“He should, he should. The New York Giants have been whupping his ass for a long time. I mean it has got to be tough on the outside looking in on all these championships lately.”

This little back and forth between the Cowboys’ owner and the Giants’ players has been a cute storyline leading to Wednesday’s season opener between the two teams. But for all their bluster and tradition, I’d be surprised if any Giants fan was honestly afraid of the Cowboys heading into this season.

Dallas has some very good players, including a quarterback coming off of a career year. They have a young and talented coach. They have an owner who’s willing to win at all costs. They certainly have all the pieces for a long run into the postseason, and at least one “expert” at ESPN has picked them to win the Super Bowl (which is one more than chose Big Blue to repeat). But as a Giants fan, how can you take them seriously?

The Cowboys always have some very good players. Somebody always picks them to win the Super Bowl. But these are not the Cowboys of Aikman, Irvin and Smith. This franchise, in it’s modern era, hasn’t won a thing. The Cowboys have one playoff win in the last 15 years. They have only won the NFC East twice during that span. And every offseason, the “experts,” and often the Cowboys themselves, tell us this year will be different.

I’m not buying it. The teams that win championships in today’s NFL are the ones with stability, professionalism and leadership. The Patriots have those qualities. The Packers have those qualities. The Giants have those qualities. The Cowboys make headlines for putting their players in time out.

Jerry Jones desperately wants to believe that his current Dallas team is just as good as they were in the glory days of the early 90s, but they’re not. Look again at the quote by Kiwanuka: “It has got to be tough on the outside looking in on all these championships lately.” I started following the Giants in the early 1990s. Too young to remember Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor, not young enough to miss our bitterest rival’s run of three championships in four years. I was deeply jealous of the Cowboys in the 90s. Kiwi’s line is so appropriate because it’s easy to imagine Jones saying the same about the Giants back then.

But his time has passed. Whether anyone outside of New York cares to acknowledge it, the Giants have a talented roster and the coaching staff and front office to maximize its success. For once, it’s the Cowboys who are jealous. They should be.

Witten suffered an injury to his spleen during the Cowboys first preseason game against Oakland, less than a week ago.

It’s unclear what Witten’s status will be for the opener, but he is out for the remainder of the pre-season.

“It’s a very serious injury and we’re really taking this thing day by day,” Garrett said. “He has to be very still and idle for the next week to 10 days, so you won’t see him out here on the practice field. He won’t play in the game this week or next week. We’ve just got to make sure he heals as well as possible, as quickly as possible.”

The hit, in which Witten supposedly was injured on, looked like an ordinary football play. It certainly wasn’t something you would sit back and think ‘Witten could be out for the year’.

The Giants have taken notice too. DE Justin Tuck, on a phone interview, wished his NFC foe a speedy recovery, just after week 1.

“You definitely don’t want to wish for anything but the best for your opponents in the NFL. Jason’s been a staple in that offense in the NFL. We do wish him a speedy recovery. (Pause) Hopefully it comes the week after we play them.” Tuck said.

As if Metlife Stadium wasn’t going to be hard enough to play in. Now, with a receiving core, already decimated by injuries and domestic violence’s, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys could have an even tougher time “beating the Giants asses!”

Since Irvin left town, Jerry Jones has been eager to sign flashy free agent wide receivers. Notable free agent wideouts who have made their way to Dallas include Joey Galloway, Terrell Owens and Roy Williams, and none of those players were able to match the great things expected of them. Galloway was the first big-name receiver the Cowboys brought in to replace Irvin, but his tenure was a disappointment right from the start. Galloway was signed away from Seattle after racking up at least 1,000 receiving yards in four of his six years with the Seahawks, and promptly tore his ACL in his first game with the Cowboys, missing the remainder of the 2000 season. He would never top 1,000 yards receiving or appear in a playoff game during his 3 remaining years with the team.

The next big name free agent receiver to make his way to Dallas was by far the most productive one – Terrell Owens. Owens compiled at least 1,000 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns during each of his three years in Dallas from 2006-2008. But for everything Owens brought to the team on the field, he removed more off of it. Owens fractured team chemistry by getting into arguments with then wide receivers coach Todd Haley, and even accused quarterback Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten of conspiring to keep him from getting the ball.  Despite all of his production, the Cowboys never won a playoff game with T.O. on the roster.

Finally, Roy Williams was traded to Dallas in 2008, 2 years removed from a season that saw him collect 1,300 receiving yards with the Detroit Lions. Despite Dallas’ willingness to send 3 picks – including a first-rounder – to Detroit for the receiver, Williams would never even approach the level of production that was expected of him. He finished his Cowboys’ career with 1,324 yards and 13 touchdowns in 40 games with the team, prompting Jones to say afterwards that he’d “love to have that trade back.”

Clearly, if anyone should knows the risks of acquiring a high-profile receiver, it’s Jerry Jones. Not to mention, one can hardly imagine a worse role model than Burress for the troubled receiver already on the Cowboys’ roster, Dez Bryant. I was frustrated last year when the Giants failed to sign Burress only to see him sign with a rival, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Big Blue as it opened up playing time for breakout star Victor Cruz. If Burress signs with the hated Cowboys this year, expect history to repeat itself.

 ”I’m seeing him do what you almost expect from him,” Jones said Sunday, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. “What I want him to do is, and we want to do, is be able to do that all year long, all game long. That hasn’t happened. He’s disappeared at the end of some ballgames, and then we haven’t had at him because of injury in the season.”

The Cowboys knew what they were getting into when they decided to draft Bryant with a first-round pick in 2010. His physical talent is not just good, it’s freakish. He has ability to be the game-changer their offense needs. However, it’s his problems off the field that have everyone looking at him for all the wrong reasons.

Jones is going to keep the pressure on Bryant to perform and stay out of trouble. He took a huge chance on drafting Bryant and wants to make sure he gets more of a return on that investment from him instead of only the flashes he’s shown.

It might be exactly what Bryant needs right now at this stage in his career, someone who cares enough to let him know it’s time to get it together or find somewhere else to go.

“Y’all should come to that (Cowboys) stadium and watch us beat the Giants’ ass,” Jones told fans during a ceremony to signal the opening of Cowboys’ training camp Monday, a festival-like event that featured a few skydivers and a performance from the franchise’s famous cheerleaders.

Now, it is possible that  Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is just looking to start some smack-talking in order to sell seats at Cowboys Stadium. However, whether he believes this statement or not it is a ridiculous statement.

Including a playoff game on January 13, 2008, with Eli Manning at the starting QB position, the Giants are 4 and 1 in Cowboys Stadium. In those five games the Giants’ offense averaged 278 passing yards per game with three games over 300 passing yards including one game with 400 passing yards. In the last three years the Giants have averaged 345.33 passing yards per game in Cowboys Stadium.

Giants @ Cowboys when Eli Manning is starting QB

In addition to a great record in Cowboys Stadium, the Giants are 3 and 1 at home against the Cowboys from 2008 to 2011. The Cowboys have made no impressive acquisitions in the off season to make anyone think they will be better this year. The only news out of Dallas these days is starting WR Dez Bryant’s arrest for assaulting his mother and starting RB Felix Jones’ inability to pass the team’s mandatory physical fitness test.

Will the Giants beat the Cowboys in the season opener September 5, 2012? My money is on the Giants. It is, of course, possible that the Giants will lose. If they lose, it won’t be an ass-kicking from Cowboys, it will be a close and hard-fought game in which the Cowboys manage to eek out a win. As I stated before, my money is on the Giants.

1. The Giants have by far the toughest schedule of all the 32 teams;

2. Face it the Eagles are a very very scary team. Yes last year with all of their Star Free Agent acquisitions they were called the dream team and predicted to take the NFC East with ease but what many analysts failed to recognize was a group full of new players needed time to play together so they know the weakness and strengths of their new teammates and the Eagles system. After mid season the Eagles started to come together as a team and they were the most feared opponet in the NFL. At one point there was a chance that the Eagles could have won out in the NFC East;

3. Jerry Jones is sick of losing and has made that clear more than ever this season. He made good acquisitions in the draft and free agency to upgrade the weakest part of the team, their secondary. Now it is time for Tony Romo to close and he knows that all to well.

4. Finally the Washington Redskins. Hey they beat the Giants twice last year. Now they have a QB that everyone has a opinion on: RG3. Is he better than Andrew Luck? Can he be the franchise QB for the Redskins? These are all questions yet to be answered until the games are played. Also unlike Luck, RG3 is coming to a team with a solid Defense, a good O-Line and satisfactory Wide Receivers and Running game.

So the World Champions will have a rough time of it again this year and let us all hope that a playoff berth is in the cards.

Now I was totally blindsided by Jerry Jones moving up to the 6th pick to get LSU CB Morris Claiborne for his new and improved Cowboys secondary. In my defense this is Jerry Jones, the most unpredictable Owner/General Manager in the NFL. Claiborne is a 6″ tall cover corner. The only knock on him is that he is a reluctant tackler enabling WR like Victor Cruz and Desean Jackson to potentially get a lot of yards after catch (YAC).

I had the Giants picking Boise State RB Doug Martin but in this trade happy Draft (so far 9 trades in the First Round), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded into the 31st spot and grabbed Martin. This left the Giants with the next best RB on their board which was Virginia Tech RB David Wilson. The difference between Martin and Wilson is quite simply this, Martin is a consistent back where as Wilson is an explosive back that can break a big play at any given time in a game.

All in all I am now officially against Mock Drafts because with the new Rookie pay scale, trades are free flowing and teams in the upper half of the draft are no longer concern if “we can afford to pay this player”.

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…)

OK fans, let’s get this out of the way right now. The Rams?! Really? The Rams beat the Saints. My head is still spinning on its neck like Linda Blair in The Exorcist. What can you say? Any given Sunday. Well, we’ve got another Sunday (and Monday) right around the corner and our picks are fresh out of the oven.

ESPN has baked up a tasty little batch of predictions for the upcoming week, as did I. Each week I go head to head with the experts and their two fortune telling robots. The race is pretty close and is still anyones game. Read on to see how they did, how I did and what teams we’re labeling as the easy wins, the fights to the finish and the upsets of the week. Check it out!
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The New York Giants sit atop of the NFC East in Week 7. They also find themselves with a much needed Bye Week. Fret not, football fans. There is still plenty of pigskin to go around this week! There are some great games that you won’t want to miss…and some that you would probably prefer to watch paint dry instead.

We hop over the fence to see what teams the experts over at ESPN are picking this week, as well as gawk at their results from last week. Naturally, we’ll be doing the same for yours truly. Each week, I go head to head with the big boys and live to tell about it. How did I do last week? Who am I picking this week? Come on in and take a look at my breakdown and analysis for each game.
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The Giants finished fourth under the ownership of the Mara and Tisch families. They topped the longevity rank among the teams ranked and  finished third in championships. Not only did the Gmen and their respective ownership end up fourth, they were the highest ranking NFL team on the list, topping another venerable football family, the Rooneys who own the Steelers, by one position. The list was heavily populated by NFL teams, with six of the top 10 teams all part of the league. Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys squeaked onto the list in ninth place.