NY Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys: Breaking Down New York's Game Plan

If there was ever a week to find out what this New York Giants team is made of, this would be it.

Not only are the Giants coming off a humiliating loss against a division opponent on national television, the team will also need to pick up the pieces following the devastating season-ending injury suffered by receiver Victor Cruz, a popular and highly respected presence in the locker room and on the field.

The sight of Cruz clutching his knee in pain in the end zone before he was helped into the back of a cart while sobbing uncontrollably was a tragic yet powerful image that left a mark on his teammates.

“Man, I just can’t get it out of my head the way he was just down there screaming, screaming to the top of his lungs and you didn’t know why,’’ safety Antrel Rolle said Tuesday during his weekly WFAN radio spot. “I don’t know, man; that’s a hard pill to swallow.’’

What it really was is a harsh reminder for the teammates he left behind that a game they claim to love so much can be taken away in the snap of the fingers.

That is why it’s important to make each play count for something, a lesson that hopefully the Giants, who came out flatter than day-old soda pop, have learned.

That brings us to this weekend’s looming matchup. Will the loss of Cruz, whom the team announced underwent successful surgery to repair the torn patellar tendon in his right knee on Monday afternoon, rally on behalf of their fallen offensive co-captain, or has the injury coupled with the beatdown the Eagles gave them on Sunday taken the air out of what’s left of the 2014 season?

If Rolle has his way, the answer, as he said during his radio spot, will be obvious:

"

As a Giant and as a player, we need to definitely go out there and honor this guy...You always find a reason to play this game for something bigger than yourself, and right now here’s an opportunity to go out there and play the game for something that’s bigger than yourself.

Here’s a guy who contributed so much and put so much on the line for this team and for this organization, we have to make sure we go out there and do something to inspire him while he’s going through this tough time.

"

For once the talk is actually pleasant and even inspiring.

But as Tom Coughlin always likes to say, “Talk is cheap; play the game.” So we'll see if the Giants can back up their good intentions with some even better play.

The Series

The Giants will face the Dallas Cowboys for the 104th time in the regular season. The Cowboys lead the series, 59-42-2.

The Giants are undefeated in games played the weekend after head coach Tom Coughlin holds his annual Jay Fund Champion for Children’s gala in New York.

Coughlin’s 10th annual gala is scheduled for this Friday, by the way.

Unit	Giants	Dallas
Quarterback	X
Running Backs		X
Tight Ends		X
Receivers		X
Offensive Line		X
Defensive Line	X
Linebackers		X
Defensive Secondary	X
Special Teams		X

The Game Plan

Giants on Offense

After studying last week’s sack party by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys defensive front is no doubt anxious to get after quarterback Eli Manning, who, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, has completed 60.31 percent of his pass attempts against the Cowboys for 38 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, the completion percentage and touchdowns being Manning’s best marks against an NFC East opponent.

Last season, the Cowboys defense sacked Manning five times and forced three interceptions in the two meetings.

One of the things the Cowboys defense has done very well lately is disguise its blitzes. Here is an example, from the second of two sacks against Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson last week.  

In this instance, the Cowboys are showing a blitz with seven men at the line. Without jumping ahead, can you tell which of the seven are going to charge the quarterback?

via NFL Game Rewind

Neither could the Seahawks, who left defensive end Anthony Spencer, marked as No. 1 on the picture, free to come off the edge to drop Wilson for the sack.

Here’s the play as it develops. Note how the players marked as No. 3 and No. 5 (now circled in red) drop into coverage while the remaining four rush the passer.

via NFL Game Rewind

The center and the right guard are left with no one to block, which frees up Spencer to come charging in unabated for the sack.

Giants on Defense

The Cowboys are loaded with weapons—tight end Jason Witten always seems to have a field day against the Giants and receiver Dez Bryant is a deep threat that cannot be taken lightly.

However, let’s focus on running back DeMarco Murray, the NFL’s leading rusher in yardage with 785 yards, this time around.

The key to defending Murray when he runs the ball is going to be gap control. Murray has excellent vision and the quickness to hit creases before they close up.

Here’s an example on a 2nd-and-10 play in the first quarter of last week’s game against Seattle. The play starts out with the Cowboys blocking to the left side (strong side) of the formation.

Note how the Seahawks defenders are all flowing to that side as well, thinking that’s where the ball is going.

via NFL Game Rewind

What made this play work was that safety Kam Chancellor (No. 31) also started to go toward the direction in which the blocking was going. By not playing disciplined gap control, Chancellor gave the running back all he needed to turn nothing into something. Murray cut back against the grain and burst through the hole for the 10 yards and the first down.

Now let’s look at Murray as a receiver out of the backfield, a matchup that favors the Cowboys given the questionable speed New York has at linebacker.

The most common reason why you might see the middle of the field so wide open against an offense is that defenders are trying to keep keep everything in front of them, to keep the big play from happening, and are thus willing to give up yards rather than points.

The problem with this approach is an offense can dink-and-dunk its way down the field, chew up the clock and still get itself in a position to score points.

So let’s look at how the Cowboys exploit the deep drops that a defense might play against them.

via NFL Game Rewind

Note how deep the Seahawks defenders are. See that one defender standing all by his lonesome on the 18-yard line? He is the “deep help” in case one of the Cowboys receivers gets past the second level.

The problem here, though, is that the Seahawks left too much space in the middle of the field (yellow lines). This allows Murray to leak out into space, where the nearest defender is a good 10 yards away.

Quarterback Tony Romo has no trouble getting the ball to Murray underneath as the running back picks up six yards on a 2nd-and-9, creating a very friendly and manageable 3rd-and-short.

It will be interesting to see just how deep defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has the linebackers dropping, as too deep of a drop coupled with a lack of solid speed at the position will result in that underbelly area being wide open for Romo and company to exploit. 

Giants	Cowboys
LB Jon Beason (foot/toe)	LB Bruce Carter (thigh)
CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (back/hamstring)	DE Jack Crawford (calf)
LB Spencer Paysinger (hamstring)	OT Doug Free (foot)
P Steve Weatherford (ankle)	LB Rolando McClain (groin/personal)
RB Rashad Jennings (knee) - Out	RB DeMarco Murray (illness)
	QB Tony Romo (back/ankle)
	OT Tyron Smith (ankle)
	OT Jeremy Parnell (chest)
	WR Dez Bryant (shoulder)
	LB Lawrence Cameron (thigh)

Giants’ Key Injury: Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

For the second week in a row, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie gets the, ahem, "honor" of being mentioned in this space.

Last week he was unable (again) to complete a game in which he started, this time because of back spasms.

USA TODAY Sports

The Giants' cornerback position has become extremely thin since the start of the season, and this past week did not help matters.

If Rodgers-Cromartie can't go, Zack Bowman will presumably line up on the outside. Meanwhile head coach Tom Coughlin announced during his press conference that Jayron Hosley will get the call at the nickel cornerback role.

Hosley, who last week participated in his first game of the year after serving a league-imposed four-game suspension, has yet to be targeted in coverage this year, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). In 2013, in his first full season, Hosley saw defensive snaps in just three games, finishing with a 103.6 NFL rating in coverage per PFF.

He's hoping that Dallas targets him in the passing game. 

It’s what I’ve been here for. I hope they think I’m, you know, the weak link. I hope they do.

"I’m ready to play," he told reporters. "I’m not here to talk trash or anything like that. I’m confident in myself. If they feel a certain way about me in that position, that’s how they feel."

He just might get his wish, by the way.

Notable Cowboys Injuries

The offensive line, widely regarded as a strength for the Cowboys, has three players who are hurting. Cindy Clark of USA Today reported that starting right tackle Doug Free (foot) will miss up to four weeks thanks to a broken foot.

USA TODAY Sports

His replacement, Jeremy Parnell, was limited on Wednesday due to a chest injury.

Meanwhile Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith, who became the first offensive lineman in a decade to be named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week, is nursing an ankle sprain.

According to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Smith, who rolled his ankle in last week’s win over the Seahawks, had to leave Wednesday's practice early in order to have an MRI done.

Prediction

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

This week, the Giants have a chance to define their season. They have an excellent opportunity to show the NFL that they really are a tough, resilient group capable of banding together and gutting out the adversity they have faced in the past week.

The problem is we are not sure this team has the maturity level to do so. Already, team leaders like Manning and defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, both speaking to the press on Monday via conference call, have urged teammates to “grow up.”

As we saw last week with all the swagger and talk coming from the Giants, they seem to have a bad habit of believing their press clippings instead of looking in the mirror and asking themselves how they can get better, win or lose.

That brings us to this week’s game and prediction. While we don’t see the Giants being shut out for a second week in a row, there are quite a few holes in the ship, between the injuries and the mood in the locker room, that are a concern.

Toss in the fact that the Cowboys are playing at a high level and would love nothing more than to kick the Giants when they are down, and this game just doesn’t have the makings of a very promising outcome for New York.

Prediction: Cowboys 33, Giants 13; 2014 win-loss prediction record: 3-3

Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus (subscription required) unless otherwise noted.

All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.