New York Giants: Heroes and Zeros of Week 1 vs Dallas Cowboys

We've all had a few days to think about the game from Wednesday night.

A game that saw the Dallas Cowboys march into MetLife Stadium and take a win from the New York Giants.

The Cowboys were the overall better team in the 24-17 victory, but by no means were they a juggernaut of a team.

The problem the Giants had was themselves and how they simply couldn't get out of their own way.

All week long, I've had a laundry list of things I've listed that the Giants need to fix and get better on before Week 2; the secondary, the offensive line, the short-yardage running game, third-down conversions.

I'm sure Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has told his team this during practices and meetings following the loss to the Cowboys.

Now, looking back at the game, let's figure out the best and worst of the Giants from Week 1; also known as the "Heroes and Zeroes."

Hero: Eli Manning

Eli Manning didn't have a terrible game for the Giants, but it's not one that we'll all remember him for.

He went 21-of-32 with 213 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

Manning didn't exactly get help from his offensive line, who got dominated by the Dallas defensive line and ended up being sacked three times.

Throw in the fact that rookie David Wilson coughed up the ball early on in an important drive and Victor Cruz dropped three passes, plus the one non-call in the end zone for pass interference, and it was just one of those nights for the Super Bowl MVP.

Despite the end result of the game, Manning still had a decent game for the Giants.

Hero: Martellus Bennett

Late in the game, Eli Manning was able to throw his first touchdown pass of the season to his new tight end, Martellus Bennett, which got them back in the game.

Bennett ended the night with four catches for 40 yards with one touchdown, which are decent numbers, but not exactly numbers that will blow you away.

He did out-perform Jason Witten, who only had two catches for 10 yards. However, Witten is still recovering from a spleen injury and probably shouldn't have even been in the game.

During the game, Bennett also drew the task of trying to block DeMarcus Ware, and for the most part, was able to limit Ware wreaking havoc on Manning as the Dallas linebacker only had two sacks.

Bennett's blocking ability is solid and I think will continue to help the Giants offensive line because of it.

Hero: Ahmad Bradshaw

The Giants' running game duties were placed solely on the shoulders of Ahmad Bradshaw with David Wilson put on the bench because of his lost fumble.

Bradshaw had 17 carries for 78 yards with a touchdown and his longest carry of the game was for 33 yards. Bradshaw also had two catches for 15 yards, giving him 93 all-purpose yards for the game.

Bradshaw could have had a second touchdown following Michael Boley's interception that put the Giants at the 2-yard line, but the Cowboys defense forced him to lose three yards on two carries.

Granted, Bradshaw should have been able to get two yards, but Bradshaw is not a short-yardage back. He's not what Brandon Jacobs used to be.

In that situation, that's where Da'Rel Scott or Andre Brown should have been utilized for the Giants offense. Plus the Giants offensive line gave Bradshaw no push on the line, either.

Bradshaw is still a major factor in the Giants offense and will need to stay healthy.

Hero: Michael Boley

In the second quarter, Giants linebacker Michael Boley showed the fans just how important he is to their defense.

Boley picked off a Tony Romo pass and ran it back 51 yards and nearly scored a touchdown for the Giants, which would have given them a 7-0 lead.

However, Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith grabbed Boley by the horse collar and dragged him to the ground on the 2-yard line and Boley landed awkwardly on the turf.

Because of that, Boley had to leave the game with cramps and Boley's presence in the defense was missed.

But, when he is on the field, Boley makes a huge difference and the interception of Romo was a huge play during the first half that nearly set up a touchdown, but instead they got a field goal.

Hero: Steve Weatherford

Steve Weatherford had the task of not only punting the ball for the Giants, but punting to Dez Bryant, who in an open field, can be a huge playmaker for the Cowboys.

Bryant caught two punts for zero yards and was not able to create havoc with his legs and speed, which was very important.

Weatherford also had four punts and an average of 50.2 yards, with his longest punt of the night being a 56-yarder. He also had one punt inside the 20-yard line.

I can not stress how much having a solid punter is, especially in the battle for field position and Weatherford is a difference maker who can pin the opposing offense deep in their own territory.

Having an average of 50-plus yards per punt is also a fantastic average to sport.

Zero: Victor Cruz

Wednesday night was a very rough night for Victor Cruz.

Forget the fact that he led the Giants with six catches for 58 yards, because those stats are irrelevant.

What gave Cruz the goat honors of the night was the three huge drops that would have continued key drives for the Giants.

Whether it was nerves of playing on opening night, or the fact that Cruz had a bad game; whatever the case may be, Cruz still had those crucial drops that normally he would make.

I could also bring up the ball in the end zone that Cruz missed as well, but the referees missed him being held and should have had a pass interference or defensive holding called on that play.

I'll let that one play slide, but the other three I will not. Cruz absolutely must improve before Week 2.

Zero: Justin Tyron

The Giants secondary was flat out horrible on Wednesday night trying to stop the Dallas receivers.

Of the unit, the worst one was Justin Tyron, who was called into action after Michael Coe left with a hamstring injury.

Tyron got burned on a 1st-and-30 play on the 34-yard line when Miles Austin out-jumped Tyron for the ball and walked into the end zone for a Cowboys touchdown, which made it 24-10 Dallas in the fourth quarter.

Let's face it, Tyron is only playing because of injuries to Terrell Thomas, Prince Amukamara and Michael Coe. Otherwise, he would not be on the field.

If Tyron wants to continue playing, he better improve, otherwise he will be sent packing real soon.

Zero: Corey Webster

Normally, Corey Webster is a solid defensive back whose play is generally underrated.

However, against the Cowboys, Webster was awful and had a really bad game.

Kevin Ogletree, a name barely known unless you're a hardcore Cowboys fan; that was until Wednesday night, when he was the star, catching eight passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

One of those touchdowns that Ogletree scored on saw Webster get faked out of his pads and the Dallas receiver blazed on by Webster for the 40-yard score that put the Cowboys up 14-3 in the third quarter.

Webster is the only regular who is healthy for the Giants secondary aside from the safeties. The Giants don't want to have offenses starting to throw deep on the Giants, because if they play like they did on Wednesday, it will be a long season.

Zero: David Wilson

David Wilson's debut game for the Giants was one he would love to forget.

He had two carries for four yards, but coughed up the ball on a toss play, which was recovered by Barry Church of Dallas.

Because of the fumble, Tom Coughlin decided to bench Wilson the rest of the game and went with Ahmad Bradshaw as the lone back of the game.

During the week, people questioned why Coughlin decided to pull the rookie from the game. But really? Why is anyone questioning it?

Coughlin knows what he is doing and if he decided to teach his rookie an NFL lesson, then so be it.

Wilson hopefully will recover from the awful night and become the running back the fans and the Giants all expect, but his first impression with the Giants was not a good one.

Zero: David Diehl

As a unit, the Giants offensive line was not very good.

If I had to pick out one player in particular who did not look good on Wednesday night, David Diehl might be the one I have to pick on.

He wasn't impressive in run-blocking and looked awful in pass-blocking situations against the Cowboys defensive line.

He is starting at another position at right tackle, but really, that's not a spot Diehl should be playing.

Diehl's two best spots on the line are at left guard, a spot occupied by Kevin Boothe, who has earned the job, and left tackle, which normally is played by Will Beatty, but because of injury, is being played by Sean Locklear.

If Diehl doesn't step up his play, don't be surprised if he finds himself on the bench and the next veteran lineman who gets shown the door at the end of the season by the Giants.

In fact, I'll go as far as to say 2012 will probably be Diehl's last season with the team either way, because it will be time to influx some youth to the Giants offensive tackle spot.