1. Captain Munnerlyn and Greg Olsen

If there are two good things I’m going to take out of this game, then that’s the further progress of slot corner Captain Munnerlyn and another good pass-catching performance from tight end Greg Olsen. Munnerlyn had a difficult match-up against Victor Cruz, who was supposed to be the biggest weapon in the passing offense with Hakeem Nicks out. Barden picked up the slack and torched the Panthers secondary, but give credit to Munnerlyn for doing a great job in helping to hold Cruz to just 42 receiving yards. While he did have six catches, he only averaged seven yards per catch to give the Panthers a net gain in holding him down.

Olsen will never be a good run blocker, which hurt his value in the Chicago Bears eyes, but the role of the tight end is primarily as a pass-catcher these days. Olsen is one of the most underrated receiving tight ends in the league, and he was the Panthers most productive player on offense with seven catches for 98 receiving yards.

Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

2. Barden Breaks Out

Honestly, the first time I heard of Ramses Barden was when playing Madden 11 and wondering who he was. Now, I know who he is. Without Domenik Hixon and Hakeem Nicks, Eli Manning turned towards him and received a big day from Barden. He finished with nine catches for 138 yards on ten targets, which means he was almost perfect out there. Manning was incredibly efficient, averaging 8.2 yards per attempt and completely outshined Newton.

3. The other TE

Olsen was great, but I would be lying if I said he played like the best TE out there. Martellus Bennett was always a great run blocker for the Dallas Cowboys, but he has broken out as a top pass-catching option at the position for the Giants. Bennett was expected to receive a good dose of targets and capitalize on them without Nicks and Hixon, and he didn’t disappoint. Bennett finished with six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown on seven targets and continues to do his job well.

4. William Beatty and Sean Locklear dominate

Sean Locklear may be the backup right tackle, but he played well in starter David Diehl’s absence and is, in all honesty, the better player at this point. Beatty was even better, and he has made detractors like me look terrible with some solid displays- including yesterday’s beauty. Beatty did an excellent job containing Charles Johnson when asked to, and the Panthers were only able to get two hits on Manning during the game.

On a side note, the Panthers did an excellent job containing Justin Tuck, who is off to a terrible start this season. The Giants were able to get a sack from Osi Umenyiora, and Michael Boley and Jason Pierre-Paul also combined for a sack with most of the work being done by Boley. JPP was excellent in this game, but Osi wasn’t nearly as consistent as the Giants would have liked him to be given Tuck’s early slump.

5. Games Like This…

Disappointing losses really dampen the mood, and this 36-7 blowout loss to the Giants is yet another let down for fans like us who have high hopes but have them shot down. The 35-27 win over the New Orleans Saints made me think that great things were on the way and a big game on TNF was in line, and I never saw this type of a loss coming. I’m not going to point the finger at anything specific, because things just fell apart for the Panthers as a team. Newton isn’t going to play this poorly every week, and the running game will be better once Jonathan Stewart gets back. There are still concerns in the back seven, but there are also encouraging things like Munnerlyn’s string of solid performances.

I’m not going to lie, I am upset. But there’s so much negativity going around that I want to try and remain upbeat. Writing a piece cursing the team isn’t going to help anyone at this point.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

The Panthers won’t just be looking to keep it close like the Bucs; they’ll be looking to win and show NFL fans across the nation that the Panthers are indeed a team to watch for in the present- not just the future.

The Giants will be playing without wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Domenik Hixon, as well as right tackle David Diehl and running back Ahmad Bradshaw. Without Bradshaw, the Giants will turn to Virginia Tech rookie David Wilson and former Panther Andre Brown who broke out with 13 carries for 71 yards against the Bucs.

While Steve Smith is expected to suit up for the Panthers, right tackle Byron Bell and running back Jonathan Stewart are game-time decisions. Special teams star Colin Jones and stalwart LB Thomas Davis are listed as questionable as well. There is a better chance that Bell will play than Stewart, as the short week has hurt Stewart’s ability to return from his toe and ankle injuries that are related.

Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

Panthers Offense vs. Giants Defense

The Carolina Panthers have arguably the best downfield passing attack in the NFL with Cam Newton leading the way with Steve Smith and Brandon LaFell at his disposal. Both receivers have been doing an incredible job of getting downfield and making plays this season, and they should be able to continue that trend against the Giants tonight.

Corey Webster will likely shadow Smith, who is expected to play through knee pain. LaFell will be up against second-year CB Prince Amukamara, who is nicked up with an ankle injury. While safety Kenny Phillips is one of the best in the business in terms of coverage, free safety Antrel Rolle isn’t. Rolle is a good safety against the run, but he struggles more often than not in coverage and is prone to getting burned over the top. The Giants secondary is one that is prone to getting burned, which will play into the strengths of the Panthers passing attack.

Even if Jonathan Stewart is unable to play, DeAngelo Williams, Mike Tolbert, and Newton will spearhead a solid Panthers running attack against the Giants front seven. Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka play shutdown defense on the right side, which could be a problem for the Panthers if right tackle Byron Bell doesn’t play. He had a rough 2011 season, but he has looked very good in 2012 thus far. If he is out, it will be up to right tackle Bruce Campbell to have a breakout performance of his own after being brought to Charlotte in the Mike Goodson trade with the Oakland Raiders.

The Panthers running game should still be solid, but they will find it tougher against the Giants if one of either Stewart or Bell doesn’t play (chances are one of them will be out).

As far as pass protection goes, it will be interesting to see how Bell/Campbell and star veteran Jordan Gross fare out against Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora. That’s as good of a trio as you’re going to see in the NFL today, but Gross has the ability to hang with JPP. The problem is at right tackle, where the Panthers could be exposed if Bell is out and Campbell doesn’t step up. Even if Bell plays, the Giants will still win that matchup with Bell not fully healthy and going up against a premier pass rusher on top of that. This puts Campbell into a very difficult situation.

Giants Offense vs. Panthers Defense

With Nicks and Hixon out, the focus turns to slot receiver Victor Cruz more than ever now. I want to see how the Panthers try and scheme against Cruz, who is easily the best, healthy receiver on the Giants at this point. Do they keep Captain Munnerlyn on him in the slot or do they turn to Chris Gamble? Munnerlyn has been struggling lately, while Gamble is still going strong as one of the premier shutdown corners in the league.

On the outside, Eli Manning will be targeting Ramses Barden, as well as rookie receiver Rueben Randle. However, I would definitely expect more passes heading into Martellus Bennett’s direction, despite him being more of a blocking tight end. Bennett is going to command the attention of James Anderson, who is certainly a more than adequate coverage linebacker. We’ll see how often Manning looks at his TE in relation to his two wide receivers pressed into starting duty due to the injuries to Hixon and Nicks.

The running game will suffer without Bradshaw, but Wilson is an electrifying rusher with the ability to break one big at any moment. Brown is a more of an unknown at this point, and I don’t even know if I’m willing to give an evaluation. But here’s the thing, he has the hot hand and should be able to turn in another solid performance. The Panthers run defense will be worse off if Davis doesn’t play, but the Panthers have always been strong at linebacker and should be able to contain both rushers- although I am worried about the possibility of a big game for Wilson.

The Giants offensive line will be without Diehl, who is, in all honesty, a vastly declining player who gets overrated by those who think he is even an average player at this stage in his career. Sean Locklear isn’t a world-beater at right tackle, but I actually think he’s a decent backup. Frank Alexander looked good against the Saints, so let’s see what he and Greg Hardy can do tonight. Meanwhile, Charles Johnson should have a clear advantage over Giants LT Will Beatty, and I think Manning will be dealing with some solid pressure from Carolina for the majority of the game.

Prediction

At this point, both offenses hold advantages over the defenses they are facing, but I honestly think the Panthers are in a better position to win this game. I wouldn’t call a Panthers win an upset, but it would be a surprise to a national audience expecting a win for the Super Bowl champs. They are dealing with a few key injuries, and I’m not sold on their pass defense’s ability to contain both LaFell and Smith deep. Either way, this game is going to be incredibly close, but I think the Panthers can pull it out 33-30. It might even take overtime.

I’m excited, this game is going to be incredible to watch.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Dallas Cowboys:

Total Offense – yards/game: 375.5
NFL Rank: 11th

Rushing Offense: 112.9
NFL Rank: 18th

Passing Offense: 262.6
NFL Rank: 7th

Total Defense – Yards Allowed: 343.2
NFL Rank: 14th

Rushing Defense: 99.1
NFL Rank: 7th

Passing Defense: 244.1
NFL Rank: 23rd

New York Giants:

Aug 18, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora (72) reacts after a sack against the New York Jets during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aristide Economopoulos/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

Total Offense – yards/game: 385.1
NFL Rank: 8th

Rushing Offense: 89.2
NFL Rank: 32nd

Passing Offense: 295.9
NFL Rank: 5th

Total Defense – Yards Allowed: 376.4
NFL Rank: 27th

Rushing Defense: 121.2
NFL Rank: 19th

Passing Defense: 255.1
NFL Rank: 29th

How the statistics tell the tale

The Dallas Cowboys had three or four (I’ve had a long day, cut me some slack on the specifics on this one, thanks) games last year when they were leading in the second half and lost because they couldn’t stop the pass. Thus, trading up for Claiborne. Teams that are behind in the second half don’t run much, and the Cowboys were tied for 11th with 4.1 ypc allowed. Doing the math, that means the other team ran only 25 times against your defense…6 plays per quarter, and much of that probably coming in the first half as teams threw in the 4th quarter to catch up…and often win.

The Dallas defense slid to 14th overall with 347 points allowed. Middle of the road there.

The Giants’ defense gave up 400 points….good for only 25th overall.

But the Giants outscored the Cowboys 394 to 369. 9th in the league for the Giants; 15th in the league for the Cowboys. The Giants had a marginal edge in turnovers, +7 to +4.

This is striking then: The Giants were outscored by their opponents by 6 points while the Cowboys outscored theirs by 22. Hold that thought.

The real discrepancy comes in touchdowns scored. That figure is 47 for the Giants (6th in the NFL) and 39 (tied for 14th with Minnesota) for the Cowboys. 8 more TDs is an extra TD every other game, and that’s a 3.5 point per game advantage right there.

Eli had more 29 TDs and 16 much-publicized INTs, but had a whopping 4,933 yards passing for an 8.4 yds/att. Romo was 4,184 yards for 8.0 yds/att. He had 31 TDs to 10 INTs and a very high 102.5 QB rating to Manning’s still very nice 92.9 rating.

What I’m reading into this season is that the Giants have a WR corps that is a little more explosive than that of the Cowboys. The Cowboys lost Laurent Robinson to Free Agency since; the Giants added talented rookie Rueben Randle. Last season, Eli had a fair amount more attempts than Romo, more yards, more INTs, all of which you would expect. It also meant fewer rushing attempts since 3.5 yds/carry won’t cut it. Simply put, the Giants had to be more one-dimensional and even so, they kept pace with the other team’s scoring with an opportunistic defense. They had the Cowboys record-wise 9-7 to 8-8, winning the division and getting that playoff spot.

It sounds like Eli’s Giants were the ones making the second-half comebacks as Dallas was losing them.

Then again, Tom Coughlin wasn’t the one icing his own kicker!

Strange, isn’t it?