Fantasy Observations: Giants - Cowboys

HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS!!!

Had to throw in some love for my team there, but this will focus on what you, as a fantasy football owner, should take away from this past game.

New York Giants
Owners of the Giants passing game (Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, and Hakeem Nicks) need to take a deep breath.  Cruz and Manning were one missed pass interference call away from a score and I did not expect Nicks to be as sharp as he will next week after coming off a foot injury.  If you owned any of them this week, or more than one of them, you might be in trouble as Eli posted a mere 12.52 pts, Cruz posted 5.8, and Nicks posted 3.8.  Not good for a starting quarterback and two WR2, depending on your depth at wide receiver.  Even for a WR3 or flex play those aren't good numbers.

Note that Cruz still got a ridiculous 11 targets and Nicks got six after missing nearly all of training camp and only playing very little in their last preseason game.  Also, and this might be some Cowboys favoritism, they were going up against a darn good secondary.  The achilles heel of the Cowboys last year could become a strength as free agent Brandon Carr and rookie Morris Claiborne were excellent in coverage all night against the two receivers.  Ahmad Bradshaw, meanwhile, racked up 93 total yards and a score.  Although I did not get around to doing an NFC fantasy breakdown before my draft, I would have commented on how I thought Bradshaw was being drafted too low.  People were ready to crown David Wilson as the back to get for the Giants and all he did was rush for four yards and lose a fumble.  He is still a solid fantasy option.

Finally, their defense...oh boy.  Aside from Jason Pierre Paul, who played his butt off, no one else on the Giants D really impressed.  Their secondary lost another player, Michael Coe, which leaves them amazingly slim in the secondary.  They will have Prince Amukamara back next week, but he is not what I would call an elite cornerback yet, although he was drafted like one.  I think people thought 'their great defensive line will get sacks and pressure so a below average secondary is okay.'  The Cowboys tore that theory to shreds.  I'm not saying you should drop them yet, but don't be afraid to store away an underrated unit off the waiver wire.  Speaking of which...

Dallas Cowboys
...how bout that Cowboys defense.  The Giants did put up 17 points, although their last TD was a bit of the result of them playing soft coverage, but it is still a score.  They were only able to get one turnover, but should have gotten more.  Barry Church nearly picked off Eli which would have gone for a TD, Morris Claiborne put his hands on display a few times breaking up the pass, and Brandon Carr should have had an interception on Eli's bomb to Domenik Hixon, but he wildly mistimed the jump.  On top of that, the secondary was missing former Pro Bowler Mike Jenkins and disruptive nose tackle Jay Ratliff.  Once those two return, with Demarcus Ware's pass rush, and Dez Bryant's potential to break a long punt return and you have a solid case for an elite fantasy defense.  They are probably sitting on the waiver wire right now.  Hey you, stop reading and pick them up.

One guy who might not be on the waiver wire anymore is Kevin Ogletree.  From a fan's perspective, all I can say is thank you as he was an integral part in beating the Giants.  He certainly has skills, but as I mentioned before, he was going up against 5th and 6th string cornerbacks for the Giants.  He will not get that luxury every week.  Witten, Austin, and Bryant all made it through the game without aggravating their lingering off-season injuries, that we know of, which means they all should be at 100% next week.  Ogletree, like Cruz, got 11 targets but in the long run he is still 4th behind Witten, Ausitn, and Bryant.  This was more a product of bad defense than elite skill, sorry.  If you have an open roster spot or Mark Sanchez, then pick this guy up as a wait and see type player, otherwise don't worry about the potential mad scramble to scoop him up.

Demarco Murray was another bright spot for the Cowboys as he racked up 131 rushing yards including a memorable 48 yard scamper where he bounced off players and changed directions, making Giants players miss him left and right.  Only bad part was he cut inside when he could have had a TD if he kept on the sidelines.  He struggled in the first half as the Cowboys pretty much abandoned the run for a stretch, but eventually wore down the Giants' defense to allow for some decent gains.  One thing I liked seeing was he was running through players and not shying away from contact.  It got him a few extra yards here and there on some plays and shows he is not concerned about his injury plagued past.

Lastly, the Cowboys passing game looked sharp.  Romo put up numbers although I felt he checked down to quickly.  Not saying checking down is a bad thing, but with receivers like Austin and Bryant who can make something special happen, I would like to see him key on them longer.  For instance, Romo's TD pass to Austin was not the safest of all balls.  There were two defenders there, but Austin made an adjustment, caught it at its highest point, then ran in for the score.  All three should be in all league's starting lineups with Bryant having more risk, but also more upside given his freakish athleticism.

Matty O