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Dallas Cowboys can't let go of 2011 losses to Giants
Posted Sunday, Sep. 02, 2012
Maybe it's a good idea for the Dallas Cowboys to forget that last Giants game.
You know, the one that could have won them the division and sent them to the playoffs, but instead left them with nothing. That last Giants game.
Who wants to think about that thing?
But maybe forgetting it isn't the best way to get past it.
Until Saturday, when the practice week started, the Cowboys hadn't looked like they wanted to forget it. Jason Witten and Sean Lee talked about the game all spring and summer. DeMarcus Ware said at the kickoff luncheon last week he was shaking because he wanted to play the Giants again so bad.
Jerry Jones opened training camp with balloons, skydivers and a microphone, inviting everybody in Oxnard, Calif., to come down to Cowboys Stadium and watch the Cowboys kick the Giants' donkeys.
The NFL didn't forget. It scheduled the Cowboys for homecoming.
So who wants to forget the game?
Well, the head coach probably doesn't think it's a bad idea. He talks about this being 2012 and 2011 being last year, which is true, and a useful tool for building a little bit of confidence and the right mindset in a team a couple of days before said game.
And veterans such as Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher and DeMarco Murray said this weekend they're ready to turn the page, too.
But it's a little late to just forget that last game after investing half a year to improve because of it.
The Cowboys signed the top cornerback available in free agency, Brandon Carr, and the top cornerback available in the draft, Morris Claiborne, because they recalled the last Giants game.
They signed a veteran safety with 13 career interceptions (gone now, but still) and drafted a college safety with 17 interceptions (hurt right now, but still) because they remembered the last Giants game, when they had zero picks against Eli Manning. And, in fact, had one pick in 80 throws in two games by him.
They signed two guards to provide a bigger push for the run -- handy for holding a 12-point lead with five minutes left -- because they remembered the other Giants game.
So it's asking too much to forget.
"I can tell how bad these guys want this game," Claiborne said Saturday.
And he's just a rookie. He can tell.
The Cowboys are better off talking about the last Giants game. Both Giants games. It makes them accountable for them. They were the games that let them know how close they are to the Giants and how far they are from the Giants. How close they are to the Super Bowl and how far they are from the Super Bowl.
The last Giants game is a reminder that can be folded up and carried around in their wallet. Something the Cowboys can take out every once in a while and look at, to remind them that they didn't capitalize on Tony Romo's best year.
"When I found out we were playing them, I was excited just to be able to get back and get in the exact same spot we finished," Romo said.
"We had an opportunity to go up there at the end of the season last year and make the playoffs, and we didn't get the job done," Garrett said. "So we have to live with that. But at the same time, we have to turn the page."
Sure. Turn the page. Just wait until after Wednesday night.
Posted Sunday, Sep. 02, 2012
Maybe it's a good idea for the Dallas Cowboys to forget that last Giants game.
You know, the one that could have won them the division and sent them to the playoffs, but instead left them with nothing. That last Giants game.
Who wants to think about that thing?
But maybe forgetting it isn't the best way to get past it.
Until Saturday, when the practice week started, the Cowboys hadn't looked like they wanted to forget it. Jason Witten and Sean Lee talked about the game all spring and summer. DeMarcus Ware said at the kickoff luncheon last week he was shaking because he wanted to play the Giants again so bad.
Jerry Jones opened training camp with balloons, skydivers and a microphone, inviting everybody in Oxnard, Calif., to come down to Cowboys Stadium and watch the Cowboys kick the Giants' donkeys.
The NFL didn't forget. It scheduled the Cowboys for homecoming.
So who wants to forget the game?
Well, the head coach probably doesn't think it's a bad idea. He talks about this being 2012 and 2011 being last year, which is true, and a useful tool for building a little bit of confidence and the right mindset in a team a couple of days before said game.
And veterans such as Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher and DeMarco Murray said this weekend they're ready to turn the page, too.
But it's a little late to just forget that last game after investing half a year to improve because of it.
The Cowboys signed the top cornerback available in free agency, Brandon Carr, and the top cornerback available in the draft, Morris Claiborne, because they recalled the last Giants game.
They signed a veteran safety with 13 career interceptions (gone now, but still) and drafted a college safety with 17 interceptions (hurt right now, but still) because they remembered the last Giants game, when they had zero picks against Eli Manning. And, in fact, had one pick in 80 throws in two games by him.
They signed two guards to provide a bigger push for the run -- handy for holding a 12-point lead with five minutes left -- because they remembered the other Giants game.
So it's asking too much to forget.
"I can tell how bad these guys want this game," Claiborne said Saturday.
And he's just a rookie. He can tell.
The Cowboys are better off talking about the last Giants game. Both Giants games. It makes them accountable for them. They were the games that let them know how close they are to the Giants and how far they are from the Giants. How close they are to the Super Bowl and how far they are from the Super Bowl.
The last Giants game is a reminder that can be folded up and carried around in their wallet. Something the Cowboys can take out every once in a while and look at, to remind them that they didn't capitalize on Tony Romo's best year.
"When I found out we were playing them, I was excited just to be able to get back and get in the exact same spot we finished," Romo said.
"We had an opportunity to go up there at the end of the season last year and make the playoffs, and we didn't get the job done," Garrett said. "So we have to live with that. But at the same time, we have to turn the page."
Sure. Turn the page. Just wait until after Wednesday night.