We all know that in order to stop the Cardinals air attack, the Giants will have to contain their duel WR threat of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but the question that the Giants need to answer is what matchup makes the most sense? Does Webster cover Fitzgerald because he’s a bit taller and bigger than Ross? I think you have to double team Fitzgerald with Webster and maybe Terrell Thomas and hope that Aaron Ross can cover Boldin with safety help behind him.
Either combination will be tough for the Giants becase both of those receivers are quicker and more physical than the DBs. We all know how immobile Kurt Warner is, so it will be critical for the Giants to get to him and disrupt the passing attack. I feel confident that both DBs can over the mid-range passes but it’s the deep balls that make the Cardinals so dangerous. Another challenge will be to get to Warner if they choose to double cover one of the WRs.
The Giants defense has come up big in every matchup so far this season except when Edwards exposed them in Cleveland. I’d like to think that the safeties are playing better than they were in that game but we’ll have to wait and see what happens on Sunday.
The Titans’ Albert Haynesworth has been a beast throughout his NFL career, and this season is no different. In fact, the Jets know just exactly how devastating he can be since they a have a similar player of their own in Kris Jenkins. Jenkins will be key in the Jets’ preparation for Haynesworth since he will be going up against center Nick Mangold in practice.
In fact I’m willing to venture to say that the Jets may have the best chance of any team that’s played Tennessee this season in controlling the line of scrimmage since the Jets defensive line stacks up comparably to that of the Titans.
Here’s a comparison of Jenkins and Haynesworth in 2008:
Albert Haynesworth — 39 tackles, 7 sacks, 6 tackles for loss Kris Jenkins — 30 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 4 tackles for loss
The fact that the Jets will face Jenkins all week in practice can’t be overlooked and is a main reason Jets’ fans should be optimistic about the team’s chances in controlling Tennessee’s pressure — a key reason for their success and 10-0 record this season.
I was very excited to see the matchup of two top goaltenders tonight at MSG when the Rangers face the Canucks, however, Luongo is scheduled to take the night off as the Canucks are trying to control the amount of playing time he is exposed to after last year’s burn out at the end of the season.
However, it is still a good time to compare stats:
Based on the numbers, I’d have to give the edge to Hank so far this season but one could argue that the Rangers have a better defensive team that helps him get better numbers and Luongo’s 5 shutouts so far this season is quite impressive.
Even though Lundqvist is putting up impressive numbers this season, I still think that Renney should control his playing time, similar to Luongo and give Valiquette an opportunity to step in and give Hank a breather in order to keep him sharp for the long season. The attention for tonight’s game will now be on Naslund as he plays against his former team for the first time.
Guys, this is a bit off topic but I just had to post it. If you’re familiar with the Rocky movies (and who isn’t) you’ll probably get an extra kick out of this.
The Canucks were supposed to start their road trip with an easy win at Nassau Coliseum against the Islanders on Monday night. In the two days leading up to the game many of Canada’s media outlets were expecting a victory with many of them discounting the Isles’ altogether.
Instead, Scott Gordon’s crew delivered with a big, 2-1 shootout victory. Now some of those writers are blaming choppy ice at the Colisuem instead of giving the Isles’ their due credit.
From the Vancouver Sun:
On ice so lumpy you wouldn’t mush a sled dog over it, the Vancouver Canucks stubbed their toe picks and fell 2-1 Monday in a shootout to the New York Islanders. The only things sloppier than the pock-marked playing surface at Nassau Coliseum were the Canucks in the second period, when Vancouver treated the puck like a snowball, lost momentum, the lead and, eventually, its best chance to win on a difficult four-game National Hockey League road trip. [The Islanders] are easily the weakest team the Canucks face on a trip that gets much harder from here.
See, this is what bothers me about sports journalism today. There’s never any accountability. They can’t admit the Islanders played hard and outworked the Canucks. They blame the ice and Vancouver’s sloppy play. I think sometimes writers forget that the other team gets paid too. If they were responsible they would’ve known that the Islanders have had several games where they led going into the 3rd and were coming off two straight wins over Ottawa so they had to be doing something right.
Another come from behind victory for the Rangers who were able to tie it in the third and then rely on Lundqvist to come up big again in the shootout last night. It was a frustrating game against the Senators for most of the night mainly due to the new system that Craig Hartsburg is trying to implement in Ottawa.
The Rangers kept shooting the puck but not many of them were getting through since the Sens are now collapsing back and playing a more defensive style of hockey. While I think this style can be very effective, I don’t think Hartsburg is the right guy for the Senators based on the players that he has on his roster.
Spezza, Alfredsson and Heatley are all playmakers who have been successfull by playing a wide open style that led them to be one of the best teams in the NHL last year. So while the Senators continue to struggle to find their identity, the Rangers begin a new winning streak even playing without Gomez. This team is now making a habit to come from behind to win games.
Redden faced his old team on Monday and Naslund will get that opportunity on Wednesday when the Canucks come to town.
The much anticipated matchup between the best rush defense and the best rushing offense turned out to not be much of a matchup at all as the Giants ran all over the Ravens for a total of 207 yards on the ground. For the Giants, it was another typical game plan that seems to be working so well this year which is to run the football while relying on the passing game when needed or when a favorable matchup is recognized.
On defense, there are not too many things to criticize when the opposing team’s best rusher is their quarterback and their premier backs averaged about 2 yards per carry.
Here are some things that I noticed from Sunday’s game:
Top Rushers — It is becoming routine for the Giants to rush for 200 yards per game and the fact that they’ve now achieved it against the Cowboys, Eagles and Ravens in consecutive games says volumes for the talent that the Giants have on their offensive line. It is now November and as the temperature drops and the weather begins to become a factor, the running game will become even more important.
Secondary Surprise! — I was pleased to see Aaron Ross come out with 2 INTs not only because it sealed the victory on Sunday but also because he has become a solid cornerback in his second year out of Texas. He may not have the flashy numbers but his coverage, as well as Webster on the other side, has been solid lately and they are not getting beat on many plays down the field. That will be critical next week in Arizona.
Chase’s Chance — After shadowing Antonio Pierce for most of this career at middle linebacker, Blackburn got the opportunity to start this week at weak side linebacker and did a great job leading the Giants with 7 tackles. He is becoming a solid contributor in this defense that keeps improving from week to week. He already has a career high in tackles and has proven that he can play different positions at linebacker.
Up Next: Giants (9-1) at Arizona (7-3) - Sunday, 4:15 pm ET
The secondary should get tested early and often against the Cardinals and their dangerous passing game.
We all know that in order to stop the Cardinals air attack, the Giants will have to contain their duel WR threat of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but the question that the Giants need to answer is what matchup makes the most sense? Does Webster cover Fitzgerald because he’s a bit taller and bigger than Ross? I think you have to double team Fitzgerald with Webster and maybe Terrell Thomas and hope that Aaron Ross can cover Boldin with safety help behind him.
