Injuries have played a big role on many rosters this preseason, including the Cowboys', but it might be time to give the nod to the New York Football Giants – at least in this division.
I've written plenty about the Giants' health during the run-up to the regular season, primarily because New York is the Cowboys' Week 1 opponent and a division rival at that. The hits just keep on coming in New Jersey, as the Giants lost running back Andre Brown to a broken leg in Thursday night's preseason loss to New England. This second serious injury comes just a few days after losing safety Stevie Brown for the season.
It remains to be seen if Andre Brown will miss the entire season, but he's certainly going to miss a good chunk of time – including the opener. The plan was for him to be the Giants' third down and goal line back, which, if 2012 was any indication, he likely would have excelled at.
Brown only rushed for 385 yards last season, but his eight rushing touchdowns led the team, and he averaged a solid 5.3 yards on his limited carries.
It wasn't as serious as Brown's bad break, but it's also worth noting that former Dallas linebacker Dan Connor left the New England game with a neck burner. It remains to be seen how long he'll miss.
There's been plenty to talk about regarding the Cowboys' own injury problems. But aside from Tyrone Crawford, who was a rotational player, the Cowboys have a good chance to line up with all of their projected starters on Sept. 8. [embedded_ad]
That's a bit of good news not many NFL teams can lean on today.
Preseason Week 4 is bad for QBs:Alex Tanney wasn't the only guy who had a forgettable night in the preseason finale. Everyone in the division gave the lion's share of their snaps to their fringe quarterback, and nobody really found the time to shine.
Eagles' rookie Matt Barkley has seen a pretty good bit of the field this preseason, and he hasn't been bad. Thursday against the Jets was his biggest sampling of playing time, however, and he didn't exactly set the world on fire. Barkley completed just 48 percent on the night for 134 yards, and he tossed a pick-six that resulted in the Jets' game-winning points.
With the quarterback situation all but set in D.C., fourth-stringer Pat White played the entire preseason finale for the Redskins. He wasn't terrible, completing 59 percent for 184 yards with an interception. He also rushed seven times for 20 yards. But with Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins already secure in their roles, and with an established veteran like Rex Grossman still on the roster, I can't really envision a scenario where White stays in the District past this weekend.
The story of the night from New York's loss to the Patriots, as far as quarterbacks go at least, is that people other than fringe guys actually did play. Eli Manning completed six-of-nine passes for 74 yards and a touchdown before ceding the field to the likes of Curtis Painter, David Carr and Ryan Nassib.
My question is, what on Earth was Eli Manning doing playing in the final preseason game at all? Brown's injury in the same game seems needless considering the circumstances, and he's only a tandem running back. Imagine if New York had lost the face of its franchise during the most worthless exhibition of the season.
Don't understand that one.
