T-Rock's Take on the Giants

No Sam Madison, no Osi, no Justin Tuck. Gulp!

Guess Tom Coughlin decided Madison wasn't ready, even though Ol' Sam said he was. R.W. McQuarters starts in his place; Frank Walker is out too, meaning Kevin Dockery is the nickel/dime CB. Jason Bell is back.

For the Bucs, ex-Giant Mark Jones is out. The rest aren't that important.

And it's windy.

I was always partial to Bugs Bunny and the Laff-a-lympics, but this is really not about me. Swear.

Two humorous moments from today... The first was in the Giants locker room, which was light and typical of a Friday afternoon.

An intrepid reporter -- OK, it was me -- sauntered over to Jeremy Shockey's locker. He was hurrying around, trying to get out quickly. I really didn't care if he gave me an interview, because when he's hurrying around, he's going to be terrible anyway.

"What'd you write today?" I thought I'd butter him up with an innocent question about his latest column for that other paper.

"I have no idea," he said, without missing a beat. When he realized that sounded a little odd, he added, "I wrote it on Tuesday. Don't remember."

Well, I thought it was funny. So did Antonio Pierce, whose locker is next to Shockey's.

"There's no one here like him," Pierce said. "Guy just plays football, says some funny stuff. Can't beat that."

Actually, you can.

I went on the Bucs website this evening to look up a statistic for my Sunday story on Ronde and Tiki Barber. I'd heard that the folks at Buccaneers.com did some humorous video intros for each week, so I watched the one this week.

I wish I'd seen it sooner, and I implore you all to see it before they change it. It features cartoon versions of Barber, Michael Strahan (whoever does his voice on the bit is excellent), Eli Manning and Shockey in a spoof of "The Ring" -- they watch a tape, it scares the heck out of them... And it turns out to be the tape of the Bucs-Eagles game.

That's not the funny part... The funny part is how they portray Shockey. I won't give it away and some may feel it's insulting, but I laughed my behind off. You will too, Giants fan or not.

OK, the game.

It will be windy, they say -- and it's pouring now, which they also said, so I'm starting to believe the windy part. That means Manning's toss-up throws to Plaxico Burress will not be so on-target. It means the running game will do the work for both sides. It means no mistakes anywhere, because points will be at a premium.

Remember the Vikings: That's my mantra for this week. Last season, the Giants were rolling when Minnesota came to town. The Vikings were hapless, hopeless, an embarrassment to the league after the "Love Boat" thing. And they beat the Giants because the Giants beat themselves.

Ryan L. and BB are right: These Giants do love to play down to their opponents' level. And at 2-4, the Bucs' level appears low. But it's not. They've won two straight, they lost by a field goal in their previous two and they don't turn the ball over much. This is a team on the rise and the Giants can't relax.

I say they will. I know, I know, I thought you guys had to convince me, but I convinced myself, and I do truly believe it: Bucs 17, Giants 14.

Inactives Sunday morning. Stay dry.

And all is well.

I don't call it an IPod because I don't have an IPod. It's a Dell MP3 player and you could fit about 10 IPods into it... When I try to exercise with it, I swear it looks like I've got a turntable around my neck and a backpack full of LPs.

But it's mine, and it's got my stuff on it, and that works for me... And since I thought I'd lost it, here are the five tracks I'm most happy to not have to download onto a new MP3/IPod thing:

Cherchez La Ghost -- Ghostface Killah
Sweet Jane -- Gang of Four
Days of Being Wild -- ... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
Return of Django -- The Upsetters
At Your Funeral -- Saves The Day

Moving on...

So Adrian Awasom is up to the big club and LaVar is out. It's the smart move, especially since Awasom knows the schemes from last season. Also smart is Carlos Emmons taking Arrington's starting SLB spot. Emmons needs to stay healthy, but when he is, he's more than capable. Frankly, the way Antonio Pierce and Brandon Short have been playing, the Giants just need someone capable to complement them.

No one's released any info on Osi, but the fact that Tom Coughlin acknowledged on Wednesday that Umenyiora wasn't playing on Sunday is not a good sign. I can't see Osi playing before the Bears game, and maybe not even then.

We'll see what Mathias Kiwanuka has to offer. As a person, he has a ton to offer -- he's quiet and confident and gives the impression of being smart enough to know where to be without just trying to rely upon his natural ability.

Lastly, I'd like to say that Blauber has taken to calling me "Grunge Boy" because of my music preferences... Which says a lot, mostly that Blauber doesn't know anything about music. But I already knew that, given the encounter I had with him on a flight to the west coast last season.

He was listening to his CD player -- which cements his old-guy status -- and I asked what it was. "Dan Fogelberg," he replied. Nuff said.

So from now on, Blauber is out. We'll call him FGOS -- Fifty Going On Seventy. Come up with something better than Grunge Boy, FGOS!

I do like some music made this century and this Fall Out Boy song -- while I was in Dallas, a friend was kind enough to remind me who sings this one -- runs on a loop through my head every few days or so.

And Big Rich is right! It's Leaders of the New School, not the Jungle Brothers, who rhyme on Scenario. Thanks for the heads up.

Now, this Fall Out Boy track could describe one of two things: 1) My ability to pick NFL games, or 2) The Cowboys.

The Giants were pretty impressive last night, despite Eli Manning's so-so game -- he made a few good throws but way more bad decisions than he has in a long while -- the season-ending injury to LaVar Arrington and the other nicks and bruises that forced a revolving door of players on defense.

The Cowboys... Not so much. Bill Parcells may have greased his own skids by taking Drew Bledsoe out; Tony Romo can run around a little, but he's going to need a lot of work to round into shape. So the Cowboys and Redskins seem to be sinking, leaving the Giants fighting it out with the Eagles in the East.

As for Arrington, it's no coincidence that the Giants' defense had a terrible few downs after he was carted off the field. If nothing else, LaVar is a happy, funny guy. He genuinely enjoys being around people, he smiles a lot -- he also says "You guys" to reporters a lot, which usually is followed by a derogatory phrase ("You guys counted us out," "You guys love to bash us," etc.) -- and his teammates wanted him to be a force.

His future is seriously in doubt now, staring at maybe a full year of recovery. Tear up that seven-year deal now; Arrington will truly need to play his way back to respectability, and not get paid very much to do so.

As for the horse-collar rule, I was scratching my head too. Roy Williams did it twice to Barber, and he's done it three times to Tiki since the rule was enacted. Tom Coughlin said the officials explained to him that the runner has to be yanked down immediately by the horse-collar and not keep running as Barber usually does.

So, basically, to see a flag thrown on that dangerous play, a guy has to kick his legs up Wile E. Coyote style -- or like that poor marathoner who wiped out crossing the finish line in the Chicago Marathon last weekend -- to make it stick. That's dumb.

And one of you Giants fans out there is going to have to make a very persuasive argument to make me pick against them this Sunday, or next.

In honor of my favorite band from Big D, The Reverend Horton Heat...

The inactives are the usual Giants (Ward, Emmons, Moss, etc.), plus Jason Bell, whose concussion is still lingering. Gibril Wilson returns.

No surprises on the Dallas side, save perhaps S Keith Davis.

Game on!

Definitely in my top 5 hip-hop tracks. Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers and Busta Rhymes.

(Time for a bad segue...)

And the Giants' scenario tonight is suddenly a tad different: Beat the Cowboys and the G-Men are in first place in the NFC East. Can you imagine? A month after the Stinkbomb in Seattle, the Giants are a win away from sitting atop the NFC East headed into three straight home games. My, my.

But I don't think it's going to happen. This isn't just me picking against the Giants cuz that's what I do; I genuinely believe they won't win tonight, for any number of reasons.

Chief among them is the Cowboys' ability to stuff the run. Tiki Barber has mentioned Jeremiah Trotter's name about a hundred times since the Giants' huge comeback in Philly; it seems as if the Eagles LB is the main reason Tiki is hanging up his spikes after the beating he took from Trotter.

DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Bradie James... These guys will be thumping Tiki tonight. The Giants' running game will not get going, which means it's on the defense to keep the game close until Eli Manning can figure out a way to make the offense click.

That strategy hasn't exactly worked so well on the road -- yes, the Giants are 2-1, with comebacks on the Eagles and Falcons, but a Bill Parcells team isn't going to let a double-digit lead slip away. Terrell Owens loves Monday Night -- I think he loves any night that people are paying attention to him -- and the Cowboys have owned the Giants in MNF play.

Shouldn't mean anything, but why do the Giants keep rolling over for the Cowboys on Monday Night?

Prediction: Cowboys 20, Giants 16.

I'll get out inactives as soon as they're available.

Screaming Trees, early 1990s... Best song to come out of the grunge era, and that includes every Nirvana and Pearl Jam song. It's on the "Singles" soundtrack. Get it. This also reminds me of another list I'll have to work in somehow: Best Opening Acts. That would be shows you went to see for one act, only to be more impressed with the opening act.

Mark Lanegan, the Screaming Trees front man, joined Queens of the Stone Age for their opening set at MSG a couple years ago. Red Hot Chili Peppers were the headliners... QOTSA blew the doors off the place, and RHCP had me yawning.

Anywise...

Took a most informal poll of some guys on offense today to see who would get their Pro Bowl vote thus far (you can't vote for your teammates). Tiki was unanimous, naturally, and Shaun O'Hara was next with a couple votes. Chris Snee got one too, as did Luke Petitgout, who is the subject of my story for the paper on Sunday.

Petitgout is in his eighth season and he began each of them as a starter... He's a first-round pick, so some will always view him with a critical eye, but I think he's having a tremendous season thus far.

Look at the DEs he's faced so far: Dwight Freeney, Darren Howard, Grant Wistrom, Phillip Daniels and John Abraham (kind of -- he didn't play a ton). In Philly, Howard was the only DL who didn't crumple Eli Manning (though his backup, Juqua Thomas, did get there); Freeney was invisible on opening night, and the other three barely made a dent. In fact, they were too busy watching Tiki run by their side to worry about Petitgout.

Luke will probably never make a Pro Bowl -- he's got Walter Jones and Chris Samuels at his spot. And Luke will probably be done in a year or two. But take note of the season the man is having, because it's rare to for an O-lineman to get any positive reinforcement during the season. We usually like to ask them about false starts, or getting beat for sacks, or why Tiki is so amazingly awesome.

And I guess I can pick baseball games right... I got a lunch out of the Mets inability to get a clutch hit off of a bunch of no-name pitchers. Jeff Suppan? Remember when he was supposed to be the next Luis Tiant for the Sox? Yeesh.

Tigers in 5.

Maybe the greatest song ever written... And only the Bob Marley acoustic version will do for me.

Now, my man BB, this prediction thing doesn't work if YOU do it. For all I know, you've been picking the Giants all season; I'll do it, all in good time. Which means Monday night.

To test if this works for all NY teams, I took the Cards tonight over the Mets in a couple of informal wagers with friends.

Tiki's locker was jammed today with all the TV folks who didn't get their own version of Barber saying he might be done. I steered clear, with Blauber in the house. I did catch a glimpse of fellow blogger Jay Feely working on his latest online entry, this one about how the league is wrong for looking to crack down on group celebrations like the Giants' defense and its jump-shot sack dance.

I like Jay personally. I don't often agree when we discuss politics, but he knows his stuff. And his blog, over on NBCsports.com, is worth a look. And no, BB, there's no Xs and Os there either.

And we do agree on that subject: If you don't penalize a guy for celebrating on his own, why punish guys who want to celebrate together?

Also had a quick chat with Frank Walker, another of my favorite guys in the locker room. It may not have been visible on Sunday's broadcast, but Walker got popped in the head by Falcons receiver Adam Jennings during a Giants punt; there was no flag. I asked Frank today if he thought there would be a FedEx envelope in Jennings' locker today, the telltale sign of a fine levied by the league.

"I don't know," he said. Jeff Feagles was nearby. "A couple of years ago, Frank would've thrown a punch back," the punter said.

"A punch? I would've beat the (snot) outta that dude."

He's maturing, obviously.

As for some actual, you know, football talk... Everyone loves to talk T.O., but he's the least of the Giants worries. OK, maybe not the least, but if the Giants can't stop Julius Jones or Marion Barber on the ground or put Drew Bledsoe on his back, Owens catching passes will only be icing on the cake for Dallas.

It's a West Coast offense that Parcells runs over there, and that spelled bad news for the Giants for three quarters in Philly. The corners have to be alert and play tight and the pass rush has to be as good as it was in Atlanta. Yes, BB, the Giants could control the clock with their own running game, but the Cowboys will be ready for the run -- I think this one will be on Eli Manning offensively, which should make it interesting.

More tomorrow.

Most underrated Clash song in their repertoire.

Moving on... Glad to see everyone's coming out of the woodwork during the two-day break -- Tiki Barber included. What say you all in Giants Nation about Barber's saying he's done after the year? Bad timing? Not a distraction?

I have actually flip-flopped like John Kerry on this one... Initially, I thought it was a mistake by a guy who should know better. Even if everyone in the locker room knows he's done, it's still going to be a topic of conversation for the rest of this week. And if the Giants lose on Monday night... You get the idea.

But after a chat with Blauber and before my chat with Tiki, I changed my mind. This is a guy who co-hosts a radio show, a TV show and releases children's books during the season. He's a terrific teammate, but not the sort who just hangs in the locker room and the film room; when he's in the stadium during the week, he's getting all manner of treatment to get his body ready for the next game.

I don't really think this can be a distraction. And if someone wants to say Tiki's being distracted, I'll quote the man himself: "Did they watch the game last week?" Touche.

It's certainly a little odd for the league's leading rusher to say he's done after the season, but that's Tiki. He's different.

Sorry, Big BB -- the Xs and Os stuff will have to wait again. But yes, I'll agree with those of you who pointed out that the Falcons' O-line is not as tough as the Cowboys'. But the Giants' front four should still be able to get to Bledsoe, as it did seven times in the two games last season.

I've decided to go with blog entry titles that are some of my favorite song titles... Today's is the first cut off Helmet's "Meantime," and it's the sort of track that gets me going when I'm driving to Giants Stadium on a Monday. At noon. Yes, I love my job.

JD and all the rest of you folks out there can rub my nose in my bad prediction, but what are you gonna do when I pick the Giants to beat the Cowboys and it doesn't work out? Blame me? Yeah, probably. I can take it.

It's going to be hard to pick against the Giants, though, based on the last 26:53 of yesterday's game. After Warrick Dunn ran through the pylons -- er, Giants -- to the end zone for 90 yards, the Giants put the clamps down. Dunn did nothing else, and Michael Vick really made me scratch my head. The guy has all the talent in the world, he can heave the ball a long way, but smart decisions are not his strong suit.

Faced with an excellent defensive scheme -- I see the message boards that rip Tim Lewis, but you have to admit the Giants defense has been well prepared the last two weeks for two very different offenses -- Vick crumbled. He was also rag-dolled around pretty good; Antonio Pierce's late hit in the final minute was just icing on the cake.

If the Giants can sack Vick seven times, think what the same fierce pass rush could do to Drew Bledsoe.

Giants are off the next two days, so I'll be happy to answer questions, listen to more taunts for picking against your beloved G-Men, anything you like.