SPORTSDAY

I don't feel the same way about Paul Zimmerman that Timmy Tabloid does, in all his short-mindedness.

But MacMahon's theory on Dr. Z being anti-Cowboy gained some more steam today. Unless, you consider Troy Aikman anti-Cowboy, and I know some of you do.

In his annual ranking on broadcasters at SI.com, Z takes the Dallas icon to task, giving the Aikman-Buck tandem a 2-star (out of 5) rating. Here's his take on Troy:

Neither Buck nor Aikman is concerned with telling you much about defense, who made the tackle, who forced the play, etc., and the production style is to get off a play so quickly that you can't even see the uniform numbers of the people involved. Thus, it is always with a sinking heart that I approach a game this team is working, if I happen to be especially interested in it.

Aikman is very good in breaking down, right, matters of pass and catch, although he's too nice. Well, what the hell, he always was a nice guy, and I certainly didn't complain when he was playing and he made my job so much easier. But gosh, if I hear him say, "You are exactly right, Joe," one more time, I'm going to find someone innocent to yell at.

A lot of people would look at the final score of this year's Super Bowl - Giants 17, Patriots 14 - and think it may have been an uneven, sloppy game. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was well-played, highly competitive and one with a thrilling ending.

Here's what we culled from the tape (and if you don't want to read it, feel free to scroll down):

 On Target: Giants
 On Target: Patriots
 Giants Rush Analysis
 Patriots Rush Analysis
 Giants Personnel Breakdown
 Patriots Personnel Breakdown

 There are many layers to the affect the Giants defensive line had on Sunday's game. But start with perhaps the most impactful component - The ability to handle Kevin Faulk. All year, and really in the past, Faulk has been invaluable as a checkdown option, and a way to deal with a strong pass-rush or press coverage on the perimeter. The Giants' pass rush, first and foremost, forced the Patriots to keep Faulk into block quite a bit. And from there, they covered him well (even if he had seven catches). One way of doing it was sending a linebacker up the middle. Faulk would pick the blitz, and then the 'backer (often Antonio Pierce) wouldn't let him peel off to where Tom Brady could get him the ball. When the Giants did let Faulk release, there was often a defensive back, and not a linebacker, waiting for him. The result? By taking away an option underneath through coverage, the rush got an extra split-second to get there. The bottom line is that the Giants wouldn't let Faulk kill them, the way he did the Jaguars and Chargers, and that was debilitating for the struggling pass protection.

Where Eli Manning's 34 throws went on Sunday (With the Hail Mary at the end of the first half counted out) ...

WR PLAXICO BURRESS
Thrown to: 9 (3 first half/6 second half)
Final Stats: 2 catches, 27 yards, TD (1-14/1-13, TD)
Drops: 1

WR STEVE SMITH
Thrown to: 8 (6 first half/2 second half)
Final Stats: 5 catches, 50 yards (3-21/2-29)
Drops: 2

Where Tom Brady's 48 throws went on Sunday ...

WR WES WELKER
Thrown to: 15 (2 first half/13 second half)
Final Stats: 11 catches, 102 yards (2-17/9-85)
Drops: 0

WR RANDY MOSS
Thrown to: 12 (3 first half/9 second half)
Final Stats: 5 catch, 62 yards (1-18/4-44)
Drops: 0

We interrupt Albert "Einstein" Breer's heartbreaking breakdown of Super Bowl XLII to pass on something that should really perturb you folks.

Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z gave each Super Bowl a grade and accompanying comment. The following comment was so unprofessional that it even made me cringe.

XIII (1979) Steelers 35, Cowboys 31 -- Yeah, it was exciting, with a recovered onside kick at the end and then Rocky Bleier recovering the final one, but this was the heyday of the America's Team arrogance and I wanted to see the Cowboys crushed not merely beaten. Call it B-

So much for the golden rule about no cheering in the press box. But I'm sure Dr. Z is able to put that bias aside during Hall of Fame voting.

Here’s how the Patriots attacked Eli Manning on his 38 pass drops:

3-man pressure: 1 of 38 snaps (1 first half/0 second half)
4-man pressure: 23 of 38 snaps (10/13)
5-man pressure: 12 of 38 snaps (7/5)
6-man pressure: 2 of 38 snaps (0/2)

Here’s how the Giants attacked Tom Brady on his 53 pass drops:

3-man pressure: 3 of 53 snaps (0 first half/3 second half)
4-man pressure: 35 of 53 snaps (11/24)
5-man pressure: 14 of 53 snaps (6/8)
6-man pressure: 1 of 53 snaps (0/1)

How the Giants deployed their offensive personnel on their 62 offensive snaps (not counting the game-ending kneeldown):

1 RB/0 TE/4 WR (‘10’ personnel): 22 of 62 snaps (10 first half/12 second half)
2 RB/1 TE/2 WR (‘21’ personnel): 17 of 62 snaps (12/5)
1 RB/2 TE/2 WR (‘12’ personnel): 11 of 62 snaps (6/5)
1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 8 of 62 snaps (3/5)
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 2 of 62 snaps (1/1)
2 RB/0 TE/3 WR (‘20’ personnel): 2 of 62 snaps (2/0)

We're gonna get going here with the breakdown of Super Bowl XLII. This being America, you should feel free to scroll past this for Cowboys-centric blogging.

Here's how the Patriots deployed offensive personnel on their 69 offensive snaps:

1 RB/1 TE/3 WR (‘11’ personnel): 34 of 69 snaps (13 first half/21 second half)
1 RB/2 TE/2 WR (‘12’ personnel): 18 of 69 snaps (5/13)
1 RB/0 TE/4 WR (‘10’ personnel): 9 of 69 snaps (4/5)
2 RB/2 TE/1 WR (‘22’ personnel): 5 of 69 snaps (2/3)
2 RB/3 TE/0 WR (‘23’ personnel): 3 of 69 snaps (3/0)

Albert put together a well-reasoned and sound argument for keeping Flozell Adams under the franchise tag rules. Unfortunately, his numbers were a little off, which may sway the argument.

Adams actually ended up costing $7.5 million against the 2007 cap when you factor in a $500,000 incentive he picked up for making the Pro Bowl again. The franchise pay is either the average of the top-five cap figures or a 20 percent increase over what the player made the previous year.

PLAYERS SIGNED THROUGH 2008: Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, Terry Glenn, Sam Hurd, Miles Austin, Isaiah Stanback, Mike Jefferson

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None

TOP NAMES ON FREE AGENT MARKET: Randy Moss (Patriots), Bernard Berrian (Bears), Drew Carter (Panthers), Justin Gage (Titans), Jabar Gaffney (Patriots), Bryant Johnson (Cardinals)

TOP DRAFT NAMES: Malcolm Kelly (Oklahoma), Limas Sweed (Texas), Mario Manningham (Michigan), DeSean Jackson (Cal), James Hardy (Indiana), Early Doucet (LSU)

I can't help but wonder what Osi Umenyiora, the Giants' lone Pro Bowler, has to say when he comes across the 13 Cowboys in Hawaii.

Umenyiora is a rather skilled trash talker, so he might make a snide comment or two about how the All-Pro Cowboys couldn't beat the Average Joe Giants when it counted. Or he might just smile, not feeling the need to rub it in after winning the Super Bowl.

Hey, you folks interested in live Pro Bowl blogging action this weekend?

According to reports on ESPN and the Washington Times, Steve Spagnuolo has decided to pull his name out of the running for the Redskins' vacancy and stay with the New York Giants.

That's good news for the Cowboys. Now it might mean Dom Capers is ready to make a decision. If Spagnuolo had left for Washington, Capers would have been a candidate to be the Giants' defensive coordinator having worked for Tom Coughlin Jacksonville.

The Cowboys don't exactly have a long history slapping players with the franchise tag.

But the more I think about, the more I like the idea of doing it with Pro Bowl LT Flozell Adams, with today being the first day they can use tag. Teams have until Feb. 21 to designate franchise and transition players.

Last year, Adams carried a cap charge of $7 million. This year's franchise number for offensive linemen is $7.455 million. So the raise he'd get is relatively minimal.

And by tagging Flo, who turns 33 in May, you'd hold on to a very good left tackle for another year, while being able to get a better read on Pat McQuistan, Doug Free and James Marten and the readiness and/or ability of each to play one of the toughest positions in pro football. There are other options, of course. The Cowboys could lock Flo up, or they could let him go and draft a left tackle with one of their first-round picks, or they could sink-or-swim with the young guys they've got.

But what franchising Adams would do is buy Dallas some time to evaluate the future of the position, and I think there's merit to the idea. The rub here is that feelings are often hurt when a player is tagged, and there could be fallout there. Still, usually, tagged players wind up signing the one-year tender they're presented with and play under it without incident. So in the long run, using the tag on Flo could pay dividends.

The only question left is which one in Tony Romo and which one is Terrell Owens?

During a two-segment interview on last night's NFL Total Access, the Cowboys' record-setting duo couldn't settle that. At first, Romo assumed the role of the Boy Wonder, but at the end of their sitdown with Rich Eisen, the QB was looking to become the Caped Crusader.

That was just part of a talk that ranged from how much Owens' emotional defense of his QB at season's end meant to the QB, all the way to how good Romo really is at golf. Follow the jump for the long of the jovial conversation. And as a warning: We mean long.