Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Gearing Up For The Giants

Report: Cowboys To Change Play-Calling Routine On Sidelines For Giants Game - Blogging The Boys
Jason Garrett didn't grab the play-calling duties back from Bill Callahan, but he definitely inserted himself into the process if recent reports prove to be true.

Jason Garrett makes the right move - Calvin Watkins, ESPN Dallas
Watkins calls the playcalling changes a "positive move for Garrett" because it gives him more control over the struggling offense.

The one constant with the Cowboys' offense has been Garrett these last few years. Now Callahan has taken over and we've seen a franchise-low for rushing attempts, a sideline rant by Dez Bryant, a lack of touches for Jason Witten and while we do have Romo throwing just six interceptions, the Cowboys are in second-place in the NFC East.

NFL Breakdown: Favored Giants can't be trusted - Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Giants’ four-game win streak has not impressed many people, including handicapper Doug Fitz (Systemplays.com).

"The Giants greatly benefitted [sic] by facing what essentially were backup quarterbacks in each of those four games, and that’s certainly not the case with the Cowboys," said Fitz, the leader in the Review-Journal NFL Challenge with a 32-21-2 record against the spread. "I think the wrong team opened as the favorite."

"The Cowboys have the worst defense in the league, which would normally take me off of them in most circumstances, but they are facing Manning and the 23rd-ranked offense," Fitz said. "Neither team can run the ball, so I’m counting on the Dallas defense to be good enough to stop one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks."

Dallas Cowboys run D to be tested too - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
The Giants are ranked 30th in the league with just 3.2 yards per attempt, but the Cowboys have had trouble stopping anybody on the ground, ranking last in the league with 4.9 yards allowed per attempt. Over their last four games, the Giants have rediscovered their ground game, running the ball 31, 32, 38, and 24 times. The Cowboys have to find a way to stop the run, or the Giants could play-action the Cowboys all day long.

Cowboys spent bye thinking of ways to get Bryant, other receivers the ball, but don't want to 'reinvent the wheel' - Carlos Mendez, Star-Telegram
The return of Miles Austin is is going to help the passing game, Bill Callahan said, as Austin gives the Cowboys a lot of flexibility with personnel groupings. Something they need if they want to get receivers open more consistently.

"We’ve taken the bye week and spent a lot of time trying to position guys in different locations and spots," Callahan said. "We’re anxious to get going and see what it looks like."

Scout’s Notebook: Overcoming LB Issues - Bryan Broaddus, DallasCowboys.com
Broaddus recalls a formation the Cardinals once played called the "Big Nickel," which featured five DBs with one safety playing as a linebacker. Broaddus suggests the Cowboys could play in a similar formation:

In just looking at the bodies that Monte Kiffin has, there is a way that he could play his own version of this defense by using Barry Church as that linebacker, with Jeff Heath and J.J. Wilcox as the safeties. Morris Claiborne, Orlando Scandrick and Brandon Carr can matchup up with the receivers and Church would be in position to handle the run but also play the pass underneath with Ernie Sims or Bruce Carter.

Jason Hatcher on the Giants' comments: 'We're not the talk-mess kind of team' - Carlos Mendez, Star-Telegram
Giants players have decided to spam the airwaves with their pre-game comments. The Cowboys players are not creating any type of noise, DT Jason Hatcher said:

"We’re not the talk-mess kind of team. We just kept class, go in there and play football and come out. That’s all we do. We don’t talk noise. We’ll leave that to other teams. Let them talk all the noise they want to."

Dallas Cowboys' Terrance Williams is quiet, but his work ethic says everything - Barry Horn, DMN
Horn delivers a very nice, in-depth profile of Terrance Williams, detailing his path from high school to the Cowboys. Well worth your time on this lazy Sunday morning.

Dallas Cowboys' Barry Church remembers Giants passing game - Calvin Watkins, ESPN Dallas
Church is encouraged by the return of Morris Claiborne and J.J. Wilcox, but says the Cowboys can'r repeat their Week 1 performance on defense if they want to win.

"We got a good game plan for them," Church said. "We're going to let our corners play and choke them out and get down in their face and hopefully we’ll have a better outcome than we did in the first week when they put 450 on us."

Dove’s 2014 Mock Draft: 2.0 - Draft Insider
Jon Dove’s second mock draft of the season looks at how the first two rounds of the 2014 NFL Draft could shake out. He has the Cowboys going for a one-two-punch at DE and DT.

Weather for Giants-Cowboys? Cold, but not exactly frightful - Big Blue View
Ed Valentine gives us the lowdown for the weather expected this afternoon in East Rutherford, N.J.

It is not supposed to snow in East Rutherford on Sunday. It is supposed to be miserable, however. The high temperature for the day is likely to reach only the low 30s, and will likely settle somewhere in the 20s with kickoff at 4:25 p.m. ET. There is only a slight chance of precipitation. Winds are expected to gust anywhere from 15 to 20 miles per hour.

Cowboys See a Chance to Move Past Troubles - NYTimes.com
Jason Witten speaks to the Cowboys' state of mind as they stand at 5-5 and face a six-game run at the end of which they hope to be better than their 8-8 records of the last two seasons.

"You don’t just forget about everything that happened," Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said. "Trust me, there’s been a lot of work and sweat and blood poured out there. I don’t think you wipe it, clean slate. But there’s a mind-set of a one-game season for six times. That’s the approach you have to have."

"You get to Sunday, your focus is simply on the ballgame and making plays. We’ve got to find ways to make those plays against a good opponent, against a good defense. And we can’t say after that game how we came up short again."

New York Giants face must-win game against rested Dallas Cowboys in fight for NFC East - National Post
A loss today would would give the Giants seven losses, which probably isn't good enough to make the playoffs as a wild card. Effectively, the Giants will have to win every single one of their remaining games to make the playoffs.

Giants expecting different result against Dallas with revamped team - New York Post
Roughly 20 percent of the Giants' roster has been replaced, since their loss in the season opener against the Cowboys, and the Giants believe they have not changed for the worse, despite restocking their player personnel with guys who "weren't getting tryouts anywhere else" or "seemed like damaged goods."

RGIII should shut up because we can't seem to - SBNation.com
Last year, RGIII was a rookie sensation and a media darling. This year, he's a magnet for hot takes from a media drawn to controversy. What happened in between?

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