September 17, 2009

What do you have to do to get pumped up for this? Sunday Night Football, once again against a division rival, at Dallas, opening a new stadium. It doesn’t get any bigger or better than this. It’s going to be a tough game, a physical game, the crowd is going to be fired up and into it and we’re going to have to match the intensity of the Cowboys.

To be successful we have to get them out of their game and do our job on offense, which means controlling the ball. I hate to use a cliché, but we really do have to take it one play at a time. On the road, it’s crucial to think about it that way. Things won’t always go your way on the road, there will be adjustments to be made, but you can’t let anything throw you off of your game plan or make you fail to execute.

I like to say I play with no conscience. If you make a mistake you learn from it right away, learn why that play didn’t go your way and then move forward. If you let it trickle down, especially on the road, it will lead to disaster.

I’m excited to be going to Dallas, it’s always a battle, always a challenge. They’re going to be fired up. Our coaches have done a great job of putting us into the right game plan, using our strengths to make us successful. It’s got to be a group effort, the whole team has to rally around each other and go out and play a great football game.

Dallas has a great defense. They not only have great players but the 3-4 scheme they run puts players in the right position to use their talents to the best of their ability. In the 3-4 they use one defensive end on my side and one standup linebacker. The main guys I’ll be blocking are Igor Olshansky as the end and either DeMarcus Ware or Anthony Spencer on the outside. Usually it’s DeMarcus.

As a football player you always want to challenge yourself against the best in the NFL, and DeMarcus is one of them. He’s athletically gifted, he’s 6-5, 265 and runs like a linebacker, he’s smart and instinctive and fits into their 3-4 system perfectly. You have to account for him at all times.

DeMarcus also plays the game real hard and real fast, you really have to play him to the whistle and make sure you finish him or he’ll make plays downfield and on the back side.

It’s awesome, I’m excited to go up against him again, so I’m making sure to study all the film I can to see if he’s done anything different from last season during the preseason or their first game against Tampa Bay.

I’m preparing for a 60-minute battle, because that’s what it’s going to take to be successful out there.

Dave Diehl is an offensive lineman for the New York Giants. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.davediehl66.com. Find him on Twitter @davediehl66.