E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

SAN FRANCISCO, THE NEXT OPPONENT, DRAWS PRAISE FROM ALL THE GIANTS

By Dave Klein
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Tom Coughlin tried to take the high road. Oh, hell, he always does. He'll never say anything demeaning or mean about the next opponent his Giants will have to face, or any opponent, for that matter.

So Sunday his guys will fly across the country to play the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers, who own first place in the NFC West by at least six light years, and after the effort the Giants expended in beating New England last Sunday, one might expect Coughlin to boast just a little.

No, sir, because that would, in some way, demean the Niners.

"They are technically very sound," he said Wednesday. "They have outstanding personnel. Their two inside linebackers [Patrick Willis and NoVarro Bowman] are really good ones, powerful, big. Their safeties are very involved in [stopping] the run. They're just very sound."

Willis is 6-1 and 240 (he played at the University of Mississippi with Eli Manning). Bowman is 6-0 and 245, and they serve as the anchors of a defensive unit that ranks ninth in the NFL. The Niners are also first in defense against the run - but 22nd vs. the pass.

Coughlin is equally generous with his praise of just about any facet of the San Francisco team, as befits a squad that is 7-1 and on a six-game winning streak. The 49ers' only loss came in Week Two - against the Dallas Cowboys (27-24 in overtime).

But the private feelings about this next opponent might be markedly different, if anyone with a notebook or a tape recorder was successful in prying out such information.
The 49ers aren't a super team. For instance, they average 311 yards per game and allow 325; the Giants have gained 372 yards per game. The Giants lead the league with 28 sacks while the 49ers have 22. The two offenses are a mere eight points apart.

Up and down the depth charts, the fact that screams out for attention is that these two teams are virtually dead even, and that if there is a slight advantage, it belongs to the visiting team, the one with a 6-2 record and in first place in a far tougher NFC East division.

In the end, it will come down to performance on the field. Rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh was a quarterback (at Michigan, drafted in the first round in 1979 after the Giants took Phil Simms) and he looks at those guys with a different viewpoint. Someone asked him on this trans-continental telephone conference call what he sees when he studies Manning.

"He has tremendous arm talent," he said. "He has great stature in the pocket, tremendous vision. Plays very cool. Makes great decisions and does a really good job buying time and gives himself more time to make those cool-headed decisions. He finds quiet spots in the pocket and makes throws that only the best [quarterbacks] in the game can make."

Talk about your glowing recommendations, huh? Of course, Harbaugh is like Coughlin and he won't really say what he thinks about Manning or any other Giant player, but the prevailing opinion is that the teams are virtually even, each holding some positional advantages.

Manning was asked about the San Francisco defense. "They don't give up many big plays," he began. "You have to play really smart against them. That's a solid defense and you don't get a lot of teams running against them, especially against that front seven. They don't let you run much but we have to, especially when we see certain looks. We have to run in order to pass."

It is no secret that the 49ers would rather run the pass and pass sparingly. To compare, Eli has thrown280 passes and completed 176 (that's 62.9 percent) for 2,377 yards, 15 touchdowns and just six interceptions; Smith has attempted only 206 and completed 132 (4.1 percent) for 1,467 yards, 10 touchdowns and just TWO interceptions. That's TWO. The two are millimeters apart in QB rating - Manning is 98.8, Smith is 97.3.

"They want to run," said weakside linebacker Michael Boley. We have to play a strong, smart game and stop the run." Is he saying the Giants' defense would rather force Smith to pass? That brought a smile, not an admission. "We want to stop the run and put the game in his [Smith's] hands."

Coughlin underlined that. "You know they're going to run the ball and we have to stop the run," he said. "[Frank] Gore has had five straight games with 100 or more yards. He's exceptional. And they have a tight end [that would be Vernon Davis] who is a rare combination of size and speed. For a guy his size [6-3, 250] he came out of college with a 4.35 time [in the 40-yard dash]."

There is little doubt that the Niners' first choice would be to run. Gore has carried the ball 159 times for 782 yards - and all the Giants combined don't have 782 yards.

So will it be the Giants' passing against the 49ers' running? Nope, it's the Giants' defense against the 49ers' run. To turn the 49ers into a one-dimensional offense would be to take a huge step toward winning.

EXTRA POINTS - Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and running back Ahmad Bradshaw did not take part in practice Wednesday, although both are expected to be able to play Sunday. ... Center David Baas, who also missed the Patriots' game, participated fully and looks forward to this reunion with his former team. ... The Giants' risk factor is this - they rank 25th in the NFL against the run while the 49ers stand sixth in rushing.

The Giants officially released center-guard Adam Koets from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, rendering him a free agent. ... At the same time, they terminated the practice squad contract of fullback Alex Daniels and added free agent defensive end Craig Marshall, who was with the team during training camp. ... Marshall played at South Florida with defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams. ... JPP is third in NFL sacks with 9.5, followed by defensive end Osi Umenyiora with six.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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