How 'bout them Giants?

September 24th, 2005


How 'bout them Giants?
Okay, those with no interest in football in general can completely skip this post without any loss. But speaking of no losses, how about the Giants starting 2-0, when the consensus was that they would lose their first game to the Cardinals; and with New Orleans coming off their win over North Carolina (a general pick to go to the Super Bowl this year), even the sportscasters up here were saying New Orleans was the better team. In the win over the Cardinals, people pointed to the two special teams touchdowns; great play, but at least some of that was luck -- won't happen every game. But the Giants could have given away both those touchdowns, and still won that game by a touchdown. And in the game with New Orleans, people point to the kick return fumble that the Giants turned immediately into a touchdown. But they could have given away that touchdown, and given New Orleans a touchdown on the drive that they lost to the fumble -- and still won the game. They lead the NFL in points scored, and their defense against the run is one of the best.

Now the consensus is that they will lose to the Chargers this weekend. Hey, maybe they will. The Chargers have a solid quarterback, a really good running back, a top-notch receiver, and a defense that's allowed fewer yards than the the Giants. The Giants, and Manning in particular, haven't shown a lot of consistency over the last several games (including the ones at the end of last season). Strahan might not play because of his back. But don't count them out yet. They do lead the league in points scored. Their run defense is terrific. They have possibly the most under-rated running back in the game in Tiki Barber (the guy led the league last year in yards-from-scrimmage -- produced more yards total than any other player in the NFL, but is still listed in the third tier of running backs this year). Their special teams have gone from lousy to shaky to awesome. They finally have a solution for short-yardage situations, and they've added a wide receiver who gave the Chargers fits last time he played against them. And Manning just keeps looking better every game. I don't know as much about football in general as the guys making the predictions, and I don't even know as much about the Giants in particular (much less the Chargers!). But I've seen the Giants predicted to lose both of their last two games and they won. Convincingly. If Strahan plays at all and Manning plays well, I think they'll beat the Chargers.