COWBOY WANTS PIECE OF FLOWERS & ELI
Cowboys’ Lawrence pumped to face Flowers
FRISCO, Texas — A minor groin injury was not about to deprive DeMarcus Lawrence of his chance to line up against Ereck Flowers on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys’ ferocious pass rusher saw film of the Giants’ new right tackle from Week 1, when Flowers struggled to protect Eli Manning and committed two penalties in the first three plays of the game. On one, Flowers resorted to sticking out his leg to trip Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell, who Lawrence called “a beast.”
But isn’t Flowers going up against another beast this Sunday?
“Oh, absolutely. I’m a dog, though,” Lawrence said Friday after practice. “I eat, sleep, kill football.
“Don’t get me started,” he added with a smile. “Just looking forward to the matchup.”
But the Giants may not find it funny on Sunday when they will have to find a way to contain Lawrence, who racked up 14.5 sacks last season. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive end missed Wednesday’s practice with what he described as a nagging groin injury, but returned to practice fully the past two days.
Five months ago, hours before the Giants passed on a QB and drafted Saquon Barkley at No. 2, it was Lawrence who tweeted, “Here’s to the @Giants NOT drafting a QB. #ILikeEli #KeepEli.” Now he’s ready to show why.
“You dream of nights like this,” he said. “Sunday Night Football, all the lights, 10 [Manning] just sitting back in the pocket. But we got to stop the run first in order to get to third down.”
The Cowboys’ defense had to chase after Cam Newton last week, when Lawrence had one of its three sacks, and will get a less mobile target to rush this Sunday.
“I mean, he’s a Super Bowl champ, so you can’t sit here and talk bad about Eli, but then again, he is a pocket quarterback,” Lawrence said. “He’s going to look down his targets and once his targets ain’t there, he’s got to take the sack. … Sometimes it’s smart football and sometimes I feel like it’s fear. Take it how you want.”
The Giants may get some relief in the trenches as Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory was listed as doubtful. He was limited in practice Friday, his first action of the week after being cleared from the league’s concussion protocol, but may not get a chance to team up with Lawrence.
Still, the Cowboys have ends Tyrone Crawford and Taco Charlton and tackles Maliek Collins and Daniel Ross to help the cause. And even double teams haven’t exactly stopped Lawrence.
“He plays with a relentless spirit, has a lot of ability,” Dallas head coach Jason Garrett said. “The mentality he plays with is really the thing that separates him. He keeps going, he goes 100 mph against the run and against the pass and he shows up in the game.”
Lawrence agreed. He was hobbled by injuries early in his career, but when healthy, he has been a handful. He’s playing on a fran- chise tag, and while he faces an uncertain future in Dallas (could the Jets come calling in the offseason?), he has his mind set on making life miserable for the Giants on Sunday night.
“I love this game so much,” Lawrence said. “I put so much hard work and passion into it that I don’t like to lose. That’s how you got to be. This game can wrap you up around so many different obstacles of money … all the outside B.S. that you don’t need to buy into while you’re playing this game. I just try to stay focused and get the job done.”