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Giants-Contender or Pretender?


ThatGuy

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Thought that this deserved a posting here.

NY Giants - Contender or Pretender

In last week's predictions I made a statement that the Giants would finish in last in the NFC East. Of course the Giants then pulled out a dramatic win against the Broncos in the last minute. They currently sit at 4-2, tied with the Redskins and Eagles for 1st in the ultra competitive NFC East. So a week later, where do they stand? Have they raised up to contender status after a win over a tough Denver team or is their luck about to turn? Lets go game by game to try to come up with a conclusion.

Week 1

The Giants opened at home against Arizona. Arizona, hyped as a preseason NFC contender, has proven to be a lower tier team. The Giants won the game by a 42-19 score. However, looking deeper into the stats, shows that besides three big returns (kickoff, punt, interception) plays the Giants were actually outplayed. Eli Manning played terrible (10-23, 172 yds, 2 td, 2 int), the Cards dominated TOP (36m - 24m). Defensively, the Giants played well, forcing 2 interceptions, with 3 sacks. Here's a point to follow: #1 WR Larry Fitzgerald 13-155, 1 TD.

Week 2

This was the sham of a home game for New Orleans that was played in New York. Again the Giants won by a large margin, 27-10, despite being outgained by opposition. The yards in this game were 422 to 257. Manning again was average, 13-24, 169 yards, 1 TD. The game was also the beginning of the amazing luck of Giants in recovering fumbles, as they got 3. #1 WR Joe Horn 9-143, 1TD

Week 3

The beginning the 'OMG ELI MANNING IS GREAT' brigade. He threw for 352 yards, with 2 TDs. Of course the Giants got absoluetly hammered to the tune of 45-23. The gave up a big ole 485 yards. Tomlinson managed 191 yards. And of course WR#1 Keenen McCardell has his 2nd best game of the season (4-80, 2 TDs).

Week 4

Another OMG ELI!!! game. He was 19-35, 4 TDs. Great game, of course, this was the Rams. The Rams were in full Mike Martz genius mode, passing 62 times and running 15 times. The G-men were outgained in yards for the 4th straight game, and gave up a nice 476 yards. Number 1 WR Torry Holt had a good game as well (anyone sensing a trend?) 7-84, 1 TD.

Week 6

After a bye the Giants returned to action in Dallas. Unfortunatly, not much changed for them. Manning, for the 1st time all season, had to face a decent defense. It didn't work out so well, 14-30, 215yrds, 1 TD, 1 int. The Giants were out gained again to tune of 385-270. And #1 WR (Just ask him) Keyshawn Johnson actually had a good game (8-120).

Week 7

You'll never guess who had more yards in this week 7 game. Well, ok you might. It was Denver, 385-311. Manning, for all the hype going his way, was fairly average. He went 23-42, 214, 2 td, 1 int. One positive note for the Giants, they held number one WR Rod Smith to 3 catches, of course he averaged 17.0 yards per catch. But progress is progress.

A few trends standout, number one is the Giants give up tons of yardage. Every game this season they've lost the yardage battle. There is no way a team can be successful with this happening. Manning, while improved, is still very inaccurate (53.1%). And the Giants can't cover top WRs. Somewhere I'm sure Santana Moss is licking his lips.

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I say they're a contender until they show they can't keep forcing TOs. The fact is, it's just as effective to give up 70 yards and take the ball away as it is to force a 3-and-out punt. Granted, they are living dangerously, but some teams go the entire year and keep forcing TOs.

If they stop doing that, then they may become a pretender. However, even then, they might have enough D to win with that offense.

Remember, we finished 10-6 and won the division in 1999 with a horrible defense.

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Really nice job there.

I've said it before, but this game is all about two things: finishing drives and holding on to the ball. Sknis do that & they win. It's as simple as that.

That is 100% correct. We win the TO battle, and we win the game.

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They are contenders. Come on guys, theyve played some VERY good football, some of you look FAR into statistics. Bottom line is they are 4-2 and tied with us at the top. I do think that the Redskins are a better team though, but do not discount what NYG has put together, they are far better than I thought theyd be.

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im thinking we are all contenders in the NFC EAST. 3 teams tied for first, Us and You and the Shegals. with Dallas a half game out.

i do think that this game is more important for the giants to win because we are down 0-1 in division games and this one is at home for us.

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They are contenders. Come on guys, theyve played some VERY good football, some of you look FAR into statistics. Bottom line is they are 4-2 and tied with us at the top. I do think that the Redskins are a better team though, but do not discount what NYG has put together, they are far better than I thought theyd be.

They have one win against a good team. We have 2 (3 if you want to count the Bears). Stats tell you a lot about the future. And the stats show the Giants record is above their skill level.

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Stats can be kind of misleading too because most of those games team were playing from behind against the Giants..so of course they will go to the air in order to strike quicker...its still amazing the amount of yards the giants are truly giving up though..the key like everyone else is saying would be TO's, if we dont give them a short field and make eli drive down the field I like our chances.

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They have one win against a good team. We have 2 (3 if you want to count the Bears). Stats tell you a lot about the future. And the stats show the Giants record is above their skill level.

Two wins against good teams? You mean the Dallas game where you were dominated for 55 minutes, and then threw up two desperation bombs to win the game?

And how about Seattle, where you were VERY lucky to have pulled that one out after a missed FG.

I'm not taking anything away from the Skins, you are what your record says you are. However, you could use a ton of the same arguments against the Skins that you are using against the Giants.

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They beat Denver, didn't they? That is impressive, even if they did have to pull it out at the very end. This is going to be a tough game. I think it will be tougher than the next one hosting Philly.

Also, check this guy out. Looking at his analysis, we will go 12-4, losing only two of the next ten. The two teams we lose to? Giants and Eagles. He says the toughtest game of the next ten is the game this week.

Scroll to the bottom: http://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/waspower.php3

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They beat Denver, didn't they? That is impressive, even if they did have to pull it out at the very end. This is going to be a tough game. I think it will be tougher than the next one hosting Philly.

They beat Denver at home, they are a very different team in Denver.

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I've watched a bit of some Giants games. And their offense is definatly "contender" class.

I'm not saying they're unstoppable. (Neither are we.)

All that said, though, I'll also point out that they're 1-1 against teams with a winning record.

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At this point they are contenders but, like the Skins, you have to prove it within the division. So far they've played one game, in Dallas, and lost. Manning has been decent, as we all expected he would, but he absolutely has to lead his team to victories on the road, as well as at home, if the Giants want a shot at the playoffs.

The key to this game is keeping Manning off the field by keeping our offense on it. Long drives for the Skins (resulting in TD's, not FG's) and keeping the Giants pinned back deep in their own territory are what I think are the biggest keys to this game.

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