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Dallas kicks off, Cordle misses key block that would have sprung Wilson for a huge gain.

1- Same play from Super Bowl to Manningham for that big gain. Eli locked on to his target too long and did not see the more open receiver on his right side in single coverage. 3 men in pass routes. The play had no safety value for him to dump off to so he was forced to throw it. He threw into double coverage. Bennett was somewhat open and in good position, could have caught a pass if he led him. This one is on Eli.

2 -Bradshaw whiffed on a block. A man was WIDE open down the middle. It would have been a nice gain. Eli sacked, it was hard to tell but it looked like a penalty, Eli was hit high after the ball was away.

3 -Eli threw behind Cruz, that ball was pretty much uncatchable. Cruz used good technique and looked the ball into his hands it was just too far behind him.

4 –Punt by Giants- the team did not take good angles on the return. Some of the players should be moving more laterally instead of straight ahead to cut off the corner which Bryant was able to turn. Lucky Rivers got him out of bounds. Tryon missed the initial tackle it’s time for this player to be replaced.

5 -Run right down the middle off left side center (we used to call that a dive play) by Dallas which was stopped pretty well. Blackburn made the stop but was too high on the tackle, he’s not using proper technique and getting flattened. Gained 3 yards, should have been zero.

6 -Sack by Bernard, the back was late on help block.

7-Could have been a BIG gain, Jones was wide open Romo made poor throw.

8-Punt by Dallas-Stupid block behind the back penalty by Hosley, totally unnecessary the guy could not have made the tackle anyway and a rookie mental mistake.

9-Bradshaw runs wide left 2 yards, no hole, it looked like nobody blocked any Cowboys, although Bennett did a nice job blocking, he was the only one.

10-Pitch right side to Wilson, could have been a much bigger gain. Sorry to say Diehl just was tossed away and the player made the tackle with help from Lee. Boothe was supposed to block Lee but could not catch up to him.

11-Nice throw by Eli to Cruz for big gain. Dallas was late on coverage. This was the same pass as the first play but it worked this time. Different formation, Eli was in the Shotgun, the Cowboys where fooled.

12-Short gain down the middle Eli to Bennett, they could have done this all game long and did not for some reason.

13-Penalty false start Cruz. Dumb, no excuse for it.

14-Another nice pitch and catch to Bennett.

15-Run off left tackle to Bradshaw, Bennett did not get a good block or it would have gained more yardage.

16-Throw to Nicks on left side for a first down. Team moving good and fast, in sync.

17-Run right Bradshaw off tackle poor blocking, Cowboys just discarded Diehl again to make tackle. Bennett did not hold block long enough too.

18-Bennett missed block on Lee and he made great play to knock ball out of Wilson’s hand.

19-Dallas ball, run down middle off left side, stopped by Bernard and Joseph.

20- Penalty, false start Dallas.

21-Short pass to Austin.

22-Short pass to Ogletree with a nice run and some YAC.

23-False start, Witten.

24-Nice looking draw play, Romo almost sold it as a pass, Rivers made the stop otherwise it would have been a big gain.

25-Nice pressure, Webster almost intercepted.

26-Again Ogletree with a nice short catch and some yardage, looks like Steve Smith used for the Giants on these routes.

27.4th down- Vickers stopped short, someone submarined everybody, JPP hit him high. Rolle came from the backend and helped with the stop, Giants take over.

28-Manning to Nicks for nice short gain, playing the same short passing game as the Cowboys. Bear ran into a Cowboy running his rout, that might have helped the play.

29-Short run by Bradshaw, he ran up Bennett’s back because Bennett did not kick his man out.

30-Draw play to Bradshaw. Nothing open he made yardage on his own with his signature move.

31-Short pass on right side to Cruz, poor snap by Baas, Eli picked it up and made the pass. Excellent catch by Cruz to the Dallas 41 yard line.

End of first quarter.

Both the Cowboys and Giants used simple slant passes to gain yardage. The Giants have no run game at all. Bennett is inconsistent as a blocker and the whole offensive line is poor. The worst is David Diehl, I know I have been harping on this and consistently saying it but the fact is the film don’t lie. I look at it over and over again to make sure I am seeing what I think I see and it is just a fact. Diehl has no functional strength anymore and is easily manhandled by any player. It was all preseason and now this game. Any second stringer from any team would be an improvement. Reese has to sign someone if Brewer can’t go, he would be an improvement if healthy.

So Far the best Offensive lineman has been Locklear. I hope Beatty is a go next game and Locklear can move to ROT, it would be a huge improvement. Booth also has been average as has Baas, Snee is just cutting it. Maybe if the tackles played better the interior would too. Bennett is a very good receiver but needs work on his blocking, he tries to use his size and not leverage.

As far as the defense goes they tried to attack Bernard and were not successful in the first quarter. Rivers played very well even on special teams. Blackburn was playing at an average level and really was not a factor. He did make a stop but Kiwi was right behind him and would have probably drove the runner back were as Blackburn got planted because of poor technique. His tackling was too high on the runner.

Bradshaw is an outstanding runner with great instincts. Cruz looked good so far and Nicks does not look 100% but played well enough, this is only the first quarter. The Dallas inside backers are fast. I looked at all their preseason games and they hid a lot of what they really do. But they are not that fast, the front seven are stout and hard to move out. The Giant offensive has no power, nobody is getting their man kicked out and getting into the second level.

Yet the Giants offense was moving the ball by mixing up their plays well and using the short pass to get yardage. Eli looked like he was starting to heat up and the defense held at a key time. I will do the next quarter as I review it so that’s coming as soon as I can.