When Genius Failed........

Tonight's NFL contest features two bitter divisional foes on opposite sides of the spectrum. When the 4-2 Giants visit the 1-4 Cowboys, Dallas will try to circle the wagons in an effort to save their season, similar to what the Giants did three weeks ago at home against the Bears. However, Dallas faces a far more formidable task than what the Giants had to deal with.

The Giants strength(defensive pass rush) will present a major issue for Dallas and their weak offensive line. Couple that with Eli Manning leading an offense that has never had trouble putting up points in Dallas, whether it was at the old stadium or the current monstrosity known as Jerry's World(should be Wade's world but thats another story). Furthermore, looking at Dallas' struggles aganst the spread: 1-4 this season and 1-4 in their past 5 Monday Night games, there is little reason for Cowboy fans to be optimistic.

While the Giants have proven to be a "live dog" going 11-4 in their last 15 as a road underdog, this is still a flawed team. Despite three straight wins, the Giants have looked suspect at times, especially at the linebacker and special teams positions. That said, all the pressure is on the Cowboys who are at home and playing in a must win game. Although my initial thought was:Dallas is too talented to lose another home game and fall completely out of the playoff picture, the 3.5 spread is cause for concern. The prevailing sentiment outside of New York is that the Cowboys will win this game because they have to. This is failed logic.

After running through all the numbers and breaking down historical data, this game is a toss up. I lean Cowboys based on situational trends but believe the Giants have a favorable matchup. As a result, for tonight's release I am taking the over 44.5 points. Every possible scenario leads me to the same conclusion: points will be scored.

While this weekends games were perplexing to say the least,there was one constant trend that remained firmly intact. After dominating the Patriots in terms of: yeards gained, time of possession,etc. the Chargers still found a way to lose another game they should have won. Four turnovers (all in the first half), penalties, and bad coaching all led to another Chargers loss. The false start penalty which proceeded the missed field goal attempt at the end of regulation was vintage Norv Turner. Wadeface gets most of the attention for his team's lack of discipline but Norv has officially thrown down the gauntlet league wide to let everyone know that this NFL coaching version of the "dumboff" is far from over.