Complete Positional Breakdown of Cowboys vs. Giants

What a way to kickoff the 2012 NFL regular season with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

The offseason has officially come full circle because the Cowboys and Giants closed out the 2011 regular season as well.

Here, we take apart and put everything back together regarding both teams.

This Week 1 NFC East rivalry has immense playoff implications because for all we know, the winner could claim the division. Fortunately for us football fans, the real games are about to begin and the Big Apple is ready to rock.

So, let's dissect Dallas and New York for the opening of pro football.

Quarterbacks

This is your classic quarterback rivalry.

Eli Manning is from an NFL family and entered the pros as a No. 1 overall pick.

Tony Romo, on the contrary, began as an undrafted free agent.

Well, it's certainly easy to say Manning has seen more success with two Super Bowl MVP awards. As for this season, Romo is coming off his best year from an all-encompassed perspective in 2011. Therefore, a strong 2012 is set up to get Big D back in January.

Manning is playing without any pressure, though. Having already won two Vince Lombardi Trophies over Tom Brady, he has nothing left to prove. Romo, however, must still show he can get it done in the regular season and postseason.

In short, this game is definitely bigger for Romo than Manning.

That said, stats don't mean much without winning and this is where the playbook of Eli has the edge.

Advantage: Giants

Runningbacks

DeMarco Murray is ready for a breakout season.

His counterpart Ahmad Bradshaw dealt with injuries in 2011 and despite a strong postseason, he is rather worn down for being just 26 years old.

Now, the Giants do have an impressive rookie in David Wilson who possesses great No. 1 ball-carrier potential. Plus, New York has relied often on two running backs in recent years and it's clearly paid dividends.

Murray, however, is the best back with the most talent of all three.

For one, he's significantly underrated and proved to be the Cowboys' best back as a rookie in 2011. Yes, he certainly needs to develop more consistency but that also comes with experience.

The issue between the better backfield, though, comes in the form of a stronger impact at pass protection. The NFC East is overloaded with stud pass-rushers and each quarterback needs that additional protection from the running backs.

Well, Bradshaw and Murray are dual-threat guys. So, this minute difference lies within their ultimate contributions. Murray won't be sharing nearly as many plays and has a greater upside all together.

Advantage: Cowboys

Wide Receivers

Last season, the Cowboys dealt with too many injuries at receiver.

The result was inconsistency from their star playmakers which gave way to Laurent Robinson's breakout performance.

Early on, the Giants also had issues of their own, but Victor Cruz came out of nowhere and took every NFL secondary he faced by storm. That resulted in Eli Manning throwing for more yards (4,933) than he, his brother Peyton or Tony Romo had ever thrown for.

Heading into Week 1 of 2012, though, and things are looking a little better for Dallas. According to the Dallas Morning News via ESPN.com, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are listed as probable which is an optimistic sign.

Still, both have yet to match the production and impact of Cruz and Hakeem Nicks for the Giants.

All four targets are eerily similar when it comes to yards after the catch, initial explosion at the snap and reliability over the middle. New York has simply been more durable and the overall success is evidence of that.

We can definitely anticipate all four having big games as each receiving duo can burn each opposing secondary. The Giants have just been more consistent in getting the job done.

Advantage: Giants

Tight Ends

Provided that Jason Witten plays for Dallas, he's a supreme advantage.

The Giants don't have a tight end of Witten's caliber and none of which are nearly as complete.

Witten is extremely reliable in the passing game, runs precise routes and isn't the easiest tight end to tackle. Not to mention he's a force when run-blocking against any defender.

In even more optimistic news, Tony Romo believes Witten will suit up. In an article by Josh Barnett of the USA Today, Romo stated to NFL Network:

"

"The good thing is, Jay's been out here. So, for me, it's kind of exciting to know that we're probably going to have him in the game," Romo told NFL Network. "That's something that's important...As of what I know, I think he's going to (play), yes."

"

New York's tight ends on the flip side are Bear Pascoe and Martellus Bennett, neither of which are on Witten's level. After Witten in Dallas, though, are John Phillips and James Hanna.

To that end, this difference between each team here comes down to Witten's health.

IF Witten Plays, Advantage: Cowboys

IF Witten Does Not Play, Advantage: Even

Offensive Line

Alas, we come to the most important unit of any offense, the linemen.

Protecting the quarterback and creating those running lanes are undeniably vital to an offense's success, and this has arguably been New York's best area.

Last season, the Giants allowed just 28 sacks of Manning (seventh-least in the league) and only 11 through four playoff games, six of which came against the San Francisco 49ers.

Despite playing his best ever in 2011, Romo was not as fortunate.

He was sacked 36 times and the Cowboys' line allowed 39 on the year.

Versus the Giants alone, Romo was swallowed by Big Blue's front wall nine times in two games. No matter how productive a passing game can be, nothing good comes from a quarterback getting hit that often.

By comparison, Manning was sacked only twice by Dallas last season which turned out to be a major difference. Even with Dallas having the better running back with Murray, the Giants protect better to create a more balanced approach.

Winning the line of scrimmage is what wins games and Dallas has yet to prove that against New York.

Advantage: Giants

Defensive Line

The defensive lines are interesting between these two teams, mainly because the Giants run a 4-3 and the Cowboys run a 3-4.

Each front is a great basic look to build a defense and the personnel really helps a coordinator find the right fit.

New York's front four is its pass rush—even with Chris Canty on the PUP list, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York—because of Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora. No offensive line can isolate these guys alone, so regardless of who's at tight end for Dallas expect extra pass protection for Romo.

Additionally, a delayed release by Murray or Felix Jones out of the backfield will be needed to keep Big Blue's rushers at bay. In turn, Dallas will have to rely on its receivers to beat single coverage on the outside which also has zone help from linebackers (to the inside) and safeties (over the top).

The Cowboys' three-man front line isn't nearly as effective, but Jason Hatcher and rookie Tyron Crawford have solid potential in the trenches. Both will need a big game as well because according to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News:

"

The Dallas Cowboys will enter MetLife Stadium battling serious injuries on offense and defense. Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff, a key run stuffer, has already been ruled out due to a high ankle sprain.

"

Advantage: Giants

Linebackers

DeMarcus Ware is the NFL's best sack-master, period.

He's also a much better coverage defender than given credit: it just goes overlooked due to his havoc in the backfield.

The Giants don't have any big-time linebackers, although Chase Blackburn is a reliable playmaker after having come up huge for New York in the Super Bowl. He's also been a solid contributor in recent years as well.

One thing about why the Giants see so much production at linebacker, however, is because of their front four. Michael Boley and Mathias Kiwanuka are also efficient and instinctive but a lot of plays these three 'backers make are initially created by Tuck, Pierre-Paul, Canty (when on the field) and Unmenyiora.

Dallas' linebackers, including Ware, have to create everything themselves.

After all, if you exclude Ware's contributions, the Cowboys only recorded 22.5 sacks last season. Sean Lee and Anthony Spencer are two of the NFL's best coverage linebackers and Dan Connor was a great addition from the Carolina Panthers this offseason.

Each corps of linebackers are playmakers in every way, the Cowboys just react better against the run and pass simply because the defensive line isn't as productive.

Advantage: Cowboys

Defensive Backs

The secondary is the most evenly matched unit between both teams.

Dallas got an excellent add in Brandon Carr this offseason and selecting Morris Claiborne from the draft was a good move as well.

Both players will certainly make life easier for safety Gerald Sensabaugh, who will get more turnover opportunities in cover-one and -three looks. New York's is also good, because of lockdown corner Corey Webster and the dependable Antrel Rolle.

Strictly talking corners, though, and the Cowboys have the edge.

Carr definitely takes away one half of the field and Claiborne possesses the capability despite being a rookie. Only Webster presents this shutdown reliability for New York, so expect Romo to attack opposite No. 23 quite often.

Move back to safety, however, and Antrel Rolle gives the Giants an edge.

He can roll down to compensate for a blitzing linebacker, sit back in cover-one, -two or -three and is excellent for run support. Any way you slice it, Rolle is consistent at positioning himself to cause problems for the offense.

The chess match comes from where Manning and Romo try to attack each secondary. Both have depth and elite players at their respective positions, so there's no room for error in the passing game.

Advantage: Even

Special Teams

The overlooked aspect of this game comes from special teams, as there's so much firepower on each offense and defense.

Felix Jones is only 25 years old and is Dallas' kick returner. He was the No. 1 back in 2011, but after an injury, DeMarco Murray took over and hasn't looked back.

So the best area for Jones to contribute is on special teams and he's been decently impressive for not having done this full-time in his career. Between 2008 and 2009, Jones racked up 1,112 kickoff return yards on 46 attempts and scored one time.

Last season, Jones reverted back to it somewhat and averaged 26.5 yards on just seven returns. With limited time offensively, it wouldn't be surprising to see Jones take one back against Big Blue.

Punt returning is suppose to be Dez Bryant's area, but he may see limited opportunities in Week 1. Per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News:

"

“We’ll let that [depend] on the situation in the game,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 [KRLD-FM] The Fan’s New School show. “That’s usually the way we’ve done it with him. You want to give him an opportunity to have one in the situation that will allow him for a return, not just downing the ball."

"

As for the Giants, Jerrel Jernigan is listed as the double-duty return man on New York's depth chart but basically has minimal experience.

Advantage: Dallas

Coaching

There's no debate here.

Tom Coughlin is light years ahead of Jason Garrett as an NFL head coach, and his resume is all anyone needs.

With three Super Bowls and two as a head coach (first as assistant), Coughlin has put together a Hall-of-Fame career. Plus, he even managed to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to the 1996 AFC title game in only the franchise's second season.

That was also his first NFL head coaching gig.

Garrett hasn't done nearly as well but he's also just getting started for Dallas.

After taking over for Wade Phillips in the middle of 2010, Garrett did turn the Cowboys around somewhat. Unfortunately, the 2011 campaign was one to forget since Big D went just 2-4 versus NFC East foes (swept Washington).

This is the biggest difference as to why the Giants have the overall advantage over Dallas, because everything can be traced back to coaching.

Advantage: Giants

Prediction: Giants 24, Cowboys 20

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