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Giants (2-2) vs Browns (0-4)
The Giants had it in their grasp on the Eagles 26
yard line, but let it get away. There was a chance to win the game in the final
25 seconds with a 44-yard field goal. A pass play resulted in offensive pass interference
and a loss of 10 yards. An incomplete pass left 15 seconds and on 3rd down they
had Lawrence Tynes try the longest field goal of his career. The ball fell short
and the Giants lost to the Eagles 19-17.
In a Thursday game with the regular
NFL officials returning, the Browns were knocking at the door in an effort to
tie up their game. In the final drive Cleveland moved the ball to the Ravens 18
yard line after a fourth-down end zone pass drew a penalty. Browns quarterback
Brandon Weeden's next pass to wide receiver Greg Little fell incomplete to end
the game. Baltimore's fans left happy with a 23-16 win. Cleveland
Browns.
Are the Browns pushovers?
Their record would indicate that, but their last loss was hard fought against
a tough Baltimore Ravens team. How tough a team? The Ravens notched their 13th
consecutive home game win, which is the longest current run in the NFL. It was
also their 10th straight division win, the most of any NFL team. Now back to the
Cleveland Browns. Their last winning season was back in 2007 when they went 10-6.
Since then it's been 4-12, 5-11, 5-11 and 4-12. Now at 0-4 things don't look like
they're improving. Pat Shurmur was brought in to be the head coach last year and
he was also the offensive coordinator. It was a tough year for any new coaching
staff in the NFL and for the players with the lockout.
Cleveland's offense
finished as one of the three worst in the NFL and they averaged less than 14 points
a game. For 2012 they've brought in Brad Childress as offensive coordinator, and
drafted for offense with their first two picks, running back Trent Richardson
and quarterback Brandon Weeden. Defense was very strong last year under coordinator
Dick Jauron, ranking fifth in points allowed and second in passing defense. Their
big weakness is against the run where they ranked 30th. So the defense has improved
on that but maybe at the cost of pass defense where teams are racking up over
100 yards per game more than they did last year. The offense has improved slightly.
Browns
offense.
Rookie quarterback Brandon
Weeden got a wakeup call in his first career game against the Eagles. He threw
4 interceptions and ended up with a quarterback rating of 5.1. Weeden's best outing
came next at Cincinnati where he threw for 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Rookie running back Trent Richardson also had his best game of the season, running
for over a hundred yards and a touchdown and caught another, but they still lost
the game, 27-34. Against Buffalo and Baltimore, Weeden's and Richardson's numbers
both fell with the losses. Still, Richardson tops the team in rushing with 222
yards, receptions with 15 and touchdowns with 4, which has him second in the NFL
in total touchdowns.
Wide receiver Greg Little started off his rookie career
last year leading the receivers with 61 catches, and he leads this year with 11
receptions and 1 touchdown. He also tends to lead or tie in the league in dropped
passes as he did last year and this holds true this season as well. He's their
best shot this game as the wide receiving group is running thin with injuries
to Josh Cribbs (concussion), Travis Benjamin (hamstring) and Mohamed Massaquoi
(hamstring). Browns defense.
Middle
linebacker D'Qwell Jackson scored the only touchdown for his team in game one
against the Eagles when he had a 27 yard interception return. He's alert and a
good run stopper as well as experienced 11 year linebacker Scott Fujita, picked
up from the Saints. Overall this defense gives up 117.3 yards a game on the ground
and they could have their hands full with Ahmad Bradshaw and Andre Brown unless
they learned something from watching the Eagles play the Giants last week.
Ahtyba
Rubin leads the defensive line with 15 tackles and is schooling up his younger
teammates. They have yet to give up a rushing touchdown and are improving at putting
pressure on the quarterback. They are tied for sixth in the league with 13 sacks.
Eli Manning, if he has time, should do well against the secondary that the Browns
field. Their passing defense currently ranks 28th in the league compared to 2nd
a year ago. Giants offense.
Except for Victor Cruz, who leads the
NFL in catches, Eli Manning has been dealing with a revolving door of receivers
and Hakeem Nicks will be out again for this game. Last week Victor Cruz had 9
catches for 109 yards and 1 touchdown and was complimented this time by Domenik
Hixon who caught 6 passes for 114 yards. Manning got no help from the ground game
even though Ahmad Bradshaw was back coming off a neck injury. Bradshaw was the
third leading receiver with 3 catches for 38 yards, just one yard shy of all his
efforts on the ground with his 13 carries. With Bradshaw back in the game, Andre
Brown, who had been coming on strong, was limited to 5 carries and 14 yards.
Throw
in Henry Hynoski's 4 yards and the team total was 57 against the Eagles, who had
been surrendering 103 yards per game. Brown should get more carries, but they're
worried about his pass protection. Except for one long catch, Ramses Barden was
basically held in check, as well as tight end Martellus Bennett. Ramses Barden
was diagnosed with a concussion so Rueben Randle could see some playing time this
week. Manning ended up throwing for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns and 1 interception,
and the unit converted on only 2 of their 10 third downs. The offensive line and
Manning's skills kept him sack free, but he was banged around a bit. Giants
defense.
The pass rush, where is it? Everyone
admits that Jason Pierre-Paul demands extra attention from opposing offenses,
so what are Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck doing? They used to be big threats on
their own and right now half the teams in the league have more sacks so far this
year than do Tuck (0), Umenyiora (2), Pierre-Paul (1.5). They'll be up against
a young team with a rookie quarterback who has been sacked 9 times and has thrown
7 interceptions. Quarterback pressure would be nice as the secondary is hurting.
Corners Prince Amukamara and Corey Webster
(hamstring, broken right hand) will be assisted by Michael Coe (hamstring) or
Will Hill. At safety there's Antrel Rolle
(left knee) and Stevie Brown.
The rushing
defense seems to come and go. Last week Eagles LeSean McCoy ran on them for a
total of 123 yards after they held him to just 2 yards in the first half. Trent
Richardson can run the ball if given opportunities and he could get one with Rocky
Bernard out this game. Last week the Ravens limited him to 47 yards on 14 carries
with the longest being 7 yards. Inexperienced tackles Markus Kuhn and Marvin Austin
will be getting more playing time.
Overall
The Giants are struggling here in 2012. You're not just awarded the Super Bowl
trophy, just as you're not awarded an automatic win over a 0-4 team. They're facing
a rookie quarterback with just four NFL games under his belt and who barely has
healthy receivers to throw to. This should be a tune-up game like the one the
Giants had against Carolina and they'd better hit on all the high notes because
San Francisco is up next. One danger is that Pat Shurmur was with the Philadelphia
Eagles from 1999-2008, as the team's quarterbacks and tight ends coach, and he
has had extra time to prepare for the Giants. NFC
East
The Cowboys are on a bye week. Sunday
at 1pm, the Redskins (2-2) will be hosting the undefeated Atlanta Falcons (4-0)
and the Eagles (2-2) will be playing at Pittsburgh (1-2) with the Steelers coming
off an early bye week. The Giants are favored to get a win and the Redskins and
Eagles are not. From thirty
two to sixteen to six to three to two.
There
are two teams that remain undefeated. There's Houston in the AFC and Atlanta in
the NFC. Arizona was undefeated and their NFL week five started early with a Thursday
night game. The Rams recorded nine sacks to hand the Cardinals their first loss,
17-3. This week Houston and Atlanta travel to their opponents stadiums and both
are favored to win their games. The Browns and Saints have yet to win a game this
season. 
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out.
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Team Giants Store, and
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TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes. Giants
Eli Manning is 2nd in the league in passing yards with 1320. Drew Brees has 1350. Giants
are the only team in their division to have scored more points than they have
given up. Browns Trent Richardson was
absent from practice Friday to attend the birth of his third child. Browns
and the Saints are the only two teams with no wins to date.
Browns have lost their first four games three times since 1998. Browns
have lost 10 straight games dating back to last season. Browns
rookie Brandon Weeden was the 10th different opening day starter at quarterback
for the team. Browns are the shortest
(average height 6-1.1 inches), lightest (242.6 pounds), youngest (25.55 years)
and least-experienced (3.25 years) team in the NFL.
Next Games
Oct 14 - Giants at 49ers.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
Oct 21 - Redskins at
Giants.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
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