This isn't about liking or disliking either team. - Edit 1
Before modification by Joel at 18/01/2010 02:29:35 AM
I happen to like them both, and it's not my fault the Giants only had one good (wildcard) season in them. You can't go by Divisional games most of the time anyway; Denver beat SD on the road, but I'm pretty sure I know who's the better team. Not that any of those three teams are especially relevant to the Vikings or Cowboys now.
Call a gynocologist! We have a severe case of sand in a vagina, STAT! What's that? They're all treating Keith Brooking? Okay, never mind.
Yeah, yeah, Vince, "losers get frostbite. " This is why we miss Landry, who knew how to win without being a
about it.
Honestly? That's pretty weak, especially given the amount of verbiage (I think you've officially claimed the crown there, but it was hard fought until I got a job.
) If the Cowboys have no dignity, what does that say about the rest of the NFLs toughest Division...? Just a reminder: The Giants finished third. 
Their responsibility to the fans is to put the best team on the field over the next three weeks, and that TD pass jeopardized that goal while contributing nothing.
Percentage wise, any given team on any given Sunday, the pass was the worst choice to kill the clock--which is precisely the point: They only did it because they knew they could get away with it, score an easy 6 on a much weaker team. If they'd actually had any respect left for Dallas they wouldn't have taken that kind of risk. You kick the FG because then even if they SOMEHOW manage to get the ball back and score three TDs, they still need all three two point conversions just to tie. A FG essentially makes it a four score game just as effectively as the TD, but with a lot less risk. You don't take risks against a team you think can still beat you unless you MUST (which is why Romo threw that pick at the end. )
To be fair, it did seem like the Cowboys inexplicably lost interest in the fourth quarter. Maybe it was the extra week, or just chasing Minnesota all over the field for two and a half hours, but the team that gave up 17 points in the fourth quarter was very different from the one that only gave up 14 in the other three. I don't think they quit (exactly) just ran out of gas against a much better team. It took all they had to stay in that game for three quarters, and by the end there was just nothing left.
And you can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I'll say that. I couldn't really pick a winner, since the only two teams I still care about were playing each other, but that last TD pass was running up the score, plain and simple.
Call a gynocologist! We have a severe case of sand in a vagina, STAT! What's that? They're all treating Keith Brooking? Okay, never mind.
Yeah, yeah, Vince, "losers get frostbite. " This is why we miss Landry, who knew how to win without being a
about it. You're up by 24 points, the Cowboys have only managed ONE FIELD GOAL in the whole game and you've got the ball at their 20 with <5:00 in the game. Since points don't carry over to next week, there's not a helluva lot of difference between 27-3 and 34-3, except the latter removes any shred of dignity the Cowboys retained.
As the only team in the playoffs to TWICE fail to beat the NY Giants, they have no dignity. And who says points don't? It's probably not a coincidence that they went for the exact margin of victory needed to equal next week's opponent. They are going to have to travel and play in a noisy dome, against a team that has been the darlings of the media & bandwagon fans all season. Now Childress can tell his players "Hey, we ALSO won by 31 points! We are just as capable as they, and we did it against a better opponent than they did!" By showing that they can rack them up also, it nuetralizes any intimidation factor New Orleans might possess.And since this was their last game in front of their hometown fans, I think it admirable that they played football all the way to the end, and gave them a show, rather than an excuse to hit the parking lot with ten minutes left in regulation. Their responsibility to their fans supercedes anything they might owe to a bunch of little snivelers who, after all, could have prevented the alleged "running-up" by playing better.
Honestly? That's pretty weak, especially given the amount of verbiage (I think you've officially claimed the crown there, but it was hard fought until I got a job.
) If the Cowboys have no dignity, what does that say about the rest of the NFLs toughest Division...? Just a reminder: The Giants finished third. Their responsibility to the fans is to put the best team on the field over the next three weeks, and that TD pass jeopardized that goal while contributing nothing.
Twenty yard TD pass; what if it's picked off, run back for a TD, onside kick recovery and another TD? Suddenly it's a 7 point game again. What if Jay Ratliff (who's had a great year at NT; two seasons ago I was sure he was hopeless) sacks Favre and breaks his arm? Run it up the gut (with your third string back) and kick your stupid field goal.
And what if a lineman (far more crucial to offensive performance than the QB) gets hurt on the pileup on the attempt? What if the RB (he's probably 3rd string for a good reason) fumbles? What if the field goal is blocked? So how is keeping the ball away from the Cowboys, rolling over and not actually playing football, upholding their dignity? According to you, they done the Cowboys wrong by...giving them a chance to win? That was YOUR judgment of their actions - they were stupid because they gave Dallas a chance, and they humiliated Dallas by giving them that chance? Maybe they simply have been reading the worshipful press Dallas has been receiving and did not think a mere 24 point lead was enough to get cocky against the tough defense and explosive offense of America's Team.Anyway, it's not their fault if the Cowgirls ran out of field for the Vikings to chew up. They didn't leave them a lot of room to run down the clock much more. Why should they have gone for the field goal? How is that not running up the score too? All the Cowgirls had to do was tackle a 40-year old before he could throw, or, you know, cover someone, and there would have been NO increase in the score. Percentage wise, the best chance of keeping the score down at that point was what Minnesota did. As for the passes that got them to that point, first downs are the best way by far to run out the clock. A first down will waste a lot more clock than any running-up-the-middle play.
Percentage wise, any given team on any given Sunday, the pass was the worst choice to kill the clock--which is precisely the point: They only did it because they knew they could get away with it, score an easy 6 on a much weaker team. If they'd actually had any respect left for Dallas they wouldn't have taken that kind of risk. You kick the FG because then even if they SOMEHOW manage to get the ball back and score three TDs, they still need all three two point conversions just to tie. A FG essentially makes it a four score game just as effectively as the TD, but with a lot less risk. You don't take risks against a team you think can still beat you unless you MUST (which is why Romo threw that pick at the end. )
That said, I'm down to my last team: Go, Vikings! I'm rooting for Favre; htf did this happen?!!! 
I just hope they run away with the next two games, because I know what Favre does when the game's tight and he has the ball. 
The same sort of thing Tony Homo does, no? Fumble a hold, throw an interception in the end zone, that kind of thing? I just hope they run away with the next two games, because I know what Favre does when the game's tight and he has the ball. Also, I truly hate the sound of Phil Simms' voice. And I'm obliged to say: IMHO, Romo never choked as I kept expecting, not even at the end; his team just got outplayed.
Wow, that's a generous assessment - three turnovers in a playoff game is "not choking"? They hung in there, but by the fourth quarter the D was tired and the offense was running out of time, and that's when the Vikes sealed the deal.
Finally: If the Jets hold on to win this, Wade Phillips may not be the only ex-Cowboys coach looking for a job Monday (just the only one with a winning career record. )
)EDIT: Oh, and remember who gave Indy their first loss? Personally, I expect the Colts to make that their battle cry this week. Great, now Jim Nantz is quoting me five minutes later; good to know there's someone to replace Madden.
It's easy to win when you're the only team trying.
To be fair, it did seem like the Cowboys inexplicably lost interest in the fourth quarter. Maybe it was the extra week, or just chasing Minnesota all over the field for two and a half hours, but the team that gave up 17 points in the fourth quarter was very different from the one that only gave up 14 in the other three. I don't think they quit (exactly) just ran out of gas against a much better team. It took all they had to stay in that game for three quarters, and by the end there was just nothing left.