The Giants - What happened?
If you tuned into the presidential debate, you might have noticed that aside from the excitement of one candidate trying to crash the proceedings, there wasn't much action, and they made no mention of some very important items: Where is the Thunder and Lightning? Where is the pass-rush? Where are the Giants headed this year? It's just as well that they didn't ask the candidates, because for once, they would gaze across the audience and have nothing to say. One thing is for sure, the Giants aren't about to Gore any teams without a pass-rush, and they won't stop teams from marching downfield with their defense hiding somewhere in the Bush. Sorry about that, no Punt intended. (Oops there we go again). I guess we took things too far, but what it all means is that the Giants are not a very good team, or at least not playing like one right now.
This week the Giants face the Falcons, and Nader team is playing very well (ouch). Having said that, we guarantee that you can go on to read the following paragraphs in complete pun-safety, since we can't figure out how to work in something like Buchanan anyway.
BTW - For those into Stats - Prior polls had Bush and Gore about even, with Nader holding at 5 percent, and Buchanan at 1 percent.

No Pass Rush. A two fisted attack?
Here are some facts. In 1998 (with Strahan and Bratzke), the Giants lead the league with 54 sacks. Strahan had 15, and Bratzke had 10 1/2. In 1999 (without Bratzke), the Giants tied for 27th place in sacks with 32. Strahan had 5 1/2 for the Giants, and Cedric Jones had 7 in place of Bratzke. Bratzke had 12 for the Colts.
Now remember, in 1999 because the offense was so poor, the Giants defensive unit was on the field most of the time, so there were plenty of opportunities to come up with sacks. Are sacks the true measure of a pass rush? You certainly end up with a bunch of them if the pass rush is good, and after winning three games, the Giants were happy just putting extreme pressure on the quarterback and enjoying the results of hurried throws. The sad truth is that it only seems to work against the weaker teams, or those teams weakened by injuries.

Big game for Strahan
Defensive line coach Denny Marcin said this week, "Our second effort is not as good as it was a year ago. In order to get to the passer you've gotta be relentless, and right now we're not relentless." The starting front four, Michael Strahan, Christian Peter, Keith Hamilton and Cedric Jones have combined for only five of the Giants 11 sacks this season and barely put pressure on the Titans Steve McNair last week.
When you think pass rush on the Giants, you think mostly of Michael Strahan. His sacks have dropped from 15 in 1998 to 5 1/2 in just one year. Last year he had some nagging injuries and was double-teamed, but Marcin said that Strahan, who has 2 1/2 sacks so far, is not being double-teamed as much this season. "I can't give you the exact numbers," said Marcin, "but there are less double-teams as opposed to last season. We're not beating the one-on-one blocks."
This week the Giants play the Falcons, a team that has given up 10 sacks in its last two games. Michael Strahan plays opposite their fourth-round draft pick who just worked his way into their starting lineup last week. So now, the Falcons have rookie starters at both right guard and tackle, and quarterback Chris Chandler is no scrambler. Strahan didn't look too good last game going against the Titans tight end Frank Wycheck in man-to-man blocking. You can believe that the coaches will be watching very carefully to see what Michael can do. If he doesn't do it this game it's a real concern, as he probably won't be any more productive the rest of the season.

The rest of the line
Talk is that the Giants might give second-round draft pick Cornelius Griffin some more playing time. Against the Titans he replaced Christian Peter at left tackle in some passing situations. Cedric Jones had 7 1/2 sacks last year, and none so far this season. Last week starting left tackle Brad Hopkins left the game in the first quarter with an ankle sprain, and still Jones wasn't able to do much. He's playing with a small cast on his hand to protect an injured thumb and Cornelius Griffin might get a shot playing for him. Elsewhere on the defense, linebacker Mike Barrow is still hurting because of a pinched nerve in his neck, so backup Pete Monty might play the full game for him this week. Pete is great against the run, and that would be all the Falcons would have left if the front four can take away the passing game this week.
Cornerback Emmanuel McDaniel had a bad outing against the Titans last Sunday, and could be replaced this week by Andre Weathers. Andre was hurt last season in week 9, when he tore his ACL against the Colts. He finished the season with the one interception, a crucial fumble recovery against the Eagles, a pass defensed and 15 tackles, including special teams stops. He got in some good practice time this week, and could be ready to go.

The offense
Quarterback Kerry Collins had his worst game of the season, giving up three interceptions to the Titans, but there were three dropped passes that could have been pivotal. Amani Toomer dropped a deep sideline pass through his hands in the first quarter. Ike Hilliard and Ron Dixon were responsible for the other two.
Let's face it, the offense was barely on the field that game and never got started. Look for them to do much better this game and to bring some "thunder and lightning" into the the Georgia Dome. Toomer has missed most of the past two practices with a sore toe, but is expected to play in this week's game. Jaret Holmes looks likely to kick Sunday for Brad Daluiso. He had trouble fighting the Meadowlands winds on Wednesday, but was nearly perfect on field goals inside the practice bubble on Thursday, and should be fine in a domed stadium.

This week's competition
The Falcons (2-3) are made to order for the Giants right now. Two weeks ago the Rams pulled in eight sacks against them, and last week the Eagles got only two, but were all over Chris Chandler who had to toss the ball in fear as soon as he got it. The Falcons star running back, Jamal Anderson, had reconstructive surgery last year on his right knee, and has not been productive. Their running game is ranked 26th in the league. The Falcons have converted just 16 of 65 third-down opportunities, which puts them last in the NFL. The Falcons defense, like their offense, ranks 30th in the NFL.
In case you're wondering, thanks in part to last week's game, the Giants defense ranks 18th overall in the NFL, and 27th in pass defense. Kerry Collins is 20th in the NFL with a quarterback rating at 77.7, and Tiki Barber has fallen to the number six spot in the NFL in rushing.

Where are the Giants headed?
The Giants have played five games, and having lost the last two to the Redskins and Titans, shows that the Giants are a mid-level team. At 3-0, they looked capable of taking the NFC East, but now they're in a three-way tie and the Redskins are coming on strong. The Giants can beat the easy teams but can't step up to the tougher competition, and if that's the case, their schedule puts them in line to be a wildcard team. The Giants next play the Falcons, Cowboys, Eagles, and Browns, teams that are at or below their level. They could be 6-3 before going up against the Rams. Then the Giants play only two teams that currently have winning records.

Notes
Dan Reeves was the head coach for the Giants before Jim Fassel.

Running back Joe Montgomery dressed last Sunday, but did not play.

Next Game
Oct 8, Giants at Atlanta 4PM FOX

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, Tennessee 28 - Giants 14

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