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Giants (3-2) vs Lions
(1-4)
The Lions are coming off their first win of the
season after trouncing the St. Louis Rams
44-6. The Rams defense hadn't allowed more than 17 points in a game all season.
The Lions are now first in the NFC and sixth in the league in points scored with
their 25.2 average a game.
The Giants made it two wins in a row with a 34-10
road victory over the Houston Texans. It's become hard to score points on the
Giants defense of late and they are now ranked number one in that area while the
offense sits near the top at number five. Detroit
Lions
They don't have a pretty history to review. Last
year they won just two games under their new first year head coach Jim Schwartz.
That at least was something considering the year before, they were the first NFL
team to go 0-16. Encouraged, they retained their head coach
and both the coordinators for the first time in more than 10 years. The Lions
dropped four games this season before winning one last week to end their 10 game
losing streak.
It should be pointed out that the team they just beat, the
St. Louis Rams, had an even worse record than
the Lions last season with just one win, however they were 2-2 coming into the
matchup. A rare treat to the Detroit stay-at-home fans, they got to see their
team take a knee to end the game for the first time since 2007. Both their wins
last season, a 5 pointer against Washington 19-14, and a 1 pointer against Cleveland
38-37 were blacked out for attendance issues. Now
with just 4 victories in their last 45 games,
the Lions will be facing the 3-2 Giants. Lions
Offense.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford was
the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft and he gave it his all last season suffering
an AC joint separation and dislocated kneecap. He may be the future for this team,
but right now he's recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained in the opening
game of the season against Chicago. In his place, backup nine year veteran Shaun
Hill, has been taking all the reps and three of their four losses were close scores.
Against the Rams Hill earned a 117.6 rating, completing 21 of 32 passes for 227
yards and 3 touchdowns to nail down Detroit's first win. His big target, wide
receiver Calvin Johnson, has four touchdowns in the past four games but has been
limited in practices by a right shoulder injury.
Johnson had only five touchdowns
all of last season as opposing teams sacrifice elsewhere to blanket him with coverage.
Hill also makes good use of tight end Brandon Pettigrew who leads the NFC tight
ends with 26 receptions and overall they're
ranked 6th in the league in passing yards a game, averaging 250 per game. Rookie
running back (first-round pick) Jahvid Best is second on the team in receptions
with 25. He's recovering from a sprained toe and is averaging just 47.7 yards
rushing over the last three games for a 3.5 average overall. Quarterback scrambling
by Shaun Hill has him as the next top rusher on the team with his 5.6 average
on 14 attempts. With that they rank 27th overall on the ground. Lions
Defense.
They are hard to run on straight
up with Corey Williams and rookie (No. 2 overall pick) Ndamukong Suh defending,
so that means that this defense would expect to see Ahmad Bradshaw jumping to
the outside before Brandon Jacobs tries to plow them down. Last week they focused
on stopping the run and kept two-time Pro Bowler Steven Jackson in check for most
of the game to force the Rams to use their rookie quarterback to have to make
plays. Ndamukong Suh leads all the NFL rookies with his three sacks and he pulled
in his first career interception last week.
They are hurting at the middle
linebacker spot because of injuries to those players. The starter is out. Landon
Johnson suffered a concussion against the Rams and Spencer Havner is out with
a hamstring injury. Cornerback Alphonso Smith has had an interception in three
straight games but the Lions secondary is not one of their strengths. Former Giant
C.C. Brown, known to
be a "hard-hitter whose strength is as a safety in the box rather than in
deep coverage," feels he got a bad rap in NY. He's been stuck playing with
a cast on his arm the past three weeks but it's off now. On the season, Brown's
stats are 19 solos, 5 assists, 24 total tackles,
3 PBU, and 1 forced fumble. Giants
Offense.
Hakeem Nicks had a great game
last week with his 12 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nicks is tied for
fourth in the NFL in catches with 33 and no other wide receiver has 6 touchdowns
although one tight end has 7. Nicks presents a problem for teams who previously
figured they could mostly focus coverage on Steve Smith. Eli Manning says that
he doesn't have favorites and doesn't pick guys out. He just reads coverages and
throws to the open guy. Meanwhile, Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs are getting
back to being the effective rushing tandem that the Giants like to have. They
both averaged over 4 yards a carry last week. Giants
Defense.
This unit has done some pretty
impressive things over these last two games. There was that 10 sack performance
against a 5th ranked passing offense, the then undefeated Chicago Bears. Then
they shifted gears to a superb run stopping game against the league-leading rushing
offense, limiting them to only 24 yards and 1.6 yards a carry. In those games
they gave up a total of just 13 points. Playing games like that can put a defense
way up in the rankings and the Giants are now the number one defense in the league.
The Lions are not the best rushing team, but you do have to respect how they have
been moving the ball in the air. The Giants are playing well against passing teams
with their pass rush and ability to deflect passes. Best
to worst.
Week five is in the books and
there are no longer any undefeated teams in the NFL. There are still three teams
with no wins, and all have the same 0-5 record, the Buffalo Bills in the AFC,
and the Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers in the NFC. Buffalo and Carolina
are on bye weeks. San Francisco is favored to win over Oakland (2-3)
NFC East.
The
Giants will host the Lions on Sunday at 1pm at the same time that the Eagles (3-2)
host Michael Vick's old team, Atlanta (4-1). Vick is still listed as the team
leader in passing with his 59 of 96 for 799 yds, and 6 tds stats, but is not slated
to start. Later that day at 4:15pm the Cowboys (1-3) play at Minnesota (1-3) and
that night at 8:15pm the Redskins (3-2) will deal with the visiting Indianapolis
Colts (3-2). The Giants and Eagles are favored to win their games. Celebrate,
celebrate - Dance to the NFL music.
Lions
wide receiver Nate Burleson was fined $15,000 for two rule violations. One for
kicking the football into the stands, and another displaying an unauthorized shirt
with a personal message written on it. Burleson was celebrating his touchdown
reception in Detroit’s 44-6 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday and was flagged
with an ensuing 15 yard penalty.
Cowboys Marc Colombo spiked the ball after
Jason Witten scored a tying touchdown late in the 4th quarter. After a mid-air
chest bump he stumbled and fell and somersaulted across the end zone to get up.
A penalty was assessed on the ensuing kickoff that led to a long return followed
by a short touchdown and a Tennessee Titans 34-27 victory over Dallas.
Marc Colombo was fined $5,000 this week but not for the excessive celebration
penalty. He was fined for an unnecessary roughness penalty in the 2nd quarter. 
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. Notes.
Giants
Justin Tuck has four sacks in the last two games. Giants
Osi Umenyiora has five sacks and four forced fumbles in last two games. Giants
Steve Smith has 135 receptions since the start of 2009 which is the most in the
NFC. Lions Shaun Hill has started 4 games
against the Rams (three with the 49ers) and has outscored them 79-6 and a 4-0
record. Lions, if they lose, will tie
their own NFL record with 24th straight losses on the road. Lions
had said that quarterback Matthew Stafford might play but it's not expected as
they have a bye right after the Giants game.. Lions
Calvin Johnson did not catch what would have been a winning touchdown in week
1 against Chicago.
Johnson had clear possession and landed with both feet,
but he let go of the ball as he braced his fall.
Next
Games
Oct 25 - Giants at Cowboys
Giants Tickets - Buy
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of 10/15)
Nov 7 - Giants at Seattle
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell 970+ tickets! (as
of 10/15)
Nov 14 - Cowboys at Giants
Giants
Tickets - Buy
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of 10/15) 
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