation saw what happened to the offensive line and Romo against the Giants on Monday night.

The loss of Romo might have been the final nail in the coffin, but the ground work for yet another non-playoff year was laid down long before the team stepped onto the field on Monday night.  The Jerry Jones hype machine, for the better part of a decade, continues to be just that – hype.

Fantasy Football:

Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings

Brett Favre is the “Ironman” he has played in 289 consecutive games and may put the streak at jeopardy this weekend as he may sit due to a sore throwing elbow (tendonitis), if that ends up happening, all bets for the performances of the Vikings are off, as the play of QB Tavaris Jackson will significantly affect the outcome of the matchup. Randy Moss, Percy Harvin, and Visanthe Shiancoe’s stock will all have to be downgraded if Favre does not take the field. Adrian Peterson however should have a solid performance on Sunday regardless of who is taking the snaps and may even benefit from the regress of the signal caller.

Tony Romo tossed a career high 406 yards last weekend against the Titans and will look to have another great performance against the Purple and Gold. He won’t play as well as he did last weekend but look for him to well surpass the 185 yards per game allowed by the Vikings through the air. In camp this week head coach Wade Phillips addressed the RB situation, stating that Felix Jones needs to get more involved, he should see between 15-20 carries this matchup, while Marion Barber falls further into your doghouse. Miles Austin is the obvious go to for Romo and will continue to rack up yardage, but don’t count out Roy E. Williams anymore, he is performing at a level his name is accustomed to and is worthy of a WR3 roster spot in deeper leagues.

Fantasy Football:

The NFL saw it’s fair share of strange in week 2. The Cowboys and Patriots are miss firing on offense, many fantasy stars are putting up flat numbers and teams like the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Dolphins and Texans are all off to 2-0 starts.

Hey, If everything went according to plan, there would be no point in watching.

Dallas Cowboys L 27-20 (0-2)

• The Good: It’s early, and this team has the talent to turn the season around, but mental mistakes need to corrected.
• The Bad: The media is going to be in the Cowboy player’s ear all week
• The Ugly: Facing a hot Texan’s team on the road next week

Minnesota Vikings L 14-10 (0-2)

• The Good: Adrian Peterson is a fantasy machine and will continue to the focal point with Favre struggling.
• The Bad: The Vikings receiving core. Time to give San Diego a call about Vincent Jackson
• The Ugly: Brett Favre

Buffalo Bills L 43-7 (0-2)

• The Good: Marshawn Lynch might be worth some trade bait after a solid day. Watch Green Bay be the one who calls?
• The Bad: Trent Edwards Sacked 4 times and throws 2 INT’s
• The Ugly: It’s only week 2 and this team has little to get excited about.

Arizona Cardinals L 41-7 (0-2)

• The Good: Hightower is looking to become a bright light on this team. If Beanie Wells can bounce back, the Cardinals might be able to rely on a running game to help bail out the terrible passing game
• The Bad: Derek Anderson is not much better than rolling with Matt Leinart.
• The Ugly: The off-season replacements on defense are not working out.

Carolina Panthers L 20-7 (0-2)

• The Good: It won’t be long before we see Jimmy Clausen leading this team
• The Bad: J-Stew’s fantasy performance
• The Ugly: Jobs are on the line and the schedule is about to get tougher

Jacksonville Jaguars L 38-13 (1-1)

• The Good: Luke McCown will be the starter soon, oh wait there goes the ACL
• The Bad: This rough start to the season isn’t going to help with ticket sales
• The Ugly: David Garrard.

Philadelphia Eagles W 35-32 (1-1)

• The Good: Mike Vick looks like a capable number 2 that could become and number 1 quarterback
• The Bad: Eagles media are brewing up a QB controversy whether you like it or not
• The Ugly: Letting the Detroit Lions with and number 2 QB crawl back into a game ( and wrecking the spread). The defense is supposed to perform at a higher level

Fantasy Football:

Dez Bryant was projected to be a top 10 draft pick. We had him high, as did many fantasy and NFL draft sites. After the Cowboys landed what many thought was one of the better steals of the first round, experts leaned in and were quick to point out that this could result in a “Michael Crabtree” type hold-out.

Instead, Dez Bryant was the first NFL 2010 1st round pick to sign.

When a young talented receiver slips in the draft, money becomes an issue. Agents and the media fill the skilled player’s head with large dollar signs that all of a sudden get slashed in half after a free-fall on draft day. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy with the worst NFL contract to play in the NFL, but we all know how wide-receivers can be.

On Thursday, Dez Bryant signed a five-year, $11.8 million dollar contact, with $8.3 million guaranteed (unconfirmed). Bryant can also look forward to possibly receiving close to an additional $3 million in incentives and bonuses.

Fantasy Outlook: This is huge for the Cowboys. Dallas will have their newest skilled player running routes in camp with not only the fans respect for being on time, but the players and coaches as well. Even the most down to earth NFL players know the importance and frustration of contract negotiations, so for this kid to hurry the process to get on the field is a refreshing change of pace. I personally would move Bryant up the board, simply based on the fact that he clearly wants the ball, and wants to win.

Fantasy Football:

NFL Players Give Us Their Favorite Swear Words- Maxim.com

NFL Players are known as some of the nastiest dudes on the planet, and based on some of the lengths of the bleeps in this video, you can see why. Maxim recently had the chance to hang out with some of these….click on th Picture

Seattle’s deal for Whitehurst most intriguing QB move of free agency- SI.com

Intriguing as the roll of the dice Seattle took by boldly trading for San Diego’s Whitehurst in a deal that has boom/bust potential written all over it. Whitehurst was the little-known and even lesser thought of No. 3 quarterback in San Diego, behind starter……click on the Picture

Reid: Team evaluating trade offers- ESPN.com

Andy Reid has said Donovan McNabb is his starting quarterback heading into the 2010 season. But the trade rumors around the team’s quarterback situation have persisted. And now Reid says offers are being made for all three of the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterbacks….click on th Picture

Bears-Cowboys Thanksgiving game gaining steam- Profootballtalk.com

With FOX televising the game, the opponent definitely will be one of the Cowboys’ six NFC opponents: the Redskins, Eagles, Cowboys, Lions, Bears, and Saints. As Williams points out, the Cowboys haven’t hosted an NFC East opponent on Thanksgiving since 2002. The Lions are otherwise unavailable that day, and Saints-Cowboys is…..click on the Picture

Florida wideout excited to play with a “real quarterback”- Yahoo Sports

Tim Tebow’s departure for the NFL hasn’t left everyone in Gainesville in mourning. Thompson isn’t losing any sleep over the loss of Tebow. AP. While most of Gator Nation is still trying….click on the Picture

Fantasy Football:

Quick Preview: Cowboys at Eagles

It’s amazing how the NFL betting landscape changes in a matter of weeks. Remember when the Giants were dominating the NFC East at 5-0, and the Cowboys and Eagles were underachieving? Now the Giants are stuck in third place while the Cowboys and Eagles battle for first in Week 9’s Sunday nighter. Go figure.

Despite their recent success, both teams have demons to conquer this week. The Cowboys are finally stringing wins together but haven’t done so against elite defenses; can Tony Romo avoid one of his occasional mistake-prone efforts on the road? Meanwhile, the Eagles look explosive as ever of late but also have a knack for losing games they’re supposed to win, so they have something to prove too.

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles

Sportsbook odds: Eagles -3

As any NFL fantasy picks expert will tell you, Tony Romo is on a hot streak. Roy Williams may have blown off Michael Irvin’s offseason advice but Miles Austin sure didn’t; he’s exploding off the line and erupting for big plays galore, giving Romo a legit No. 1 option he hasn’t had since early 2008. Austin has five scores in his last three games and the Cowboys need him to continue that success to keep pace with the high-octane Eagles.

The problem for Dallas: their last three victims – Kansas City, Seattle, and Denver – don’t exactly have scary pass defenses. The Eagles sure do, allowing less than 200 yards per game and ranking second in the NFL with 23 sacks. It’ll be interesting to see how Romo responds when hurried all day; the last time he visited Philadelphia was in Week 17 last season. He threw for 183 yards and turned the ball over three times as Philly romped 44-6.

The Cowboys defense – particularly through DeMarcus Ware and the pass rush – is rounding into form and allows 19.4 points per game. However, Dallas’ secondary is just OK, and OK doesn’t cut it against DeSean Jackson. The sophomore Eagles wideout may be the fastest player in football today. Coach Andy Reid knows exactly how to capitalize on Jackson’s talents so it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that he has catches of 50-plus yards in six different games this season.

Both teams will want this game badly; we may see turnovers and big plays on either side. But the Eagles are just a bit more ferocious on defense and no one can stop the Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson connection right now. Are we picking the Birds? Check back Friday to see our picks.

Fantasy Football: