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Giants (6-4) vs Saints (7-3)
Last week the Saints were on a bye. With this upcoming
game being played at home and on a Monday, they've had plenty of time to rest
up and plan for the Giants.
The
Giants lost their game to the Eagles 17-10 in front of a very disappointed home
crowd. Things only get tougher for the team as they travel to play the Saints
in New Orleans. New
Orleans Saints.
When you think of
the Saints, one of the first things that comes to mind is that they were the Super
Bowl Champions in 2009. Last year they finished at 11-5, and surprisingly became
the first to ever lose a playoff game to a team with a losing record. Seattle
had a 7-9 regular season record and was the 'best of breed' in their NFC West
division going into that wildcard game with the Saints and they pulled off the
upset.
One thing Giants fans also know is that the head coach of the Saints
is their former offensive coordinator Sean Payton was once stripped of his playcalling
responsibilities by former head coach Jim Fassel. He moved on the following year
to work under Bill Parcells for the Cowboys and gets credit for discovering and
developing undrafted rookie, and now three-time Pro Bowler Tony Romo.
Payton's
first head coaching opportunity came in 2006 when he took over the 3-13 New Orleans
Saints. He tried to add the then untested Romo to his team by trading with a draft
pick, but that did not pan out. Drew Brees was brought in, and is leading the
NFL in passing yards. Brees set team records for that as well as completion percentage
and passer rating. Like Jim Fassel, Sean Payton was named coach of the year in
his first year on the job, and the Saints are currently 53-33 with him coaching.
They are 4-2 postseason, including their Super Bowl win. Saints
offense.
New Orleans leads the NFL
in offense with an impressive 436.9 yard average per game. At this rate, they
will top the team record that they set in 2008 (6,571 yards) by a nice margin.
If they overachieve, they will take over the NFL record set by the St. Louis Rams
in 2000 (7,075 yards). They do this with Drew Brees passing the ball around to
tight end Jimmy Graham and receivers Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson
and Robert Meachem. Graham leads all the tight ends in the league with 62 receptions
and 873 yards.
Running back Darren Sproles has run for 348 yards on 51 carries
to average 6.8 yards per carry. The Saints have made a great improvement in that
area coming off last year where they were ranked 28th in the league, and now sit
at 8th. Sproles also is second on the team with his 60 catches for 448 yards and
3 touchdowns. The offensive line hasn't allowed a sack in the last two games,
playing against division rivals Tampa Bay and Atlanta. That's coming off a loss
in St. Louis where Drew Brees was sacked six times. They have improved and will
be cautious of the Giants pass rush. Saints
defense.
The Saints like to blitz more than
any other team in the league. That said, they still rank just a bit below average,
either at 19th or 20th in allowing yards, both running and passing and points,
to be scored against them. This week they have an added benefit of going up against
an offense that has been ineffective of late and shuffling it's line around because
of injuries. If this defense manages even a so-so job it will probably be enough
to contain the Giants weak rushing attack. The biggest thing that could hurt them
is defending against Eli Manning having a hot hand with his receivers. Trouble
is, this is one of the loudest stadiums for any opposing quarterback to be effective
and play in. Giants offense
The
Giants, struggling with the running game all year, were dealt an additional blow
with the news that left tackle Will Beatty needed surgery because of a detached
retina. The line will shuffle again this week, and the Giants have been kind of
quiet as to how they will line up the unit. Right now this offense is 31st in
the NFL, averaging just 83.2 yards per game. To put that in perspective, it's
their lowest since 1945 when they averaged 76.9 yards a game. Even worse, last
week they rushed for only 29 yards, their lowest total in five years. Brandon
Jacobs is averaging just three yards per carry and Ahmad
Bradshaw will miss his fourth straight game.
Eli Manning is starting to pay
the price of carrying the load. He came under a lot of pressure last game against
the Eagles, and Manning has been sacked 19 times so far which is already three
more than last season. If the line could somehow do better for him, and of course
there's no reason to think that they should this week, he could make his talented
group of receivers effective. After all, the Giants are ranked 5th in passing
yards for a reason, but Manning can't do it all himself though, and that's starting
to become more obvious as these games play out. Giants
defense.
They entered the week tied for
the NFL lead with 31 sacks which on the face of it sounds pretty good. Looking
closer though, they barely touched Eagles quarterback Vince Young last week for
one sack and one hit. The pace has slowed, and they now have just five sacks in
the past three games. Defensive ends Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck are still not
totally fit. They are up against a well rested unit that leads the league in yards
per game and is second in points scored.
Drew Brees hasn't been sacked in
the past two games and without pressure he'll have a field day. The Giants know
that a ton of passes are going to be directed to running back Darren Sproles and
tight end Jimmy Graham. Even a healthy Michael Boley would have his hands full,
but he'll be out for this game as well. The rookie linebackers filling in for
him this week will once again be called on to grow up fast to defend the middle
field against some very talented players. Mark Herzlich played well in his first
start, but there is a limit on what you can expect. Overall.
The Giants are in second place in the NFC East.
Wild-card dreams fade with every loss and they have a tough six games remaining.
Some players on the team say that they seem to do better when they have to come
from behind. Well that's where they are now. The Giants have trailed in the fourth
quarter in eight of ten games, were tied in another one and have come away with
six wins. If they have any of that magic left, they need to spring it on the Saints
this week. NFC East.
The
Cowboys (7-4) already played their game on Thanksgiving day and came away with
a win over the Dolphins (3-8). The Sunday late afternoon games have the Redskins
(3-7) playing the Seahawks (4-6), and the Patriots (7-3) playing in Philadelphia
against the Eagles (4-6). The Giants and Saints play on Monday night. Only the
Cowboys were favored to win in these games.
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Notes.
Giants Eli Manning will play in the city in
which he grew up only for the second time in his career. Giants
Eli Manning leads the league with a 120.5 fourth-quarter passer rating. Giants
are 8-3 since 1990 when their opponents are coming off a bye and the Giants are
not. Saints head coach Sean Payton gave
the team eight days off for the bye week. Saints
have lost all 11 of their coin tosses this season. Saints
Sean Payton broke his tibia and tore his MCL in a collision with tight end Jimmy
Graham while coaching on the sidelines on Oct 16. Saints
Drew Brees is 3-0 against the Giants and his teams have won by an average of 22
points. Saints Darren Sproles leads the
league in total yards (1604), with his 635 yards on kickoff returns and 173 yards
and a touchdown on punt returns
Next Games
Dec 4 - Packers at Giants.
Giants Tickets
- Buy
or Sell
Dec 11 - Giants at
Cowboys.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
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