Upon Further Review: New York Giants take a beating from Dallas Cowboys; Take a bite of Humble Pie, and more thoughts

Bronx, NY - Let's begin with the Super Bowl Champion New York (Football) Giants opening the 2012 season against the hated Dallas Cowboys home at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants didn't do much to quiet the critics who said that winning the Vince Lombardi trophy last year was a fluke. The defense, after keeping 'Boys quarterback Tony Romo in check the first half, never laid a finger on him in the second half in the 24-17 loss. Making matters worse, they allowed DeMarco Murray to gain 131 yards on 20 carries. Forty-eight on a run that saw both Mathias Kiwanuka and Justin Tuck fail to bring him down in the backfield.

Offensively, last year's wide receiver sensation Victor (Salsa) Cruz uncharacteristically drops 3 passes that would have been first downs, trying to make plays before catching the ball and turning it upfield. Naturally, folks are saying he has succumbed to the "Helium Head Syndrome" after an offseason of appearing in everything from the Grammy Awards to every Red Carpet event celebrating his breakout season. To his credit, Cruz owned up to his mistakes.

"They were just drops," he said after the game. "A couple of them were me leaving before I caught the ball."

It was a game Big Blue needed to win because it was at home against a division rival. Head coach Tom Coughlin thought the team needed to taste a slice of humble pie.

"Take a bite out of humble pie," he told his team afterward. "It brings you right back down to earth."

Coughlin if anything, always keeps it real. Let's see how the Giants bounce back Sunday against a Tampa Bay team who looked impressive in its win against Carolina...

So who says you have to score in the pre-season? The New York Jets added a new offensive coordinator in Tony Sparano and backup quarterback Tim Tebow then proceeded to score only 1 touchdown in its four pre-season games. Mark Sanchez did not get the first unit in the end zone and Tebow was never used in the "wildcat" offense so teams would not know how to defend against him when he entered the game. None of that mattered when Gang Green took the field against the Buffalo Bills Sunday afternoon on a sun-drenched day at MetLife Stadium.

Sanchez, in his best performance as a Jets, threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns as they routed Buffalo 48-28. First-round draft pick, wide receiver Stephen Hill hauled in 2 of the touchdowns and momentarily quieted critics. Hill, who had a case of the drops during the pre-season was confident coming into the game.

"I just kept working hard," he said afterward.

Jeremy Kerley not only caught a touchdown pass but returned a punt 68 yards extending the lead to 21-0. The running game wasn't spectacular but Shonn Greene did manage 94 yards on 27 carries. More impressive was the offensive line who didn't let Sanchez touch the turf the entire game. They allowed him the time in the pocket to find the open receivers.

Defensively, aside from miscues in the second half, they pestered Ryan Fitzpatrick all day as they picked him off 3 times (Antonio Cromartie taking one to the house) as they got off to a 27-7 first-half lead. Tim Tebow, the talk of the town, was a relatively non-factor in the game running for only 11 yards on 5 carries. He attempted no passes. Eight times from the wildcat formation, he handed the ball off three times. At one point, Jets fans serenaded him with boos after he gained no yards when they were on the Bills 12-yard line. He claimed he didn't hear the reaction.

Yeah, right.

Head coach Rex Ryan, who almost got blasted on the sideline by Bills tight end Scott Chandler was downright giddy after the game.

"Obviously a tremendous performance by our football team," he said. I couldn't be happier for our football team."

The Bills were a pushover for Gang Green but rest assured the Pittsburgh Steelers won't be when the Jets visit them Sunday afternoon. The Steelers will be going into the game with a chip on their shoulders after losing Sunday night to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos...

Quick Hits: Speaking of Manning, he didn't look like the quarterback that hadn't played a game all of last year as he threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns (completing 19 of 26 passes) in 31-19 victory over the Steelers. Peyton kept the frenzied Pittsburgh defense at bay when he went to the no-huddle offense in the second quarter. Manning guided them to four scores (3 touchdowns and a field goal) in their last 4 times with the ball. Not bad for a guy missing a year and coming off 4 neck surgeries...

Five rookie quarterbacks made their debut in Sunday's contest and 4 of them played like it. Manning's replacement in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck, did throw for 309 yards and a touchdown but also got picked off 3 times in his team's 41-21 loss to Chicago...Miami's Ryan Tannehill had 6 of the worst minutes a QB can have throwing 3 int's in losing to the Texans 30-10...Cleveland Brandon Weedon tossed 4 int's in his team's 17-16 loss to the Eagles while Seahawks QB Russell Wilson was not as bad. Wilson did complete 18 of 34 passes (only 153 yards, however) in their 20-16 loss to Arizona. Wilson was picked off one time and threw for 1 touchdown...RG III showed why he was not only the Heisman Trophy winner but the #1 draft pick as he led the Redskins to a surprising 40-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. Robert Griffin the 3rd, passed for 320 yards completing 19 of 26 passes and 2 touchdowns and no ints. RG III completed his first eight passes and showed poise unlike a rookie when he found wide receiver Pierre Garcon for an 88-yard touchdown strike just before getting blasted by Malcolm Jenkins who blitzed on the play. It tied the second longest scoring pass by a rookie QB starting his first game...Week 1 is in the books. The Redskins, 49ers, Jets, Bears, Denver, New England, Texans, Atlanta, and Ravens put it on their opponents while the Eagles struggled and the Bills, Miami, Kansas City, Cincinnati looked awful.

Green Bay and the Giants didn't look much better. Let's see which teams bounce back in week 2!