Sun Nov 11, 4:00 pm (FOX) - Giants at Cards
What's in the Cards for the Giants?
Quarterback Jake Plummer said after last week's loss to the Eagles, "We have to make the plays. We do it at times, but not when we need it." The (2-5) Cards have been dealing with some injuries, and making a number of personnel changes in an effort to find themselves. The Giants think they have found
themselves by nature of last week's big come from behind win over the Cowboys. If you believe that, you have to forget the first half of that game where they put themselves into a 17 point deficit in the first place. The Giants beat the Cards twice last year, and a win here ensures that they stay in second place in the NFC East.
Show me the sacks.
Michael Strahan is the sack master on the Giants. He could break Mark Gastineau's NFL record for sacks (22) after getting 14 in his last six games. The other members of the line have eight sacks combined (including one for Frankie Ferrara). Strahan missed one day of practice this week due to tightness in his back, but was fine the day after.
If Strahan wants to continue his sack streak, he'll have to do it against the Cardinals big right tackle Anthony Clement (6 foot 8, 350 lbs). Right guard Leonard Davis (6-6, 370lbs) is there too. Strahan says, "I mean, gosh, how much bigger can they make humans? But it's a challenge. That's how I look at it. The bigger the guy is, the more of a challenge it is to beat him."
That's fine Mike, now remember to watch that back. When lifting, always bend at the knees.
Hold that line.
Overall, the Giants have thrown 10 interceptions, and lost eight fumbles. There is no running game, and Kerry Collins is getting sacked a lot, a whole lot. This brings quite a bit of attention to the offensive linemen who allowed only 28 sacks all last season and have already given up 21 at the halfway mark this year. The Giants gained 1,138 yards on the ground at this point last year,
and now have only 784 yards to date.
What's changed?
Well, the injuries haven't helped. Glenn Parker suffered concussions in consecutive weeks. Lomas Brown has been troubled with sore knees, and Ron Stone sprained his shoulder. This has led to inconsistencies. Running back Tiki Barber was out for 2 1/2 games. Also, there's been some talk that the Giants play calling has become very predictable. Some of that is due to the fact that
the team has fallen behind early in some games.
Will things change?
Well, people can get healthy, but will the Giants try something different, like throwing to a tight end? It's getting to the point where opposing defenses don't even pay attention to the Giants tight ends. One reporter wrote that "after the Cowboys game, Dallas LB Dat Nguyen told a couple of the Giants that he didn't even bother covering Campbell as the game wore on. Late
in the contest, Campbell was running free down the middle of the field without a defender within several yards of him. Seems Nguyen was so certain that Campbell wouldn't get the ball that he jumped up and helped blanket RB Tiki Barber.
The Tight Ends.
Giants tight ends have only three catches to date. Dan Campbell has two and Marcellus Rivers has one. The Giants are on pace for the lowest receiving production at the tight end position since 1970, when tight ends were first statistically treated separately. Howard Cross, the blocking tight end, had 13 in 1998 when Giants tight ends combined for a total of only 16 receptions.
In 1999, the Giants brought in pass catching tight end Pete Mitchell to remedy all this, and Pete had his career best year, pulling in 58 receptions. He even had 25 last year when they weren't using him all that much, but now, for whatever reason, Pete's gone and no one's replaced him in the passing role.
The Giants really need to improve here, as throwing to the tight end helps out the other receivers as well. The middle defenders can cheat to the outside and help cover the sidelines better, knowing that nothing goes to the tight ends. This might be a good time to throw to Howard Cross, if for no other reason than it will be his 200th game, all for the Giants.
By the way, Howard Cross' best (receiving) year was in 1994 when he had 31 receptions for 364 yards.
Go Punt.
Both the Giants and Cardinals will be using new punters for this game. The Cards signed former San Francisco punter Chad Stanley, because punter Scott Player will be out for at least a week with an ankle injury. The Giants will be using rookie Owen Pochman to punt for a few games while Rodney Williams recovers from a broken right wrist. Pochman
is the Giants kickoff specialist, but has been sitting of late with Morten Andersen performing the kickoff duties.
For this game
With Armstead and Hamilton both healthy, defensive lineman Frank Ferrara, will likely not play despite getting a sack his first game out last week. Frank had dressed against the Cowboys because of injuries and was moved from end to tackle, and then getting into the game in the fourth quarter he recorded a key sack, beating superstar guard Larry Allen.
Arizona is hurting on defense with injuries, and with it's 28th ranking against the run, this is the game for the Giants to feed the ball to Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne bigtime, and hey, come on. Sometime during the game, throw some passes to a tight end, maybe even Howard Cross.
Notes:
Giants tight ends have only three receptions this season.
Howard Cross will play in his 200th game, all for the Giants.
Cross, a 13-year veteran, is the team's last remaining member of the 1990 Super Bowl championship.
Under Jim Fassel, the Giants have averaged 163.6 rushing yards in eight games against Arizona.
Under Jim Fassel, the Giants have won 6 of 8 games in the series, including a sweep last year.
The Giants lead the all-time series, 76-39-2, and have won 16 of the last 22 meetings.
Michael Strahan has at least one full sack in six consecutive games.
The record for the most consecutive games with a sack in one season is eight, owned by three players: Denver's Simon Fletcher (1991), Oakland's Lance Johnstone (1998) and Tennessee's Jevon Kearse (1999).
Five members of the World Series champion Diamondbacks will participate in the pregame coin toss. Manager Bob Brenly, outfielder Luis Gonzalez, first baseman Mark Grace, shortstop Tony Womack and pitcher Bret Prinz.
Next Game
Nov 19, Giants at Minnesota at 9PM.
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, game 8 - Giants 27- Dallas 24
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