Thanksgiving!

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010112500/2010/REG12/patriots@lions#recap-channels:cat-post-recap-full-story

I woke up on thanksgiving to the sweet smell of holidays and impending laziness. Conveniently, the New England Patriots vs. The Detroit Lions game was about to begin. The first half of this game was completely unexpected. At the beginning of the game, the Patriots enjoyed a 8-2 record while the Lions were suffering with a 2-8 record (2-9, now- haha). However, I believe that America was fully expecting to see a complete shutout. This was not the case with this game. The Lions came into that field looking stronger than this nation has seen them in seasons and limiting the Patriots’ offense’s progress severely. The Lions were, in fact, ahead by the half-time show. It was a first half filled with beautiful plays by the part of the Lions. They were calm and patient with the ball; they were doing everything right. They, however, lost their momentum over the halftime break. The Lions Defense allowed over 20 points in the second half while their offense was almost completely shut down.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010112501/2010/REG12/saints@cowboys#recap-channels:cat-post-recap-full-story

The second game came after the Thanksgiving dinner, and I might have dozed off from a turkey-induced coma for a few minutes. However, this was another exciting game. The Cowboys are a completely different team under Jason Garret. This game was a lot closer than the one that had been playing earlier, too. Kitna was looking great out there, and so was the Cowboys defense after a rocky start. This game ended as it began, though…unexpectedly. Towards the end of the 4^th, I could have almost said with certainty that the cowboys would take the victory. However, an unexpected turnover from a play that should have resulted in a touchdown put the Saints in a position to take the lead very late in the 4^th. The Cowboys simply did not have time to close the gap again to send the game into overtime.

There is nothing like a Thanksgiving of great food and superb Football. These two games certainly brought an unexpected level of excitement to an otherwise relaxing Thanksgiving. It was a shame to see the Lions lose after working so hard the first quarter, though.

Giants Lose NFC East Leadership- Perhaps a Blessing in Disguise

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010112113/2010/REG11/giants@eagles

After enjoying the number one spot of the NFC East for a while, The Giants have been brought down to second place by the Eagles. The game was a very physical confrontation as both sides knew how important this game was. It’s important to note that while the giants allowed 27 points, the loss is not on them. NYG defense played a spectacular game and punished Michael Vick in ways that he has not been so far this season; however, Eli’s two turnovers were devastating.

It would be easy to blame Eli manning for the loss seeing as he had an interception that was returned for a touchdown and then he gave up the ball at the last minute after running for a first down. He should have slid after earning the first down. He was cocky, however, and continued to run, doing a half-slide half-dive that was too ambiguous to call the play dead…he lost the ball in the process while the giants trailed by 7. That was the Giant’s last chance to either send the game into overtime or win it with a two point conversion after a touchdown.

The Giants’ offense was relatively unhealthy coming in to this game. The offensive line was missing a few key players and Steve Smith was out of the game- Smith being a weapon that would have proved useful against the Eagles. This loss will hopefully put the Giants’ heads into perspective. They definitely looked better than last week against the Cowboys, who are now undefeated with their new head coach. Here’s to hoping they improve further for next week.

:(

It’s no secret that I’m a New York Giants fan. As you may imagine, I was very disappointed earlier at their defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants have been one of the top teams this season and the Cowboys one of the worst. This game was not horribly important, however. Yes, it would have been great to have that buffer lead on the Eagles for the NFC East. However, the Eagles still have to play the Redskins in Monday Night Football. If they manage to win, they will have tied the giants at 6-3; however, the two teams face off the following week. I’m not too worried about the result of that game, though I may become a bit anxious if the Eagles perform well against the ‘skins.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/11/14/1814189/jason-garrett-and-the-dallas-cowboys-turn-lights-out-on-giants-33-20

Cowboys fans, as expected are loving what happened. However, the chances for the Cowboys to make the Superbowl are slim.

Cowboys "Officially" Out After Another Humiliating Defeat

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/11/7/1800487/45-7-cowboys-humiliated-please-jerry-jones-do-something

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/11/8/1800698/cowboys-2011-offseason-begins-today-what-would-jimmy-do

By all intents and purposes, the Cowboys (now 1-7) are officially out of the picture this season. The 45-7 embarrassment brought down upon them by the Green Bay Packers made it absolutely clear that this team will not be in the post-season even with the aid of a deity or two. The writer of the first article I’ve linked here suggests that it was the defeat at the hands of the New York Giants that finally crippled the team completely. However, I believe the Cowboys already had a record of 1-4 by the time both teams faced each other, so I’m not willing to agree with him. A better analogy of one loss completely destroying a team would be the New Orleans Saints against the New York Giants last year. Both teams were undefeated by the time of the game (4-0 or 5-0), but the Giants got embarrassed. I don’t remember the score of that game but I do remember that it was something shameful with the Giants giving up over 30 points.

The Cowboys have a habit of disappointing their fans. So deeply-rooted is this reputation that one of the most hardcore Cowboys fans I have ever met told me that he was happy the other week. He said he was glad they were coming to an early end this season because he would not be getting his hopes up for a Superbowl run. Weird- I would be quite depressed, just as I was last year after the Saints crippled the Giants.

Cowboys Out

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/11/1/1785442/doink-cowboys-hit-themselves-in-the-head-again

This season, like every other season, the Cowboys are disappointing their fans. However, this season is special. As of week 8, the Cowboys are officially one of the worst teams in the NFL. That shows the unpredictability of the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs are leading their division with a comfortable lead; the Cowboys, supposedly Superbowl contenders, trail dead-last in the NFC East with a 1-6 record; the Bears led their division for almost half of the regular season; people are starting to wonder if there is anything that can discourage Brett Favre from starting in 300 consecutive games. To be fair, though, that last one is not exactly “unpredictable;” in fact, Favre getting banged up is starting to become a common weekly ritual. He has been playing every game with at least two injuries.

The disgruntled fan who wrote the article did his best to not blame Kitna for the Cowboys’ embarrassment to the Jaguars. It is true that this loss can be attributed mostly to the Cowboys’ defense. He, however, is overlooking a very important fact- Kitna ran into the Cowboys’ RB, preventing an almost-certain touchdown run. Romo will not be playing for the majority of the regular season, and it’s safe to assume that the Cowboys will not make it to the playoffs this year. Only the most delusional fans still believe there is some hope, but the truth is that we are going to have to wait until next year to see if the Cowboys can get their act together.