There's no way the Cowboys can come into Giants Stadium and get a win

In an article that appeared at the Fort Worth Star Telegram site (http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/16088631.htm) on Thursday, Randy Galloway reports Jeremy Shockey has made a declaration to Ed Werder of ESPN.

(quoting Randy Galloway) "There's no way the Cowboys can come into Giants Stadium and get a win."

It's simply not possible.

Parcells, upon hearing about Shockey's pompous statement said, "I need that Shockey tape from this week. I need it in my hands." Delivery was promised to be forthcoming.

While most of the buzz on the Giants fan websites has mostly been about Tiki Barber's statements about the team being outcoached in their last outings, little has been said about Shockey's statement. Expect to hear much more about this proclamation in Dallas in the coming week. The Cowboys players got an early Christmas present when Coach Parcells sent them home for a much-welcomed three day rest. Practice resumes Tuesday. Parcells himself said "I just need a break." Shockey's remark should become a major topic of conversation beginning Tuesday morning.

So let's dissect Shockey's statement for a moment. First of all, let's look at "no way". This indicates it's completely and utterly outside of the realm of possibility for this to happen. No way. Period. Even the most ludicrous fan shouldn't expect the impossible to occur.

Then the limiting factor of the statement, "come into Giants Stadium and get a win". This implies that the Cowboys cannot, regardless of how good the Cowboys play or how badly the Giants play, expect to win. If the Cowboys merely show up for the game, they lose. It's beyond possibility for the Cowboys to win a game in Giants Stadium.

What does history say about this? The last time the Cowboys won in Giants Stadium was in 2003, when the Cowboys finished 10-6 before losing to the Panthers in postseason. That win in Giants Stadium in 2003 was led by the mighty Quincy Carter, who struck fear into the hearts of opponents with his rocket release and mind blowing accuracy. (translate: the Cowboys barely beat the Giants that day (35-32) and won in spite of Carter). But it was a win. That 2003 Cowboys team couldn't stay on the same field with the 2006 Cowboys and Carter couldn't stay in the same state with Tony Romo.

The Giants do have the edge so far this millenium. But this includes the Campo years (three 5-11 seasons in a row), Parcells first year where he made very few personnel changes and the "QOTD" years (quarterback of the day) when the Cowboys tried several guys at the quarterback position. With only 5 games into the Romo experiment, we still don't know if those QOTD years have ended, but the outlook is very bright at this point. The Cowboys team that Jeremy Shockey last faced on the field is not the same one that will show up for the NFC East matchup at Giants Stadium. Perhaps that's where he's confused. He's comparing this team to the one from a month ago.

Now, we have an added factor that simply must be considered in the face of Shockey's declaration. The Cowboys played Tampa Bay on Thanksgiving Day. It was ugly. For Tampa Bay. The Cowboys now have a 10 day break before stepping on the field for another game. Aches and pains get some well deserved rest. Coaches get to clear their minds and prepare a plan for the ensuing battle. And other than the season ending injury to Greg Ellis, no major contributor on the Cowboys team is injured. The Giants, on the other hand, have several major players that are out or questionable. And the Cowboys historically have been hard to beat after their 10 day post-Thanksgiving break. And the Cowboys aren't in the middle of a controversy (Barber's "outcoached" remarks) at the moment. (Of course, that could change, but let's all just knock on wood and move forward.)

No way. . .

Perhaps Roy Williams and Demarcus Ware should deliver a few clues why No-Way Shockey's (remember that name and use it often this next week) declaration might be somewhat flawed in fact. Expect the Dallas defense to step up the pressure on the struggling Eli Manning. Expect Shockey to get "special" attention. I fully expected TO to have a breakout game on Thanksgiving and while he had an excellent game, it wasn't quite what I expected. In this game, expect TO and Terry Glenn to have big days. Romo will be a bit more rushed than he has been in his previous games, but he won't be the same QB in this game that he was coming into the 2nd half of the last Giants game. Expect him to get the ball out early and open up the running game with short quick, but successful passes. Then Barber and Jones can do their thing. The Giants aren't going to roll over and give this game to the Cowboys, and this game might very well come down to the foot of Wide-Right Vanderjagt. Let's hope this doesn't happen. If the offensive line does its job, Romo will do his. I believe the defense can handle the Giants offense.

Cowboys win this one and take sole control over the NFC East.