NY Giants @ Denver Thursday Night Football Preview

November 26th, 2009 8:16 am
by Pro Set

Denver is finally doing justice to my pessimism about Broncos football. As noted in last week’s Chargers at Broncos preview, Denver cannot run the ball. Early in the season Denver beat Dallas and New England at Mile High on big play catches from WR Brandon Marshall. The only thing he can hold onto now is RB Knowshon Moreno’s jersey as they fight over fumbles. The bizarre faux start of QB Kyle Orton last week intrigued me. The first thought that I had as Dan Fouts announced that Orton was ‘seriously’ warming up was: McDaniels did not want to register a loss with Orton as his starting QB. At season’s end McDaniels can say ‘we lost games when Orton was not starting due to injury.’ There’s no other explanation. By the way, Dick Enberg needs to retire right now. He obviously cannot see the field properly.

Thanksgiving note: Denver should be thankful that QB Jay Cutler is destroying the Bears, otherwise McDaniels would be under huge pressure right now.

New York played well last Sunday against a good Atlanta offense. The Giants have been hearing it over allowing the game into overtime, but the Falcons played very well in the final quarter. I’d be a much richer man had the Falcons won that toss in OT, as I had the Falcons on the money line. QB Eli Manning threw the ball superbly after the first quarter. But to win at Denver on short rest the Giants will need to run the ball and to throw play action passes. I would like to see some I-Form big (two TEs and two backs). Since Orton has to be expected to play, the Giants need to avoid the temptation to blitz. Orton will be very immobile. This means that seven man coverages (probably Cover 2 zone or Cover 2 man under) will force Orton to execute perfect throws off a bad plant foot. Blitzing allows more margin for error. QB mobility is actually more important against traditional coverage defense, since the QB needs to buy time for receivers to become open. If the Giants do not give up the big play, and keep it clean, the Giants should win.

Thanksgiving note: The last time the Giants visited Denver the world was very different. It was on Monday Night Football (10 September 2001) and the play of the game was an 85 yard punt by NYG P Rodney Williams. It was the first game at Invesco Field. I don’t know what’s planned for pregame tomorrow, but it would be nice to see the victims of 9/11 honoured by the NFL on a nationally televised game.

Posted in Analysis, Brian Dawkins, Denver Broncos, Eli Manning, Game, Jay Cutler, Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Thanksgiving Day Football, NFL on television, NY Giants, Tom Coughlin | No Comments »

NFLGA Week 7 Sunday Night Football Preview Arizona @ NY Giants

October 25th, 2009 7:02 pm
by Big Dog

Arizona is coming off an impressive win at Seattle. This was set up by a much improved QB Kurt Warner and great hands by the WRs. On the opening drive Arizona faced a succession of third downs and made plays through accurate passing and clean catches. The key, however, was that Warner got the ball out of his hands. Arizona will need positive first down plays. On third and long Warner always holds on waiting for receivers to uncover. Given the problems faced by the Giants last week at the Superdome, if the Giants cannot generate a pass rush they will get shredded.

QB Eli Manning and his offense will need fast start. Look for New York to work out of play action early, before establishing the run. The Cardinals, despite a better effort last Sunday, have struggled with basic defense this season. It has been big plays, rather than consistent pressure, chasing, covering and tackling, that has got the Cardinals off the field. The Giants will back themselves to drag SS Adrian Wilson up to the line to assist the suspect Cardinals run defense, and then hit the big play over the top. If the Cardinals double the wideouts, look for TE Kevin Boss to eat up the intermediate passing game.

Posted in Analysis, Arizona Cardinals, Game, NFL, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Game Previews, NY Giants | No Comments »

NY Giants @ Dallas SNF Week 2 Preview

September 17th, 2009 5:26 am
by Pro Set

The Giants impressed many, especially FOX network executives, with their win over Washington. In the past, the Giants have played well at Texas Stadium. But of course Sunday night marks the first NFL match at the Jerry Jones theme park known as Cowboys Stadium. To state the obvious, the Giants must run the ball well inside. RB Brandon Jacobs needs to be productive on early downs. Bucs RB Carnell Williams ran over several Cowboys on Sunday. Similar hard running will allow QB Eli Manning to use play action. A poor running game, however, will see Cowboys star DeMarcus Ware at his pass rushing best.

The Cowboys were also impressive with a road win at Tampa Bay. Terrible coverage breakdowns by the Bucs gave easy scores to QB Tony Romo. For all the criticism he recieves, Romo is a good QB. And with serious inury concerns hanging over the entire NYG secondary, Romo and WR Roy Williams will be keen for more big plays. And therein lies they key for the Cowboys. Romo cannot force big plays. His job is to move the chains and exploit the right matchups at the right time: TE Jason Witten should expect a lot of work.

I expect this to be a very close game. NYG will struggle if they fall behind. The Cowboys will not fear the NYG receivers, so if Romo plays a clean game and the Cowboys hold Jacobs in check, the Cowboys should win.

Posted in Analysis, Dallas Cowboys, Eli Manning, Game, Jason Witten, Marion Barber, NFL, NFL Coaches, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Game Previews, NFL on FOX, NFL on NBC, NFL on television, NY Giants, Roy Williams (DAL), Tom Coughlin, Tony Romo, Wade Phillips | No Comments »