Welcome to this week’s edition of Martin’s 5!
The Dallas Cowboys are on an impressive 11 game winning streak, with the hope that streak continues this week against the only team that has beaten them this year, the New York Giants.
The Cowboys and Giants games normally come down to the very end and it is always an entertaining matchup to watch.
These two teams know each other extremely well, but they have both changed over the course of the season since they last saw each other in the season opener.
The Giants may have the home field advantage, but the weather conditions will effect both teams equally. The team that better handles these conditions will likely be the one that comes out on top when time expires.
The Giants need to win this game to hopefully keep their postseason hopes alive, but this is a revenge game in every sense the word for the Dallas Cowboys.
Having said all that, there are still a lot of things I’m wondering about heading into this week’s matchup, which is why I started Martin’s 5 to begin with.
Below are the five things I’m wondering about this week.
One: Last week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings was a tough game to watch, but there was one player in particular that caught my attention by rising to the occasion when the team needed him the most, Anthony Hitchens. Hitchens has been a solid player during his short tenure in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, but really stood out against the Vikings last Thursday. He finished the game with 10 combined tackles, a quarterback sack, and one pass defensed that should have been an interception if not for a questionable penalty that overturned the play. Hitchens played like he had a fire lit under him the entire game, and it got me to wondering if this is the type of player will see more of in the future? The Cowboys defense can use all of the turnovers they can get, so hopefully last Thursday wasn’t just a flash in the pan of the type of player Anthony Hitchens can become.
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Two: Randy Gregory hasn’t played a single snap so far this season, and no one really knows when/if he might be eligible to return to the field. The target date to return from his 10 game suspension was against the Detroit Lions in a few weeks, but he was supposed to be able to start practice with the Cowboys this week. The NFL informed the Cowboys that Gregory is in fact not allowed to practice this week and to further complicate things, they still haven’t made it clear whether or not Randy Gregory will be slapped with a year-long suspension for supposedly failing yet another drug test. I wonder what the holdup is here? If Gregory has indeed failed another drug test, then why not go ahead and let the Dallas Cowboys know what’s going on so they could come up with some kind of game plan? I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on, but I think we should know something by the time the Cowboys are set to face off against the Lions in a few weeks.
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Three: This is not same offense for the Cowboys that the New York Giants saw back in Week 1. Unfortunately, the Cowboys offensive line and Ezekiel Elliott didn’t really get a good chance to get a feel for one another, but that’s not the case anymore. We just witnessed Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell rush for over 100 yards against the Giants defense last Sunday and I don’t see any reason why Ezekiel Elliott won’t be able to do the same. I do however wonder if offensive coordinator Scott Linehan will use Elliott more in the receiving game like the Steelers did with Bell last week? Now, it’s just my opinion, but I think Elliott is just as good as a receiving threat out of the backfield as Bell. But, he just hasn’t been used in that type of role yet on a consistent basis this season for some reason. Maybe that changes against the Giants.
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Four: It was really surprising to learn yesterday that Jason Pierre-Paul had surgery to help fix a torn muscle and will miss up to six weeks. I wonder how much the offensive game plan changes now that he is out of the lineup for the Giants defense? JPP was finally getting back to his old self after injuring his hand in a firework accident and was on a tear these last several weeks. His absence will surely be missed for the Giants defense. His length, speed, and athleticism made him a force to be reckoned with down after down in both the passing and running game. It will be interesting to see if the offensive game plan will attack the side where JPP would normally be or whether or not anything will change it all.
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Five: The Dallas Cowboys have already locked up a spot in the playoffs and could win the division this week with a win over the New York Giants. With a win and a loss by both the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks, the Cowboys will also secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. I wonder if that scenario plays out, if we will see Tony Romo start or at least get a good amount of playing time in some of these last few games? Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that Romo be reinserted as a starting QB permanently. But, it would be good for him to get in there and knock off some of the rest just in case he is needed for some reason.
Is there anything that you are wondering about this week?
Please for free to use the comment section below to share with all of us anything you might have stuck in your head this week.
With JP out you’ll see the o-line able to concentrate double teams, if needed, on other pass rushers. Randy Gregory tho, I don’t know about that cat, one hall of famer already gave up on him. NFL is a hot mess and appears to not have it together. Hopefully Hitchens trends upward, that defense needs some stars. I’m concerned how they’ll hold up against OBJ without Claiborne, Carr is overmatched against him. Hopefully Carr is experienced enough to keep him in front. I can’t get over Jerry Jones constantly in the news running his mouth about some fantasy in his mind concerning Tony Romo coming to the rescue when Dak goes down, and let me assure you JJ’s words aren’t minced. He sees it, he believes it and if he could he’d make it so. Damage control needs to slap a lock on that incredibly talkative, karma testing, inventive mouth of Jones. Everyone offers the excuse that Jones keeps getting asked about Romo, well that may be but it should be controlled by the person being asked., like Bellichek, do you think he’d rant about a backup qb like Jones does, no way. To me on the outside looking in its a terrible look and it’s obvious Jones doesn’t want Dak running the team and if I was Dak I’d have a long memory come contract time. I understand Romo is no ordinary backup but he still is the backup and that can’t be front page news at the expense of a young qb that needs encouragement, not hearing the owner talking about getting Tony in there when Dak goes down, it’s ridiculous. Go Cowboys #Dak4MVP #Zeke4ROY
Gbear, like you, I’m getting a little tired of hearing Jerry Jones talk as well. I think it’s kind of a defense mechanism since he is starting to be kind of phased out in the decision-making process. I have honestly started to ignore the majority of what Jerry Jones says.