"“Is that a question? Yeah, I know him. He’s my brother.”– Eli Manning on whether he knew anything about the QB he was facing this weekend."
In a nutshell:
Forget Manning Bowl II for a second if you can. The Giants are 1-0 and will be looking to separate themselves from the rest of the division with a big win on the road Sunday night against the Colts who are 0-1. The Redskins will be facing the very Texans who dispatched the Colts last week with some high powered offensive explosives of their own via the rushing attack, they are not favored to win that game and it’s doubtful they will considering their transitional status. So if Eli Manning can pull out a win against big brother Peyton Manning, the Colts will shockingly start the season at 0-2 while the Giants will be 2-0 and in early control of their division regardless of what the Cowboys and Eagles do.
How are the Giants going to accomplish this feat? The same way the Texans did – with hard nosed smash-mouth football in the trenches, on the ground, and in Peyton Manning’s face all night long.
Offensive Keys
• Same as last week’s #1 bullet point, run and stop the run. RUN THE BALL!… (and stop the run). Bradshaw and Jacobs look healthy enough, can the coordinators stay with it and continue to pound the rock, yet stay dynamic at the same time with their calls so they can make the Colts really pay for it? And can the offensive line block someone early on in the game this week, please?
• The Offensive line needs to get on the same page immediately. The Colts have a very loud stadium, thus it’s going to be hard for the team to hear Eli’s calls at the line of scrimmage, thus the meaning of ‘home field advantage’ plays a big factor in this game with the heart and soul of the Giants offense not firing on all cylinders just yet. The Giants in seasons past have been known for not making trivial mistakes on the O-line but early injuries this off-season have hampered that sense of cohesion. And it was clearly evident with 9 penalties last week that there is work to do on getting in sync – many of those penalties coming from false starts, holds, and delays. Not only that, but for 30 minutes the Giants could not open up a running lane or hold a block get get a single instance of positive rushing yardage – pathetic for a former league leading rushing attack. Are we going to see that vintage 2008 Giants offensive line this week? This game is much easier to win with that kind of resurgence in the trenches.
• Receivers and TE’s and RB’s need to catch Eli’s passes and make some big plays happen. The tipped balls for 3 interceptions nearly killed the Giants last week. What happens if the defense can’t bail you out this time? Can we see a team focused on minimizing mistakes so they can have a chance gutting it out against a very high powered offense in the Colts? Eli looked sharp last week outside, this week he’s in a dome — I expect him to be amped up and look nearly flawless in his choices and execution to his weapons. The weapons better be ready to go.
Side note: Hakeem Nicks thinks he’s going to be good to go Sunday, so it will be interesting to see how his ankle can hold up on the outside. Bob Sanders for the Colts is out, so he and Eli may think they’ve got some opportunities with the deep ball. Watching last week’s game with the Texans though leads me to believe otherwise as Matt Schaub had trouble piercing the Colts secondary deep down field. I think Steve Smith may have a better game this week with more receptions due to that fact. The short crosses and slants to Smith, Manningham and even Beckum to keep moving the chains may be what does it for the Giants this time around.
Defensive Keys
• Pressure, pressure, pressure. Get in Peyton’s face, get in his space, get him out of his comfort zone. I rewatched the Texans game last night and they were all over Manning right from the early proceedings. The Giants should have had lots of game film to work with this week. Will Osi’s knees be an issue? Can Canty get that central push and collapse the pocket, is Tuck going to shut down Addai? Can Boley and Goff get pressure on Manning while not turning Dallas Clark loose over the middle? All things the Giants need to be prepared for.
• How will Aaron Ross’ foot be feeling Sunday night? I only mention this as a key because of the need to control Dallas Clark. We discussed this a bit yesterday on the radio and in the Roundtable discussion earlier this week, and the point we came to is that Clark needs to be covered by a DB at all times. He’s too dangerous, and the Giants showed last week that those 20 yard post patterns are still an issue for the defense. The uber-quick Ross may be the answer there, if he’s up to it health wise. That will let Webster and Thomas do their thing on the receivers and not take anything away from the pass rush, linebackers, or safeties. Just a thought – try Ross 1-1 with Clark and see what happens… but I’m sure Perry Fewell has some tricks up his sleeve there.
• Related to that, DB’s and Safeties need their game faces on… especially the backups like Bruce Johnson. Not only is this team the ultimate ambassador of a passing league, but Peyton outdid himself last week by throwing nearly 60 times, Joseph Addai had only 10 carries. Yes its lopsided, but that’s how they put points on the board. The Giants secondary needs to be prepared for a long, long night filled with test after test. I don’t envy those guys this week.
Final Prediction:
27-24 Giants
Leaders:
– Eli Manning 25-35, 300 yards, 2 TDs
– Ahmad Bradshaw – 20 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD
– Brandon Jacobs – 10 Carries, 50 yards, 1 TD
– Steve Smith – 10 rec, 100 yards, 1 TD