By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv

 

 

I look forward to the start of the football season, I really do, but this year I chose not to spend it in the company of anonymous strangers at a sports bar, or a tailgate party with friends outside of the Meadowlands, but in solitude in front of the TV while a birthday party for one of my relatives continued outside. That, for me, is the epitome of what this just-born season feels like -- there's a party going on outside, but you're sitting in total solitude moping in front of the flat-screen because of what you've just witnessed.

 

Eric Mangini -- genius that he is -- reverted to being every bit the schoolboy to Bill Belichick's headmaster and was dealt another lesson, this time in the form of a 38-14 rout. Randy Moss helped to run over the Jets defense, and Chad Pennington seemed penitent limping off the field with a injured right ankle amidst cheers from fans for his backup Kellen Clemens.The Cowboys seemed to find more holes in a tired-looking Giants' defensive line than they would in a slice of Swiss cheese. And despite Tiki Barber's coaching from the other side of the cameras and his cheshire cat grin, QB Eli Manning and the rest of the offense finally showed some much-needed resiliency against the Cowboys,only to fall out to injuries en route to a 45-35 loss.

With test results expected tomorrow, another lasting injury to Pennington wouldn't surprise me, and the same goes for Big Blue as a whole going back before Coughlin even arrived. But anything that sidelines Manning after what for him was an impressive performance last night, in a season in which he may be finally coming into his own as a leader is truly a Giant loss.

Wanna argue with the Ref? Don't like the call? Go ahead and make your own!