Tag: New York Giants (Page 49 of 55)

      NFL Week 7 Primer

      October 17, 2008 /

      Peyton ManningSunday’s Best: Colts (3-2) at Packers (3-3), 4:15 PM CBS
      There are some brutal matchups this week, so this one wins by default. The Colts will try to carry the momentum from last weeks blowout win against Baltimore into Green Bay this Sunday, but will be without running back Joseph Addai. Dominic Rhodes gets the start, but head coach Tony Dungy has said that Clifton Dawson and Chad Simpson will see some opportunities as well. Peyton Manning played his most complete game of the season last week and might get the opportunity to exploit a banged up Packers’ secondary if Al Harris (spleen) continues to be hobbled (although word is Harris might play). The Packers meanwhile, have not had much success running the ball this year with Ryan Grant, which is unfortunate given that Indy’s main defensive weakness is stopping the run. If Green Bay can’t get the running game going, they’ll again rely on QB Aaron Rodgers to make big plays to wideouts Greg Jennings and Donald Driver in the passing game. This is a huge game for both teams, especially for the Colts considering they’re currently looking up at the 5-0 Titans in the AFC South.

      Upset Watch: Jets (3-2) at Raiders (1-4), 4:15 PM CBS
      It’s incredibly hard to back the mess that is the Oakland Raiders right now, but they still have a ton of talent on their roster and the Jets have been awfully inconsistent this season. One week they look like playoff contenders and the next they’re getting drummed. Even though they walked away with a victory, New York didn’t play that well against Cincinnati and Brett Favre continues to turn the ball over. The Jets haven’t been able to run the ball successfully of late either, managing just 66 yards per game in the last three weeks. If Oakland is going to pull off a victory in Tom Cable’s home debut, they’ll need to run the ball effectively themselves. Because clearly QB JaMarcus Russell isn’t ready to lead this team on his own yet.

      Tony RomoIntriguing Matchup: Cowboys (4-2) at Rams (1-4), 1:00 PM FOX
      The biggest question on everyone’s minds (especially fantasy owners) is whether QB Tony Romo will play or not. Despite breaking his pinkie finger in the loss to the Cardinals last week, all indications are that Romo will in fact play. He’ll have a new weapon to throw to in Roy Williams, who the team recently acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline. But not only will it be interesting to see how effective Romo can be with a broken finger, it’ll also be intriguing to watch the many personalities the ‘Boys have on offense now that Williams and T.O. have to share looks in the passing game. Dallas has not played well since their Sunday night win against the Packers early in the year and the Rams proved last week in a win over the Redskins that they won’t be pushovers now that Jim Haslett is running things.

      Other Notable Games:
      Saints (3-3) at Panthers (4-2), 1:00 PM ET FOX
      While everyone is focusing on the East being the best division in the NFC, the South doesn’t have any teams below .500 right now. Some still believe the Saints are the best team in the division and they’ll get the opportunity to prove it this week in Carolina.

      Browns (2-3) at Redskins (4-2), 4:15 PM ET CBS
      What was the bigger fluke from Week 6 – the Browns beating the Giants or the Redskins losing to the Rams?

      Titans (5-0) at Chiefs (1-4), 1:00 PM ET CBS
      The Titans get to put their undefeated record on the line this week in Kansas City and fortunately for them the Larry Johnson-less Chiefs shouldn’t provide much of a challenge.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Ranking NFL stadiums – Giants Stadium ranks higher than Giants Stadium

      October 16, 2008 /

      SI.com ranked all 32 NFL stadiums based on affordability & food, tailgating, team quality, atmosphere and accessibility.

      The top 5 were:

      1. Packers
      2. Steelers
      3. Broncos
      4. Ravens
      5. Jaguars

      But here’s something interesting to note:

      22. Giants
      29. Jets

      According to these rankings, Giants Stadium is worse than Giants Stadium. And Giants Stadium is just a bit better than Giants Stadium.

      I realize that “team quality” is part of the ranking system, but how can the same freaking stadium be an entire seven spots better/worse? The system is flawed!

      NFL

      Anderson, Browns torch Eli, Giants

      October 13, 2008 /

      Derek AndersonWhat Derek Anderson and the Cleveland Browns did to the New York Giants in their 35-14 win Monday night was shocking, unpredictable and awfully impressive. Not only did Anderson save his job, but the Browns might have also saved their season.

      The numbers for Anderson were impressive – 18 for 29, 310 yards, 2 TDs – but what doesn’t show up in the stat sheet is how well Cleveland’s offensive line played. They picked up every blitz the Giants’ defense attempted and consistently opened holes for Jamal Lewis and the Browns’ running game. (Lewis, by the way, had his best game of the year. He ran hard all night.)

      What Cleveland did was turn the Giants’ game against them. The Browns were more physical, aggressive on both sides of the ball and constantly pressured Eli Manning. And besides committing 45 penalties (including 40 on one drive in the forth quarter), the Brownies played close to perfect. Without a doubt, this was a complete performance.

      That said, the Giants also played like absolute crap. Eli had that same dumfounded look on his face tonight as he did when he first came into the league. He made a couple of nice throws, but his three interceptions were brutal and ones that rookie quarterbacks make. Cleveland did a great job of getting in his face all night and he didn’t handle well. Again, the Browns took what New York does best and used it against them.

      I know Brown fans love the win, but some of them must feel a little queasy knowing Romeo Crennel will still patrol the sidelines with each victory.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Keep the bench warm Brady – Derek Anderson is on fire

      October 13, 2008 /

      Derek AndersonThey’ve only played one half of football in Cleveland, but so far Derek Anderson is rewarding Romeo Crennel and the Browns for sticking with him as their starting quarterback. DA is 11 of 16 for 225 yards and a touchdown at the half, and outside of a couple of misfires on their first drive of the game, he’s played flawless.

      Anderson found Darnell Dinkins for a 22-yard touchdown pass before half and Cleveland has built a rather shocking 17-14-halftime lead. The deficit should be more, but the Browns continue to shoot themselves in the foot with penalties, including one that negated a fumble recovery that eventually led to a Plaxico Burress 3-yard touchdown reception.

      One thing to note is how well Cleveland has played defensively to this point. Shaun Rogers has been a beast in getting pressure on Eli Manning, while Brodney Pool came up with a huge interception when New York was driving for a score in the first quarter.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Anderson cancels out his first half performance with a second half collapse as Cleveland fans cry out for Brady Quinn. If the Browns can’t hold on to the lead, surely Crennel will have played into it somehow.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Eli Manning is better than Peyton…

      October 8, 2008 /

      …at least that’s what Greg Easterbrook of ESPN.com is suggesting.

      Eli ManningFour games into his fifth season, Eli is 44-30 as a starter and has a Super Bowl ring. At the same point in his career, Peyton was 35-35 and had not won a postseason game. In terms of passing stats, the two players are approximately the same. In terms of leadership, Eli won the Super Bowl in his fourth season with a team whose personnel was so undistinguished, not one of the 16 sets of expert predictions ESPN.com ran before the 2007 season even had the Giants making the playoffs, let alone winning the Super Bowl. On Sunday, both Manning brothers recorded monster wins, and both played well. Eli achieved close to perfection — he was 19-of-25 for 267 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His perfect passing made who-dat backup receiver Domenik Hixon (see below) look like a star, and his leadership skills inspired the who-dat Giants offensive line — quick, how many of them can you name without peeking? — to play like the New England offensive line of 2007. Stretching back to last season, the Giants have won eight straight games, and this season’s 127-49 scoring margin over their opponents is spectacular. If football stays popular for a thousand years, Eli’s escape from four tacklers on that last-minute Super Bowl scoring drive will always be one of the sport’s signature plays. Peyton is great, and a near-lock for Canton. Eli may be bound for the same place, with his bust in a slightly nicer corner.

      Peyton ManningSee this is what happens. A quarterback wins a Super Bowl and all of a sudden he’s on par with every other Super Bowl quarterback that has ever lived. I’m not saying that’s what Easterbrook is saying, but he’s at least suggesting it, which at this point seems like a reach.

      Eli Manning is turning into a great player. And the stats that Easterbrook mentions are solid. But if we want to bring up numbers, Peyton dwarfs Eli in nearly every major passing category including total yardage (42,657 to 11,861), TD to INT ratio (311-158 to 80-65) and QB rating (94.3 to 74.0).

      Yes, Peyton has more years on Eli and has had an advantage playing in the same system his entire career. But the reason he’s been able to do the latter is because he wins and keeps everybody employed. He’s led the Colts to the playoffs every year except his rookie season and everybody has seem to forgotten how lost Eli looked in his first three seasons (even though he did lead the Giants to the postseason with a dazzling 8-8 record in 2006). Peyton struggled in his rookie campaign and then led Indy to a division title the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that…

      Maybe Eli will be better than Peyton when it’s all said and done, but not right now. Not when Peyton is sitting on a mountain of personal milestones and accomplishments. Just because the two have switched roles (to some degree) this year doesn’t mean we should go overboard and say Eli might be better than his big bro some day.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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