| Giants
(2-1) vs Cardinals (1-2)
Last Sunday the
Cardinals lost their game in Seattle 13-10, giving their division rival their
first win of the season. The Seahawks took the lead in the third quarter and held
the Cardinals scoreless for the entire second half.
The Giants traveled to
Philadelphia and won their division game against the Eagles 29-16. There was no
spectacular comeback this time for the Philly fans even though
they pulled ahead in the third quarter. It's still early, but for now, the 'dream
team' is in last place in the NFC East. Arizona
Cardinals.
The Cardinals finished up the 2010 season
at 5-11 earning them last place in the NFC West. They encouraged their fans this
year with an opening day home win over the Carolina Panthers, but went on to lose
the next two on the road. The loss to Washington was by 1 point, and last week's
to Seattle was by 3. They just needed a little more offense to be a 3-0 team at
this point and that's huge in the NFC West where 7-9 was the tops last year.
They
knew they needed a quarterback and picked up Kevin Kolb from the Eagles, but because
of the NFL's labor problems there hasn't been much time spent for learning new
systems and players. Kolb put it this way, "We're a couple of plays away from
being 3-0, but guess what? We're one play away from being 0-3 too." This team
has a sense of reality that knows the quicker they gel, the better. Cardinals
offense.
Last
season they ranked last and next to last in rushing and passing. It's not hard
to improve on that and they have. Running back Beanie Wells was sorely missed
last week. He alone had 183 yards in the first two games with 5.7 yards per carry
average, but was out with a hamstring injury. Wells replacements, Chester Taylor
and Alfonso Smith, averaged less than 3 yards a carry. Quarterback Kevin
Kolb is still getting it down. Kolb passed for 252 yards and 1 touchdown
last week but was intercepted twice. Larry Fitzgerald is a top receiver and he
had a nice first half last week, but Seattle was able to shut him down in the
second. Kolb needs to make that connection work throughout the game or look elsewhere
to Early Doucet and tight end Todd Heap. Cardinals
defense.
Run defense is not one of their strengths
and they haven't improved much over last year. They rank
27th in that area and will have their hands full with either Ahmad Bradshaw or
Brandon Jacobs on the field. They can get to the quarterback and have nine sacks
which ties them for seventh in the league. Also they've been extremely good in
red zone defense, ranking sixth in that area. Only four touchdowns have been given
up. The Giants will test them, as they in turn lead the league having scored on
five of their six red zone drives. Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett and safety
Adrian Wilson can hurt you. Giants
offense.
Eli Manning had a real strong
game last week going up against a strong Philadelphia defense. The NFC Offensive
Player of the Week completed 16 of 23 passes for 254 yards, four touchdowns and
no interceptions for a 145.7 passer rating. Manning was helped out by wide receiver
Victor Cruz who had 3 catches for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns. Also give credit
to running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, who both caught touchdown
passes as well as averaging over 4 yards a rush. Fullback Henry Hynoski is coming
on real strong for them with his blocking and he almost snared a nice pass from
Manning on one play. If Mario Manningham can play this week along with Victor
Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, the Arizona defense will be outmatched. Giants
defense.
They'll likely have Osi Umenyiora
back in the starting role with Jason Pierre-Paul as a reserve, or if Justin Tuck
is rested he could take his place on the left side. Kevin Kolb took some heavy
hits last week and knows the Giants defense but he has never played against them
during his four seasons with the Eagles. The Cardinals effectively used the hurry
up offense against Seattle and could try to surprise the Giants with that, considering
Umenyiora will be making his first start and Justin Tuck is nursing groin and
neck problems. Antrel Rolle spent his first five seasons with the Cardinals and
will be joining the rest of the secondary in pursuit of Larry Fitzgerald. Overall.
The Giants can't afford to let down in this
game coming off the high of beating the Eagles. Cardinals running back Beanie
Wells has to be watched, and if they are able to make the Kevin
Kolb to Larry Fitzgerald connection work for them, the defense will be
backpedaling. Their offense is averaging a surprising 7.3 yards per first-down
play. The Arizona edge would be in using a quick pace and proving that their red
zone defense is for real. NFC
East.
Except for the Giants, all the NFC East games are played at the
same time, at 1pm on Sunday. The Cowboys (2-1) host the undefeated Lions (3-0).
The Redskins (2-1) take on the winless Rams (0-3) in St. Louis, and the 49ers
(2-1) travel to Philadelphia to play against the Eagles (1-2). All the NFC East
teams are favored to win their games. 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 has a career record of 20-4
in the month of October. Giants Jason
Pierre-Paul leads the team and is tied for second in the NFL with 4.5 sacks. Giants
Osi Umenyiora is 5th on the Giants career sack list with 60. Cards
Larry Fitzgerald is the leading receiver with 15 catches for 259 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cards
Larry Fitzgerald's 67th touchdown career catch last week moved him into 1st place
in the franchise. Cards Jay Feely missed
on 51- and 49-yard field-goals last week that could have made the difference.
Next Games
Oct 9 - Seahawks at Giants.
Giants Tickets
- Buy
or Sell
Oct 16 - Bills at Giants.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
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