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Giants - Vikings
NFC Championship Game
 

Sun Jan 14, 12:30 pm (FOX) - Vikings at Giants

Yikes it's the Vikes!
The last time the Giants were in a playoff game it was against Minnesota, and it didn't turn out all that well. Back in 1997, the Vikings managed to pull out a stunning 23-22 come-from-behind win. The Vikings are in the playoffs again, even after losing three straight games to close out their 2000 season. The bye week did them well, and the Vikings are back on the winning track. They won their playoff game 34-16 over the Saints, who exhausted themselves playing the Rams two straight games.

It all goes through the Meadowlands.
The Minnesota Vikings were more than likely rooting for the Eagles last Sunday. If Philly had beaten the Giants, the Eagles would have had to take flight to the domed stadium in Minnesota. Now instead, it's the Vikings who will have to make the journey to the (undomed) Meadowlands. Still, they seem unconcerned, and why not? The Giants hosted that losing playoff game in 1997, and then lost to the Vikings again in 1999, also in New Jersey.

It all goes through the Vikings.
The Vikings always seem to be in the playoffs. In fact, they had their 38th playoff game last Saturday, tying the 49ers for 2nd in NFL history, and trailing the Cowboys who lead with 53 playoff games. Last year the Vikings got as far as the Division Championship, where they lost in a shoot-out with the Rams. After all the footballs landed, the final score was St. Louis 49 - Minnesota 37, and what else would you expect from two teams that sport big scoring offensive units, and lackluster defenses.

That 1997 wildcard game. Vikings 23- Giants 22.
The Giants were controlling the game against the Vikings. They held leads of 13-0, 19-3, and 22-13, but since Minnesota wasn't giving them enough of a fight, they decided to fight amongst themselves. The Giants had their starting left cornerback Phillippi Sparks back in action, after coming off a sprained left knee, and he showed he was at least healthy enough to take on everyone.
- Sparks fly.
Sparks was all over rookie Tiki Barber after he was stripped of the ball early in the third quarter. The fumble was recovered at the Giants' 4, and then a touchdown run by Leroy Hoard cut the lead to 19-10. Later Sparks and defensive back Conrad Hamilton got into a shouting match over coverage. Also during the game, Sparks and Jessie Armstead were shoving each other, and Michael Strahan and Keith Hamilton were arguing on the sidelines.
- Danny Kanell.
Despite distractions, quarterback Danny Kanell engineered a long drive (6-for-6 for 74 yards) and Brad Daluiso kicked his fifth field goal, with 7:03 to go and that gave the Giants a 22-13 lead. The Giants were still up by 9 points with less than two minutes remaining, when Tito Wooten was beaten for a touchdown by Jake Reed.
Now with the score 22-20, the Vikings recovered an onside kick that bounced out of Chris Calloway's hands, and Randall Cunningham hit Cris Carter for 21 yards. Then Phillipi Sparks was called for interference, and soon, Eddie Murray ended up kicking the winning field goal with 10 seconds left.
- It's over.
The improved 10-5-1 regular-season record, and NFC East title, the sweep of the divisional teams, Fassel being named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, all that glory came to a sudden end. The somber game notes were as follows:
This was the first wildcard loss for the Giants.
Daluiso kicked for a career high of 5 field goals, tying the NFL playoff record.
Eddie Murray, the oldest player in the NFL, kicked the winning field goal.
Coach Fassel confirmed that Danny Kanell is the Giant's quarterback for the future.
Read more about it.

The 1999 regular season game. Vikings 34- Giants 17
In this next to last regular season game, the Giants had enough to stop Randy Moss, but they couldn't handle both him and Cris Carter. The Giants beat themselves in that 1997 wildcard game, but aside from the finality of losing in the playoffs, this loss was much worse. It seemed like every time the Minnesota offense took the field, the Giants were in trouble, and the Vikings kept adding to the score throughout the game. Chris Carter even caught a 27 yard touchdown pass from Randy Moss.
Kerry Collins was 31-51 for 297 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD, outplaying Jeff George, 10-21 for 185 yards, 2 INT, 0 TD, but it doesn't matter when you don't put up the points. By winning, the Vikings put themselves into the playoffs. The game notes read like this:
The Vikings showed they are playoff ready.
The Giants looked good on the opening drive, but that was it.
The Vikings used star player Cris Carter to full advantage.
The Giants defense couldn't get to quarterback Jeff George.
The Giants can still make the playoffs.
Read more about it.

Last week vs this week.
Compared to the Eagles last week, the Giants are moving up a class. It's like facing an Eagles team with a bigger chest and more offensive muscles to flex. Luckily, things swing the other way on defense. Minnesota had the league's 28th-ranked defense. Still, the Vikes held firm in last Saturday's 34-16 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Here I would expect to see the Giants flip what they did with the Eagles. The way the front line is playing for Collins, they should air it out against the weak Minnesota secondary, and then mix it up with Barber and Dayne.
On defense, the Giants have done well against scrambling quarterbacks, and just about all running backs this season. The notable exception was Eddie George, the only one able to run for over 100 yards on them this season, but he and the Titans are gone, safely out of contention. That leaves the throwing arm of Daunte Culpepper.

Daunte Culpepper.
Like Donovan McNabb of the Eagles, Daunte Culpepper also played in his first postseason game last week. The Giants were able to shut down McNabb, but Culpepper has some better targets to throw to. He used them In Minnesota's win over the Saints, passing for 302 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Culpepper also is dangerous out of the pocket. He rushed for 51 yards on four carries, and eluded any sacks from the Saints. He had the highest passer rating in team playoff history, 120.7. His 30-yard run was the longest by a Vikings QB and he became the first Viking to throw two passes of more than 50 yards in a playoff game.
Last Sunday, against the Eagles, the Giants sacked Donovan McNabb six times, but the Viking offense is better balanced and has the NFL's fifth-best offensive unit, and they will utilize pro bowl wideouts Randy Moss and Cris Carter.

Cris Carter and Randy Moss.
Cris Carter had eight receptions for 102 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown, and Randy Moss caught scoring passes of 53 and 68 yards against New Orleans. Even with smallish corners like Kevin Mathis 5'9", Fred Thomas 5'9" and Alex Molden 5'10", the Saints were somehow able to hold 6'4' Randy Moss to two catches.
Jason Sehorn keeps winning the Superstars competitions against world-class athletes from all sports, and people got to see some of his athletic abilities first hand last week in the Eagles playoff game. He is a natural to cover Chris Carter in man to man coverage.
Dave Thomas started in games for Jacksonville from 1995-98, but was used less in 1999. Facing an uncertain future, he came to the Giants this year. Thomas gives up only one inch to Randy Moss and plays a real physical game. Shaun Williams is also a heavy hitter and the two of them working double coverage on Randy Moss could be very effective. Remember that neither Sehorn nor Thomas was playing in that last game against Minnesota. At that time it was Jeremy Lincoln and a recovering Conrad Hamilton playing corner.

Related item.
Jim Fassel was named Coach of the Year in his first year as head coach, as he took the Giants from a 6-10 season to 10-5-1, and a wild card playoff, only to lose it to the Vikings.
This year, Jim Haslett the head coach of the Saints, who also lost to the Vikings in a playoff game, was honored as Coach of the Year. Coming in second was Philadelphia's Andy Reid, who lost his playoff game to the Giants.

Injuries:
Giants: QUESTIONABLE: LB Jack Golden (hip); WR Joe Jurevicius (knee); G Glenn Parker (ribs); CB Reggie Stephens (ankle); WR Amani Toomer (ankle/knee). PROBABLE: T Lomas Brown (back).
VIKINGS: OUT: S Orlando Thomas (hamstring/shoulder). QUESTIONABLE: CB Kenny Wright (knee). PROBABLE: LB Lemanski Hall (back).


Notes

Vikings are 5th in total offense, 6th in rushing, 7th in passing.
Vikings are tied for 28th in total defense, 15th against the rush, 28th against the pass.

Giants are 13th in total offense, 11th in rushing, 13th in passing.
Giants are 5th in total defense, 2nd against the rush, 16th against the pass.

Including playoffs, Giants have limited the opposition to fewer than 100 yards rushing in 7 straight games.

Teams that play in domes are 9-33 lifetime in postseason games on the road outdoors.

The Vikings will send 7 players to the Pro Bowl:
WRs Randy Moss and Cris Carter, QB Daunte Culpepper, RB Robert Smith, C Matt Birk, SS Robert Griffith, and T Korey Stringer.

The Giants will send 2 players to the Pro Bowl:
OL Jessie Armstead, and OG Ron Stone

PLAYOFF RESULTS between the two teams:
01/09/94: NYG, 17-10.
12/27/97: MIN, 23-22.


For those very organized fans.
If you use a Palm Pilot and want to keep the Giants schedule, and actually, the whole NFL schedule on it, there is a free download available here at PFL.

Last Week's review, Giants 20, Eagles 10


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