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Giants (5-2) vs Patriots (5-2)
Last week the Patriots lost their game in Pittsburgh
to the Steelers 25-17. They were behind in the game from start to finish as the
Steelers strategy was to keep the ball out of Tom Brady's hands as much as possible
and to keep him from throwing downfield. Sure, all teams want that, but the Steelers
figured out a way to do it and other teams will likely follow the pattern.
The Giants saved their best for last as they
trailed the Dolphins from the first and into the fourth quarter. Eli Manning tossed
the game-winning 25-yard scoring pass to Victor Cruz with 5:58 left to go. Unable
to establish a running game, Eli Manning used his arm to carry most of the workload,
completing 31 of 45 passes against Miami, throwing for 349 yards and two touchdowns
in their 20-17 win. New
England Patriots.
Right now the Patriots are 5-2 and
tied with Buffalo atop the AFC East. They would have to win-out all the rest of
their regular season games to finish with a 14-2 record
as they did in 2010. Then the Patriots were 1st in scoring and into the playoffs
until the Jets took them out. Finishing up, they were ranked 25 in total defense
following rebuilding in that area. They had a year to work things out, but the
defense instead has taken a step back.
This Sunday will be the
first time the Giants and Patriots have met since they upset New England in Super
Bowl XLII. The Patriots offense is still very strong. They're the NFL's
third-ranked offense (437.1 yards a game), with a second-ranked passing game (324.7
yards a game) and are the fifth-highest scoring team (28.9 points per game). The
Giants have only 14 players on the active roster who played in that Super Bowl
game, and the Patriots have only seven. That was then and this is now and the
Giants are up against a tough Bill Belichick team coming off a loss. Patriots
offense.
Tom Brady can throw the
ball anywhere on the field he wants to and last week it was mostly to tight end
Rob Gronkowski. With his top receiver covered, Brady went to the tight end who
had a career high seven catches for the most on the day and for the most yardage
(96 yards). Meanwhile wide receiver Wes Welker, on track for the NFL record for
yards receiving in a season, was held to just 39 on his six receptions. Tight
end Aaron Hernandez was well covered. Even though Tom Brady competed 68.6 percent
of his passes, it was for a season-low 198 yards as his bigger targets could not
consistently get open against Pittsburgh's tough man-to-man coverage.
They
have Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Chad Ochocinco and Taylor Price but it didn't matter.
Being behind the whole game, they put all the chips on Brady and the offense ran
the ball just 12 times (43 yards). The Patriots were averaging 33 points in their
first five games. They struggled against the Cowboys for 20 points in a come from
behind win, and then scored just 17 in their loss to the Steelers. Teams may be
starting to figure this offense out. Patriots
defense.
Passing was the main weapon the
Steelers used against this defense last week. Ben Roethlisberger threw 50 of them
as opposed to the 23 running plays they called (98 Yards). Roethlisberger completed
36 of those 50 passes for 365 yards and 2 touchdowns, mostly using short safe,
underneath routes. The Giants also ran the exact same number, 23 running plays,
against the Dolphins, but with results netting just 58 yards for their efforts.
Eli Manning's passing however was comparable with Roethlisberger's (yikes
- another top-tier quarterback comparison) as he threw for 349 yards with 31 completions
on his 45 passes. This Patriots defense has allowed more than 300 passing yards
for six out of their seven games. They still enjoy a 5-2 record for all of that,
but it only works if Tom Brady gets playing time and Brady was limited last week
with Pittsburgh hogging the ball for almost 40 minutes. Still don't forget that
they sacked Ben Roethlisberger five times and held the Steelers to fewer than
100 yards rushing. Giants
offense.
There were boos from the Giants
fans last week for Brandon Jacobs but none for Eli Manning. Manning has thrown
just five interceptions in seven games after throwing twenty-five in sixteen games
last year. He has completed 64.7% of his passes for 2,127 yards, and 13 touchdowns.
With a passer rating of 102.1 he trails only Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers (125.7)
and Brady (104.4). Manning's passing capabilities could be very effective against
the Patriots, who are last in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 323.1 yards per
game. However, the Giants might not be at full strength as Hakeem Nicks and Mario
Manningham are missing practices. They do have Victor Cruz and Ramses Barden (likely
coming off the Physically Unable to Perform list) to be the receivers. Also, Jake
Ballard could be targeted more frequently after seeing how well the Steelers did
against the Patriots last week with tight end Heath Miller (7 catches, 85 yards).
Getting
back to Brandon Jacobs, the fans better start cheering again because it looks
like he's the healthiest running back they will have. Ahmad Bradshaw helped Manning
out with his 5 catches for 38 yards last week, and he is the team's leading rusher
with 111 carries for 440 yards and five touchdowns but it's doubtful if he will
play in this game. Jacobs has had only 42 rushing attempts for 126 yards and two
touchdowns, and is averaging 3.0 yards per carry. The overall running game has
not clicked as it has in the past with either of them. This season the team has
just 599 rushing yards (30th in the league) with an average of 3.2 yards per carry
which ties them for 30th place in the league.
Giants
defense.
The Steeler defense kept Tom
Brady on the move and sacked him 3 times last week and the Giants are capable
of doing the same. Granted they waited until the third quarter to get things going
last week against the Dolphins, but maybe they needed the playing time. Earlier
they allowed the Dolphins to convert on five of their eight third down plays,
but after that they stopped all five attempts and allowed no further scoring while
giving up only 36 total yards and logging four sacks.
Justin Tuck was returning
to the rotation and his thoughts were, "It took us a while to get in the flow
of things. I said I didn't want to be a distraction. I don't know if I was, but
I don't think we played up to our abilities in that first half."
You'd
wish to have the strongest secondary ever playing against Tom Brady, but Terrell
Thomas, the team's leading tackler was gone in preseason. His counterpart, Corey
Webster, has stepped up with his three interceptions in the last two games, and
Aaron Ross is having his best year. Still, the Giants run defense is a problem,
They are 25th in the NFL in allowing 4.7 yards per carry and 28th in allowing
130.1 yards per game on the ground. New England's offense has slipped a bit in
that area since last year. Brady has been sacked 14 times in 272 pass attempts
including the 3 last week. Overall.
The Patriots are known for building up early
leads which then allows their suspect defense to deal with a one dimensional team.
The Giants can't afford to sleepwalk through the first half of this game as they
did last week against the Dolphins and hope for Eli Manning to pull them out once
again. New England's 'suspect' defense may only appear to be that way as they
play a soft secondary, giving up clock killing yardage (32nd place) while being
stingy on points (17th place).
Ben Roethlisberger threw 50 passes against the
Patriots last week while Manning was busy throwing 45 passes against the Dolphins,
the most passes he has thrown since last year against Dallas (48). Manning connected
with eight different receivers, Victor Cruz being the most productive with seven
catches for 99 yards. Manning in fact admitted during the week that he called
some running plays just to keep balance. Ball control seems to be the most obvious
way to beat the Patriots. Can Manning do it? Will Brandon Jacobs bust out? Will
the pass rush keep Tom Brady in check? Will the Patriots suffer a rare regular-season
home game loss? This will be one interesting game. NFC
East.
On Sunday the Cowboys (3-4)
will host the Seahawks (2-5) for a 1pm game. The 49ers (6-1) will be in Washington
to play the Redskins (3-4) at the same time. The Giants follow with their game
in New England at 4:15pm. The Monday night game at 8:30pm features the Bears (4-3)
playing in Philadelphia against the Eagles (3-4). The Eagles are the only NFC
East team favored to win their matchup. 
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Notes.
Giants Eli Manning will be tied with Tom Brady's
record (111 straight from 2001-2008) making his 111th straight start.
That's
the fourth-most ever among quarterbacks. Giants
Eli Manning has led the team to a 4th-quarter victory from a deficit or tie 4
times this season and 17 times in his career. Giants
Eli Manning's 119.3 fourth-quarter rating is the best in the NFL. Giants
five victories are against teams with a combined record of 10-25. Patriots
have won 31 consecutive regular-season home games.
They have lost two straight
home playoff games.
Next Games
Nov 13 - Giants at San Francisco.
Giants Tickets
- Buy
or Sell
Nov 20 - Eagles at
Giants.
Giants Tickets - Buy
or Sell
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