There’s not much to talk about. The Giants seemingly moved the ball at will, and defensively were all over the Raiders. It all added up to a 44-7 rout. The most interesting part of the game for me was getting a preview of what my seats may look like next year. I sat in section 124, ten rows up from the endzone. A different perspective indeed. Without question, it’s pretty cool seeing goaline offense/defense down at your end.
The second most interesting part of the game was after favorite son Sinorice Moss muffed a punt deep in Giant territory with about five minutes left in the first half. The Raiders recovered, scored, and made it 28-7. On the kickoff, the Giants were penalized and pinned back at their own five yard line with about two minutes left. And there trotted out David Carr in place of Eli Manning. Manning, who played a superb 28 minutes, wasn’t injured either. I found that very interesting. What does that tell you about how the Giants felt about the Raiders, sending out your backup in the first half, while pinned at the five? A stop, and subsequent score by Oakland, could make the game a wee bit interesting. Antonio Pierce summed it up best by saying it felt like a scrimmage. So I guess that’s what you do in scrimmages, replace your starting QB.
Rather than focus anymore on the game, let’s look ahead to the Saints. New Orleans, Minny, and New York are the top tier teams right now in the NFC, so this is a barometer for both squads. Most pundits suggest the Giants run the ball, control the clock, and keep the ball away from the potent Saints’ offense. That’s all fine and dandy if your offense is sub par. But the Giants are hardly sub par. I would rather see, and I am sure we will, an offense with a bit more passing to loosen up the Saints, and then hit them with the run. Remember last year in Arizona? I don’t remember the running game being that dominate (in fact, Jacobs was out as I remember) but Eli had probably his best games of the year. And the Cards last year were one of the most explosive offenses in football. Throw in the fact Manning plays exceptionally well in this type of weather venue, I’d be on the attack. I’m not necessarily promoting a shootout, but the Giants will have to score points to win. And keep this in mind about this suddenly vaunted New Orleans defense: two of the first four games were against rookie QB’s (Stafford and Sanchez) and a third against a guy making his first start ever (Kevin Kolb).
Defensively, you rush and you cover. Getting to Brees is difficult, as he has is offense down pat and possesses one of the quicker releases in the game. But the Giants play tight coverage with their corners, and they’ll be a vital piece in the outcome of this game. If they can cover the initial read, that will give the defensive line a chance to pressure Brees when he looks for his secondary routes.
