Date: Sept. 24
Time:4pm ET FOX
Why to tune in:
As hard as the Seahawks tried to hand a win over to the Giants last year when these two teams met in Seattle, New York just thwarted their effort and returned the favor. PK Jay Feely missed three field goals in the Giants 24-21 loss to the Seahawks, including game winners in the fourth quarter and two in overtime. New York faced starting its season 0-2 when the Giants dropped their opener to Indianapolis and then falling behind 24-7 last weekend in Philadelphia. New York did rebound, however, and came all the way back in the fourth quarter to beat the Eagles 30-24 in overtime and even up its record. Seattle had an unimpressive 9-6 win in week one against Detroit and a more convincing victory last weekend against Arizona. Can Feely and the Giants pay back the Seahawks and springboard themselves into the diver’s seat in the NFC East? Or will the Seahawks increase their lead in the NFC West and be on the fast track to home field advantage for the playoffs?
When the Giants have the ball:
New York is going to have to get its passing game going early and not have to rely too much on Tiki Barber. Seattle is holding opponents to a stifling average of just 51.5 yards on the ground and rank second in the NFL at stopping the run. Barber was held to only 51 yards last week against Philadelphia and the Seahawks defensive line is just as apt to get a good push up the field as the Eagles are. Seattle likes its defensive front four to put pressure on the offensive line and then rely on the linebackers to make sure teams can’t bounce a run on outside of the tackles. Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson are extremely hard to get a hat on and they won’t run themselves out of plays, so look for the Giants to try and attack Seattle’s secondary vertically. Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer have had a lot of success so far this season and Eli Manning is starting to develop into a clutch quarterback. Tight end Jeremy Shockey was shut out of the first half last weekend, but found soft spots in the Eagles zone in the second half, which contributed to the win. If Barber can’t get going, the Giants are going to become one dimensional and that plays right into Seattle’s game plan on defense.
When the Seahawks have the ball:
The Giants are no slouches against the run themselves, so RB Shaun Alexander’s woes may continue. Alexander only has 145 yards in two games and is barely over 3.0 yards a carry. Mike Holmgren isn’t afraid to abandon his run, however, so if Alexander is slow to develop in the early part of the game, Holmgren will certainly allow QB Matt Hasselback to play with his wide array of weapons at receiver. Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram, Nate Burleson and newly acquired Deion Branch will get plenty of opportunities to exploit New York’s biggest weakness on defense – its secondary. The Giants have given up a couple of deep plays over their first two games, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Holmgren tries to set the run up with the pass. Talk about a disappointment, CB Sam Madison was supposed to come in for the Giants and be an equal replacement for Will Allen. But Madison struggled in preseason and now has carried that over into the regular season. Madison has been hampered by a foot injury, but is expected to play in Seattle on Sunday. With New York giving up more than 300 yards a game through the air in two contests, Hasselback might have a field day against the Giants secondary unit.
Prediction:
A lot of folks in the media world like the Giants in this game, because of what they saw in New York’s come from behind victory in Philadelphia last week. On top of that, Seattle hasn’t looked that impressive in both of its two victories and should have lost last year against the G-Men. Fair enough, but I’m not getting fooled on this one. If this game were in New York, I wouldn’t stammer to lock the Giants into a victory. However, the Seahawks at home are as tough as listening to Tony Kornheiser try to think of something significant to say on Monday Night Football broadcasts. Add the lift that Seattle will get from Branch and how soft that Giants’ secondary is and I’ll take the Seahawks in a high scoring air show on Sunday.
Seattle doesn’t need overtime this year to beat the G-Men: Seahawks 34, Giants 24.
