At least this season no one has to wait very long for Justin Tuck to reaffirm he still hates the Cowboys.
We already knew the Giants, as defending Super Bowl champions, would play host to Kickoff Weekend at MetLife Stadium, and the NFL on Tuesday opted for tradition and a sure-fire ratings bonanza in revealing the Cowboys as the opponent for the 2012 season’s first game, Sept. 5 at 8:30 p.m.
The league could have been a bit more creative — perhaps the bad-boy Bountygate Saints or the out-for-revenge Packers — but Giants-Cowboys always registers high in emotion and drama.
“We had two great games with them last year, and I’m sure our fans will be jacked up for it,’’ Giants owner John Mara said. “I’m sure they’ll be ready to play, too. I think it was a good choice on the part of the league. If you look at the last 10-12 games we’ve had with them, we’ve had great games that went down to the wire. I’m sure this one will be no different.’’
What might be different is the heightened ferocity the Cowboys bring to this NFC East game. After all, Mara — chairman of the NFL Management Committee — passionately defended the NFL’s docking the Cowboys $10 million in salary cap space in 2012 and 2013 (the Redskins were hit with a $36 million punishment) for violating what Mara called “the spirit of the salary cap’’ with bloated spending in the 2010 uncapped season. The Cowboys don’t agree with Mara’s contention and no doubt will seek payback in the season opener.
“I would like to settle this on the field,’’ Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told ESPNDallas.com, adding his relationship with Mara is fine.
This will be the ninth straight year the Super Bowl champions host the NFL Kickoff game, and the reigning champs have won the previous eight. All previous eight games were played on a Thursday night; this one was moved to Wednesday to avoid conflict with President Obama’s Thursday night speech to the Democratic National Convention. Last season, the Giants and Cowboys didn’t see each other until Week 14. The Giants saved their season with a 37-34 victory at Dallas — thanks to a blocked field-goal attempt by Jason Pierre-Paul — and three weeks later clinched the division title and eliminated the Cowboys with a resounding 31-14 victory in the regular-season finale. The telecast of that game averaged 27.6 million viewers, the most ever for a Sunday night game and the highest-rated regular-season prime-time game in 15 years.
Defensive end Dave Tollefson, a free agent who is not close at all to re-signing with the Giants, will visit with the Packers tomorrow and Friday as he continues to search for a football home. Tollefson’s first visit in free agency last week was to see the Seahawks. The Raiders and Buccaneers also have expressed interest.
Tollefson was a 2007 seventh-round draft pick of the Packers, but never played for them. He has been with the Giants for the past five seasons, and had a career-best five sacks in 2011 working as a reserve in the defensive line rotation. The Giants have an offer on the table, but it’s not to the liking of Tollefson, who is looking for more of a commitment .
The Giants have eight picks in this year’s NFL Draft. Based on winning Super Bowl XLVI, the Giants have the 32nd pick in each of the seven rounds. The Giants also were awarded one extra compensatory pick, the 36th pick in the fourth round.