”Mike Jenkins will not practice while the Cowboys are in California and his availability to start the regular season is in doubt.”

The lack of depth on the Cowboys is stunning.  They signed former Jet safety Brodney Pool this offseason, and then cut him this week.  Signing a Jet safety probably wasn’t the best idea, and Pool proved he’s not interested in working hard.  Thaf leaves Gerald Sensabaugh and Barry Church as the starters right now.  No wonder Hakeem Nicks is working so hard to get back healthy for opening night.  Behind them are listed 5 guys with a combined 4 years of experience.  The dream of having a shut down secondary might have to put on hold for a while.  Add to this the fact that Morris Claiborne is already hurt, and Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick were the guys you wanted to replace, are the backups.

On offense it doesn’t look any prettier: Dez Bryant, who is one wild weekend away from a suspension, and Miles Austin are the starting wide-outs.  Miles managed to get into 10 games last year because of injuries, while Bryant played in 15.  Behind them?  Kevin Ogletree at 6′ 1″ and 190 and Dwayne Harris at 5’10″.  At running back they have DeMarco Murray and Felix Jones.  Murray had a great season last year, but was injured the final 5 games and registered just 17 carries for 63 yards in that span.  Felix finished the season with efforts of 4/24 against Philly and 11/30 versus the Giants in must win games.

The new NFL is a pass first league.  The Cowboys seem ill prepared for such a journey.  They seem to have no available answers for the 4 and 5 wide sets they will see against most teams.  They also seem like they are one nagging injury away from a losing season.

So, The circus has left town, with it’s ring leader still selling his snake oil to anyone who is gullible enough to be listening.  The Giants now go back to work in the real world of the NFL.  The Giants and Cowboys will meet in what amounts to the NFC EAST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.  Now, of course, the naysayers will scoff at a 9-7 team winning a division and getting a home game in the playoffs, but that’s how the NFL works.  It’s not baseball where an exhibition game determines home field for their Championship.  Winning your division is the purest test in sports.  The schedules for the two teams are for the most part identical, and therefore determines the best team against that competition.  The Giants and Cowboys, for all their faults, have survived to this point, and now have a chance to get into the tournament as they say, and see if they can make a run.

The Cowboys entered the last game these two played just three weeks ago as “Healthy as they have been all year”  They enter this one in not such great shape.  In the last meeting they lost RB DeMarco Murray for the year. Last week they lost OL Montrae Holland for the season, had Tony Romo leave the game with a badly bruised hand, and RB Felix Jones is also nursing a few injuries.  The Cowboys are dangerously close to having no running game to compliment Tony Romo.  The slowing of Jones would allow the Giants to play defense the way they want…rush the passer, and cover the short routes tight.

The Giants on the other hand might be getting some guys back for this one.  Jake Ballard who missed last weeks game might make his return, and Mario Manningham hopefully will be available.  It will all depend on who is able to practice this week.  A good story that came out this morning concerning the Giants.  It seems the Special Teams Unit  was going to be short handed due to injuries, Coach Coughlin asked the veterans for volunteers to take a few more snaps.  Antrel Rolle, JPP, and Corey Webster all stepped up and said they wanted to be part of it.  The result was each participated in over 100 plays in the game.  A nice sign from a team many have said might have some locker room issues.

Just a final note on last weeks contest…..The Jets said they were New York’s best when the new stadium opened.  They then went on to:

Lose the first pre-season game between the two teams in the new stadium (Thanks to one Victor Cruz).

Lose the opening “prime time” game in the new stadium, while the Giants had defeated the Panthers in the first day game.

Make the playoffs in two seasons, but failing to win a division title received NO home games.

Lose the first Regular Season meeting between the Jets and Giants (Thanks to one Victor Cruz).

And now have to go to Miami, a team they are 2-3 against the previous two seasons, win that game and then watch to see if Cincinnati, Tennessee, AND Oakland or Denver lose. Kings they ain’t!

According the Associated Press the Cowboys lost a lot more than a game and the division lead Sunday night, they have also lost their most productive offensive player in the running game.

IRVING, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys put running back DeMarco Murray and safety Barry Church on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday and signed veterans Sammy Morris and Mana Silva as replacements.

Murray broke his right ankle and Church injured his shoulder in Sunday night’s 37-34 loss to the New York Giants.

Murray, a rookie who had a franchise-record 253-yard game in October, finishes the year with 897 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Morris was drafted the fifth round by Buffalo in 2000 out of Texas Tech. He has 2,955 career yards and 26 touchdowns over three NFL stops.

Silva was an undrafted free agent out of Hawaii this year, spending time on the practice squads in Baltimore and Buffalo.

The Cowboys also signed cornerback C.J. Wilson to the practice squad.

Timm Matthews was kind enough to visit us here at GMENHQ.COM and answer some questions about the Giants Cowboys showdown this Sunday night.  Timm has been a sports anchor/reporter/editor in Dallas/Ft. Worth for 25 years.  Timm was a sports anchor at KXAS-TV NBC-5 and then at KTVT-TV CBS-11 for 21 years. More recently he’s served as Editor-in-Chief of Scoreboard Magazine, the only sports/lifestyle magazine in Dallas/Ft. Worth.   In addition Timm is an anchor/host for Fox Sports Southwest, hosting Mavericks, Stars and Rangers shows.  Timm is the host for the ESPN Golf Connection show on ESPN radio in Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Throughout his career Timm has hosted numerous local television programs covering the Dallas Cowboys, NASCAR, golf, tennis and high school sports.  He’s also served as an emcee for various charity and business events.

1. Jason Garrett was touted for years as the “next hot assistant” and a great Head Coach in waiting.  In the short time he has had the job what is your take on the job he has done, and what is the general take of fans?

I think he still has a lot to learn as a head coach…he’s not sure if he wants to be aggressive and unpredictable like his former coach/mentor Jimmy Johnson or play it safe to keep Jerry happy, so he’s a little of both. Most fans are thinking that Princeton is over-rated for brilliance.

2. Dez Bryant is one of the most talented athletes we have seen in years.  Of course, he has also been one of the most injured, and perceived as a knucklehead at times.  Is he soon to be the dangerous weapon he can be, or is he a disaster waiting to happen? (more…)

The Giants will make a trip to Texas Sunday Night to begin what they hope to be a successful run to the playoffs;  And a run is what they will need.  The Giants got a nice effort from the running game yesterday and that will need to continue for the foreseeable future. Eli Manning has backed up his words with his actions this season.  He is an Elite QB and definitely in the top 5 or 6 in the league.

The Cowboys have been a very inconsistent team this entire season.  For the first part of the season they had no running attack, then they found DeMarco Murray.  Murray has rushed for 5.4 yards per carry in the 10 games he has played.  Now they have a more balanced attack, but make no mistakes this is a team that wins and loses with Tony Romo.  Even when the defense has had exceptional days, Romo can put points on the board for either team at any time.

The Giants defense should be able to get pressure on the Cowboys Qb this week.  They have allowed 25 sacks this year, that’s two a game against teams that have half the pass rushing talent of the New York Giants.  The Cowboys allow 100 yards a game rushing and 5.5 yards per play on defense.  They still have a weak secondary that the likes of Nicks, Cruz, Ballard, Beckum, Manningham(?) and others should be able to exploit.  The question will be can the Giants run the ball effectively enough to keep Eli upright.  If the Giants go back to being a one dimensional team, they will be eaten up by the Cowboys pass rush.  Stay balanced, hit big plays, and keep Romo under pressure and force him into mistakes.

Injury Update:  This of course will change as the week progresses but initially it looks like Kenny Phillips will be missing for the next two weeks and Osi is still out. OL Stacey Andrews will be out for the remainder of the season with blood clots that moved from his legs to his lungs.

Green Bay Packers (10-0) vs Detroit Lions (7-3)  Thursday  12:30 EDT on Fox.  The Lions finally bring a team to the Thanksgiving Day game.  Not since the days of Barry Sanders have the Lions looked so capable, and they found a running game last week which will certainly serve them well.  Green Bay, of course, is now in the position of chasing history.  The ever elusive undefeated season on the line every week from now till February 5th in Indianapolis.  Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the game currently, and should provide some pre meal entertainment for all.

Miami Dolphins (3-7) vs Dallas Cowboys (6-4)  Thursday  4:15 EDT on CBS.  This game just a month ago looked like it would be the worst game ever played on Thanksgiving Day.  With the Cowboys struggling with injuries and the lack of a running game, and Tony Romo being inconsistent the Cowboys were going nowhere.  In walks DeMarco Murray and suddenly the Cowboy offense works again.  The Cowboys now lead the NFC East.  The Dolphins on the other hand were a defeated team, had a coach that was about to be fired, and couldn’t win a game even when leading by 15 with 2 minutes to go.  What’s changed?  The last three weeks the Dolphin defense has allowed  3, 9, and 8 points respectively while scoring 31, 20, and 35.  As a wise man once said….It’s not who you play, but when you play them.  This game could rival the famous snow game between these two teams……or it could be another waste of three hours of advertising.  We will see.

San Francisco 49ers (9-1) vs Baltimore Ravens (7-3)  Thursday 8:20 EDT on NFL Network.  In a game many won’t see, if you don’t get the NFL Network, the brothers Harbaugh clash in this Prime Time affair,  The Surprising 9ers travel to Baltimore with their young QB Alex Smith, and a pretty good running game.  The Ravens have a pretty good running game themselves and a struggling young Qb in Joe Flacco.  The Ravens are showing some age on their great defense and the offense has just been too inconsistent, but they have been finding ways to win.  This game will be all about hard hitting defense, and probably some trickery thrown in somewhere.  This contest will without a doubt come down to Special Teams, Turnovers, and who has the nerve to pull out the big play.  Look for these two brothers to have their guys ready to play, and a few tricks up their sleeves from the backyard as well.

So while their are no guarantees……except that we will all be stuffed by the end of the day…….this Thanksgiving Day at least gives hope to the prospect of three good football games to enjoy before, during, and after dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone form the staff of GMENHQ.COM and thank you for your support!

Washington Redskins: Game was ugly and I think that is being nice. Beck was okay in his start, his stats from the game read below:

They ended up losing the game 33-20, had three turnovers, and were 5-12 on third downs. Meanwhile Cam Newtown was efficient with one TD and no INTs.  The Panthers also held the balls for over 35 minutes running a total of 64 plays. It appears that the Redskins are a far cry from the team they were at the start of the season. They are now 3-3 on the season.

Dallas Cowboys: Was it there bye week? Nope, but it might of seemed liked it; they were playing the win less Rams. The Cowboys had a commanding performance beating the Rams 34-7. Romo played well and DeMarco Murray dominated. The stats are below:

The Dallas Cowboys took care of business like they were suppose to. Not a whole lot to say about this game. The NFC East is quickly bunching up again.