Team Giants

Giants - Panthers Game 15 preview

Giants (11-3) vs Carolina (11-3).
Last Sunday, Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams had a 56-yard touchdown run and rookie running back Jonathan Stewart scored his 9th rushing touchdown of the season to set a franchise record as the Panthers defeated the Denver Broncos 30-10. That win gave them an 8-0 record at home for the first time since 1996. Later that night, the Giants were ineffective on offense, scoring only two field goals and one safety by their defense in a 20-8 loss to the Cowboys. Playing without Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Burress, and with Rich Seubert playing sick until he had to leave the game, DeMarcus Ware had a field day for the Cowboys defense. Ware hit Eli Manning for a sack-fumble on his first play of the game and finished up with three sacks, with the rest of his team adding five more.

The State of the Panthers - Offense.
They are running strong in more ways than one. Carolina is on a three game win streak and has taken the last seven of eight games. With the exception of the 17-6 win at Oakland, the Panthers have scored nearly 30 points or more over these games, including the one loss. Running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart (Smash and Dash) have combined for league-high totals of 1,980 yards and 23 touchdowns. Tampa Bay was run over for 301 yards by these guys in the game just before last. Quarterback Jake Delhomme likes to connect with Steve Smith and he hit him 9 times for 165 yards and a touchdown last week against Denver.

The State of the Panthers - Defense.
The 10th ranked defense in the NFL was up against the league's 2nd ranked offense last week and held them to 10 points. Denver's quarterback Jay Cutler threw for just 172 yards with one touchdown and had one interception. Four-time Pro Bowl end and team sack leader Julius Peppers will be trying to do what DeMarcus Ware did last week against the Giants. He and his unit have given up only 14 touchdown passes all season. The run defense which is average, may have their hands full if Brandon Jacobs is up to full steam for this game.

The State of the Giants - Offense.
Things haven't looked too good for the Giants with their lowest two scoring games of the season coming back to back. They have had just one offensive touchdown (in garbage time against Philly) in these last two games. Playing without Brandon Jacobs last week, the Giants running game resulted in just 72 yards. The game before that Jacobs had 52 yards on his 10 carries for a 5.2 yard average before they sat him down. The rest of the group's total at the end of the game stood at 36 yards on 14 carries. Do the math - no Jacobs, no running game - losses. This was aided by the receivers who showed they are either not skilled, talented or clever enough to pick up any slack without Plaxico Burress being around. There were no completions longer than 23 yards in the two games, and they recorded a season low 211 total yards against the Eagles, followed by only 218 against the Cowboys.

The State of the Giants - Defense.
They have been able to keep things close in the last two losses. The Eagles chipped away all game with Donovan McNabb avoiding being sacked while keeping their drives going, and that resulted in a 20-14 loss. The Cowboys beat the Giants defense with a few big plays to overcome Tony Romo being sacked 4 times and they also scored 20 points against the Giants defense. They will have to get after veteran quarterback Jake Delhomme who has thrown 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, but has been sacked only 10 times over the past 11 games. At the same time they have to keep Carolina's running game in check. The defensive unit has yielded just 90.4 yards per game on the ground and had their troubles last week with defensive end Justin Tuck missing parts of the game with a leg injury.

Derrick Ward.
The above assessment seems a little harsh on running back Derrick Ward who has done well all season and even averaged about 4.7 yards a carry in those last two games. Going deeper, it seems the average was bolstered by big gains, which is great of course, but sustaining drives is what keeps the offense out there on the field to score points. Ward's running style, complimented by a decent passing game, would be effective, but the Giants haven't had that of late. They also haven't been effective passing the ball to him lately. Each of the last two games had him catching one pass for 2 yards. Over the year he's been thrown to a lot more and averages about 10 yards a catch.

Overall.
The Panthers are coming off two big running games, both wins at home where they are 8-0. Their losses have all been on the road and that's where they will be up against the Giants with a 6-1 at home record. The Giants already are in the playoffs and a win would get them the No. 1 overall seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, plus a bye week before the divisional playoffs. A loss means facing Minnesota next week knowing that a loss to the Vikings would see the No. 2 seed go away, meaning the Giants would be playing a lot on the road, almost like last year.

NFC East.
On Saturday night the (9-5) Cowboys host the (9-5) Ravens. Both teams are fighting for playoff spots, with the Cowboys favored to win. However, the Ravens have the 2nd best defense in yards (257.5) and 3rd best in scoring (15.2). If the Cowboys win, they clinch a playoff berth. On Sunday (8-5-1) Philadelphia, with a three game winning streak, is the favored team playing in their 4:15PM game at (7-7) Washington. After losing three straight games, the Redskins need to win both this one and the next in San Francisco for any slight chance to make the playoffs.

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Notes.
Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson found out he needs a heart transplant and is awaiting a donor heart.
He still attended their game last week.

Carolina head coach John Fox was the defensive coordinator with the Giants from 1997 through 2001.

Giants Eli Manning will start his 70th consecutive game, one ahead of the franchise record for quarterbacks set by Fran Tarkenton from 1967-71.

Giants, in partnership with the United States Marines, will hold their annual Toys for Tots drive at Giants Stadium .
Fans are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys to any of the collection vehicles at each entrance to the stadium, as well as the off-site location, prior to the game.

Next Game
Dec. 28 Giants at Minnesota at 1:00PM.
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