Key Contests Recap: Week 6

A wild Week 6 saw five games decided in the closing seconds and 3 NFC East teams get smacked in the mouth. I'll have a full write-up of the Browns' thrashing of Big Blue on Wednesday morning. In the mean time, there's a recap of the game on GSTV...

As for the other Key Contests, the Cowboys and Redskins were both upset. The Cardinals victory I predicted, but they almost gave it away with some sloppy defense at the end. The Cardinals came through in OT and helped to soften the blow of Big Blue's beat down. Some other notes from the game, Tony Romo broke his pinky finger on his throwing hand in OT and will miss approximately 4 weeks. This just in: Larry Fitzgerald is ridiculous...

The other upset I did not see coming. Coming off their bye, with new Coach Jim Haslett, the previously winless Rams shocked the Redskins in their own stadium and ended Washington's 4 game win streak. If Washington fans are looking for an explanation here, I would point to their team's 3 turnovers. If this week taught us anything, it's that it's very hard to win a game when you turn the ball over that many times.

The lone NFC East team to pick up a win in Week 6 was the Philadelphia Eagles, who went out West and defeated the San Fransisco 49ers 40-26 to improve to 3-3 and gain some ground in the division. This game was not as close as the score would suggest. San Fran was leading at one point in the 4th quarter and had the chance to tie the game at the end before QB J.T. O'Sullivan threw a pick 6. Philly heads into their bye week while the Niners head East to Giants Stadium in what will be a big game for both teams.

Again, a wild Week 6. I had high hopes for the G-men to put some distance between them and the rest of their division following the Cowboys' and Redskins' losses, but alas... We'll have to rebound next week at home.

Full write-up of the Monday Night meltdown Wednesday.

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Key Contests Preview: Week 6

All three division rivals are in action this week in some intriguing match-ups, including one contest against the Giants' opponents for next week, the San Fransisco 49ers. Washington will look to continue their hot streak against the lowly St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia will take on San Fran and attempt to right the ship after losing two in a row, and in another late game, two high-powered offenses square off in the desert as the Cowboys and Cardinals clash in Arizona.


ST. LOUIS RAMS @ WASHINGTON REDSKINS

The Redskins are the hottest team in the league right now having won four games in a row in impressive fashion, including two huge wins on the road against division rivals Dallas and Philadelphia. QB Jason Campbell has looked impressive, having not committed a turnover so far this season. His supporting cast, led by RB Clinton Portis, is also coming into its own in Jim Zorn's offense. The only question about the outcome of this game will be how much the Redskins win by.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES @ SAN FRANSISCO 49ERS

Donovan McNabb stated this week he is "embarrassed" by his play and his team's play after losing two games in a row. After a hot start the Eagles are struggling, and to make matters worse they will be without the centerpiece of their offense this week, Pro Bowl running back Brian Westbrook, who is out with broken ribs. Thankfully, they're playing a mediocre San Fransisco team, which leads the league in sacks allowed. Against the potent pass rush of Jim Johnson's defense, I expect San Fran will struggle to find their offensive rhythm. Philadelphia should get back in the win column this week and avoid falling further in the NFC East standings.

DALLAS COWBOYS @ ARIZONA CARDINALS

The #1 scoring offense takes on the #4 scoring offense in what promises to be an exciting showdown in Arizona. Dallas has been dealing with a lot of off the field issues in the past few weeks and speculation is running wild about the status of their locker room. I think this team could be another loss away from unraveling. I also think that that loss could come today against the prolific passing attack of Kurt Warner and the Cardinals. Granted, Arizona will be without star Anquan Boldin, but Dallas has struggled against the deep ball...and that's where the Cardinals excel. If Arizona's defense can limit the Dallas running attack, then I expect we'll see an upset in the desert this week.

Enjoy the games everybody. I'll be back with a preview of the Giants game shortly.

-Will

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Gameday Preview, Week 6: Cleveland Browns

Big Blue looks to keep on rolling...

The Giants 4-0 start and their dominant win over the Seahawks in Week 5 has the sports media world buzzing: Are the Giants going to repeat? Are the Giants the 2008 New England Patriots? Is New York going to go undefeated? Of course, most of this speculation is absurd, but the Giants have definitely looked impressive thus far.

Certainly, the answer to that last question is most likely "no," as last year we saw that teams just can't go through an NFL season without suffering a loss here or there. But while perfection in the standings is improbable if not impossible, this Giants season is still all about the pursuit of perfection - perfection on the field.

Antonio Pierce and company are still looking to improve.

What separates this Giants team from teams of the past is its relentless work ethic and drive to improve. Despite shellacking Seattle last week, the Giants have not grown over-confident or complacent; they retain that same attitude and work ethic that has brought them so much success in the first part of the season. Improve each week; the next game is the most important one...

And the next game for Big Blue is on the road this week against the 1-3 Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football.

LOWDOWN ON THE CLEVELAND BROWNS

After narrowly missing the playoffs last season, there were high hopes for the Browns coming into 2008, but poor play and a number of key injuries have caused them to struggle thus far. Statistically, their offense is the worst in the league. QB Derek Anderson has struggled after a Pro Bowl season last year, throwing 6 picks and just 3 touchdowns and posting a dismal QB rating of 49.9. WR Braylon Edwards has also struggled. Last year he finished with over 1200 yards receiving. A quarter of the way through this season, he is on pace to finish with only 300 yards receiving.

The Browns do have a lot of other weapons on offense though. RB Jamal Lewis is a force in the backfield and TE Kellen Winslow is one of the best receiving TEs in the NFL, though he has been hospitalized this week with some mystery illness. Free agent pick-up WR Donte Stallworth is set to make his regular season debut on Monday night.

The Browns have been mediocre on defense, ranking 15th in the league in yards allowed per game and 22nd in the league against the run. They are ranked 10th in both points allowed per game (19.5) and passing yards allowed per game (187.0). Look for both of these numbers to rise when the best offense in the NFL rolls into town.

KEYS MATCH-UPS

The statistical gaps between these two teams don't guarantee anything however, and in order for the G-men to notch their fifth consecutive win this week, they'll have to win a few key battles. The most fundamental will be the most critical: establish the Giants running attack, spread the ball offensively, shut down the Browns' running attack and generate turnovers on defense.

• Giant Running Attack vs. Cleveland Front 7: When you establish the run, you set up in the entire offense. In the Giants' case, when you establish Brandon Jacobs you set up the opposing team to be completely slaughtered. When Jacobs opens well, the Giants offense rolls, just look at St. Louis and Seattle. The bruising back not only sets up Eli Manning and the passing game, but also lays the table for the second and third acts of the Giants dynamic running game. Even without the Browns calling out Jacobs this week, look for the G-men to stuff it down their throats from the opening drive.
  

• OC Kevin Gilbride vs. Himself: Last week without Plaxico Burress the Giant offense exploded for 44 points, partially due to a strong outing from Brandon Jacobs, but also in part due to outstanding play-calling. Kevin Gilbride dialed up a perfect game plan and took full advantage of the deep pool of talent at his disposal. He balanced his attack and spread the ball around. He even called a reverse for Domenik Hixon in the first quarter...a reverse! It will be interesting to see how KG follows up this week with the return of Plaxico.
  

• Giants' Front 7 vs. Cleveland Running Attack: For the Giant defense to truly exploit their opponents' weaknesses, they must first stop Jamal Lewis. Last week against the 3rd best rushing attack in the league, Big Blue shut the Seahawks down and dominated the line of scrimmage. Look for the Giants front 7 to build off of last week's performance as the unit continues to gel together. If they can take away the run game, that will put more pressure on struggling QB Derek Anderson, increasing the likelihood for sacks and turnovers.
  

• Giants' Secondary vs. Cleveland's Receivers: Of course, the latter will be contingent upon the Giants' secondary continuing their outstanding play against some talented Cleveland receivers. This young unit has been phenomenal over the first four games and CB Kevin Dockery notched the group's first turnover last week. Spagnuolo said that turnovers come in spurts. Let's see if the streak can continue this week.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

And so it is, turnovers headlines this week's things to watch for.

• Turnovers: Will be critical to taking momentum away from the Browns and elevating the level fo the Giants' defense going forward.
  

• QB Pressure: Analysts this week are looking for Justin Tuck and company to have a big game this week against a beat-up Cleveland O-line. If Anderson faces a lot of pressure, it could allow for some big plays by the Giant defense.
  

• Giants Early Rushing Success: If Big Blue can establish the run early, the Browns D is in for a long night.
  

• Who's on the Field on Offense? The personnel on the field Monday night will serve as a good indicator for what direction the Giants offense is going. If we see a lot of Smith, Hixon, and Bradshaw, Big Blue should be taking care of business. Perhaps even Sinorice Moss can continue to make more of a contribution following his success last week.
  

PLAYERS TO WATCH

RB 27 Brandon Jacobs - After being called out my Browns' DT Badmove McFootinmouth, I expect Jacobs and the O-line to be aggressive and hit Cleveland in the mouth from the opening drive. It could be another 100+ yard performance for the man-beast, coming off of one his best games of the season.


DE 91 Justin Tuck - Justin Tuck has not had a sack in two games. The Browns right tackle is returning from injury and I expect Tuck to do injury the Browns' pride with a truly cromular performance.

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I'm excited to watch my first Giants game from U.S. soil in over a year on Monday night, and even more excited to be watching it in HD on a real TV and not a grainy 3 inch window on my computer. It's an important game for Big Blue to continue to build momentum and a cushion over the division before some tougher competition in the second half of the season. I expect the Road Warriors to get their 12th straight away from Giants stadium and make it 5-0 on the season.

Prediction: Giants win, 31 - 10

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NFL.com's preview of Giants @ Browns

Giants.com's Browns Scouting Report


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Giants' Steps TV returns: Week 5 Seattle stomping

Giants' Steps TV returned to the air this week. Below is a two-part recap of the Giants' victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

PART I

Some more thoughts...


PART II

A preview of Monday night's match-up with the Browns will be up soon, as will a look ahead to this week's Key Contests. I'm back in the land of the pigskin and pumped for my first full weekend of NFL football!

Stay tuned...
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