How do we slow down the Giants WR's?

Let's look at the Saints game against the Giants. In this game which will be played under similar conditions the Saints beat New York 49-24. The Giants offensive stats this game:

Eli: 33/47 406 yards 2TD 1 INT 101.9 rating

Cruz: 9 receptions for 157 2 TDs

Nicks 7 receptions for 87 yards

combined rushing 22 rushes for 73 yards 1 TD

Now they didnt have Bradshaw in that game but they still put up 465 yards of total offense and they got BLOWN OUT.

The Saints had FIVE drives of 70 + yards for touchdowns 3 of those drives were for 9+ plays.

Here is the stat that jumps out more than any of them:

Saints rushing: 30 carries 205 yards 3 TD.

The Giants actually won time of possession but turned it over twice, one of those was well into the 3rd quarter.

So I will say you dont slow them down, you fight fire with fire. If I'm McDaniels and O'Brien I'm studying that Saints game film and pulling everything possible out of it.

Hopefully a whole new scheme. Doing the same soft zone all game isnt going to work.

PatsSox363804 said:

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So I will say you dont slow them down, you fight fire with fire. If I'm McDaniels and O'Brien I'm studying that Saints game film and pulling everything possible out of it.

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That will require fast WR's accurate deep balls. It is a match up problem and we don't match up well vs their defense.
This is the first time I have ever been pessimistic about an upcoming game. The two games that I was overly confident in were Super Bowl 42 and last year vs the Jets in the playoffs.

vuudu said:

That will require fast WR's accurate deep balls. It is a match up problem and we don't match up well vs their defense.

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I disagree unless you're saying they need something to keep the defense honest. The Saints 2 leading receivers that game are Colston and Graham who are most comparable to Gronk and Hernandez. Lance Moore is comparable to Welker. The 7 passes to the RBs is something we wont do and dont do enough of frankly. The Saints had 2 deep passes to Henderson that game and they were both 20 yards, the other 3 to him were short passes.

patsfaninpittsburgh said:

It's simply amazing how every opponent magically becomes the worst possible matchup.

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That tells you how bad our defense is.

Seriously though, I've never said that before.

JJDChE said:

That tells you how bad our defense is.

Seriously though, I've never said that before.

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Yeah, something is really bad......it's not the defense.

First and best way: Possess the ball.

Are Nicks + Bradshaw > Spikes, Chung and Moore

We will be better against run but the pass??

We need a shooting match with our O no huddle and scoring Tds and the D

Bending but not breaking in the red zone.

PatsSox363804 said:

Let's look at the Saints game against the Giants. In this game which will be played under similar conditions the Saints beat New York 49-24. The Giants offensive stats this game:

Eli: 33/47 406 yards 2TD 1 INT 101.9 rating

Cruz: 9 receptions for 157 2 TDs

Nicks 7 receptions for 87 yards

combined rushing 22 rushes for 73 yards 1 TD

Now they didnt have Bradshaw in that game but they still put up 465 yards of total offense and they got BLOWN OUT.

The Saints had FIVE drives of 70 + yards for touchdowns 3 of those drives were for 9+ plays.

Here is the stat that jumps out more than any of them:

Saints rushing: 30 carries 205 yards 3 TD.

The Giants actually won time of possession but turned it over twice, one of those was well into the 3rd quarter.

So I will say you dont slow them down, you fight fire with fire. If I'm McDaniels and O'Brien I'm studying that Saints game film and pulling everything possible out of it.

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This is a good point.

I remember that game. It seemed like the Giants were right there the whole time but got crushed by Brees and the offense. Thats exactly what we need to do.

vuudu said:

That will require fast WR's accurate deep balls. It is a match up problem and we don't match up well vs their defense.
This is the first time I have ever been pessimistic about an upcoming game. The two games that I was overly confident in were Super Bowl 42 and last year vs the Jets in the playoffs.

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The Patriots match up great against the Giants' defense. Good OL, great middle of the field weapons, quick guys suited for quick hitters and screens and an experienced, accurate QB.

The Giants linebackers are not very good, the Patriots will have a lot of favorable matchups in the middle.

Also, the Giants have an aggressive DL which favors the Pats' type of running game, inside/outside zone and draws.

The Patriots put up 438 yards of offense against the Giants when they met in the regular season... The three leading receivers were Welker, Gronk and Hernandez and the longest completion was a mere 28 yards to Welker.

The Patriots also averaged almost 4.5 yards per carry for 106 yards.

They won't be able to isolate their LB on Gronkowski, Hernandez or Welker, or even backs out of the backfield. This means the Giants will need help from their pretty good - not great - secondary. This will stretch the field.

Same thing will likely happen in the Superbowl, but you never know. But to say the Patriots don't match up well against the Giants defense is just not correct. The Pats are actually very well suited to face a team like the Giants whose DL is geared towards rushing the passer and whose linebackers are big, slow and not that good against the run or in coverage. The Pats should prey on those weaknesses all game long. Key word is SHOULD.

BigHoss28 said:

The Patriots match up great against the Giants' defense. Good OL, great middle of the field weapons, quick guys suited for quick hitters and screens and an experienced, accurate QB.

The Giants linebackers are not very good, the Patriots will have a lot of favorable matchups in the middle.

Also, the Giants have an aggressive DL which favors the Pats' type of running game, inside/outside zone and draws.

The Patriots put up 438 yards of offense against the Giants when they met in the regular season... The three leading receivers were Welker, Gronk and Hernandez and the longest completion was a mere 28 yards to Welker.

The Patriots also averaged almost 4.5 yards per carry for 106 yards.

They won't be able to isolate their LB on Gronkowski, Hernandez or Welker, or even backs out of the backfield. This means the Giants will need help from their pretty good - not great - secondary. This will stretch the field.

Same thing will likely happen in the Superbowl, but you never know. But to say the Patriots don't match up well against the Giants defense is just not correct. The Pats are actually very well suited to face a team like the Giants whose DL is geared towards rushing the passer and whose linebackers are big, slow and not that good against the run or in coverage. The Pats should prey on those weaknesses all game long. Key word is SHOULD.

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I agree. If Brady stays upright and we don't commit stupid turnovers we should be able to put up 30 on these guys. I dont want to get overconfident and really this game scares the bejesus out of me but it all comes down to protecting Brady. We couldnt do it at all 4 years ago and if we dont do it on Feb 5th we'll lose again.

patsfaninpittsburgh said:

Yeah

And maybe not. They seemed to have zero trouble giving up 30+ points and 500 yards of offense to New Orleans.

Response should usually be accompanied by a point.

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In a game they WON?? LOL...

Right, b/c N.England has never given up 500+ yds in a game this yr?

If you see no relationship to the fact that the #2 defense in the league had something to do with sacking them 6 times, and giving up 10 points on defense than that is on you.

As always, we all look forward to your great postings.

Take off the homer glasses and realize that they are up for quite a challenge.

That said, I believe they certainly can win the game.

patsfaninpittsburgh said:

Yeah, something is really bad......it's not the defense.

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Since "we're" all the problem (and that's with as many of the current positive posts as possible), maybe we can all somehow come up to your level as fans?

The majority thinks it's going to be a hard game, look at about 90% of the threads on this board.

If you don't agree with it, that's fine...but don't tell us all how "you're always right, and we're always wrong either."

You remain in the 1% of the fanbase that obviously thinks the game is in the bag, more power to you. I hope you're right.

And for the record, the defense is mediocre. I think we all know that.

Shut down Victor Cruz. Guy torched the 49ers in the first half, then the D adjusted. Cruz caught 2 balls in the 2nd half as Eli struggled. Of course it's the 9ers D and not the Pats D, but still he seems to be their Welker.

Regards,
Chris

Pressure but we're going to need great coverage from our LBs in the middle. I see a lot of curl routes and quick throws where our DBs will take a bad angle and give up big plays unless the LBs are hitting them hard and often. Wilfork will have to be a beast up front again. Too bad we're not playing SF although I don't know who could cover Vernon Davis.

Maybe we could get a glue gun like in Bloons Tower Defense.

chris_in_sunnyvale said:

Shut down Victor Cruz. Guy torched the 49ers in the first half, then the D adjusted. Cruz caught 2 balls in the 2nd half as Eli struggled. Of course it's the 9ers D and not the Pats D, but still he seems to be their Welker.

Regards,
Chris

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Nicks scares me more.

Double TE said:

Nicks scares me more.

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Im gonna go wit Cruz here... I've seen this guy play and he's a beast... My brother is a Giants fan and he's always raving about this guy... Why can't we find WR's like this in the draft,

duce110 said:

Im gonna go wit Cruz here... I've seen this guy play and he's a beast... My brother is a Giants fan and he's always raving about this guy... Why can't we find WR's like this in the draft,

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Cruz wasn't drafted. He is an UDFA.

Talk about your proverbial blind squirrel.

JackBauer said:

By pressuring Manning, I guess, and not giving up big plays.

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This will be difficult. Manning might be one of the best big-play quarterbacks of all time.