The cream puffs are out of the way.
If they are lucky, the next team is little consequence will be the Baltimore Ravens, who they will play in a month at Giants Stadium.
In some ways, the Giants were given a six game extension on the preseason. The schedule was set up for the world champions to get off to a successful start in defense of their title.
Having the likes of the St. Louis, Cincinnati, Seattle and San Francisco (three of those at home), coupled with division rival Washington and a road game at Cleveland, and an optimistic fan could come away with the thought of a potential 5-1 or 6-0 start.
After beating the 49ers on Sunday, the team ran their record to 5-1, but it also signaled an end to the games against the also-rans of the league and time now for the real season to come into play.
We now officially welcome you to the start of the 2008 season.
In April when the schedule was released, all one had to do is point to this moment in the year where the World Champions would finally see their first real “test” of the season. They certainly will have it this Sunday coming up in Pittsburgh against the 5-1 Steelers. This also begins a march from now until the end of the year where no game is a cakewalk.
Take a look:
Oct 26 - at Pittsburgh
Nov 2 – vs. Dallas
Nov 9 – at Philadelphia
Those three games represent will represent a great indicator of how good this team really is. With the NFL lacking any one dominant team, the door is open for the Giants to open up eyes all over football (despite media hyperbole that claims them to be currently the best team in the league). In addition, sending message to the entire NFC the road to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa will go through the Meadowlands and the Giants.
Once that trio of games is complete, the Giants will have a home game against the Baltimore Ravens and their tough defense. While they should be expected to win, it won’t be easy. After that game, Big Blue embarks on what currently is shaping up to be a difficult game in the desert, followed by an NFC East gauntlet that they will have to survive.
Nov 23 – at Arizona
Nov 30 – at Washington
Dec 7 – vs. Philadelphia
Dec 14 – at Dallas
If they can survive that second brutal stretch of games, it is likely that the Giants will have secured a playoff spot. Early projections show that it will take at least 11 wins to clinch the division title and because of the weak divisions that exist in the NFC North and West, winning the East will assure you of a much needed bye week for the first round of the playoffs. This benefits the Giants more than any NFC team because their bye week came after the third game of the season.
After week two, it looked as if the NFC East was going to be the most stacked division of good teams in the history of football. The Giants and Redskins have each done their part. However, the Eagles, after being looked at as one of the League’s three best teams several weeks ago, looks anything like that right now, but will have their chance to fatten on lower competition soon to improve their standing .The Cowboys appear to be on a path for self-destruction at any moment and at an opportune time for the Giants.
If the Giants are able to beat Pittsburgh on Sunday and Tampa Bay is able to defeat Dallas (without Tony Romo and completely terrible defense), they will be able to take a five game lead in the loss column and effectively end their season. This would eliminate their biggest threat to repeat as champions.
Now, in order for this to happen, the team needs to raise its level of play that has been sluggish at best over the last two weeks since their 44-6 rout of Seattle. At a certain point, the team’s inability to cash in scoring opportunities will rear itself. In the last two games, the Giants have had the ball inside their opponent 31-yard line on six occasions and have come away with only three total points. This may work against lower class competition. But starting Sunday, converting on these chances will go a long way from separating themselves from these other teams.
On defense, they need to force more turnovers. As good a defense as this team has, they are not a great defense. Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden in 2002 had a saying that went along to helping his team become world champions that season:
“You want to be a great defense? Force turnovers and score on defense!”
So far, the Giants defense has only forced five turnovers, with three of them coming this past Sunday. This is what has kept some of these teams in games longer than they should. Part of the reason for this is that the pass rush, despite totaling a league lead in team sacks, has been somewhat inconsistent over the last few games. That has left holes in the secondary (that has played well this season) because the quarterback has had too much time to throw, leading to not enough chances to create turnovers.
There are aspects in performance that can be corrected. Will they be able to correct those mistakes is to be seen. As it stands, starting this Sunday and through the rest of the season, they will become more and more magnified.
The season starts now.
If they are lucky, the next team is little consequence will be the Baltimore Ravens, who they will play in a month at Giants Stadium.
In some ways, the Giants were given a six game extension on the preseason. The schedule was set up for the world champions to get off to a successful start in defense of their title.
Having the likes of the St. Louis, Cincinnati, Seattle and San Francisco (three of those at home), coupled with division rival Washington and a road game at Cleveland, and an optimistic fan could come away with the thought of a potential 5-1 or 6-0 start.
After beating the 49ers on Sunday, the team ran their record to 5-1, but it also signaled an end to the games against the also-rans of the league and time now for the real season to come into play.
We now officially welcome you to the start of the 2008 season.
In April when the schedule was released, all one had to do is point to this moment in the year where the World Champions would finally see their first real “test” of the season. They certainly will have it this Sunday coming up in Pittsburgh against the 5-1 Steelers. This also begins a march from now until the end of the year where no game is a cakewalk.
Take a look:
Oct 26 - at Pittsburgh
Nov 2 – vs. Dallas
Nov 9 – at Philadelphia
Those three games represent will represent a great indicator of how good this team really is. With the NFL lacking any one dominant team, the door is open for the Giants to open up eyes all over football (despite media hyperbole that claims them to be currently the best team in the league). In addition, sending message to the entire NFC the road to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa will go through the Meadowlands and the Giants.
Once that trio of games is complete, the Giants will have a home game against the Baltimore Ravens and their tough defense. While they should be expected to win, it won’t be easy. After that game, Big Blue embarks on what currently is shaping up to be a difficult game in the desert, followed by an NFC East gauntlet that they will have to survive.
Nov 23 – at Arizona
Nov 30 – at Washington
Dec 7 – vs. Philadelphia
Dec 14 – at Dallas
If they can survive that second brutal stretch of games, it is likely that the Giants will have secured a playoff spot. Early projections show that it will take at least 11 wins to clinch the division title and because of the weak divisions that exist in the NFC North and West, winning the East will assure you of a much needed bye week for the first round of the playoffs. This benefits the Giants more than any NFC team because their bye week came after the third game of the season.
After week two, it looked as if the NFC East was going to be the most stacked division of good teams in the history of football. The Giants and Redskins have each done their part. However, the Eagles, after being looked at as one of the League’s three best teams several weeks ago, looks anything like that right now, but will have their chance to fatten on lower competition soon to improve their standing .The Cowboys appear to be on a path for self-destruction at any moment and at an opportune time for the Giants.
If the Giants are able to beat Pittsburgh on Sunday and Tampa Bay is able to defeat Dallas (without Tony Romo and completely terrible defense), they will be able to take a five game lead in the loss column and effectively end their season. This would eliminate their biggest threat to repeat as champions.
Now, in order for this to happen, the team needs to raise its level of play that has been sluggish at best over the last two weeks since their 44-6 rout of Seattle. At a certain point, the team’s inability to cash in scoring opportunities will rear itself. In the last two games, the Giants have had the ball inside their opponent 31-yard line on six occasions and have come away with only three total points. This may work against lower class competition. But starting Sunday, converting on these chances will go a long way from separating themselves from these other teams.
On defense, they need to force more turnovers. As good a defense as this team has, they are not a great defense. Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden in 2002 had a saying that went along to helping his team become world champions that season:
“You want to be a great defense? Force turnovers and score on defense!”
So far, the Giants defense has only forced five turnovers, with three of them coming this past Sunday. This is what has kept some of these teams in games longer than they should. Part of the reason for this is that the pass rush, despite totaling a league lead in team sacks, has been somewhat inconsistent over the last few games. That has left holes in the secondary (that has played well this season) because the quarterback has had too much time to throw, leading to not enough chances to create turnovers.
There are aspects in performance that can be corrected. Will they be able to correct those mistakes is to be seen. As it stands, starting this Sunday and through the rest of the season, they will become more and more magnified.
The season starts now.
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