While the other team that occupies this stadium was doing a lot of backstabbing, the Giants were in a backslapping mood last night after dumping Jerry Jones’ Cowboys and taking the NFC East championship. Some quotes for your perusal….

“With my cleats on. That’s how I like to look at it, so yeah.”

- WR Victor Cruz when asked if he was really 6’1″

Tom Coughlin on Cruz…..

“He just keeps doing it and thank God he does. I am cheering for him, doing cartwheels on the sidelines as he is running by. That was just trying to make a first down, to be honest with you. He was on the short end of the ball and where the ball was going to be directed and somehow he got outside and down the sideline and got us in the end zone and got us started. It was a really profitable first half for us as a result of him getting us started. The play he makes at the end of the game where he jumps over the top of the defender, the defender is in great shape. He is in outstanding position but the ball is thrown up high and Eli does a great job of avoiding the rush and throws the ball up and Cruz comes down with the ball. It was just a heck of a game and heck of a season by the kid.”

Justin Tuck on Cruz…

“The thing I like about him, all of the success he’s had this year, he hasn’t changed not one eyelid. Everything about him is humble, giving everybody else credit. I never ever have seen him do anything out of the ordinary as far as he still practices the same. He still does everything the same. Homegrown guy so I know he’s getting a lot of outside influences. To be as young as he is and to come from where he’s come from, it shows a lot of maturity in him.”

Eli Manning on Cruz…

“I think for Victor it’s just that he has a football sense – understanding when he’s open, when to sit in windows, when to break into the next window; we give him a lot of leeway on getting open and he’s earned the right to have those options to what he can do because he senses what the coverage is, where the defenders are, and he just does a great job at getting open.”

Cruz on his incredible season…

“A realistic goal was just to get a catch in a real game that mattered, in a real game that counted. Due to some unfortunate injuries, I was able to come in and play a significant role. It’s been an amazing ride. It’s been a rollercoaster for me. I’m excited that we’re here, we won our division, and we’re going to the playoffs.”

Eli on the Salsa Dance…

“I love it. I love it. If that means he’s scoring touchdowns, then that’s a good thing for the Giants. I don’t mind touchdown dances and he does it at the right times – on big plays and so hopefully we get a few more in the playoffs.”

Coughlin on the play of the defense, which yielded just 14 point for the second straight game…

“It has been really great to see the way the defense has played the last couple weeks and that has given everyone a nice boost and a nice way of confidence. Special teams has put a lot more emphasis on our guys tackling better on teams and they have done a good job of that as well. The defense played well and gives us a chance to play some Giants football.”

Tuck on how it feels to have Osi Umenyiora back….

“Great. Tremendously great. We have some good pass rushers. But Osi, he’s a game changer. He takes a lot of pressure off myself, the whole d-line, the whole defense, knowing that any play he can make one of those game changing plays. He showed tonight why he’s done it for so many years. Even when he’s not 100 per cent he comes in and it still seems like it’s clock work.”

Jason Pierre-Paul on the Giants’ pass rush, which recorded six sacks of Tony Romo last night….

“That was nothing. Next week is going to be even better. We’re in the playoffs!”

Eli on this team as compared to 2007….

“I think we’re just going to try not to compare right now. We have a lot of guys on this team who weren’t here in ’07 and don’t know so this is a whole new year and a whole new situation and we have to enjoy this, enjoy this victory tonight, but come tomorrow, we’ll look at some things and start to make some corrections, but we’ll get ready for Atlanta and start preparing for them and see if we can make a run through the playoffs.”

quotes courtesy Giants Communications Dept

Next up: the Atlanta Falcons, this Sunday afternoon at 1pm at MetLife. We’ll worry about them beginning Wednesday. Right now, fans should savor the past two weeks’ big victories over the Jets and Cowboys.

Head coach Tom Coughlin was asked if his Giants were playing their best football right now:

“I hope so and there are areas that we can get better. I like to see the defense coming along, I wish we were rushing the ball a little bit better. We did go over the 100-yard mark which means we had a lot of snaps and I think we were 50 percent on third down as well. Hopefully, we are playing our best and there is always room for improvement. We are going to have to be at our very best versus Atlanta.”

From Geico SportsNite:

They will host the fifth-seeded Atlanta Falcons at MetLife Stadium next Sunday afternoon at 1pm in the wild card round.

After jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first half, the Giants found themselves in a football game in the third quarter. Dallas QB Tony Romo (29-37, 289 yds, 2 TD, 1 Int) adjusted to the Giants’ pass rush by throwing short passes, leading two scoring drives to bring the Cowboys back, 21-14.

The Giants then reignited their engines and scored on their next two drives to seal the game and the division, 31-14. They are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

If you’re looking for heroes, you can begin (where else?) with WR Victor Cruz (6 rec, 178 yards and a 74yd TD) and QB Eli Manning (24-33, 346 yds and 3TD).

The defense delivered another superior effort. Romo, bad hand and all, showed few ill effects of the injury and the Giants did well in forcing him into a short-passing game. They sacked him six times and hurried him countless more in key spots.

It’s been a wild ride this year, folks and it’s far from over. Manning displayed the form that got the Giants through the 2007 playoffs, and the pass rush, aided by the return of Osi Umenyiora, looked as formidable as ever.  Fasten your seatbelts The Giants appear to be peaking at the right time.

• Eli hit WR Hakeem Nicks for a 4-yd TD in the fourth quarter, his 15th fourth quarter TD pass of the season – a new NFL record.
• Manning finished the season with 4,933 passing – new Giants record, good enough for fourth in the NFL this season.
• Cruz had 100 yards receiving for the seventh time this season, which is a new club single-season record. He finished the year with 1,536 receiving yards, third in the league.

The Ginats and Cowboys make for good TV ratings and they also make for good theatre. History has been made between these two teams and tonight another chapter will be added to the ongoing saga.

Tonite will be the 100th meeting between the Cowboys and the Giants. The Cowboys, who entered the NFL in 1960, have won 56 of those games thanks to the Giants mailing in most of the 60′s and all of the 70′s.  More recently, the Giants have won four out of the last five vs. Dallas.

The most memorable season-finale between these two has to be the December 19, 1981 game in which the Giants won, 13-10 in OT. 

The game put the Giants in the playoffs for the first time since 1963. The Giants had lost 13 of the previous 14 meetings vs Dallas prior to that game, dating back to 1974.

Coached by Ray Perkins, the Giants (8-7) were without QB Phil Simms, who separated his shoulder six weeks before in a loss to Washington. Backup Scott Brunner won three of his four starts after Simms’ departure and had the Giants positioned for a shot at the wild card.

On a cold Meadowlands day (an oxymoron), the Giants’ third-ranked defense stifled the 12-3 Cowboys, who sported the likes of Danny White, Tony Dorsett, Rod Springs, Tony Hill and Drew Pearson. With all the scoring coming in the second half, the Giants tied the game at 10 in the fourth quarter and then won it on a Joe Danelo FG in OT.  (Danelo nailed a 35-yarder to win the game but uncharacteristically missed three others, including one in OT).

“It was a very humbling day for me,” Danelo told The Daily News’ Hank Gola. “It was one of my worst days and it ended up being one of my best. There were a lot of roller-coaster emotions that day. I went out there and basically almost destroyed a whole season by not being able to do what I practiced to do. It ended nicely. But for three quarters, it was one of the worst games I ever played.”

Danelo was carried off the field that day, by the stoic Perkins of all people (pictured). The fans did not know how to react. The win put the Giants at 9-7, but their playoff chances hinged on the crosstown Jets taking out the Packers the next day, which they did.

In the 1981 playoffs, the Giants went on to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild card round before getting shown the door by Joe Montana and the 49ers in the divisional playoffs in San Francisco.  Incidently, the next game for San Francisco was the NFC Championship Game against Dallas. You remember, the one where WR Dwight Clark made “The Catch”?

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Some notes out of Dallas: punter Mat McBriar has been placed on IR with a foot injury. He will be replaced by Chris Jones, who was called up from the practice squad along with QB Chris Greisen. G Daniel Loper was cut to make room on the roster for Greisen.

McBriar was also the holder for FGs and PATs. He will be replaced by either Jones or Tony Romo. I wouldn’t imagine Romo would be asked to hold given the condition of his hand. Which leads us to the condition of Romo: how hurt is he if the Cowboys are bringing in another backup…?

The Dallas Cowboys (8-7) travel to New York to play the Giants (8-7) for the 2011 NFC East Championship. The winner goes to the NFC Playoffs. The loser goes home.

Kickoff: 8:20pm Eastern
Site: MetLife Stadium
TV: NBC Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya (Field reporter)
Radio: WFAN 660AM Bob Papa, Carl Banks and Howard Cross Westwood One Radio: Dave Sims, James Lofton, Hub Arkush (Field reporter) SIRIUS: 94 (WW1) 92 (Dal) 93 (NYG) XM: 227 (WW1) 225 (Dal), 226 (NYG)
The Line: Giants by 3, O/U 46
Weather: Cloudy, mid-40′s. Wind 10-12 mph

Last Game: 12/11/11: Giants 37 at Cowboys 34. New York DE Jason Pierre-Paul blocks potential game-tying FG attempt in final seconds as Giants score 15 points in final 3:14 for comeback win.

Last Game at Site: 11/14/10: Cowboys 33, Giants 20. Dallas QB Jon Kitna passes for 327 yards & 3 TDs, including 71-yarder to RB Felix Jones. Cowboys CB Bryan McCann adds 101-yard INT-TD

Statistics

Passing: Dallas – Romo: 317-485-3,895-29-9-102.2 (3C); Giants – Manning: 335-556-4,587 (3C)-26-16-90.3

Rushing: Dallas – F. Jones: 116-545-4.7-1; Giants – Bradshaw: 155-602-3.9-8
Receiving: Dallas – Witten (TE): 72-873-12.1-5; Giants – Cruz: 76-1,358 (3L)-17.9-8
Sacks: Dallas – Ware: 18 (T2L), Giants – Pierre-Paul: 15.5
INTs: Dallas – Lee, Newman: 4; Giants – Webster: 6 (T2C)
Punting: Dallas – McBriar: 43.8; Giants – Weatherford: 45.9
Kicking: Dallas – Bailey (R): 133 (3L) (37/37 PAT; 32/36 FG); Giants – Tynes: 93 (39/39 PAT; 18/22 FG)

Team Rankings

Pass Off. Dallas – 263.3 (8th), Giants – 293.5 (4th)
Rush Off. Dallas – 117.2 (15th) Giants – 88.1 (32nd)
Pass Def. Dallas – 238.3 (22nd) Giants – 255.4 (26th)
Rush Def. Dallas – 98.6 (7th) Giants – 126.1 (22nd)

Turnover Ratio: Dallas: +6; Giants: +5

Injuries

Dallas: Questionable: WR Andre Holmes (hamstring), RB Felix Jones (hamstring), LB Sean Lee (wrist, illness), S Danny McCray (ankle), WR Kevin Ogletree (knee), DT Josh Price-Brent (knee) Probable: CB Mike Jenkins (shoulder), P Mat McBriar (left foot), DT Jay Ratliff (ribs), WR Laurent Robinson (shoulder), QB Tony Romo (right hand), LB DeMarcus Ware (neck)

Giants: Out: TE Jake Ballard (knee), LB Mark Herzlich (ankle) Questionable: DE Osi Umenyiora (ankle, knee) Probable: RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), WR Mario Manningham (knee), WR Hakeem Nicks (hamstring)

Cowboys Notes

QB TONY ROMO has 3,895 pass yards & needs 105 to reach 4,000 for 3rd time in career. Is only Dal. QB with 4,000+ pass yards in season. In past 6 starts vs. NYG (min. 10 att.,), has 112.4 rating & 100+ rating in 5 of those 6…

RB FELIX JONES rushed for 106 yards in last meeting. In past 2 vs. NYG, has 273 scrimmage yards (136.5 per game) & TD…TE JASON WITTEN has 873 yards & needs 127 to reach 1,000 for 3rd consecutive season & 4th of career.

WR LAURENT ROBINSON has 9 TDs in past 9. Had 4 catches for 137 yards (34.3 avg.) & TD in last meeting. WR-PR DEZ BRYANT has TD in 4 of past 6. Has 5 TDs (4 rec., 1 PR) in 3 games vs. NYG. WR MILES AUSTIN aims for 3rd meeting in row with TD…

LB DE MARCUS WARE has 24 sacks in past 18. Since start of 2006, has 90 sacks, most in NFL. SEAN LEE has 4 INTs, tied for most by NFL LB…

Giants Notes

QB ELI MANNING has won 4 of past 5 meetings. Has franchise-record 4,587 yards. Has 14 TDs in 4th Q, tied for most ever in season. Had 400 pass yards in last meeting. Has 3 400-yard games, tied for NFL season record…

RB AHMAD BRADSHAW had 2 TDs last week. RB BRANDON JACOBS rushed for 101 yards & 2 TDs in last meeting…

WR VICTOR CRUZ has team-record 1,358 rec. yards. Had 3 catches for 164 yards (54.7 avg.) with 99-yard TD catch last week, tied for longest in NFL history.

WR HAKEEM NICKS has 22 catches for 353 yards (117.7 per game) & 2 TDs in past 3 vs. Dal. Cruz (1,358) & Nicks (1,116) are 1st set of Giants to each record 1,000+ rec. yards in same season. WR MARIO MANNINGHAM aims for 4th in row vs. Dal. with TD…

DE JASON PIERRE-PAUL has 20 sacks in past 21. Had 2 sacks, safety, FF & blocked FG in last meeting. CB COREY WEBSTER has career-high 6 INTs. DT CHRIS CANTY had sack & safety last week.

from Glenn Warciski of Ultimate NYG

Besides stopping the Cowboys rushing attack, the Giants must pressure and contain Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Romo, an elusive quarterback, is able to improvise on any given play. When pressured, he has a knack for evading a pass rush. When flushed out of the pocket, Romo makes plays.

In their match up earlier this year, Romo threw FOUR touchdowns. And guess what? All four touchdowns were a result of him being out of the pocket.

Furthermore, according to ESPN’s Next Level, Romo’s numbers outside of the pocket is outstanding. Against Tampa Bay, all 3 of Romo’s touchdown passes Saturday were thrown outside of the pocket. Romo entered the game completing 61 percent of his passes outside of the pocket, third in the league am long qualified quarterbacks. Romo now leads the league with 10 touchdown passes outside the pocket, along with no interceptions. It is tantamount the Giants do not allow him to scramble.

What can the Giants do differently?

With DE Osi Umenyiora expected to return for the Giants, this is a tremendous uptick. Umenyiora’s strength is his ability to rush off the edge. In other words, Osi is a fantastic speed rusher. Since Osi will be playing, this will allow embattled Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to leverage his talent even more. According to NFL Films’ All 22 tape guru Greg Cosell, Fewell made defensive modifications against the Jets:

• The Giants showed Tuck and Pierre-Paul inside in 2 point stances with LB Williams and Boley outside, Different alignment with a lot of pressure and coverage possibilities
• JPP now a movable chess piece; Aligned at DE, at DT, in a 2 point stance in the middle

Keep in mind, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is very limited. As Cosell noted, “Jets had no intermediate or down field passing game, Receivers did not win v. predominant man coverage and Sanchez is not a tight window thrower.” Unlike Sanchez, Romo can make accurate throws outside the numbers. The Cowboys have a down field passing game, as compared to the Jets.

Indeed, Fewell believes the Giants have to get interior pressure:

“I think our tackles are really the key – the guys like Chris Canty and Linval Joseph getting that push in the middle. I think that’s really the key. And then for us not just running up the field on the guy so that we create running lanes for him because he is a good scrambler also. But I think the inside push is really what we need.”

Although Fewell talked about Canty and Joseph getting a push, JPP is going to be the focal point. On obvious passing downs, Fewell can slide JPP to defensive tackle. Having JPP at defensive tackle will enable the Giants to get an interior push.

Why is interior pressure critical? Giants backup quarterback David Carr elaborates:

“That’s very difficult for a quarterback, it’s very disconcerting because a lot of times it can get you off your read,’’ Carr said. “You see color [defender], you feel something in front of you, the natural tendency is to step up as a quarterback and when there’s nothing to step up into, that’s a tough spot for us.”

Being JPP is so athletic, if he can not get to Romo, getting his arms up will hinder Romo’s throwing lanes.

Osi, Tuck, and JPP on the field at the same time, without question, will create favorable mismatch problems for the Giants. Will the Cowboys use max protect formations? If they go ahead with max protect, fewer receivers will be involved in running routes.

This would be an advantage for the Giants. But as we are all aware, the Giants have had coverage problems all season long. To be more blunt, they have allowed receivers to find wide open areas in their defense. Because of these miscues in coverage, currently, the Giants are 27th against the pass: allowing an average of 255 yards per game. Ouch!

Here at UltimateNYG, we have vilified Fewell for using too much soft zone coverage. In other words, by doing so, Fewell is not leveraging his players’ talents. Now we do not have access to the official All 22 tape, but seeing too many blown coverages is unacceptable. And it is important to repeat James Allen’s observation.

James, a commenter here at UlimtateNYG who also attends Giants’ games, opined: “…for all the pressure the Giants put on Sanchez, there were plenty of open receivers down the field as a result of a zone that is so soft it’s stunning (and you can only really see how much from being at the game).”

Therefore, the defensive keys for this important game are the following:

• 1. Stop the run.
• 2. Get pressure and contain Romo. Make him throw from the pocket. And make the pocket “noisy”. ie a term Greg Cosell uses. A “noisy” pocket is when a quarterback is surrounded by offensive and defensive players.
• 3. Play aggressive coverage. Indeed, defenses have evolved over the years. Teams do not play just zone or man to man. In some cases, defenses will play man to man on the outside while playing a zone in the middle of the field. Or defenses may play man to man on one side of the field. While playing a zone on the other side. Memo to Fewell: Play more press man vs the Cowboys.
• 4. Speaking of coverage, the Giants have to minimize blown coverages. Seeing another play in which Dez Bryant is backpedalling into the end zone with no Giants’ defender within 20 yards is uncalled for.

SNY insider Mike Garafolo of the Star-Ledger provides us with his invaluable preview of this Sunday’s Giants-Cowboys NFC East Championship Game….

I’m already on record as saying I smell an easy Giants victory here. Though I dropped that on SNY on Tuesday before I knew the extent of Hakeem Nicks’ hamstring issue, I’m going to stick with it.

Folks have been asking if I sense the same pep in the Giants’ step this week as I did a week ago. I’ve been telling them it’s not as noticeable as it was a week ago but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Tom Coughlin was pleased with what he saw….“Because we practiced well and we’re geared towards a big game and I can feel the enthusiasm as it grows,” he said today. “Everybody knows it’s a game of execution against two teams that seem to play incredibly close games every time we play.”

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Dallas comes into this game stumbling, having only one regular running back (Felix Jones, who is fighting a hamstring injury), their MLB Sean Lee (wrist, illness) hurting and their two most recognizable stars (QB Tony Romo, OLB DeMarcus Ware) less than 100%.

The Giants will have all of their starters except one – TE Jake Ballard (knee) – and will welcome back DE Osi Umenyiora, who has been out the past month with an ankle injury.

The two teams face each other for the second time in four weeks: the Giants won at the gun in Dallas, 37-34, in Week 14.  This time the stakes will be a tad bit higher. It is a playoff “play-in” game: one team is moving on, the other is going home.

“The Dallas Cowboys are the Cowboys. We are the Giants. We played each other a couple of weeks ago,” Tom Coughlin said Friday. “We look for all of the changes that could possibly have happened. We use our imagination to try to figure out what’s coming next. Both teams know each other very well. We try to face it exactly like we would any other game, the two games previous and our game and all of our information we had going into it. Whenever you’re playing a team of this stature it’s very difficult to prepare, but we do it the same way we always do.”

From Geico Sportsnite:

Don’t miss this exciting, informative hour of Giants football talk. Tonite at 8pm on Blog Talk Radio.

I reading and hearing a lot of NFC East bashing these days and I’m not quite sure if these people are just haters or complete morons. Yes, the NFC East had a down season. Any half-wit can see that. But they should also realize that the NFC East will be one of the league’s best divisions in 2012.

Riddle me this….does anyone want to play Philadelphia this week? I don’t see any hands. That’s because they the know the Eagles finally have it together. Philly’s defense has been killing people the past few weeks and Michael Vick and his receivers are finally on the same page. If they had snuck into the playoffs, they would have made some serious noise.

The play Washington this week, who are probably the only team who would be willing to play them anyway. The Redskins have become a physical football team that leaves opponents with the feeling they’ve been through a meat grinder. Next year, expect a frontline QB and some more weapons on offense. Look out for them.

Yet, the Cowboys and the Giants are two that will play for the division this week. Both have been ravaged by injuries as well as heartbreaking losses.  They have struggled, that is for sure.

The Giants seem to be solving some of their defensive issues. DE Justin Tuck is back and leading the charge. The Cowboys have been playing better defense, too.  Both teams are shells of themselves coming into Sunday’s game, but when at full strength are not teams you would openly choose to play against.

The Giants were only 4-7 vs the NFC, but they went 4-0 against the AFC East, which was considered one of the best divisions in football.  Five of Dallas’ seven losses were by less than seven and decided in either overtime or in the final two minutes.

Take this as a suggestion: next time you want to kick someone while they’re down…wait until they’re all the way down. The NFC East may have stumbled and fell in 2011, but they will be back in 2012. And they’re not done this year yet, either…

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)