Here's an article on the Giants run game. It focuses on Jacobs and Bradshaw for the most part and while those guys are exciting, success in the run game is really going to come from the offensive line, the tight end, and Madison Hedgecock.
Hedgecock will be especially important because the Patriots linebackers are good at shedding blocks.
Pat Kirwan seems to have put some thought into this article on the Giants vs. Patriots Super Bowl. He ends up picking the wrong team, so his thoughts led him in the wrong direction though...
Giants receivers coach Mike Sullivan knows Lt. Col. Gregory Gadson, the Giants honorary captain from when they played together at West Point. Here's a story about how one soldier has inspired the Giants.
Here's an article comparing Spag's current situation with Bill Belechik's back in 1990. I guess I hope the Gints keep their defensive coordinator but my more immediate concern is the Giants defense controlling the Patriots offense.
I don't expect us tp shut them out but if we can slow them down some and force a turnover or two we should be in good shape.
This article does a nice job explaining some of the key maychups in the Super Bowl but concludes that the Giants have to win the game with special teams since the best our offense can do is play even with the pats defense and the best our defense can do is play even with the Pats offense.
I don't really like our chances if we have to win on special teams. I do like our chances if we win the turnover battle.
This Newsday article has a lot of Strahan quotes on the Super Bowl. As the second oldest guy on the team, and as a guy who has been to a Super Bowl before, it is his job to talk to younger Giants about the big game.
Every corner gets beat. Some get beat less often and some make interceptions once in a while. Corey Webster is turning into one of the ones who doesn't get beat often and who sometimes helps the Giants win the turnover battle.
This article talks about Webster. I wish it would get into more detail, like who he will line up against when we play the Patriots because the Giants secondary vs. the Patriots receivers is going to be huge.
Sometimes the Patriots hardly run the ball (defying conventional wisdom) and use short passes to keep the chains moving. And then they are more than willing to take shots down the field. I don't have much confidence in our safeties so it really is CBs like Webster, Madison, McQuarters, Ross, and maybe Dockery who are going to have to defend well against both the bombs and the quick passes.
Obviously the Giants linebackers will have to do their part in the short passing game as well, but that's another story...
This article on Brandon Jacobs and Vince Wilfork doesn't get into the real question - can the Giants run on the Patriots?
Jacobs did a good job getting positive yardage on first and second down when the Giants and Patriots played a few weeks ago. He had a few real nice runs, running over Rodney Harrison on one play and jumping over him on another. Bill Belechik might have a better plan for stopping Jacobs this time around. They don't call the guy brilliant for nothing.
What the Giants didn't have in that game was Ahmad Bradshaw and this guy has proven to be a good runner.
I like the Giants chances in the super bowl. If they can run the ball then the game could be decided by turnovers (assuming New England's offense is succesful). Our corners can catch (anyone miss Will Allen?) and our offensive guys usually hold onto the ball.
Seubert should play in the Super Bowl. How can you not root for that guy? And considering that he has so much heart and determination (and his number is 69), I'm surprised you don't see more people wearing Seubert jerseys.
Well more football talk later. This is a story I didn't talk about back when it was timely but I wanted to revisit it now. I think it is the NFL's second biggest problem (the biggest problem is the ridiculously crappy officiating).
Toward the end of the regular season, people were complaining about the Giants Patriots games only being available on the NFL network. Interstingly, Patriots fans have their own owner to blame: "...fans should be less angry at the cable companies and direct their ire at Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who was on the committee that formed The NFL Network."
That game, according to the article, was to be shown on "The NFL Network (with the exception of the Boston market, where it will also be broadcast on Channel 5)." The exception would also include New York though.
Eventually they decided to put it on NBC and CBS. Thanks to that decision, John Kerry didn't have to launch his "hearings on how the emergence of premium sports channels are impacting the consumer."
The Giants kicking game has had some trouble this year and had some trouble in Green Bay. Alford hasn't been the best snapper and Tynes has been even more inconsistent. Interestingly, he is still confident enough to hace made up Coughlin's mind about what to do in over time by running out onto the field before Coughlin called for a field goal attempt.
Mara said that one of the best things about this season was getting Giants fans more enthusiastic. Well hell yeah! Going to the superbowl is pretty exciting!
In a classic game that was frustrating at times for Giants fans (dropped passes, missed field goals, poor officiating), the Giants beat Green Bay and earned a trip to the Super Bowl.
Eli gets some credit and then more credit. No interceptions for starters and that's the entire post season. And were it not for all the drops his stats in the NFC championship game would have been pretty awesome, especially considering the temperature.
Burress was huge as he helped Manning out (though he also had a big drop at the end of the first half). He abused Al Harris.
One big concern is Seubert, who hurt his knee in the 4th quarter. Grey Ruegamer is capable of filling in, but if there's one Giant who fans want to see play in the Super Bowl it should be Seubert - we're all proud of him for coming back from a career threatening leg injury and I hope he sees the field.
And of course, you love to read articles coming out of Packer territory at a time like this. Here they cry over missed opportunities. Here they blame their defense for not coming through. Here they blame Favre.
And finally, let's give all the "experts" a very big middle finger. How many of these idiots picked the Giants? I swear these guys know less about football than many of us.
This article talks about the temperature in Green Bay but not the question Giants fans are pondering - Can Manning handle the cold?
Of course in a perfect world the Giants would just run the ball and dominate on defense but I don't see the Giants dominating in the running game any more. The defense was decent against Dallas but not great. They didn't look real tough against the run for one thing.
The article also has a funny quote from Strahan: "I guarantee you Justin Tuck's goose bumps will be bigger than his muscles." I guess Strahan won't be sleeveless in the cold.
Like they were against the Cowboys last Sunday, the Giants are underdogs again. Green Bay did beat them once and go 14-3 but are they really a better team?
Can the Giants stop the run and pressure Farve is the real question. Ryan Grant was traded by the Giants and has proven to be a hrad runner but the Giants usually tackle better than the Seahawks did last week (when Grant ran for 201 yards). And Farve does take risks with the football. Pressure him and get some coverage and the Giants should win the turnover battle and the game.
It was a weird game but great. The defense let Dallas rule time of posession but held them to 17 points. I think they deserve a good deal of credit considering how they were outclassed by Dallas in previous games and how injuries hurt the Giants secondary. Aaron Ross came up huge for a rookie CB.
The offense had too many 3 and outs but scored more points than Dallas and didn´t turn the ball over. Bradshaw broke some tackles. Toomer had that great catch and run. Great game for the offense.
The refs didn´t bother anyone much - they didn´t even throw a flag for the Brandon Jacobs vs. Roy Williams fight.
Little would make me happier on the plane ride out of Spain than a Giants win tonight. I´m about to grab dinner and then head to a sports bar for the game here in Madrid.
The giants secondary is hurting without Madison and Dockery. The offense will miss Shockey while the Cowboys are pretty healthy. The refs will probably be against us. Everyone thinks we will lose.
We could lose, but the Giants have shown that they often play their best as underdogs and if they play their best...
The Giants defense has had trouble with the Cowboys offense this season so what happens with TO could be an important factor in the game. Will he play? Will Webster or whoever covers him keep him quiet (as Webster shut down Joey Galloway vs. Tampa Bay)?
So I wasn´t sure I´d get to see the Giants playoff game but I came across a sports bar in Madrid and after explaining how to make black russions was all set to watch the Giants beat Tampa Bay. It was pretty sweet.
The Giants passed, ran occasionally (though it would have been nice to get a couple of first downs running in the 4th), played well on specials, and played well on defense. What more can we ask for?
Despite this impressive performance I still have my doubts about beating Dallas but at least now I see that if we play as well as we did and win the turnover battle again there is a chance...
Eli has been getting cursed out by many Giants fans for a while now, but suddenly people are asking if he is the real deal instead of a bust. What a difference a game makes.
But still, that article I link to asks if the Giants could move on without Eli. I don't see a better replacement on the horizon, do you?