And the Quest to Tampa Begins…

The preseason is over. No more meaningless exhibition games. Time for the real thing. And the real thing started off last night with the Giants beating the Deadskins 16-7. To tell you the truth, I was pretty impressed with the Giants…at least for the first half. I’ve never been terribly impressed with Eli. Other than the playoffs and the Super Bowl last year, he’s always looked somewhat average, maybe a little above. However, there were times last night where Eli looked like Peyton as he completed 19 of 35 for 216 yards and an interception and capped a game-opening 84-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. His main target was Plaxico Buress (who signed a 5 year contract extension before the game) who had 10 catches for 133 yards. Add to that Brandon Jacobs who had 21 carries for 116 yards and the Giants offense looked pretty potent.

I expected more from the Deadskins though. Washington only got in New York territory three times in the game, the last time in the final seconds and possessed the ball for less than 25 minutes. I don’t think they will even make the playoffs this year. However, I don’t really think they are as bad, defensively, as they played last night and I don’t think NY is as good, offensively, as they played last night. Probably somewhere in the middle. One thing’s for sure though…Washington left a lot to be desired, which is just fine with me.

Now, on to the game that matters (or at least matters more to me)…

Dallas and Cleveland face each other in their respective opening games on Sunday. It is the featured 3:15 game on Fox and the Browns fans, from what I hear, are already whipped into a frenzy over this one probably because Dallas is the visiting team but also because Cleveland has received quite a bit of preseason hype and is picked to win their division. Looking at their offense from last year, it’s easy to see why expectations are lofty for the Browns.

In 2007, Cleveland’s offense ranked eighth in total yards (351.3) and points (402) behind quarterback Derek Anderson, who came out of nowhere, passing for 3,787 yards and 29 TDs. Cleveland wanted to make sure Anderson didn’t get away so they signed him to a contract extension in the off season (which pretty much guarantees Brady Quinn will be traded at some point). Supporting Anderson, the Browns have a variety of offensive weapons to utilize in WR Braylon Edwards, RB Jamal Lewis and TE Kellen Winslow, Jr. In 2007, Edwards caught 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns; Lewis ran for 1304 yards and had 9 touchdowns; and Winslow caught 82 passes for 1106 yards and 5 touchdowns. Cleveland also added another potent WR in the off season in Donte’ Stallworth who was in integral cog in the New England juggernaut offense last year.

Dallas also knows how to score though. The Cowboy’s offense in 2007, ranked third in the league with 365.7 total yards per game, and second with 455 points. Romo, was third in the league with 4,211 passing yards and second with 36 touchdowns. Dallas also has 3 star performers in Terrell Owens who had 81 catches for 1355 yards and 15 touchdowns, RB Marion Barber who had 975 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns (in part time duty) and TE Jason Witten who had 96 catches for 1145 yards and 7 touchdowns. Patrick Crayton is a solid #2 receiver and the addition of Felix Jones will give more speed and options to Romo. And I really don’t think the addition of Pac-Man Jones can be discounted especially in the return game. I think he’s going to make a big difference there.

The Achilles heel for Cleveland though is their defense which ranked 30th in the league in 2007. So the Browns can score points but they also give them up almost as fast as they score them. However the Dallas defense, while not being top flite last year, was solid ranking 9th in the league holding opponents to an average of 307.6 yards. The defense bent but didn’t break which is how Dallas won 13 games in the regular season last year and entered the playoffs the #1 seed in the NFC.

Also, I’m not real impressed with the teams Cleveland had wins against last year:

Cincinnati (7-9)
Baltimore (5-11)
Miami (1-15)
St. Louis (3-13)
Seattle (10-6; in OT @ home)
Baltimore (5-11)
Houston (8-8)
NY Jets (4-12)
Buffalo (7-9)
San Francisco (5-11)

So, even though the Browns were a 10 win team last year, they had only 1 win against a team with a winning record and it took OT to get that win.

I think the first half of the game both offenses will be clicking and be productive. However the 2nd half is where Dallas’ defense tightens up and allows the offense to put more distance between them and Cleveland. Also, I think with the way Dallas’ season ended last year, Romo and company have been counting down the days until they can get back out on the field. In the end, I don’t think Cleveland’s defense will be able to keep up with Dallas’ offense whereas Dallas’ defense will, again, bend but not break and allow the Cowboys to start off the 2008 campaign with a “W”.

My prediction: Dallas 31, Cleveland 20.