There’s not a whole lot left to say about this game. We’ve had an interesting week going into this playoff game. The Tony Romo/Jessica Simpson love affair certainly dominated the news cycles this week. But at this point, there’s nothing left to be said about that. So just enjoy this video to put it all in perspective. Or for more perspective, watch my main man Shango do his Chris Crocker meltdown parody (language warning) of ESPN’s treatment of Romo. You got courage, Shango! Between those two videos, I think we’ll put this subject behind us.
The other big story was the health of T.O.’s ankle. All week long we listened to Wade Phillips downplay T.O. playing in this game, even though we all pretty much knew he would. Then yesterday he got backup from Jerry Jones who made sure that everyone knew the decision was in doubt and that it was going to be a close call at gametime. Yeah, like we all bought that one, including the Giants.
"He's going to play," Strahan said Thursday. "I mean, come on. I have a bridge in Brooklyn. Do you want to buy that sucker if you believe he's not going to play? The guy came out there three days after breaking a leg and played in the Super Bowl. He sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber like Michael Jackson. This guy is going to play in the game."
Well, last night on NFL Total Access T.O. ended all the speculation about whether he’s playing or not just hours after both Jerry and Wade had continued to sell the snake oil to the press.
"I'm going to play," the Cowboys receiver told the NFL Network's Deion Sanders, who asked what level Owens will play at.
"At a high level. I'm not worried about nothing," Owens responded before adding his trademark line, "Get your popcorn ready."
This morning, Wade held a short press conference where he was left with nothing else but to finally admit the truth, even though he still tried to hedge. This is a paraphrase of what he said:
T.O. said he’ll play, I believe him. To what degree or what level, we’ll see. Unless something happens between now and the game, he’ll play, and we’ll let him. Terry Glenn is similar, what level they can play at is a question, but they’ll probably be out there.
When asked if either will start:
I’d imagine if T.O. feels OK, he’ll start. Terry we’ll probably work in.
So there you have it, the last little piece of mystery is sucked out of the game and now it’s all about executing on the field.
Nick Folk got a little love today in the DMN. He also shared his philosophy on kicking, but it’s equally applicable to all those pundits picking the Giants this week.
"As long as I don't think, I'm usually OK," the rookie kicker said.
Ha! Usually being the key word, because this week the pundits are in for a pounding along with the Giants. Even if the Giants are playing the ‘no respect’ card.