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Giants (2-2) vs Texans
(3-1)
Last week the Texans beat up on the Raiders,
yardage wise if not point wise, 31-24 in front of their home crowd. That said,
the Raiders fans barely constituted what is considered to be an NFL 'crowd'. The
game was blacked out locally and the 32,218 was the smallest turnout in Oakland
since 1967.
The Giants were totally
impressive with their 17-3 win over undefeated Chicago. The defense came up with
10 sacks against a previously undefeated Chicago Bears team that couldn't get
anything going on offense. Houston
Texans.
They are a 3-1 team that has actually won seven
of their last eight regular season games dating back to last year. It was the
first time this expansion team had finished with as many wins and with a record
of 9-7. Head coach Gary Kubiak is certainly keeping his team up with at least
one other in his division that likes to live by the pass. His Texans were ranked
first in the NFL in passing offense, and the Colts were second. On the flip side,
both teams do not excel at running the ball, ranked 30th and 32nd respectively.
Somehow through smoke and mirrors and a strong dose of Peyton Manning it all works
out for the Colts. They have been in the playoff mix and much more ever since
the Texans were born (2002), but it's not working for the Texans. Maybe having
acquired former Giant running back Derrick Ward can provide some of that smoke
that coach Kubiak is looking for to boost a ground game that is already markedly
improved this year. Getting division wins has always been a big problem (1-5 last
year) and they already have one win over the Colts (6-0 last year) this season. Texans
Offense.
Quarterback Matt Schaub took over
from David Carr in 2007 and has done very well. Last season he threw 29 touchdown
passes and only 15 interceptions and went on to be the Pro Bowl MVP. Now Schaub
has a rushing game to help take off some of the pass rush pressure. Running back
Steve Slaton was the leading rusher, finishing up with 437 yards rushing last
season, but this year Arian Foster has stepped up and he already has 537 rushing
yards in four games. (Yes you read that right). Foster is the NFL's leading rusher
with that number and he also caught 3 passes last week for 56 yards and 1 touchdown
to go along with his rushing touchdown. Derrick Ward got a chance to show what
he could do with his 12 carries for 80 yards and 1 touchdown. Fullback Vonta Leach
has come up with some great blocking this season and that has helped. Some of
the receivers have been banged up and Schaub took good advantage of his tight
end Joel Dreessen with 5 receptions for 73 yards and 1 touchdown. Texans
Defense.
Last year's rookie defensive
player of the year, Brian Cushing, will play for the first time this year and
that can't hurt although they are a defense that is already ranked as the 2nd
best rushing defense in the league. It will help in other areas as their passing
defense is so poor that they are the worst in the league in total defense, giving
up 408 yards a game. Mario Williams leads the team with 5.0 sacks and he will
welcome seeing Cushing back as well as their inexperienced corners. Their safeties
are their real strength in the secondary. Giants
Offense.
Because of injuries, David Diehl,
Rich Seubert, and Shawn Andrews were playing the football version of 'who's on
first' during practice this week. It's a sort of continuation of what's been happening
lately with backup Adam Koets replacing Shaun O'Hara and even he had to come out
last week. Bear Pascoe suddenly became a fullback that same day when Madison Hedgecock
went down. These are the guys who play in front of Eli Manning and even running
back Ahmad Bradshaw is nursing a sore ankle. Who would have thought that Brandon
Jacobs might be the last man standing? . Giants
Defense.
Unlike that Colts
game this unit finally figured out how to defend against a one sided offense and
they were able to nail 10 sacks and a loss on the undefeated Chicago Bears. That
helped them to be ranked second in the NFL in pass defense. This week the competition
is much better balanced and Houston has been able to put up 27 points a game.
The Texans didn't look anything like the Bears in their game last week and didn't
let Oakland hit them for any sacks, and there were no turnovers. Safeties Antrel
Rolleand and Kenny Phillips will have to be busy keeping an eye on Arian
Foster when he gets the ball, but Phillips has a banged
up left knee. Best
to worst.
The number
of undefeated teams is down to one. The Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) are coming off
a bye and they will be up against the Colts (2-2), the heavy favorite at Indianapolis.
Four teams remain winless, the Buffalo Bills
in the AFC, and the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers
in the NFC. Detroit, Carolina and San Francisco are all favored to win. No team
since the 1992 San Diego Chargers has advanced to the playoffs after starting
0-4. NFC East.
The Giants play the Texans in Houston at 1 PM at the same time that the Redskins
(2-2) host the Packers (3-1). Later at 4:15 PM the Cowboys (1-2), coming off their
bye week, will host the Titans (2-2). The 8:20 night game features the Eagles
(2-2) at San Francisco (0-4). The Cowboys are the only division team in this group
favored to win. 
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out.
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Notes.
Giants
Ahmad Bradshaw was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Giants
have 16 sacks in four games, tied for the lead in sacks with Green Bay and Tennessee.
Giants
had just 32 sacks all last season. Texans
Derrick Ward was the last Giant named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week in
2008. Texans almost made the playoffs
last season with their 9-7 record, but it was dependent on other teams.
Next
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