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Giants (6-4) vs Packers
(7-3)
Last Sunday
the Green Bay Packers extended their win streak to five games
by beating their division rivals, the Detroit Lions, on the road
with a 24-20 score.
The Giants were off on a bye week resting up from playing a long
stretch of games and trying to recover from two straight losses
and whatever lingering effects they may have felt from experiencing
hurricane Sandy.
Green Bay Packers.
This team was almost undefeated
in the regular season last year and one of their wins came in
early December. They hit their 12-0 mark by beating the Giants
by just 3 points. While the Packers continued on to coast to the
playoffs with a 15-1 record, the Giants had to struggle to get
there after that Green Bay loss and they finished out at 9-7.
Green Bay had a week off and watched as the Giants defeated
Atlanta in the the wild card game. The teams played the following
week and once again Eli Manning threw for over 300 yards and 3
touchdowns. This time the Giants put up 37 points to the Packers
20 and they came away with the win. The Giants crushed the Packers
dreams at Lambeau Field that day and they will be all too eager
to even up the score when their chance comes at the Meadowlands
this Sunday.
Packers Offense.
To say that Aaron Rodgers does
a lot for this offense is a vast understatement, and though the
team lost to the Giants in the divisional round playoffs last
year, Rodgers was named the regular season MVP. He currently leads
the league with a 67% completion rate and a 107.3 quarterback
rating and has thrown 27 touchdowns. Rodgers is not risky with
the ball, which might be one of the reasons he's the most sacked
quarterback (32) in the league, but being careful, he has thrown
just six interceptions.
Wide receiver Randall Cobb is targeted often and he leads the
team in catches and touchdowns. Cobb has six in his last four
games. He lines up out wide, in the slot and in the backfield.
He sometimes takes handoffs and averages 14.4 yards per carry
and Cobb also returns kickoffs and punts. The Packers running
game has not improved much over last year and their passing is
their real bread and butter. James Starks ran the ball 25 times
last week to average 3 yards a carry. After last week's win over
the Lions Rodgers said that he wasn't on his game, that there
was no tempo or rhythm, and they couldn't get the ball going on
the ground. He said that it was the defense that kept them in
the game.
Packers Defense.
This was the worst defense
in the league last year giving up more passing yards than any
defense in the history of the NFL. They have improved to being
16th in that area and are an impressive 2nd in sacks with 33.
This group sustained a number of injuries in last week's win in
Detroit and look to be playing without three defensive starters.
The rookies stepped up for them and likely will have to do so
again. They will have their hands full if Hakeem Nicks is really
healthy and explosive coming off the bye week, as he can draw
more coverage his way to free up Victor Cruz. In last years playoff
game Nicks caught 7 passes for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Giants Offense.
Last game against Cincinnati,
Andre Brown rushed for 65 yards on just 7 carries with 1 touchdown.
Bradshaw picked up 57 yards on his 10 carries. Together they averaged
over 7 yards a carry. Those are nice numbers from the running
game. However, Eli Manning had another bad outing as he was pressured
and sacked a season-high four times. He's only taken 12 on the
year, but they seem to come more frequently when right tackle
David Diehl is in his regular spot, although Tom Coughlin says
that's not a factor. Manning
threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball twice, losing it
once to the Bengals. Victor Cruz had heavy coverage and was targeted
only 4 times.
Cruz dropped a sure touchdown pass and caught the rest, but that
meant that and he finished with 3 catches for 26 yards. Bennett
caught only 4 of the 9 tossed his way. Nicks had the most receiving
yards with 75, but only 9 of the 14 passes were caught. Andrew
Brown had the best hands for Manning, catching 5 of 6, so on the
13 plays he was actively used, he came up with 94 yards or about
35 percent of the total offense. Once again we'll say here that
he needs to get the ball more.
Giants Defense.
Last year it all worked for
the Giants in their playoff game against Green Bay. Up front they
were able to get pressure on Rodgers and slow down the rushing
attack. They came up with four sacks and limited the top scoring
NFL offense to 20 points. This year they got off to a slow start,
but now have 25 sacks tying them for 13th in the league. They
still have a habit of giving up big plays and have given up 39
passes of 20 yards or more, and 10 went for touchdowns. This defense
will be helped in that area if safety Kenny Phillips is able to
play as expected after being out for the last six games with a
knee injury. They could use their three-safety looks against the
Packers using Phillips, Antrel Rolle and Stevie Brown.
Overall
The Giants have had plenty of time to plan for this game against
Green Bay and a win would put them two games up against Dallas
and Washington in the division with only five games remaining.
They have a lot to play for in front of a national audience. The
Packers and the Chicago Bears are tied for the lead in their division.
They are a more balanced team then they were last year with a
better defense, but that defense is banged up right now.
NFC East
The Redskins (5-6) traveled to play the Cowboys (5-6) on Thursday
and they won that game 38-31. The Cowboys were favored to win.
The Giants play on Sunday night and they are favored to win. The
Eagles (3-7) have a Monday night game at home against the Panthers
(2-8) and the Panthers are favored to win.
From thirty two to sixteen
to six to three to two to one and none.
Atlanta was the only undefeated
team when they took their 8-0 record on the road and lost to the
Saints by four points. Last week they won over the Arizona Falcons
and currently have a 9-1 record. The Houston Texans played on
Thursday and have the best
record in the NFL - 10-1.
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.
Giants DVDs
and Posters.
TeamGiants on Twitter.Notes.
Giants Eli Manning is 0-3 in
the regular season against the Packers.
Giants Eli Manning is 2-0 in the
playoffs against the Packers.
Giants have converted on only 10
of 39 third downs in the last three games.
Giants have allowed at least 150
rushing yards in consecutive home games for the first time since
2006.
Giants Lawrence Tynes has made 28
of 31 field-goal attempts and leads the NFL with 109 points.
Giants have won their last four post-bye
games and are 5-3 under Tom Coughlin.
Packers and Giants have combined
to win three of the past five Super Bowl titles.
Packers lead all NFL. franchises
with 13 league championships.
Packers Aaron Rodgers has been sacked
32 times this season, more than any other quarterback.
Packers Mason Crosby has made 11
of 18 attempts, which is the league's worst percentage.
Next Games
Dec 3 - Giants at Redskins.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
Dec 9 - Saints at Giants.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
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