Join me as I live blog this game on The Score – Link

*This live blog is accessible through the web, your iPhone/iPod Touch (Details) or Blackberry (Details)*

PREVIEW

The Cowboys will not blow 2 chances in a row to get a win at their new home. The NFL made it easier by scheduling them to play the Panthers on Monday night in front of what should be another audience of more than 100,000. Marion Barber has been ruled out of the game but Felix Jones and Tashard Choice are more than capable of getting it done. Both should have a coming out party tonight. The Dallas D has been leaky at best this season but they have a chance to right the ship tonight against sack magnet, Jake Delhomme. After a epic fail game v/s Philadelphia for the home opener, Delhomme managed to get back on track against Atlanta but the outcome was the same. If Delhomme can get more passes to Steve Smith than the Cowboys corners, it should be considered a successful outing.

Dallas is in a must win situation. After this one they are heading off on the road and can ill afford to start the season 1-2 in a very tough division. They should have help from the Panthers tonight to make sure they get it done…

Anyways, it was the second Sunday of the regular season, but the first one I could really appreciate because of terrible migraine that blurred my last week’s experience. So first things first – I got a football jersey – and this was just the beginning of fun. It didn’t fall down to my knees like some of the basketball jerseys I have (like the Garnett’s from Minnesota, which I usually use as a bathrobe), but seemed to be broader in the chest, although certain ‘female attributes’ still looked rather funny, but who cares?

Next picking up the games. I’m not such a vet like in basketball to watch 4-5 games in the same time and know what’s going on. So one game at 1pm, another at 4, and last at 8. Also, not all of them are available – so I chose: Patriots – Jets, Bills – Buccaneers and Cowboys – Giants. As a freshman I knew I could pick any team to root for in each match-up, with an unbiased, cold judgment. So:

1. Jets over Patriots. Reason? The bitter taste after the Bills’ loss to the Pats last week. I was so sure Bills were going to win, and the loss was just heartbreaking! And on the top of that I read that the Buffalo’s losing streak against NE is 12 games! I hated the Pats straight away! By the way, Sanchez looked for me more likable than Brady – so why shouldn’t they win? And I was completely right – NY won 16-9, and Brady looked kinda bored during this game.

2. Of course Bills over Buccaneers! Bills are my favorite team! There was a moment of doubt – the Bucs defense line looked so big – maybe it’s their colors, but they somehow looked twice bigger than the Bills. Poor skinny Trent Edwards… But they did it! They did it! And Terell Owens got his first TD with Buffalo. The final score was 33-20.

3. Cowboys – Giants. Difficult choice. But then I noticed Mr Bush watching the game and he was certainly rooting for Dallas, which meant I couldn’t do it. Adding Tony Romo dating Jessica Simpson – NO WAY! Giants had to win. And again my pick was correct – 33-31.

I knew it. I should have gambled a dollar or two on the outcome of the games. Somehow, without reading the statistics and in depth analysis I managed to pick the winners correctly. But seriously, I am gonna read a little bit more about numbers before next Sunday, so I’ll be able to make serious recaps.

Join me as I live blog this game on The Score – Link

*This live blog is accessible through the web, your iPhone/iPod Touch (Details) or Blackberry (Details)*

PREVIEW

The Dallas Cowboys make their home debut at the new billion-dollar stadium Sunday night. I am sure the Giants would love to spoil that party while getting a key victory against a division foe. Dallas is favored here but the Giants should give them all they can handle.

With no more T.O, Tony Romo was able to spread the ball around evenly in week 1. The combination of Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams amassed over 200 receiving yards, but it was the Cowboys defense that let up and let a struggling Buccaneer team put up 21 points on the board. The Giants too were very effecting with their passing game in week 1. Both their young receivers, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham, managed to convert on long yardage plays. Their RB’s Jacobs and Bradshaw should be able to feast on a porous Dallas defense that gave up big yards to a recovering Carnell Williams. I expect the Dallas D that let down their team in week 1, to pick it up in a big game under the lights. The Giants defense is not to be underestimated here and if they manage to mesh, barring injuries should make it very difficult for Romo to repeat his performance from last week.

Meetings between these teams are always unpredictable and usually highly entertaining. The toughest test for the Giants will come in trying to defend the Cowboys’s newly resurrected passing game. And for Dallas, doing a better job containing the Giants running backs should be the key. As long as the game doesn’t come down to a punt hitting the monster HD screen, we are in for a good one…

• Vikings over the Browns: Adrian Peterson puts up a stat line of 25 rushes for 180 yards and Brett Favre makes the headlines?? Sports stations need to stop riding his jock and focus on the real story. Peterson has all the makings of the best we have ever seen but lets see how far he can take it before going into LT mode.

• Saints over the Lions: 6 TD’s for Drew Brees! It was against the lowly Lions but still quite the feat. He passed the ball to whoever was in sight keeping the Lions on their heels. It was a WOW performance and puts him on pace to shatter his performance from last season which was great in itself.

• Colts over the Jaguars: The Colts were expected to win this but it wasn’t pretty. The Jags held their own but it was Peyton’s Day. Peyton Manning tied the franchise record for victories and Jim Caldwell won his NFL debut as a head coach. The game came down to two defensive stops in the 4th and the Colts defense pulled it out. Now lets just hope they can build on that performance and back up what the offense is doing on the field.

• Eagles over the Panthers: The birds were thrown an assist in this one thanks to the colossal choke job performance given by Jake Delhomme. The Panthers worked the phones quickly and word is they are bringing in ex-Eagle, A.J. Feeley to run their QB spot. There was a casualty from the game and it wasn’t Delhomme’s ego but rather Donovan McNabb’s rib. McNabb took to his blog on Yardbarker to speak of his injury and the addition of an old counterpart in Jeff Garcia.

• Cowboys over the Buccaneers: The Cowboys beat the Buc’s handily after getting off to a shaky start. Thing is, they are supposed to beat teams like the Bucs who got a feel good performance from Cadillac Willaims. The real test for Romo and the team will be come next week when they play at their new home v/s the Giants.

• Jets over the Texans: The Texans are many people’s sleeper pick this year but Rex Ryan and the Jets made quick work of them in week 1. Sanchez looked like the real deal making something of not much. On the flip side, Schaub couldn’t put together anything even though he has one of the best WR’s in the league- Andre Johnson, as a target.

• Broncos over the Bengals: This game was a snooze-fest until Gus Johnson woke us all up with a call that will be remembered as much as the catch by Brandon Stokley that prompted it.
  

• Ravens over the Chiefs: Flacco showed he has what it takes last season but had to perform in Week 1 to prove he is legit. Mission: Accomplished! He threw over 300 yards and was helped out by the Baltimore D that only gave up 188 yards to the Chiefs. Considering I am expecting the Cheifs to end up last in the NFL when all is said and done, putting up a 28 spot against the Ravens was pretty impressive and maybe they will pull out a few upset wins along the way.

• Falcons over the Dolphins: It didn’t take Tony Gonzalez long to have an impact on the Falcons, catching five passes including a 20-yard TD. The Dolphins didn’t do themselves any favors by coughing up the ball 4 times as the offense looked flat for the entire game. Very uncharacteristic of the team that had the lowest number of TO’s last season, the Dolphins were one of the surprise team from last year and may be too hung up on that instead of looking at what they need to do this year.

• Seahawks over the Rams: I picked Seattle in my survivor pool this week and was expecting the Rams to put up some kind of fight. Instead.. they laid an egg and failed to get on the scoreboard. Matt Hasselbeck looked really good after 2008 was a write off due to injury. Jim Mora’s new approach paid off early and should continue to do so as this team should easily win their division building on games like they had in Week 1. As for the Rams, the problem starts at QB and the answer is not Marc Bulger.

• Giants over the Redskins: The Giants may be good enough to beat the Redskins but that will be hard to replicate against the other teams in their division. Didn’t see much of this game but I did catch the rumble that Santana Moss got in. With all the physical play in football its actually surprising you don’t see more of this…
  

• 49′ers over the Cardinals: Probably the biggest upset of week 1, the Card’s rolled over and looked nothing like the team that went to the Super Bowl this past season. Their offense seemed off but their D showed some promising signs. The 49′ers on the other hand can take away a lot of positives form this game and build on them this season which should be one of their best in years.

• Packers over the Bears: New team but same Jay Cutler that ended the season in Denver. He was an interception machine with 4 of ‘em in the opener but the team managed to stay in the game right til the waning moments. Favre Who? Aaron Rodgers set the tone for the season with a 50-yard rainbow to Greg Jennings to seal a come-from-behind victory and assure Packer fans that there is more to look forward to than booing Brett when he returns to GB

• Patriots over the Bills: It was too good to be true as the Bills came back to reality on a blown return. While all eyes were on Tom Brady for his first game back, the Bills dominated the game without much help from star WR Terrell Owens. Brady may have looked shaky but once the Bills gave him an opening it was over. The game was nothing like what most may have expected but the outcome was exactly as planned.

• Chargers over the Raiders: The second game of MNF double-header kept the excitement from game 1. Both teams struggled to do anything to start and were trading turnovers for the most part. The second half picked up and the Raider fans definitely played a part in urging their team on as it remains one of the craziest home crowds in the league. Tomlinson was a no show for the Chargers but it was no problem as Darren Sproles and Rivers did their thing and just enough to squeak out a win.

*BONUS* – Suzy Kolber races Tom Brady to the Locker Room

*BONUS* – Johnny Lee Higgins has some crazy Helmet Head going on….