The Dallas Cowboys kick off the 2012 regular season against an old foe, the New York Giants, on Wednesday, Sept. 5. That game will take place on the national stage, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn't keen on letting this opportunity slip away -- even if it means cutting short the team's summer hiatus.
The Cowboys have petitioned the NFL to open the team's training camp three days earlier than planned, on July 27, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Why? Because that's when the Giants are set to launch training camp, and the Cowboys want every advantage their Gotham rivals will enjoy.
The Cowboys currently are scheduled to launch camp July 30 in Oxnard, Calif. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett understands the team might not have its wish granted.
"What we have to focus on is what our situation is," Garrett told the newspaper. "We can't worry about what the Giants' situation is or any of our opponents. We know when we're going to report to camp and we know when we're going to play our first preseason game and first regular-season game. That's all pretty much outlined for us, so we just have to understand what the situation is, and as a coach and coaching staff, we have to make sure we organize things the right way to get ourselves prepared as we go through camp. We'll have plenty of time to do that."
Dallas has bigger issues to tackle than this one. Besides, we view Thursday, Aug. 30, as the more important date on the schedule. That's when the Cowboys play their final preseason game, just six days before the Wednesday night opener. The Giants hold the advantage here, closing their preseason Aug. 29.
