Monday Night Football Preview
Added on Sep 28, 2009 by sbworld in
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The line for this game has dropped half a point or a full point over the course of the week to -8 or -8.5 in favor of the home team. The over/under is 47.5
This is an intriguing and important matchup for both teams as well as the starting quarterback for each side. Carolina is still searching for its first win and QB Jake Delhomme is trying to find his confidence that left him sometime during last season’s playoff loss to Arizona when he turned the ball over six times. On the other side of the coin, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo followed up a quality week one performance with a dud last Sunday night in the unveiling of the new stadium as the Giants sent the fans home with their heads down after a last-second field goal.
So which quarterback is going to recover from their recent woes and hush the critics the quickest? Delhomme was better last week in a 28-20 loss at Atlanta. He finished the game 25-of-41 passing for 308 yards with one touchdown and one interceptions, three less picks than he threw in the opening blowout loss to Philadelphia. Helping Delhomme out was a much improved running game as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for 144 rushing yards. And never question the heart of wide receiver Steve Smith, who will do everything within his grasp to turn Delhomme and his team’s fortunes around.
One area that continues to get progressively worse for the Panthers is on the ever-growing injury report. Defensive tackle Louis Leonard is the latest name to be be added as he fractured his ankle and is done for the season. There are now 20 names on the Carolina injury report, including the “probable” Smith and Stewart. Injuries are a part of the game, but there are only so many a team can take before it takes a serious toll on the quality of the product on the field.
Carolina’s defense must get better than it was against Atlanta, but with several names out including Na’il Diggs, some backups will have to step up their game especially against an offense as potentially dangerous as Dallas’.
Speaking of Dallas’ offense as well as injuries, it looks as though running back Marion Barber will be held out with the quad injury he suffered a week ago. But that might not be much of a downgrade as Felix Jones will get even more touches and as he has shown in his brief NFL career, the chance is there for him to take it to the end zone on any of those touches. Jones has already gained 118 yards on just 13 carries and might get himself 20 carries in this one.
Romo received criticism this week from former Cowboys superstar Tony Dorsett, but he needs to just ignore that type of thing and go out and play his game. Sure, Romo had a bad week last week but over the course of a 16-game schedule not every week is going to go great. If he shakes it off and returns with a good performance in front of the home faithful, one bad performance will be forgotten about quickly. However, if he strings a few bad games together like he has in the past it might be a long season for Romo.
Dallas is not nearly as ravaged by injuries as Carolina and Barber should be the only major name to miss this game.
On the defenside side of the ball for the Cowboys, it too must show a better performance than it did against New York. Things went well for some stretches, but a few too many lengthy drives by the Giants including the one at the end were a major factor in giving the game away.
But lets be honest, quarterback play is huge in the NFL and these two need to play better. Whoever plays better, Delhomme or Romo, will put their team in position to win this big game.
Prediction: Dallas 27, Carolina 21
