NFC BEAST Part III: COWBOYS

Next up, the Dallas Cowboys, otherwise known as "America's Team."  Being a giants fan I naturally hate division rivals but #1 on that list would have to be the Dallas Cowboys.  The battles that the Giants and Cowboys had in recent years have been physical, exciting, and downright insane.  Watching these two division foes go at it when both teams have been playing at a very level and witnessing the physicality and competitive nature can't get any better for a football fan.  

The Dallas Cowboys were Super Bowl favorites going into this season but things have drastically changed.  The Cowboys are barely over .500 with a 5-4 record and third place in their own division.  The oh-so glamorous Cowboys have looked terrible as of late without their star QB Tony Romo due to an injured pinky on the throwing hand.  Although losing Romo as of late has shown how important he is to that offense, he can't be the blame for all their problems.  The Cowboys Defense have had many problems including stopping the run, pass coverage and giving up too many touchdowns.  To their credit they've shown signs of their potential in 2 of the last 3 games but looked awful in their last game against the G-Men.  

Despite my love for the Giants and hate for the Cowboys, I think the Cowboys are going to make a nice 2nd half run, regaining their breath and probably Tony Romo during their bye week (I really hated saying that).  It won't be easy though as they have a few very tough games remaining with all three division rivals (2 on the road), and a very strong Pittsburgh Steelers team on the road.  I think these Cowboys are going to rally around their QB and play with a sense of urgency that they didn't have in the first half of the season.  I think they'll go 5 - 2 the rest of the way giving them a 10-6 record, making the playoffs as a wild card.  I really hope I'm wrong.  We'll have to wait and see what happens but one thing is for certain, it will be interesting and will be getting paid a lot of attention to.