The Giants don't know if Ezekiel Elliott will be on the field for next Sunday's opener in Dallas. Nor do they seem to care.
While the Cowboys' running back takes his case to avoid a six-game suspension to court, the Giants are preparing for the team they will face, not the starting running back.
"We're focused on our own team right now," Ben McAdoo said on Friday. "Whoever rolls out there for Dallas, whoever they put on the field, we'll be prepared for, we'll have a plan for, and we'll be ready to go."
While Elliott certainly had a dazzling rookie season, the Giants managed to beat him twice. In the two games the teams faced each other in 2016, Elliott was held to a combined 158 yards on 44 carries (3.6 average) and the Giants won both times. In the 13 other regular-season games Elliott played he averaged 5.3 yards per carry and the Cowboys were 13-0.
Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said even if Elliott is suspended, the scheme will be the same and backup running backs Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden are no slouches.
"Those guys are still really good backs," Rodgers-Cromartie said. "They're downhill backs, all three of them, and Zeke can make that one cut just as Alfred Morris and McFadden. McFadden still has a little speed left to him, so I think it's still the same game plan."
The Giants are not overlooking the Cowboys, with or without their dynamic second-year runner.
"They're definitely the team to beat," guard Justin Pugh said. "They won the division."
He was, however, quick to add: "We did beat them twice."
Pugh said he expects the game to be just like most of the Giants-Cowboys tilts.
"It's going to be grimy, it's going to be gritty, it's going to be tough," he said. "You're going to feel like you were in a car accident after that game."
Pugh did suggest he would rather Elliott not be on the field for the game on Sept. 10, but he'd rather it happen because of the offense holding onto the ball and not by some NFL decree. Either way, the challenge would then be on the shoulders of Dallas' other second-year star, quarterback Dak Prescott.
"Our job is to keep them off the field, whether (Elliot) is on their offense or not there," Pugh said. "The goal is to go out there and not make it as close, get a lead, and let our defense get after their offense. Kind of make them one-dimensional, see if they can drop back and throw it."
