Super Bowl XLVI Predictions - New York Giants vs New England Patriots

As a staunch New York Giants supporter I am going to try to predict what is going to happen on the Big Blue side of the ball for the Superbowl rematch against the Tom Brady led Patriots.

Offense

Eli Manning - I think due to the hot form of #10 the Giants are going to try to exploit the Pats Secondary and we'll see Manning try air it out and find one of his plethora of speedy options.

24 Completions from 39 Attempts for 288 Yards 2 td's and 1 Int

WR

Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are a formidable trio and will look to gain ascendancy from the beginning. I can't see the Pats containing all 3 and it isn't implausible that 2 of the 3 will have 100 yard games.

Victor Cruz - 9 Receptions for 124 yards
Hakeem Nicks - 5 Receptions for 97 yards 1 TD
Mario Manningham - 3 Receptions for 52 yards 1 TD
Jake Ballard (TE) - 5 Receptions 42 yards

RB

Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs have been a bit hit and miss thoughout the year and their success could ultimately decide the outcome.

Ahmad Bradshaw - 14 Carries 54 Yards
Brandon Jacobs - 9 Carries 49 Yards 1 TD

Defense

With the most fearsome and potent front four rotation in the league I'm expected Brady to get a good look at the underside of this Indy Dome. There are several legitimate threats to Tommy Boys health and they are in no order: Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Osi Umenyoira and Rocky Bernhard. All have recorded sacks during the post-season and LB Michael Boley has dropped the QB on an impressive 2 sacks also. For the Giants to score more points than the Patriots they will need to hit Tom Brady as often and as hard as possible to try to rattle him.

JPP 1 Sack
Tuck 1 Sack
Umenyoira 1.5 Sacks
Rocky Bernhard 0.5 Sacks


Score
Giants 24 Patriots 27

I will come back next week and look at where I was wrong (hopefully the score) and analyse the game.

Until then hail to the Vintage46!

New York Giants - Rd8 Miami Dolphins - REVIEW

Well a win is a win (haven't I said that already this year???????????????)

The Giants managed a 4th quarter come from behind victory at home to the win less Dolphins. While it should have been an easy tune up win in the lead up to the Patriots next week, I could have also been a shock Ala Seahawks.

Eli Manning continued his form with another 300+ yards 2 touchdowns ZERO interceptions and 100+ rating. If he's not Aaron Rodgers' backup come Pro Bowl time he never will be.

Another Corner back went down with a season injury and we struggled with the run.

But... We're 5-2 and continue to churn out the wins.

We're at the halfway mark of the season so I'm going to extrapolate at look at where some of our statistical leaders are looking at finishing the season.

Eli Manning 312 from 482 at 64.7%  4254 yards 26 touchdowns & 10 interceptions & a 102.1 Rating

This has him 3rd in the NFL and 2nd in the NFC with his career best rating. He's also 2nd in the NFL with an 8.8 per pass average.

Hakeem Nicks 76 Receptions 1150 yards and 6 touchdowns
Victor Cruz 56 receptions 994 yards and 8 touchdowns

Ahmad Bradshaw 880 yards for 10 touchdowns

Corey Webster and Aaron Ross with 6 interceptions a piece.

Jason Pierre-Paul 17 sacks
Osi Umenyoira 12 sacks (considering he missed the first 3 games I'd go with 15 sacks)

So with a 2 game buffer and a hell of a 2nd half schedule let's hope the Giants can hold on and make the play-offs. Once there anything can happen.

Until then hail to the Tuna!

New York Giants - Rd5 Seattle Seahawks - REVIEW

Well I let it stew for a day but losses like these have a lingering burn much like a dodgy curry.

Online there is much finger pointing including injured players who some think should be out there. (Brandon Jacobs and Justin Tuck most notably) I think it will be easier to just stick to facts and stats.

Seattle Won 36 - 25

New York turned the ball over 5 times!!!!!!

Up up and give it away!

Okay so Eli Manning threw for a career best 420 yards including 3 touchdowns but has also ended up 3 crucial interceptions and a lost fumble. So did he lose the game or do his best to win it? Well let's look at his picks, the most notorious one in the dying stages tipped by Victor Cruz and returned for a 95 yard touchdown and in essence ending the game.

For the Giants offense to work it needs a balance of run and pass and in the absence of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw having a quiet game Manning was forces to try to win the game off his own game. Ironically Eli Manning's largest passing days (420 last week, 391 in 2009 and 386 in 2010) were all home losses. Eli is best as a 200-300 yard passer complimented by a strong running game.

Despite a fumble and a tipped pass for a pick Victor Cruz continued his strong recent form with careers bests 8 catches for 161 yards and a score. Back to back 100+ yard games have seen the exposure of Cruz as a legitimate threat heightened. He'll be looking to have another strong game next week against the Bills.

TE Jack Ballard again proved we still have a threat in that position hauling in 3 passes for 72 yards and a score.

Hakeem Nicks had a quiet day by his standard but caught 4 for 65 and a lay out score. Mario Manningham improves weekly recording 5 for 56 yards and will add a triple threat for Eli to aim at.

Go the runs?

Brandon Jacobs didn't play and Ahmad Bradshaw may as well not have. He had 2 nine yarders towards the end that fluffed his numbers up to 58 yards off 17 attempts. To compound matters DJ Ware took a hand off and was tackled in his own end zone resulting in a very important 2 point safety.

Thrown to the wolves

Sure the Giants recorded 6 sacks, knocked out a quarterback and even came up with an interception to Aaron Ross but they also gave up 300+ yards, a touchdown and way too many 3rd down conversions. They also let back up QB Whitehurst waltz down the field to score a crushing TD in the last quarter. Jason Pierre-Paul recorded 2 sacks taking his total to 7 in 5 games and 2nd in the NFL and Osi Umenyoira had a sack giving him 3 in the two games since his return from injury. A return to the field by Justin Tuck will see a very formidable pass rushing attack take on the Bills next week.

Run All Over Me

Again the G-Men gave up 100+ yards including RB Lynch ripping off 98 yards and a score from only 12 attempts.

Special Teams

Seattle kicker Hauschka hit 2 field goals including a 51 yarder and 4 from 4 PAT's. Seattle punter J. Ryan landed 4 of his 7 punts inside 20. Not much to be said about the Giants special teams.

Yet another disappointing loss for the Giants in a game they were favourites. Let's hope for a smarter ball game from the Big Blue Wrecking Crew next week against the Bills.

Until then hail to the CD!

New York Giants - v Arizona Cardinals - RD4- REVIEW

With the NFC race being so tight with the exception of the Green Bay Packers this was a gettable and important win against the Arizona Cardinals.

And got it they did.

So where does that leave us at the quarter pole of the season? Well we currently sit 3-1 and equal top of our division with the Washington Redskins who are in my opinion still the weakest team in the division. Dallas are only a game behind at 2-2 and the unpredictable dream team (for the Giants anyway!) Eagles are languishing at the bottom with a 1-2 record.

I love me some stats so I going to look at where are leaders are at and even extrapolate (x4) to see where they may be heading to finish the season.

Although the Giants gave the Cards plenty of chances to put the game away they never seemed able to hammer that last nail. With the way QB Eli Manning is finishing games of late that turned out to be a big mistake. Well lets look at how the qu(w)est was won.

Air Supply

Coming into the season the focus was the defections of TE Kevin Boss to the Raiders and WR Steve Smith to the Eagles among a smattering of injuries. Eli Manning then made a call about being in the same class as Tom Brady (Elite) which didn't help not to mention a slow start to the season and a slow start in every game so far. Lucky he's throwing the lights out in the second half. 
Said Mannings 2nd half was 16 for 20 for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns this week and over the last 3 weeks his 2nd half stats read like this 32 for 40 for 415 yards 4 TDs and zero interceptions. If that doesn't burn your peepers then how about he is 3rd in the NFL with a rating of 105.6. He's behind red hot Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. He also boasts a healthy 64% completion percentage and a 8-2 TD to INT ratio. If he were to keep up his per game averages he would finish the year with these gaudy numbers.
320 Comp - 500 Att - 4264 Yards - 32 TD - 8 INT  Career records in yards and touchdowns and a low in interceptions. If he were to keep up these numbers he'd have to be a lock for the Pro-Bowl and more importantly give the Giants the best possible chance to go deep into the Play-Offs. )On a side note Manning has been sacked 11 times already this season and 44 for the season would definitely be a career high he doesn't need)

Hakeem Nicks was back to his beastly best with 10 receptions for 162 yards and the winning score. Considering he totaled 7 receptions for 63 total for the last 2 games combined showed what he could do to a defence if other receivers are holding their end of the bargain. I'm not going to get into the Victor Cruz 'fumble', but he did total 98 yards in a game where he was over looked several times despite being wide open.and could have turned up field after a reception for more yards however opted to step out of bounds. If Nicks and Cruz were to keep up their per game averages they would finish the season like this.
Nicks 92 Receptions - 1388 Yards - 8 TD's
Cruz 44 Receptions - 900 Yards - 8 TD's 205 AVG (All the more impressive as he has only really been a regular option for the last 2 games.

Run Forrest Run

This aspect of the offence was probably the one let down for me and would have been a even bigger issue had the passing game not clicked so well. Ahmad Bradshaw again was given the bulk of the attempts but failed to have an impact with an insipid 39 yards from 12 carries and a long 13 on his sole touchdown run. Brandon Jacobs had an even rougher day with 18 yards from 9 attempts and a touchdown. He would be forgiven for his 2 yard average as he was called on to run several 3rd and short runs when the defence knew he was getting the ball. The running game won't be able to rely on the passing game and expect a win too many times in the NFL so hopefully they use the week to take stock and come out Sunday against the Seahawks and pound 'em like they are initiating a new cell mate.

Nickleback

It has been well documented the injuries to corners and benching of Aaron Ross so I won't rehash. I will mention however that after round 2 the secondary have given up 300+ yards to 4 straight quarterbacks. In the last 2 weeks they gave up 237 yards to the Eagles and 237 to the Cardinals and more impressively zero touchdowns and 3 interceptions. This is against offenses with weapons like Michael Vick and Larry Fitzgerald. Safeties Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle have stepped up in particular 13 tackles each over the last 2 games and a pick each. The secondary was also helped by the pass rush where Dave Tollefson backed up a good game with another recording 2 sacks. Osi Umenyiora played his first game and although he made a couple of rusty mistakes he was often in the QB Kolb's face recording a sack and a forced fumble.

Stuff it!

The run stop has been the polar opposite to the pass. It was particularly stingy in the first 2 games but has given up some serious yardage and points in the last 2. Against the Eagles, RB McCoy opened up the their offence with 128 yards from 24 attempts and a score. And this week Beanie Wells tore threw the defensive line for 138 yards from 27 attempts and a massive 3 touchdowns. For the Giants to gain immediate ascendancy against the Seahawks on Sunday, the D-Line and Co need to crunch Marshawn Lynch and the other backs in submission.

Kicks, Returns and Tackles

I personally prefer a game when the Special Teams isn't needed and this was one of them. Although Aaron Ross' 18 punt return was a fantastic start to a drive in the last quarter.


This week will be the 3rd game in a row we play a bird related team (Eagles, Cardinals & Seahawks) so let's hope that is a sign for how the result will be.

Until then hail to the Sin!

New York Giants - v Philadelphia Eagles - RD3- REVIEW

The Giants entered this game on a 6 game losing streak to the Eagles including a playoff game. Two long range touchdowns to Eli Manning in the 1st quarter set up a healthy 14 point lead but the Eagles bounced back scoring the next 16 giving them a 2 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. Manning threw another pair of touchdowns and including a 2 point conversion gave the Giants a 29 - 16 win. Let's look at how they did it:


Air Attack

Eli Manning threw for 4 touchdowns for the 6th time in his career and completed 16 of 23 passes for 254 yards and thank goodness no interceptions. Not even a fumble!! Manning's passer rating of 145.7 is his highest ever in a game where he took most of the offensive snaps. Manning connected for 2 TD's to Victor Cruz for 78 and 28 yards. The 78 yarder being his 4th longest. A 92 and 85 yarder to  Mario Manningham (Inactive for this game) and a 78 yarder to Plaxico Buress. Manning also threw TD catches to running backs Brandon Jacobs (40 yards) and Ahmad Bradshaw (18 yards).  On a side note Brandon Stokley caught his first pass as a Giant receiver (8 yarder) making him one of only 2 people to catch a Peyton and Eli Manning pass, Jim Finn being the other.
Rating 9 / 10

Ground Force

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 105 yards on 22 carries. Apart from Ahmad's 37 yarder and a couple of 3rd and shorts converted the running game was best described as serviceable.
Rating: 7.5 / 10

Rushing D

The combined yards conceded by the G-Force rush stoppers was 194 so 177 today seems a lot. However I would assume that the defence was going to focus on stopping the potent air attack with Vick et al being dangerous on any given play. Take that into account and the impressive play of RB LeSean McCoy and QB Michael Vick is just as dangerous as a runner as he is passing.

The Eagles rushed for 13 first downs but only scored 1 touchdown on 5 trips into the red zone and were denied both times Goal To Go. The defense as a whole also kept the Eagles offence out of the end zone for the whole 2nd half when the game was there to be won.

Rating: 8 / 10

Secondary Support

Crucified by injuries and giving up way too many big plays in the first 2 games you be ok in assuming that Vick was going to tear them a new one? Well a knew one was torn and it's bleeding/broken and whinging on the TV about the Ref's not protecting him. Silly me thought it was Vick's O'Line that was meant to do that. Vick eventually left the game with a broken hand but not before he was sacked twice by Jason Pierre-Paul and picked off by maligned Aaron Ross. Ross was actually benched last week but has redeemed himself with 2 interceptions (He also picked off Vick's replacement Mike Kafka (Not the famous writer!)). Safety Kenny Phillips also joined the fun intercepting Kafka on their drive as well as forcing a Vick fumble. The Giants secondary had conceded 300+ yards in 4 straight games. However they seem to be more stout and the largest play they gave up in the air was a 24 yarder. They also kept the Eagles to 199 nett yards.

Rating: 8  / 10

Special Teams

ST wasn't really an issue today. No Field Goals, no punt returns and a sole 33 yard kick off return.

Rating:  N/A

A Redskins win over the Cowboys tomorrow will mean the Giants are equal leaders of the NFC East with Redskins and Eagles on 2 -1 going into the clash against the Arizona Cardinals next week.
Until then hail to the awesome foursome!