The Giants enter week two looking to for their first win of the season when the Atlanta Falcons come to town.
The Falcons, like the Giants, are coming off of two disappointing seasons and are looking to get back to their winning ways. They have several pieces in place that can make them a very dangerous team but they also have some significant weak spots.
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Atlanta’s best players are quarterback Matt Ryan and his two lethal receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White. Last week Jones lit up the Philadelphia Eagles for 9 catches 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns while White added 84 yards on 4 catches of his own. Outside of the receivers, rookie running back Tevin Coleman had an impressive NFL debut, posting a 4 yard average on 20 carries. Coleman has explosive speed that can produce big plays at any moment.
The Falcons defense is still a work in progress and their offensive line has been in shambles for quite some time now. This is where the Giants must take full advantage.
Last week in Dallas, Giants corners Prince Amukamara, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Trumaine McBride did an excellent job of limiting the Cowboys big play receivers to underneath receptions. They must do the same if they want to keep this game close. I love how they played man coverage for the most of last week, getting up on the line of scrimmage and battling with the receivers. One of Atlanta’s receivers will get double coverage on most plays, I expect defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to switch up looks and coverages to keep Matt Ryan guessing.
If the secondary can contain Jones and White then the Giants can force Atlanta to run the ball more then they would like behind an offensive line that has had a lot of trouble blocking up front. Despite Coleman’s impressive start to the season the Falcons on averaged 3 yards per carry against the Eagles last week. Matt Ryan can be forced into bad decisions at times and the better the coverage the more likely it is this will happen.
Oct 19, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) runs with the ball against the New York Giants defense at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants run defense was much better then anyone expected last week in Dallas giving up 81 yards on 22 carries against “the best offensive line in football”. If they can contain Coleman from breaking a long run they may cause fits for Atlanta and force a one-dimensional attack.
Atlanta, like the Giants, also struggled to finish drives last week, and watched a 17 point lead nearly slip away as they settled for 4 field goals. This is something the Giants also need to take advantage of while cleaning up for themselves. If they finished off just one of the drives they settled on last week they would be sitting at 1-0 and not 0-1. If they can keep Atlanta to field goals their odds of winning are greatly improved.
Eli Manning and the offense must get going. Odell Beckham and Rueben Ranlde were silenced for the majority of the game combining for just 67 yards. The run game carried the ball at 4.1 yards per carry but I dont think they ran the ball enough. The Giants must eat the clock on their long drives as well. Their longest drive was just 5 minutes and 12 seconds last week.
I put that on playcaller Ben McAdoo. He must control the clock while maintaining drives, 7 out of 10 drives lasted less then 3 minutes in last weeks loss. The defense was noticeably worn down at the tail end of the 4th quarter and the Giants paid the price. To prevent this from happening again the Giants must do a better job of running the ball and controlling the clock. McAdoo was brought here to help “fix” the Giants offense, if he continues this pass happy fantasy driven offensive style he wont be doing the Giants any good. I’m all for letting Eli Manning throw the ball but having a run game is imperative to success in the NFL.
All in all I like the Giants chances to win this one. Hopefully last week can serve as a humbling wake up call to the G-Men and I think it will. I think they match up with Atlanta well and I’m going to say they finish off 1 extra drive this week, securing a win before the final whistle. Giants 35, Falcons 24.