The Giants know that their Super Bowl win made everyone hope they could return, but after missing the playoffs last season expectations will be even higher with Eli Manning coming back with Victor Cruz and now the Giants and Steelers are playing in the preseason in Pittsburgh watch the live stream below.
Romo will get his first taste of the preseason on Friday after sitting out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame game last weekend in Canton and now he will face off against the Oakland Raiders in Week 1 of the preseason. The Raiders enter the game looking to improve after going just 4-12 last season and the Cowboys know that the team will be working in a new quarterback with Matt Flynn and he will have the chance to get on the field for the first time in a Raiders uniform. Last year the Cowboys were very unbalanced on offense and that is one thing that Jason Garrett has stressed this summer.
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The Raiders were in a similar situation on offense and after the Cowboys ranked third in passing yards per game and 31st in rushing yards, they will be expecting more production from DeMarco Murray and company. The Raiders were in a similar situation last season, as both teams dealt with injuries at the position and with Darren McFadden coming back after missing 13 games over the past two years, the Raiders are expecting more production from him and the offense as a whole. McFadden hasn't played in over 13 games in his career and since he is entering a contract year, he has plenty to prove before he gets signed or given an extension.
The Cowboys defense was mediocre last year with Rob Ryan coordinating and now Monte Kiffin comes in to rework things after the team ranked 22nd in rushing yards allowed per game and 19th in passing yards allowed per game. Dallas was excellent throwing the ball behind Romo and while he passed for nearly 5,000 yards, the team came up short again in Week 17 to lose the NFC East and a chance at getting a playoff spot. The team has to do a better job of taking care of the ball at the end of games and they need to be more consistent on both sides of the ball.
The Raiders have the chance to be one of the most improved teams in the NFL depending on the way things shake out with injuries, as they signed and drafted a number of players that have boosted the talent on the roster, including Charles Woodson, Mike Jenkins and Tracy Porter in the secondary and Kevin Burnett at linebacker. The team is down a number of players on D after parting ways with Richard Seymour, Tommy Kelly and Michael Huff and the team also added linebacker Sio Moore in the draft to help upgrade the position heading into 2013.
The draft was mostly an offensive one for Reggie McKenzie and he took DJ Hayden at cornerback with his first pick and then went Menelik Watson, Mychal Rivera, Nick Kasa, Brice Butler, Latavius Murray and Tyler Wilson and adding that to a team that already has Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore gives Matt Flynn plenty of options for scoring touchdowns. The team decided to part ways with Carson Palmer and his crazy salary and now they will start over with Flynn at the helm and while many felt that Tyler Wilson would beat him out in camp, so far that has not happened and Allen appears to like Flynn enough to give him the starting job.
Check here for coverage of the game with the Steelers and Giants from the NFL preseason.