There's nothing like silencing a bitter enemy with a well placed victory.
The New York Giants face the Dallas Cowboys in the kick-off to the 2012/2013 NFL season. The Giants earned this home opener by virtue of their second championship in four years, defeating the New England Patriots in both - the same Pats that have bedeviled the New York Jets for years. With the exception of the one great Jet moment in the last 30 or so years, a playoff victory at Foxboro a couple of years ago, Gang Green has yapped and yapped, and lost and lost to their rivals.
Apparently, the Cowboys haven't been paying attention.
Led by one of those owners who somehow doesn't seem to understand they are an utter impediment to success - New York Knick owner James Dolan comes to mind as another - Jerry Jones continues to publicly poke the Giants, indicating his Cowboys are poised to conquer their nemesis. Other Cowboys have stood up to declare superiority.
Why? Why continue to provide the Giants with additional motivation, especially when they've dominated the Cowboys over the last several years. What is the possible benefit? You wonder about people like Jerry Jones and Rex Ryan who, even in the face of total humiliation, continue to lift their respective teams onto pedestals built on balsa wood.
The Cowboys do field a very good football team. Unfortunately for them, everything they do well the Giants do better. On most Sundays, the 'Boys will have the advantage at quarterback with Tony Romo, but when they play the Giants and Eli Manning, he's the second-best signal caller on the field. The Cowboys like to rush the passer with Demarcus Ware and others, and are quite proficient in this area. When they play the Giants, well, let's just say they're a distant second.
The Cowboys had their chance last year when the Giants were beset with injuries, and frittered away chance after chance to put them away. This year, the Giants appear healthy so far - which simply means the Cowboys won't be. Giants 31-14.
Glenn Vallach has been a football fan for most of his lifetime, but never played organized pigskin unless you consider the thousands of youth hours running slant routes on city streets with a friend serving as Joe Willie. Don Maynard was his idol, an adulation he took seriously, complete with a number 13 stitched to his sweatshirt. He remains a New York Jet fan through so much disappointment and embarrassment over the years. Coach Rex Ryan has rekindled a dormant fire, but sometimes he feels as if he doesn't understand the likely end result of all his efforts. It has been 42 years, after all.
Sources:
- Yahoo! Sports New York Jets page
- Yahoo! Sports New York Giants page
- Yahoo! Sports Eli Manning page
- Yahoo! Sports Tony Romo page
- Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press, Cowboys' new OL together for 1st time vs. Giants
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