Mon Oct 13, 8:30 PM -
Giants at Cleveland
Giants (4-0) vs Cleveland
(1-3).
The Browns were on their bye last week so they've had a good long
time to study the Giants. They got to see how explosive the Giants
offense can be even without their number one receiver on the field
and it couldn't have made them happy. The last game Cleveland played
was at Cincinnati where both teams were trying for their first win
of the season. The Browns got it (20-12) and ironically the Giants
may have played a part in that. The Giants had played Cincinnati the
week prior and as a result, Carson Palmer was too banged up to play
against the Browns. His backup, Ryan Fitzpatrick, threw three interceptions
and sadly, was their leading rusher in the game, gaining 41 yards
with his four scrambles.
Plaxico Burress
and the others.
For Plaxico Burress, 'the others' might be as ominous a group as
they are for Jack and Kate in that TV show Lost. Plaxico is back
for this feature Monday night football match, and maybe the one
game suspension was a lesson learned or not. Plaxico should realize
that he could actually get lost in this group of extremely talented
players who took his absence way too well. With continued poor behavior
patterns, Plaxico could end up stranded on an island, where it has
already been proven here that going it as a team leads to much greater
rewards than just mere survival. Have I 'lost' any of you with all
that? Sorry. Anyway, it should be noted that without Plaxico last
week, Manning completed a career-best 76% of his passes (19-for-25)
for 267 yards, had two touchdowns and no interceptions for a career-high
passer rating of 136.6. Manning has increased his passer rating
to 99.7 on the season.
Plaxico Burress
who?
Actually, that's what the Browns might be saying, because when it
comes to Giants receivers making big plays, Domenik Hixon is the
first that comes to their minds. The Giants played the Browns in
the preseason with Hixon starting for an injured Plaxico Burress.
He caught 4 passes for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns and took a kickoff
for an 82 yard touchdown return. Last Sunday, the bye week couch
potato Browns watched Hixon and Sinorice Moss combine for eight
catches for 147 yards and three touchdowns. Eight different players
came away with receptions and some were pretty big. Individually,
Hixon had 102 yards on his first four catches, including a touchdown.
Moss finished with four catches for 45 yards, and caught a touchdown
from both Eli Manning and backup David Carr. Amani Toomer had four
catches for 64 yards, Steve Smith, Derrick Ward and Kevin Boss each
had two receptions, and even rookie Mario Manningham got his first
NFL catch.
Cleveland - Offense.
The Browns finished last season at 10-6 which was six games
better than the year before. The offense was really hot, scoring
402 points and the Browns were scheduled for three Monday night
games this season. So far they have been less than inspiring. The
Browns have scored just 46 points in 4 games and their offense is
ranked last in the league. Quarterback, Derek Anderson, has completed
less than half of his passes, the longest being 23 yards. His receivers
are banged up, and or recovering, and so, tight end Kellen Winslow,
leads the team with 19 catches for 170 yards and one touchdown,
Unfortunately, he's missed practices this week and is listed as
questionable, in the hospital with 'an undisclosed illness'. Running
back Jamal Lewis was fifth in the league with 1,304 rushing yards
last season. He currently has 235 yards over 4 games and is averaging
3.4 yards a carry.
Cleveland - Defense.
They are ranked 22nd against the run (126) and 10th vs. the
pass (187). That defense faces a Giants team that leads the NFL
in total offense (431 yards per game), rushing yards (181.3), yards
per carry (5.8), first downs (24.2) and points (31.7). They've added
Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams to improve their run defense. Dallas
hit them good in the season opener but the Browns have improved
since then. They held the next three teams to less than 300 yards
of total offense. Still they have their work cut out for them, and
for some strange reason decided to call out Brandon Jacobs this
week. Corey Williams said, "If we can come out and hit him
in the mouth from the jump, he tends to slow down and do some tip-toeing."
Maybe he was watching some bye week Giants- Cincinnati gamefilm
where Jacobs had 14 carries for only 35 yards. Aside from Brandon
Jacobs averaging 5.8 yards a carry overall this season, Derrick
Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw average 6.6. Of course, the defense has
Eli Manning and all those receivers to worry about as well.
Giants - Kicking.
John Carney last week made three fieldgoal attempts and is
12-for-12 this season, but his kickoffs have come up short and one
of them was out of bounds. Four of the nine kickoffs by Carney did
not reach the 10-yard line and Coughlin said, "The ball out of bounds
was not a good sign. We will just continue to evaluate that on a
weekly basis." Tom Coughlin said this week Things will be similar
to last week as he waits until game day to decide who will be activated
Monday night, even though Tynes is no longer listed on the injury
report.
David Tyree
He's been on the physically unable to perform list, and is eligible
to start practicing next week. Tom Coughlin said he is uncertain
if Tyree will return to work right away. The Giants have a four-week
window in which to begin a three-week practice period before they
have to decide on whether to activate Tyree.
NFC East Games.
On Sunday, St Louis plays at Washington at 1:00PM.
The 4:15PM games are Philadelphia playing at San Francisco, and Dallas
at Arizona.
Check out.
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Notes.
Tom Coughlin and Browns coach Romeo Crennel worked together on Bill
Parcells’ Giants staff that won Super Bowl XXV.
Giants are 14-2 in October under Tom
Coughlin.
Former Giant Joe Jurevicius, Cleveland's
third-leading receiver in 2007, developed a staph infection after
having offseason knee surgery.
He is currently on their physically unable to perform list.
Giants most recently won 27-10 over
the Browns on Sept. 26, 2004, and haven't lost in Cleveland since
1973.
Cleveland's last win over the Giants was 35-33 on Dec. 1, 1985 at
Giants stadium
Giants have won 12 straight away from
home, including the Super Bowl, which is considered a neutral site.
Giants are off to their best start
since winning 10 in a row to open the 1990 season.
Cleveland is 5-9 in games after a bye
week.
Cleveland is 0-2 at home where they
will be facing the Giants.
Cleveland is on the road to face the
4-1 Washington Redskins next week.
Next Game
Oct. 19 San Francisco at Giants 1PM.
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