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


Continue reading "Gameday Preview, Week 6: Cleveland Browns"

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...
Continue reading "Giants' Steps TV returns: Week 5 Seattle stomping"

Giants' Steps Back on its Feet

Hi everybody. After a short hiatus to move back home and enjoy a holiday along the way, I'm back on American soil and Giants' Steps is back up and running.

What a win last week against the Seahawks. If I can, I'll get an episode up on You Tube recapping the game, but I'll just say a few things about it here...


ON THE GAME

• That's what happens when the Giants execute to their potential.

• Sunday's whooping confirmed what I and many other Giants fans have thought for a while - this team is loaded. Without Burress , the Giants biggest offensive weapon, the team poured it on, led by its "#4" and "#5" receivers Domenik Hixon and Sinorice Moss. Great games by both players.

• When you set up Brandon Jacobs early, all three backs can get enough carries to make an impact. And what an impact they make. All three had great games, combining for over 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jacobs is simply a special player, and Ward and Bradshaw could also start in this league. Bradshaw had a beastly run towards the end where he broke a handful of tackles and cut up the Seahawks defense like an expired credit card. He was one cut away from taking it to the endzone but it looked like he lost his footing.

• Eli Manning has turned a corner and remains in his Super Bowl-winning form. He's making smart decisions, not forcing anything, and being tough in the pocket. Most importantly, he's protecting the football. He played a phenomenal game on Sunday. People are even starting to question whether he's better than Peyton. This past year at least, he just might be...

• Kevin Gilbride deserves a lot of credit for the way he called that game - spreading the ball around, pounding Seattle in the mouth, attacking down field, and using all of the weapons at his disposal. He even mixed it up with a reverse in the first quarter to Hixon. This was an area I thought the Giants needed to improve in and last week, they did. Keep it up, KG.

• When the play-calling is sound and spread out, the Giants get in the end zone. 7's, not 3's. They scored on their first 6 possessions and had over 300 yards of offense in the first half alone.

• On defense, after allowing the Bengals to convert 60% of their third downs in Week 3, the Giants shut down the Seahawks, allowing only 1 third down conversion and 13 first downs for the entire game. They stuffed Seattle's third-ranked rushing attack and held them to only 60+ yards on the ground.

• The Giants D also got their second takeaway of the season on a 44 yard Kevin Dockery INT. Great job by Doc finally getting his hands on the ball, and a nice run back. Speaking of the secondary, Dockery, Ross, Webster and company are playing some lights-out football right now.

• K John Carney showed signs of why he may not be the obvious upgrade to the injured Lawrence Tynes. A number of his kickoffs Sunday failed to reach the 10 yard line; one went out of bounds.

ON OTHER STUFF

• If not for a couple of penalties on defense, the score of Sunday's game might have been 44-0.

• Antonio Pierce: since when does that guy NOT wear sleeves?

• I'm very happy for Sinorice Moss. People have questioned whether or not he was "ready" to contribute. Granted the guy's first two seasons have been disappointing, but after finally being healthy and having a very strong pre-season, I thought this year it's just been a matter of getting the call. Glad that he did, and I hope he can continue to find opportunities even with Plaxico back.

• Speaking of Plax- welcome back, let's play football.

• In other WR action, congrats on your first NFL catch Mario Manningham...the first of many I hope.

It's certainly been a good week for Big Blue. What cracks me up though is how now the same people who were dismissing the Giants as a fluke, or claiming they'd lost too many key players to contend again, are now comparing them to the 2007 New England Patriots and singing the repeat song. I heard one reporter even asked a Giants player if he thought the team could go undefeated. Ridiculous.

The season is young, and you don't crown a champion in Week 5. It's a long, tough road through an NFL season and one blowout victory will not make you or break you. One thing for sure though is the Giants are a deep, talented team and with a lot of weapons and a lot of confidence.

Confidence and the championship attitude could carry the Giants far this season. The keys are taking it one game at a time, improving each week, and playing not just better than your opponent, but as well as you can.

The pieces are in place for another special season. Next stop, Cleveland.

Continue reading "Giants' Steps Back on its Feet"

Gameday Preview, Week 5: Seattle Seahawks

Giants look to break the bye-week trend against Seahawks

Heading into Week 5's showdown with the Seattle Seahawks, three story lines from the past two weeks lend a new level of drama and significance to the game: the defending champion Giants are undefeated and in 1st place in NFC East; they have a dismal 4-15 record after the bye week; and they will try to buck that trend this week without suspended wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

QB Eli Manning's play is one reason why the Giants are
currently on top of the toughest division in football.

ON TOP OF THE HEAP

At 3-0, the Giants have exclusive possession of first place in a very talented and competitive NFC East. Dallas and Washington trail with records of 3-1, and Philadelphia brings up the rear at 2-2. As the Giants enter a four game stretch against non-divisional opponents, it presents them with a great opportunity to keep a one game cushion before the final 9 games of the season when they have to play 5 divisional games.

The NFC East arguably features the four best teams in the conference this season. It's an extremely talented and competitive division, and every game counts...

This tight competition adds another layer of relevance to this week's match-up with the 1-2 Seahawks. The Giants lead the overall series 7-5, but Seattle has won the previous two meetings, both of which were played at Qwest Field, home of the infamous "12th man." This week's game will be played at Giants Stadium, and the Giants are hoping that the Big Blue faithful can function as a 12th man in their own right. The G-men should take whatever help they can get if they're hoping to shake the post-bye week pattern...of losing.

Listening to the "experts" discuss this trend, there sounds like there is no single cause to blame for the Giants' lack of success following the bye. It seems as though it could just be an unfortunate coincidence...that has haunted Big Blue since the bye week's inception in 1990.


BYE-BYE BYE-WEEK BLUES?

Remember this though, the Giants had a bye week last January. The following week they won the Super Bowl. If any Giants team can kick the habit this week, it's the 2008 Giants, for precisely the reasons I've been emphasizing this whole year: a champion's attitude, excellent preparation, and getting the job done on game day.

Seattle is also coming off of a bye week. Under current coach Mike Holmgren, they too have fared poorly, going 2-7 following the bye. Other facts of note: the Seahawks have gone just 3-8 in their past 11 games east of the Mississippi River. And under Holmgren, the 'Hawks are 14-25 in the East, and only 6-19 since 2003. In the last two seasons away from Qwest field, they are a mediocre 7-9, compared with a 12-4 record in front of their home fans.

Favored to win the NFC West at the beginning of the season, the Seahawks have been decimated by injuries, mostly at wide receiver, and have struggled to find wins early in 2008. Their only win came in Week 3 against the lowly Rams. While they post some impressive numbers offensively - 11th in the league in points and yards per game (25.7 and 336.7, respectively), and second in the league in rushing yards per game at 166.3 yards per game - Seattle also struggles in some categories. They are 26th in the league in points allowed (26.7 points a game), and 25th in the league in pass yards allowed per game (226.3 yds per game). This could be an excellent opportunity for Eli and company to break out the deep ball they've been so keen on since training camp.


BURRESS-LESS

That task may be complicated this week though as the Giant passing attack will have a different look: they will be without their top weapon - suspended receiver Plaxico Burress. I haven't spoken much about this issue on the blog, but here's the breakdown:

• First, it sucks that this had to happen but I think it was the right decision. Team comes first and nobody, no matter how productive, is above the team. That's how you win games; that's how you win rings.
  

• Second, football aside, there may be some bigger problems here that I hope Plax and his family can resolve. There's been talk about domestic disputes, police, and other things. He's got an infant son at home, and that is no kind of environment for a baby to be in.
  

• Third, Plaxico has had a history of disciplinary problems his entire career. There's been rumors circulating that he's been fined around 40 times since joining the Giants. Maybe so, but no one can deny that he hasn't proven himself on the field. He went out for every game last season when he couldn't even practice and had a career year. If this suspension does not affect him or the locker room negatively going forward, then I say forget about it, move on, play football.
  

• Finally, this could potentially be a blessing in disguise. The Giants are loaded at WR with talented players not dressing or seeing any playing time come game day. Without Burress, everybody moves up the depth chart and Sunday's game could be a prime opportunity for the young guns - Smith, Hixon, Sinorice Moss, and Mario Manningham - to show what they can do, not only to the fans but also to the coaching staff. I mentioned in my Bye Week Report that maximizing the use of offensive talent would be crucial to the Giants' progress this season. Week 5 forces the coaches to put these guys under the spotlight. I think they'll like what they see...

KEY MATCH-UPS

And that brings us right into the Key Match-ups for this week's showdown.

• Giants' young WRs vs. Seahawks' secondary: Domenik Hixon will start in place of Burress, while Steve Smith will stay in the slot. These two are already proving themselves as reliable targets for Eli Manning and both have already made an impact on the passing attack this year. Third year player Sinorice Moss only has one catch this season and has seen little action, but as I've mentioned before on the blog, he had a strong preseason and is healthy for the first time in his career. Rookie Mario Manningham has yet to be active for a game, and this week he is battling an illness that may or may not affect his availability for Sunday. How these young players perform in Week 5 will have a critical impact on the outcome of the game.
  

• Giants' running game vs. the Seattle front 7: The Giants' talented offensive line should have something to prove this week. Not only are they going up against an athletic, talented Seattle front 7 that can get after the quarterback, but they'll also be looking to rebound in the running game after struggling against Cincinnati. In Week 3, the Giants' running attack failed to generate its usual momentum, as the Bengals shut down Brandon Jacobs and threw off the rhythm of the entire Giant running attack. Look for a faster start this week to set up the vicious three-pronged ground game. When Jacobs can pound it successfully, Ward becomes all the more dangerous, and Bradshaw becomes all the more explosive.
  

• Giants' LBs vs. the Seattle running game: Seattle currently boasts one of the strongest running attacks in the league, albeit in part because of compensating for a depleted passing attack. The Giants defense is coming off of a lackluster performance against the Bengals in which they gave up nearly 5 yards a play and converted on nearly 60% of their third down attempts. With a stout front four, it will fall to the Giants' Linebackers to shore up the run defense and take away the Seahawks' running attack. This will put more pressure on QB Matt Hasselbeck and feed into the Giants' pass rush.

Seattle WRs Bobby Engram and Deion Branch
will make their season debuts this Sunday.

• Giants' secondary vs. the Seahawks' WRs: Seattle will have a healthy wide receiving corps for the first time all season as play-makers Deion Branch and Bobby Engram return to action. It will be up to the Giants' secondary to shut them down and take away as many of QB Matt Hasselbeck's weapons as possible.
  

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Those are some key match-ups that will have considerable impact on the outcome of this game. Here are a few other general things to pay attention to on Sunday:

• Gilbride and the WRs: How are the young wide receivers used in their new roles. Can Gilbride dial up the right plays and take full advantage of the talent at his disposal?
  

• Eli and the WRs: How comfortable will Eli be without his favorite target out there on the field? Will he still maintain his outstanding early-season form?
  

• Turnovers: The Giants need to start taking the football away from the other team. It's been a point of emphasis during the bye week, and players have had their opportunities in the first three games. With any luck, this week they will start taking those opportunities.
  

Now for a few players to keep your eyes on...


PLAYERS TO WATCH

Normally, each week I spotlight one offensive and one defensive player to keep your eye. Well, this week, in the interest of not being repetitive and telling you to watch out for Domenik Hixon again (you should really pay attention to all the young WRs), I've decided to spotlight two defensive players instead.


DE 97 Mathias Kiwanuka - Kiwi's been dealing with a sore ankle for the last two games. He has said the bye week allowed him to rest it and the ankle is feeling much better. He got his first sack of the season in Week 3, I look for him to add to that this week. If he's as healthy as he can be, he will only be more explosive and dynamic, and that will open up opportunities for the rest of the front four to get at the QB.





CB 27 Sam Madison - The old timer saw some of his first action of the season in Week 3 and showed up to make a big time bat-down in over time. One of the best players in the secondary last season in my mind, I expect Sam could see more playing time now that he's healthy again, especially if the defense is struggling to get off the field or missing opportunities to get a take away.

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I'm looking forward to Big Blue getting back in action this week, in what should be a great game. I look for both teams and the crowd to come out fired up. If the Giants bring their A game and successfully make some needed improvements in areas I've mentioned above, I think they'll take it.

Prediction: Giants win, 27-16

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NFL.com's preview of Seahawks@Giants

Giants.com's Seahawks Scouting Report

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Continue reading "Gameday Preview, Week 5: Seattle Seahawks"