| Andrew Perna. 16th September, 2008 - 2:55 pm
 The New York Giants haven’t been truly challenged through the first two weeks of the season, building early leads in both games before putting things out of reach in the final fifteen minutes.
They stand at the top of the always tough NFC East, deadlocked with the Cowboys at 2-0, heading into battles with the struggling Bengals and Seahawks in the next three weeks.
New York won’t face another division foe – they downed the Redskins in Week One to kick off the NFL season – until Nov. 2 when the Cowboys come to Giants Stadium.
They’ll likely have one of the NFC’s best records when they begin a difficult stretch with the battle against Dallas to open up November.
1. Eli Appears Poised
Eli Manning has played within himself so far this season, compiling 476 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception on 39-for-64 passing (60.4%) through his first two games.
He was just okay against the Redskins, going 19-for-35 with 216 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, but he managed a great game for the Giants, handing off to Brandon Jacobs as they controlled both the clock and field position. He did, however, make an important call, running for a one-yard score in the first quarter, the only touchdown of the game for New York.
He got exactly what he needed, a matchup against the lowly Rams on Sunday, and exploded for his best offensive performance since, throwing for 251 yards and four touchdowns against the Patriots in Week Seventeen of last season.
Similar to what Donovan McNabb did in Week One, Manning went 20-for-29 with 260 yards and three scores against a confused St. Louis defense.
He doesn’t look like a different quarterback – having been named the Super Bowl MVP in February – but his play and decision-making have indicated that he’s a slightly different man this season.
Perhaps that’s because it is September, a month that Eli tends to excel. His three touchdowns on Sunday moved him into second-place in NFL history (behind Brett Favre) with an average of 1.92 TDs per start in September.
2. What Shorthanded Defense?
The Giants weren’t supposed to have even an above-average defense with Michael Strahan in the broadcast booth and Osi Umenyiora on the injured reserve, but they have been sharp thus far.
Only the Titans have allowed fewer points through two games, and the Giants already appear to be in midseason form after completely dismantling the Rams.
New York tallied six sacks and an interception, which Justin Tuck returned for a touchdown en route to a 41-13 win. Tuck, who is going to be asked to star for the defense in the wake of Umenyiora’s season-ending injury, had two sacks in addition to the 41-yard return.
Tuck already has nine tackles, three sacks and the one interception this season, but one horrific play could alter the course of New York’s defensive season. They lack significant depth, with guys like Renaldo Wynn (six tackles, 34 years old), Jerome McDougle (a late addition), Dave Tollefson (unseasoned) and Robert Henderson (rookie) helping anchor the other defensive end position.
With five divisional battles in the last nine weeks of the season, the defense must remain both healthy and refreshed to give the Giants a chance to end the regular season on a high note. They have proven that they can hold a marginal offense in check, but the Cowboys and Eagles are entirely different beasts.
3. An Early Cakewalk
The Giants won’t go into a game as an underdog until they face the Steelers on Oct. 26, and they’ll probably only do so because the battle will take place at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
Only two of their first six opponents qualified for the playoffs in 2007, and currently those teams have a combined record of 2-10. In addition, three of their next four games are at home. I wouldn’t be overly shocked to see New York begin the season 6-0, barring any substantial miscues, before entering a three-game stretch that could define their season.
After the aforementioned trip to Pittsburgh, they will host the Cowboys before heading to Philadelphia to battle the resurgent Eagles.
As easy as their early slate is – perhaps the benefit of winning the Super Bowl – their schedule will balance out.
They entered the season with the fifteenth-toughest schedule in the league, with opponents recording a .520 winning percentage in 2007. Two of their sixteen games are against the division-rival Eagles, who were better than their 8-8 record last year, and appear to be a legitimate contender this fall.
The Redskins also showed some signs in their win against the Saints in Week Two, and Jason Campbell could begin to produce above-average numbers in Jim Zorn’s pass-happy offense. And of course, there will be two games against the explosive Cowboys.
It’s never easy to repeat in the NFL, and it’ll be more than a month before the Giants are truly challenged, but the champs appear primed to contend yet again this season.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail with comments or questions on this piece: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
