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Giants (6-2) vs Niners (7-1)
Last week the 49ers' notched their sixth straight
win by defeating the Redskins 19-11 in Washington. They now have a commanding
lead in the NFC West. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has certainly sparked this team
to new life.
The
Giants gave their fans a chance to remember what it was like a few years ago when
they beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Eli Manning engineered
his fifth fourth-quarter comeback of the season on the Giants last drive when
the ball fell into the hands of number 85, Jake Ballard, in the endzone for the
24-20 lead and final score. San
Francisco 49ers.
He
completed 58.8 percent of his passes and ended up with a quarterback rating of
77.6. We're not talking about the 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. Those were Jim
Harbaugh's numbers over an NFL quarterback career that spanned 15 seasons and
six different teams. Harbaugh was sacked 361 times but can still deliver a good
hard handshake. Name the only Indianapolis quarterback to ever receive the AFC's
player of the year award - Peyton Manning - wrong. It was Jim Harbaugh in 1995.
(The award was discontinued in 1997).
As a coach Harbaugh has gotten some
great production from college teams and is off to a great start in his first year
as an NFL head coach. He took over a 6-10 team and already has them at 7-1 to
justify the five year 25 million dollar contract he received. Harbaugh managed
to do this despite the lockout, which did not afford him much offseason time for
introductions to his new team. San Francisco hit the ground running in more ways
than one. With a commanding five game lead over the rest of the contenders(?)
in the division, they rank 6th in the league in rushing and 30th in passing. Niners
offense.
Frank Gore is the first
player in the teams' history with five consecutive 100-yard rushing games. Against
the NFC East he's chewed up the Eagles and Redskins, but he recorded his lowest
output, only 47 yards, against the Cowboys. It was the teams' only loss of the
year, an overtime 27-24 come from behind victory by the Cowboys. Gore expects
to play despite an injury to his left ankle. The usual game plan is that Gore
runs and quarterback Alex Smith controls the flow with low-risk passing. Tight
end Vernon Davis tops the team with his 31 receptions.
Jim Harbaugh probably
had news-clippings of the Giants on his mind, because he brought up the 'elite'
word, saying that Alex Smith is as elite as any quarterback in football. Looking
more closely into that, Smith has quite a bit more to prove, but could he be a
'sleeper' elite? Smith leads the whole NFL in passer rating on throws traveling
more than 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. He has 10 touchdown passes and
only 2 interceptions. Finishing 2010, Smith had 8 touchdowns with just 1 interception
in his final five starts of the season. The 49ers have given up 19 sacks, 6 coming
in their one loss to the Cowboys. Niners
defense.
This unit allows an average of
just 70.8 yards on the ground, has been even better over the last three games,
and has given up no rushing touchdowns. They are first in the league in red zone
defense and first in limiting yards and points to be scored against them, just
14.8 per game. In their one loss to Dallas, their secondary gave up big plays,
but even with that, they only lost by 3 points to a long field goal in overtime.
Overall they are 22nd in the league in defending against the pass. That's the
one area where they will have trouble with the Giants. Unless Brandon Jacobs can
somehow become renewed and break out against a team that holds an NFL-long 30-game
streak of not allowing an opposing player to rush for at least 100 yards, the
Giants will have to pass a lot to win this game. In trying that, Justin Smith,
a Pro Bowler the last two seasons, will have to be dealt with. He has 4.5 sacks
to date and 69.5 total in his career. Also, cornerback Carlos Rogers leads the
team with three interceptions. Giants
offense.
Last week Eli Manning starred
again with his fifth fourth-quarter comeback of the season. He was 8-for-13 with
93 yards and two touchdowns in the final quarter. Victor Cruz has been his main
target with a team-leading 588 yards on 34 catches with 4 touchdowns. Hakeem Nicks
had an injured hamstring but he looks on track to play, and downfield threats
are what they need to beat the 49ers. Tight end Jake Ballard will also draw attention.
He had four catches for 67 yards last week to bring his total to 38 catches for
575 yards and 3 TDs.
Ahmad Bradshaw is
out again for this game and Brandon Jacobs will take on the NFL's best run defense.
That's no easy task. Jacobs did manage to run for 72 yards on 18 carries last
week, but that was against a much easier outfit. He also had 4 catches for 28
yards. Da'Rel Scott got his feet wet last week with one 5 yard run and will likely
see more action this game along with D.J. Ware. Giants
defense.
They had their hands full trying
to contain wide receiver Wes Welker (9-136) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (8-101)
last week, but this game appears to be more one dimensional as far as defending
against the pass. Frank Gore averages 6.3 yards
per carry and has 4 touchdowns and the Giants
rank only 25th in the NFL against the run, allowing 127.1 yards per game. The
49ers in the past five games are averaging 176.4 rushing yards and they have to
test that matchup. Still, Alex Smith is having his best year. His 97.3 passer
rating and 64.1 completion percentage are both career highs.
Lots of focus
on defending the 49ers running game could lead to opportunities for Smith to take
more chances against the Giants secondary. Wide receiver Michael Crabtree has
been Smith's top target lately and Braylon Edwards is working back in after missing
some games with a knee injury. The Giants pressured Tom Brady last week and have
28 sacks, the most in the NFL, and need to keep that up. Extra work is likely
on hand for the defense with worse field position, considering that the 49ers
are third in the NFL in kickoff return average and fifth on punt returns.
Overall.
The Giants are gearing up for Frank Gore's
rushing attack, even changing some personnel on their defense. Gore was hurt last
week and this could be a spot for the Niners to break out with a clever passing
strategy knowing they might catch the Giants literally 'flat-footed' in that area.
At some point the 49ers need to see if they can manage a more balanced run-pass
offense that can take them somewhere in the playoffs as they move forward. Could
this be the week? NFC
East.
On Sunday all the NFC East
teams play at 1pm except for the Giants who start at 4:15. The Cowboys (4-4) will
host the Bills (5-3). The Eagles (3-5) will host the Cardinals (2-6) and the Redskins
(3-5) will travel to Miami to play the Dolphins (1-7). The Cowboys and Eagles
are favored to win their games. The Redskins and Giants are not.
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Notes.
Giants Eli Manning is making his 112th straight
start. That's the third most ever among quarterbacks. Giants
Eli Manning has led the team to a 4th-quarter victory from a deficit or tie 5
times this season and 18 times in his career, 49ers
Justin Smith has 163 consecutive starts for the fifth-longest active streak in
the NFL. 49ers have finished at or below
.500 in each of the past eight seasons. 49ers
head coach Jim Harbaugh, as a player, was the
26th overall pick of the 1987 draft. 49ers
drafted quarterback Alex Smith No. 1 overall in 2005. 49ers
Alex Smith has 3 fourth-quarter comebacks in 2011, a total of 6 times in his career.
49ers have beaten the Redskins and Seahawks
this season, the only teams the Giants have lost to this season. 49ers
have allowed a league-low 118 points. The Baltimore Ravens are next at 130. 49ers
have their longest winning streak since 1997 and are 4-0 on the road for the first
time since 1992.
Next Games
Nov 20 - Eagles at Giants.
Giants Tickets
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Nov 28 - Giants at
New Orleans.
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