NFC Divisional RD: #5 New York Giants (11-6) @ #1 Dallas Cowboys (13-3)

It does seem that Romo relies on TO way too much though. Granted, that's not atypical for young QBs, but it's something he needs to get past in order to truly be an elite QB.

 

Division rivalry aside, I have a hard time figuring out what Romo actually did wrong. They ran the ball for the majority of the game (it was justified, seeing as Marion was running wild) and he made the majority of the throws he was required to make. His recievers dropped a crapload of easy catches and in the 2nd half his O-line fell apart. And that's not even mentioning the ridiculous amount of ill-timed penalties that the Cowboys committed. Really, the only mistakes I noticed was that he didn't throw the ball away on a couple sacks and drew an intentional grounding the one time he did throw it away. But that was hardly the reason they lost and is barely worth mentioning in the grand scheme of things.

You look at the stats and Dallas dominated time of possession and gained more yards, but somehow put up fewer points than New York. The reason for that is dumbass penalties/dropped balls at the worst times and an inability to get at Eli when he it most mattered (that 50 second drive before the half was a momentum killer, IMO).

But whatever, I'll take it. The shots of Jerry Jones were pure classic.

 

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I love that picture. Owens looks like a wussier Isaac Hayes.

 

This is a picture of the ultimate team guy celebrating with Michael Strahan.




LOL. This guy is awesome!

 

It's not Romo's fault that all the Dallas O-Linemen are 400 pounds and wore out after being on the field all day.

He got hit on every single play in the 4th quarter.

Could he have played better? I guess so. But I never got the sense that he was the reason they lost.

The Giants were better and that's why they won. I thought Dallas played pretty well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chutney @ Jan 14 2008, 02:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div align="center"></div>

I love that picture. Owens looks like a wussier Isaac Hayes.</div>

Is it bad that I watched that clip and all I could think of was the "Leave Brittney Alone!" video?

As for the game, I think it does show that Romo has been overrated. Romo has been put among the elite QBs in the league, where his numbers indicate that he should be. However, he's still a second year QB who hasn't faced a whole lot of adversity for his quaterbacking. Before you all hop down my throat, I know about how last season ended. People critiqued his ability as a holder, but as a quarterback, there were no questions. I think if he ever deserves to be mentioned among the elite QBs in the league, this loss will do a lot to make him get there.

 

Honestly I'm kind of annoyed at all the credit Eli is getting for "leading" the Giants here. Most of his stats are his receivers getting a lot of yards after catch. He only had about 160 yards and a touchdown. It's the Giants' game on the ground that led them to this point. There's long stretches in the games where Coughlin doesn't even let Eli pass the ball because of how much of a choke artist he is. How is that "leading" your team to victory?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (playaofthegame @ Jan 14 2008, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Honestly I'm kind of annoyed at all the credit Eli is getting for "leading" the Giants here. Most of his stats are his receivers getting a lot of yards after catch. He only had about 160 yards and a touchdown. It's the Giants' game on the ground that led them to this point. There's long stretches in the games where Coughlin doesn't even let Eli pass the ball because of how much of a choke artist he is. How is that "leading" your team to victory?</div>
No, not really. That early 52 yard catch by Amani Toomer was the only pass where a receiver got significant yards after the catch. The Giants build off the run game, but it was shut down for the 2nd and 4th quarters (they only rushed for 90 yards the entire game). The turning point of the game was the 46 second drive before the end of the half that tied the game and it consisted entirely of passing plays. Eli managed the clock and was able to beat a Dallas D that knew he was going to pass.

Eli deserves the credit he's gotten. Here's a guy that was up and down during the season and threw 20 interceptions. He hasn't thrown a single pick in the playoffs, let alone turn the ball over, has been incredibly efficient and has made throws when the Giants needed it most. His passer rating over the last 3 games has been incredible and every important TD drive has started with him. And all this has been done against very good defenses.

 

I find myself agreeing with Chutney and Mamba on a lot of points in this thread. Nice job you two.