| Giants
(5-4) vs Atlanta (5-4)
Last week Atlanta
lost their game to the Carolina Panthers. The
28-19 loss included an injury to starter Michael Turner who will
likely miss this game against the Giants and possibly more.
The Giants, on their bye week, watched as the Eagles and Cowboys
both lost the games they were playing in. Washington gained the
most ground in the NFC East race by winning over the Denver Broncos. Atlanta
Falcons.
Head coach Mike
Smith had a nice first year with the Falcons. He took a 4-12 team
to 11-5 and the playoffs. His quarterback, Matt Ryan, was the
rookie of the year and the Atlanta fans had something to look
forward to after going through the whole Michael Vick thing. This
year, like the Giants, they got off to a strong start but have
lost three of their last five games and are falling behind the
division leading 9-0 Saints. Falcons
Offense.
As we mentioned
above, quarterback Matt Ryan had a nice rookie year although his
interceptions rose near the end of the regular season with five
over the last four games. Still he had only 11 on the year. However
the interceptions are coming quicker this season and he is up
to 12 already with 10 coming over the last five games. They traded
for tight end Tony Gonzalez in the offseason. He's doing the job
(44 catches for 501 yards and 4 touchdowns) and is a great addition
to go with receiver Roddy White who leads the team with 47 catches
and 668 yards. Running back Michael Turner is seventh in the NFL
with 831 rushing yards but he was hurt in the game last week.
Jerious Norwood might be making the start coming off a hip injury
that sidelined him for four games, otherwise it will be fullback
Jason Snelling. Falcons
Defense.
They rank 26th
in the NFL against the run and Carolina's running backs came away
with a combined 174 yards last week. They aren't any better against
the pass, ranking 28th. The opposition has converted 48.8 percent
on third-down attempts and that's the second-highest success rate
in the league. Where did all the defense go? Well they let five
defensive starters leave during free agency. One of them, Michael
Boley is now playing for the Giants. The plan - picking up some
better personnel and using the draft, but cornerback Brian Williams
ended up on injured reserve last month and their top two draft
choices, defensive tackle Peria Jerry and defensive back William
Moore, are also on injured reserve. Giants
Offense.
Eli Manning should
be able to pass on a team that gives up over 240 yards per game.
He went 25-of-33 for 215 yards in the game right before the bye
week, a loss to San Diego. The Giants running game with Brandon
Jacobs has been picking up and overall they are ranked fifth in
offense, averaging over 370 yards a game. They have had an extra
week to decide how to attack the Falcons defense. Giants
Defense.
They Giants are
good against the run and they caught an extra break in the fact
that Falcon's running back Michael Turner won't be playing. That
puts more pressure on Atlanta's quarterback Matt Ryan, who has
been struggling and he's up against a defense that has surrendered
the second fewest passing yards in the league. The bad news is
that the Falcons run a tricky offense and the Giants have admitted
to having "communication problems" and giving up big
plays. You know this if you saw all the Giants good efforts go
down the drain in that last game against San Diego in the final
minutes. Giant
Concerns.
Things were looking
good for the Giants coming off a bye week of rest, but then suddenly
you find that they've lost Antonio Pierce for this game and maybe
for the rest of the season. Pierce, the leader of the defensive
unit on the field, could especially be missed in this particular
game. Remember the Falcons like to mix things up using misdirection
or suddenly going no-huddle to confuse opposing defenses, and
they are known for making big plays of 20 or more yards. NFC
East.
On Sunday,
the (3-6) Redskins meet up with the (5-3) Cowboys in Dallas at
the same time the Giants are playing their game. Later at 8:20
PM the (5-4) Eagles are in Chicago up against the (4-5) Bears.
The Giants, Cowboys and Eagles are favored to win their games. From
thirty two to sixteen to nine to seven to five to four to three
to two.
The
Colts in the AFC and the Saints in the NFC continued their wining
streaks and now have 9-0 records. The Saints play the (1-8) Buccaneers
who have home field advantage and a one game win streak that looks
to be in jeopardy and the the Colts play in Baltimore against
the (5-4) Ravens. Every team has at least one win, but that's
not saying much for the 1-8 Rams, Bucs, Lions and Browns. The
Browns and Lions play each other this week so at least one teams'
fans will have a little something to cheer about. 
Check
out.
The Team
Giants Store, and see some of the really unique items we put
together.
There are some items you certainly haven't seen
elsewhere, and each sale helps out our site. Notes.
Giants
linebacker Michael Boley was drafted in 2005 by the Falcons.
Boley
signed as a free agent with the Giants after spending four seasons
with Atlanta. Giants
have allowed 22 touchdowns on 29 trips to the red zone. Falcons
have scored 22 times in 30 red-zone trips (73 percent), including
17 touchdowns. Falcons
John Abraham set a franchise record with 16.5 sacks last season. Falcons
have won the last five games played at Giants Stadium. Falcons
have never had back to back winning seasons.
Next
Game
Nov.
26 Giants at Denver at 8:20PM.
Giants
Tickets - Buy
or Sell 400+
Tickets (as
of 11/20) Next
Home Game
Dec.
6 Cowboys at Giants at 4:15PM*.
Giants
Tickets - Buy
or Sell 770+
Tickets (as
of 11/20)
*Time
subject to change
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