The New York Giants: Repeating The Beating – Patriots Lose!!
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In typical fashion, the G-Men were the underdogs, just the way they like it. 99.999% of the pro-pundit persuasion picked the Pats to pick apart the Giants. Say that five times fast. Naturally, they will try to save face by minimizing this particular Big Blue victory by regurgitating the fact the New England has the worst defense in the NFL. While, yes, that’s true, they also have the best passing offense in the league. Square that up against New York’s defense, which is ranked 19th, and you have yourself, what would appear to be, a cake walk for the Pats. You won’t hear or read the naysayers using that little factoid.
New York’s offensive game plan was to try and get their running game running on all four cylinders, or at least two of them. Ahmad Bradshaw missed the game with a broken right foot. Which meant that a very disgruntled Brandon Jacobs would have to carry the load, a load that he has been vehemently vying for. Jacobs, who has not broke the 1,000 yards rushing mark since 2008, has 198 rushing yards on 60 attempts this season. Against the Patsies, yesterday, he rushed for 72 yards – his most on the season. His numbers may not be as high enough to get him on the NFL weekly leader board, but BJ most definitely pitched in and helped his team grab some big first downs – both as a receiver and a back. In total, the Giants collectively rushed for 111 yards, including 11 yards from Eli Manning. These aren’t the kind of numbers that we expect to see from the Big Blue running game but they were enough to help get the job done.
With the decline of the Giants running game, they have had to rely heavily on their passing attack. The loss of Steve Smith and Kevin Boss, some of Eli’s favorite go to receivers, not to mention 40% of the 2010 starting offensive line, left the football world wondering if they would have a passing attack at all. The “Elite QB” issue, that has been blown completely out of proportion, has also provided sustenance for the feeding frenzy of the anti-Eli disciples. As if this Super Bowl MVP quarterback has not proved that he was/is one of the elite QBs in the NFL, his current ranking as one of the top 5 QBs in the NFL should leave little doubt.
Harped on for leading the league in turnovers in the 2010 season, Eli Manning now has the 5th least interceptions thus far in the 2011 season. The New York Giants have a +7 turnover ratio, 5th best in the NFL, and are tied with the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers for 5th most passing touchdowns. Manning is ranked 5th among all of the QBs in the NFL.
Eli is known for his 4 minute/2 minute offense and 4th quarter comebacks. He has produced some of the most exciting performances that I have ever seen. yesterday’s game was no different. With 1:36 left on the clock, and 80 yards to go, Manning orchestrated an 8 play, 80 yard drive that nearly paralleled that of his Super Bowl XLII winning drive.