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New York Giants

Woah! Where did they come from!?

By ClassicRocker06, Section NFL
Posted on Thu Oct 20 2005 at 9:04 PM EST Printer Friendly Page
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This year's New York Giants (and the entire NFC East) is on the up and up. At a respectable 3-2, the Giants are in second only to the Cowboys and have a great shot at the wild card and a good shot at the division.    

    First, let's start with the offense. Eli has made a Peyton-esque jump from his rookie to his sophomore season. It's his first full season, and he's been impressive and consistent. He's thrown for 1,200 yards, 10 TD's and has a 57% completion rating. He's not as rushed in the pocket, which was evident in the St. Louis game. He was calm, poised and found targets through the Rams secondary the entire day. Of course, having targets in the secondary for Eli to find is a must, but when you have 6 foot 5 Plaxico Burress running around out there. A monster of an off- season acquisition from the Steelers, Burress has had no trouble finding the end zone in his first year as a Giant. His 30 receptions for 451 yards leads the team, and as my Dad noted in the game against the Rams, Burress can, and probably will catch anything thrown in his general vicinity.  Take the touchdown in the end zone against the Rams. In theory, as well as the play, that ball would have gone to Shockey, who happened to be running a route just behind Burress. But seeing he was covered, and being the incredibly tall person that he is, Plax jumped and brought down the bullet fired by Manning and put the nail in the coffin for the Rams. Speaking of Shockey, having him healthy has been a huge boost for the receiving game. He is not only a brusing tight end from The U; he provides a distraction for defenses, which probably explains why Plax has 8 more receptions than Shockey. Shockey has been the go-to guy for the Giants for some time, and now with Plax in the mix, defenses have to figure out someway to cover both Shockey and Plax, not to mention Toomer, who is a sleeper in the offense. Shockey draws not only the linebackers in the box, but when he goes deep he can draw the safeties and corners, possibly leaving running room for a rejuvenated, fumble-less Tiki Barber, or opening passing lanes for Plax or Toomer. I can't recall (probably because it was before I was born or when I was too young to remember) when the Giants offense was this threatening.

    On the flip side of the coin, we have the defense. Peterson being out was a huge blow to a constantly weak secondary. Pierce has emerged as a defensive leader, second on the team in tackles. Michael Strahan is his reliable self, posting 5.5 sacks thus far in the season. Wilson, who leads the team in tackles, and Williams are holding up the secondary, each posting 2 INT's thus far.

    There has been a lot of criticism thrown at the defense due to the number of yards they have given up. Against the Rams, they gave up 400+ passing yards to Marc Bulger. That's because they were up 32 points in the fourth quarter! Also, the D-line and the Linebackers were stopping the run, so all the Rams had were the pass. Same situation against the Cardinals, as Warner went solely to the pass as well after the running game kept hitting a brick wall. The numbers against the Giants defense don't really give them justice for how good of a job they are doing.

    Eli, Plax, Shockey, and Barber are the clear offensive leaders, with Strahan and Pierce on the defense. With the NFC's lack of powerhouses and the fall of the Eagles from domination of the East, it's all of a sudden a race for the first time since 2000.  So put some food down for the dog, put on a movie for the kids and try and keep the wife/girlfriend occupied for the next 7 or 8 weeks. Well, try and keep her from throwing the TV out the window at the least. You might need your seat belt too. This is going to be one hell of a race.

PREDICTION

1.Giants
2.Cowboys
3.Eagles
4.Redskins

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Woah! Where did they come from!? | 2 comments (2 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
just dont understand (#1)
by cernig on Thu Oct 20 2005 at 4:57 PM EST
why you repeated what you said in your intro twice? but otherwise good. i dont think anyone will run away with the east this year- no one has shown the potential up to this point.

i think (#2)
by Editor on Thu Oct 20 2005 at 5:02 PM EST
he just didnt understand you didnt need to repeat.
I'll fix it.


[ Parent ]
Woah! Where did they come from!? | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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