The key match up - the Giants OL

[patfanken]

A number of people have now come to the realization that the Pats best match up in this game is the Giants OL. Here are some stats and fact that back up this POV.

Disclaimer - I'm not a big fan of PFF, and I recognize that some of its evaluation methods are flawed and subjective......BUT its superbowl week and if ESPN chooses to ignore this match up, I feel free to use even "flawed" resources to back up my position

Here is a sample to whet your appetite and then the link to the complete article.

Few areas of the New York Giants’ team have come under more pressure this season than the offensive line, which has seen a precipitous decline in its form, having been one of their strengths the last few years.

Quarterback Eli Manning has faced pressure on 38.9% of his dropbacks over the course of the regular and postseason, second most of any quarterback in the entire league. The entire offensive line has been poor in pass protection; no Giant offensive lineman grades higher than -3.9 (William Beatty) for their play in that area this year. The two players most culpable for this pressure are the two covering the tackle spots this Sunday in Indianapolis, David Diehl and Kareem McKenzie.


Manning is still making plays in the face of this pressure as he finds a way to get the pass off and prevent the defense from finishing, but at some point the law of averages suggests that all of this pressure either has to stop or it will catch up with the Giants’ offense. It is widely accepted that there are few better defensive minds in the league than Bill Belichick and he, along with his defensive staff, have surely been spending time trying to find ways to exploit the weaknesses of the Giants’ pass protection off of the edge this coming Sunday. In the first of our articles examining three crucial areas in this Sunday’s encounter, we open up by shining a light on just how bad the Giants tackles have been in pass protection this season and the candidates to take advantage for the Patriots in a key battle ground this Sunday.

to read more hit the link

Super Bowl Focus: Clinging to the Edge | ProFootballFocus.com

 

[patfanken]

BTW- I stumbled on to this article when I clicked a link at Ganggreen where they were discussing Sanchez. The link took me to an analysis of how effective QBs are under pressure. Sanchez was rated overall the worst .

Interesting though, Eli was rated first. Brady was 5th. If you look at the all the various stats, I think what pushed Eli over the top was his es capability. You have to admit that when they finally get to Tom, most of the time he goes down. Eli on the other hand is much better at getting away after that first hit.

On a stat that Brady was way ahead was TD's vs Picks when under pressure. Brady was 10 TDs to 2 picks. Eli was 7 TDs to 7 picks

At any rate, after I read that article, I went to their home page and the article on the Giants OL was on it. BTW- I'm pressed for time, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had an analysis of the Pats OL and where they rated. If someone got a link for that, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Ivan]

I believe the Giants OL is a real weakness for them but won't give any credence to PFF and won't read it. The Giants had the worst rushing game in football and struggle to keep pressure off of Manning and I expect the Patriots to exploit the Giants OL.

 

[BelichickFan]

I think what pushed Eli over the top was his escapability. You have to admit that when they finally get to Tom, most of the time he goes down. Eli on the other hand is much better at getting away after that first hit.

BTW- on stat that Brady was way ahead was TD's vs Picks when under pressure. Brady was 10 TDs to 2 picks. Eli was 7 TDs to 7 picks

Eli does a good job of avoiding sacks by throwing it away - or putting it up for grabs. His WR have done a good job of coming down with the ball but as I said on another thread, just like he did in SF, Eli WILL throw 2-3 balls that can be picked off and we have to catch them.

 

[Ivan]

Eli does a good job of avoiding sacks by throwing it away - or putting it up for grabs. His WR have done a good job of coming down with the ball but as I said on another thread, just like he did in SF, Eli WILL throw 2-3 balls that can be picked off and we have to catch them.

Pretty much how i see it as well. Manning is going to give them chances to pick him off and the question is whether the Patriots capitalize on them, if they do then I think the Patriots will win going away.

 

[Funktopus]

A number of people have now come to the realization that the Pats best match up in this game is the Giants OL.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this matchup works out as well.

I see that during the regular season the Giants had offensive success vs the Cowboys but not the Redskins. Any (idle) thoughts around what the Cowboys and Redskins do differently?

 

[Ivan]

The Ravens OL was their weakness and the Patriots made them pay for it all day long, I think the same will happen Sunday.

 

[BelichickFan]

A quick note for those who say our defense isn't as dynamic as SF's to pressure the QB, in the regular season SF had 42 sacks while we had 40. The NYG had it good in the first two playoff games facing ATL and GB who had 33 and 29 sacks respectively.