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| Daniel Benjamin. 10th November, 2011 - 1:40 pm
 The New York Giants, who are 6-2 on the season and coming off a 24-20 come from behind victory over the New England Patriots on November 6, are making a strong case that they are second best team in the NFC and perhaps the NFL.
Even though the Giants are riding a three-game winning streak and are in first place in the NFC East, they do have areas of concern. The fact that the Giants are even being mentioned as one of the top teams is a testament to how well Eli Manning and the Giants vaunted defensive line are playing.
Manning, who was 20-for-39 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, didn't have a fantastic game against the Patriots. However, Manning did engineer the game winning 80-yard drive with just 1:36 remaining in the game. Manning capped the drive off with a one-yard touchdown toss to tight end Jake Ballard.
As much of as everyone likes to see a game-winning drive, it takes more than one drive a game to be an elite quarterback like Manning claims he is. In the game-winning drive, Manning wasn't particularly efficient as he only completed three of his seven passes and the two huge plays were a 28-yard pass play where Ballard had to leap for the ball and a suspect 20-yard pass interference on Sergio Brown that put the ball on the one-yard line. This by no means diminishes the year Manning is having, as he is on pace for a career year.
In addition, if the Giants are able to make a run to the Super Bowl it will be because of Manning but compare him to Tom Brady or brother Peyton is asinine. Manning, who is at his best when he is managing the game and using play- action passes, throws off his back foot too much (which leads to inaccurate passes) and has a tendency to make bad decisions in key moments of the game.
The Giants main deficient areas are in defending against the run where they rank 25th in the NFL permitting 127.1 yards a game, injuries (Prince Amukamara, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyoira and Ahmad Bradshaw, etc.) and running the ball. However, the Giants biggest weakness is their offensive line.
The Giants starting offensive line has struggled with both their run and pass blocking this year. Although the offensive line has done a better job pass protecting the past three games where they have allowed just one sack, they have surrendered 15 sacks so far which is one fewer than all of last season.
The Giants, who are known for their strong running game, are only averaging 88.8 yards per game (29th in the NFL) and 3.3 yards per carry (30th) this season. By comparison the Giants were sixth in the NFL in rushing yards per game last season averaging 137.5 yards and were seventh in yards per carry (4.6).
So, why have the Giants gone from having one of the best rushing attacks to having one of the worse? For starters, the Giants made wholesale changes on the offensive line when the lockout ended. The Giants replaced long-time center Shawn O'Hara with David Baas, who was signed as a free agent, and they moved David Diehl from left tackle to left guard and inserted Will Beatty at left tackle. The second reason is that Diehl, who was a valuable member of the unit last year because of his versatility, has struggled this season (particularly in pass protection) and 32-year-old right tackle Kareem McKenzie appears to have lost some leg drive. Injuries also have taken a toll on the offensive line as Baas has missed two games and right guard Chris Snee, who hasn't played up to his capabilities, missed one game as a result of a concussion. The Giants, who run to the right side often, really need Snee and McKenzie to pick up their game.
Although the offensive line is responsible for opening holes for the running game, they aren't solely responsible for the Giants lack of production. Running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs bear some of the responsibility as well as tight ends Bear Pascoe and Ballard. Bradshaw, who missed the New England game, has only one 100-yard game this year. The 25-year old Bradshaw, who is extremely quick and agile, is only averaging 4.0 yards per carry (.7 yards less than his career average) and 62.9 yards per game (14.3 yards per game fewer than last year). One thing Bradshaw has done this year is taken care of the football which is good news since he fumbled seven times last year losing six of them. Jacobs, who is a big strong back, is more of an enigma as he is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry which is 1.2 yards less than his career average. The good news is that Jacobs, who averages two fumbles a year, also has kept the ball secure so far. |
