Just A Note of Caution.....

[BallHawk]

We still have one game to play to get to Arizona. :D

I know the matchup looks good, but the Giants just beat a good Cowboys team, a team that we lost to..............




You can continue your celebrations now. :D

[MadtownPacker]

Shut the hell up. Thats wasn't a good cowboys team. That was just what was left after 16 games.

[ND72]

We still have one game to play to get to Arizona. :D

I know the matchup looks good, but the Giants just beat a good Cowboys team, a team that we lost to..............




You can continue your celebrations now. :D

I think I made one of these words of cautions weeks ago and got yelled at...I would hope nobody is looking towards the super bowl. We have to enjoy this ride right now and the next game is somethign we need to really take in a remember.

[MJZiggy]

We still have one game to play to get to Arizona. :D

I know the matchup looks good, but the Giants just beat a good Cowboys team, a team that we lost to..............




You can continue your celebrations now. :D

I though we sent you off to live with SeahawkDude... :lol:

[BallHawk]

I thought we sent you off to live with SeahawkDude... :lol:

I couldn't sleep because of his uncontrollable sobbing during the night.

[Freak Out]

The Giants D has been playing very tough and Eli has done very well in this run so its not going to be easy. Plus they have won like eight or nine strait on the road. But to have the NFC Championship at home is huge.

Death to all who oppose us!

[Freak Out]

I thought we sent you off to live with SeahawkDude... :lol:

I couldn't sleep because of his uncontrollable sobbing during the night.

Speaking of Hawk fans...there was some guy over at "Seahawks Huddle" that was a self appointed king of smack that was a total douche..I went back over for a final visit...no sign of the dude. Swinging from a shower rod somewhere north of OPF.

[gbgary]

Shut the hell up. Thats wasn't a good cowboys team. That was just what was left after 16 games.

that's an interesting perspective.

[4and12to12and4]

The forecast is for around 10 to 15 degrees Sunday. Will that be a bad thing for us? Some of these young guys from southern colleges are going to freeze their asses off. But, at least Grant played two years in New York. He should be used to cold weather. I can't believe the Championship game goes through Lambeau. Isn't this only the second time in Favre's career that this has happened? Isn't the '96 team the only other team with home field throughout?

[Tony Oday]

Ryan Grant lol love it he is going against his old team :)

[BF4MVP]

Isn't the '96 team the only other team with home field throughout?
Yep. NFC Championship was in Dallas in '95 and in San Francisco in '97.

[oregonpackfan]

I thought we sent you off to live with SeahawkDude... :lol:

I couldn't sleep because of his uncontrollable sobbing during the night.

Speaking of Hawk fans...there was some guy over at "Seahawks Huddle" that was a self appointed king of smack that was a total douche..I went back over for a final visit...no sign of the dude. Swinging from a shower rod somewhere north of OPF.

He probably ran off with my next door neighbor! Friday, my Seahawk fan neighbor was talking smack about a huge Seahawk upset at Lambeau. I haven't seen him since before Saturday morning!

[twoseven]

The forecast is for around 10 to 15 degrees Sunday. Will that be a bad thing for us? Some of these young guys from southern colleges are going to freeze their asses off. But, at least Grant played two years in New York. He should be used to cold weather. I can't believe the Championship game goes through Lambeau. Isn't this only the second time in Favre's career that this has happened? Isn't the '96 team the only other team with home field throughout?
10-15? More like 5 degrees WITHOUT factoring in the wind chill, and considering that the game doesn't even start until close to 6pm I would say it will be nearing or at ZERO in the early stages of the game. Going to be COLD, I love it! Eli hates the cold, and he doesn't play well in it at all.

[packrulz]

4and12, you need to change your name to 4and12to13and3.

[sepporepi]

4and12, you need to change your name to 4and12to13and3.

Shouldn't it be 4and12to8and8 :?:

Or at least 4and12trough8and8to13and3 :lol:

[pack4to84]

should be changed from 4and12to12and4 to 4and12toSUPERBOWL

[footballfever]

We've had these classic "trap" games all year and you've seen how prepared coach McCarthy has his team each time. I know we are all overlooking the Giants but there is at least one person on this planet that isn't and it's McCarthy. He'll bring all these guys back down from that high cloud and get them to work on this game. Game planning has been the biggest strength of this team so far this year IMO and it will continue to be this weekend. The Giants aren't a team to take likely, they emerged from a very tough division and won their first 2 playoff games on the road. That alone speaks volumes about the character of their team, they've overcome a lot this year to get here. I have faith in our coaching staff to have this team ready.

[MJZiggy]

should be changed from 4and12to12and4 to 4and12toSUPERBOWL

I like it!

Footballfever, I couldn't agree more. We, as fans, can afford to overlook a game, but M3 will not.

[denverYooper]

We've had these classic "trap" games all year and you've seen how prepared coach McCarthy has his team each time. I know we are all overlooking the Giants but there is at least one person on this planet that isn't and it's McCarthy. He'll bring all these guys back down from that high cloud and get them to work on this game. Game planning has been the biggest strength of this team so far this year IMO and it will continue to be this weekend. The Giants aren't a team to take likely, they emerged from a very tough division and won their first 2 playoff games on the road. That alone speaks volumes about the character of their team, they've overcome a lot this year to get here. I have faith in our coaching staff to have this team ready.


Agreed. Dallas played like they expected to win and had a lot of backbreaking penalties. I don't see the Pack being so lax about facing the G-men.

Should be a good one!

:cow:

[Badgerinmaine]

Ryan Grant lol love it he is going against his old team :)

Do you think anyone in the New York media might maybe possibly report on that this week? :P

[Harlan Huckleby]

I heard one of the ESPN guys report that Thompson didn't want to acquire Grant from NY, he was really interested in another of their young backs. (I forget which one, not Bradshaw, maybe Droughns ) Giants wouldn't deal, so he went with Grant (who NY was going to cut anyway) as a consolation prize.

[The Leaper]

I heard one of the ESPN guys report that Thompson didn't want to acquire Grant from NY, he was really interested in another of their young backs. (I forget which one, not Bradshaw, maybe Droughns) Giants wouldn't deal, so he went with Grant (who NY was going to cut anyway) as a consolation prize.

I find that hard to believe.

If Thompson didn't really want Grant, why give up a 6th round pick when he was going to be cut anyway? Thompson isn't giving up a 6th round pick on a guy as a consolation prize.

Why the stories of Philbin being very high on Grant and recruiting him out of high school? That tends to tell me that Green Bay DID want Grant.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Grant would not have cleared waivers, and Thompson had no way of knowing exactly what the Giants would do with Grant.

It sounded like a credible report to me, it was too specific to be manufactured out of thin air.

[Lurker64]

I recall hearing that the Giants had told Grant that he was not going to be cut, and then we traded for him. The Giants were deep at RB, but you usually try not to cut good players.

[Merlin]

The Giants don't scare me. Not one bit. Eli Manning is still their QB and he is easily flustered. Coughlin's job is safe for another year so I expect a big letdown from the Giants this weekend. If we play our game and the crowd is into it as much as they were on Saturday, there is no way the Giants beat us.

Dallas looked terrible. It appeared they were taking the Giants for granted. The Giants didn't do a heck of a lot against a questionable defense in Dallas. The Dallas offense (Romo especially) looked awful. The play calling that was so brilliant all season wasn't there. The Giants have a very average defense, their secondary isn't anything great.

The only way Green Bay loses this game is if they too look past the Giants. The Giants are a 2nd or 3rd tier team and Eli Manning is not a great QB. Shockey is out and he was the one that did the damage against us early when we played there. Our secondary knows how to tackle to don't expect Burius or Toomer to gat much YAC on us, that is if they have any catches at all. Brandon Jacobs will be the work horse and if we force the Gianst to all passing mode, Eli is toast.

[The Leaper]

Grant would not have cleared waivers, and Thompson had no way of knowing exactly what the Giants would do with Grant.

It sounded like a credible report to me, it was too specific to be manufactured out of thin air.

Maybe.

However, it seems rather farfetched to assume Thompson did not even really want Grant...and just made a desperate move by trading away a draft pick to acquire plan B or C.

Personally, I think Thompson liked several of the Giant RBs...and he hashed out the agreement on the one the Giants were willing to part with for an acceptable price. Grant might not have been at the top of Thompson's list...but I'm assuming when he called the Giants that he probably knew the chances were low at landing the guy at the top of his list for an agreeable price.

The fact that Philbin has a history with Grant, which he has discussed, would tend to support my view over the notion that Thompson really didn't want Grant but made a deal because of desperation.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I didn't use the word "desperation". Grant reportedly wasn't his first choice, the rest is spin.

[Merlin]

I don't think it was a move of desperation on 3T's part. I think he had an order of who he wanted and what he was willing to pay from the Giants. They had incredible depth at RB. Maybe Grant wasn't his number one. I also don't think he was acting in panic mode. If that was the case, you would have seen his hard on for the guy 6 months before the deal was made like with Manual. He went looking and got the best he could get for the price he was willing to pay. Just because Grant is successful right now in Green Bay, doesn't mean he would have every been successful in New York. It also doesn't mean that he won't be a one year wonder. Time will tell. I don't think he is, I think he is the real deal. I think Thompson got lucky with the trade. If he was so high on Grant, he certainly would have started over Brandon Jackson & Deshawn Wynn, neither of which had shown anything up until the point when Grant was acquired. He added what amounted to a veteran at the position who had the chance to work in practice with Tiki Barber and Rueben Droughns. A chance to learn from good starting running backs. He wasn't going to get that in Green Bay. Now that he has emerged, Brandon Jackson is trying to mimic his running style and does a good job running the ball now. You do need veterans on a team for younger players to learn from.

[The Leaper]

I didn't use the word "desperation". Grant reportedly wasn't his first choice, the rest is spin.

If someone claims Thompson "did not want to acquire Grant", but then gave up a 6th round pick for him when he could not get the guy he REALLY wanted, what else can that person be claiming other than the move smacks of desperation? I'm not suggesting you believe it...just saying it sounds like typical ESPN horsecrap.

The Giants probably aren't happy that their castoff is now having far more success than anyone they retained. I would expect them to try and deflect the attention from any potential mistake of theirs in an evaluation of Grant. "Hey, even THOMPSON didn't really want the guy. It was just blind fucking luck on his part!"

Regardless...Thompson traded for Grant...and Grant has been a boda fide stud RB in the second half of the season. Those are the facts, and I'm sticking to them.

[Partial]

He originally wanted Derick Ward supposedly.

[BallHawk]

He originally wanted Derick Ward supposedly.

That's the story that I've heard.

[MJZiggy]

I don't really care. I like who we got no matter how we got 'em. Did you see the other stat in Peter Kings column? The one about there being 145 other backs that make more money than Ryan Grant? Unreal.

[OS PA]

The Giants D has been playing very tough and Eli has done very well in this run so its not going to be easy. Plus they have won like eight or nine strait on the road. But to have the NFC Championship at home is huge.

Death to all who oppose us!

Packers are 10-1 in the last 11 games at home and are riding on 6 straight.

[FritzDontBlitz]

The Giants D has been playing very tough and Eli has done very well in this run so its not going to be easy. Plus they have won like eight or nine strait on the road. But to have the NFC Championship at home is huge.

Death to all who oppose us!

What the hell has Eli Manning done in the playoffS? Not a damn thing if you really look at it. His big comeback drive at the end of the first half against Dallas was all of 37 yards. Everybody is overhyping him as if he's a bigtime threat but he's still the most cowardly, jittery QB in the NFL.

They key to beating New York is to gang up on their run game and let Al And Woody handle their top two wideouts. I would load up on a few blitzes early to set the tempo in the passing game, then ease off and let Eli begin to play his usual shaky game. On offense I would spread them out and let Ryan Grant gash them to death before working in play-action. The tight ends need to be more involved too.

I am not getting overconfident because minimizing turnovers and having a strong running game will be the deciding factors Saturday. We are very well matched for this game, and knowing its at Lambeau and they won't be using a 3-4 defense makes me even more hopeful for a win. We just need to go out and get it done, but its much more doable than we thought a couple weeks ago.

[FritzDontBlitz]

The Giants don't scare me. Not one bit. Eli Manning is still their QB and he is easily flustered. Coughlin's job is safe for another year so I expect a big letdown from the Giants this weekend. If we play our game and the crowd is into it as much as they were on Saturday, there is no way the Giants beat us.

Dallas looked terrible. It appeared they were taking the Giants for granted. The Giants didn't do a heck of a lot against a questionable defense in Dallas. The Dallas offense (Romo especially) looked awful. The play calling that was so brilliant all season wasn't there. The Giants have a very average defense, their secondary isn't anything great.

The only way Green Bay loses this game is if they too look past the Giants. The Giants are a 2nd or 3rd tier team and Eli Manning is not a great QB. Shockey is out and he was the one that did the damage against us early when we played there. Our secondary knows how to tackle to don't expect Burius or Toomer to gat much YAC on us, that is if they have any catches at all. Brandon Jacobs will be the work horse and if we force the Gianst to all passing mode, Eli is toast.

I agree with you about Eli. If Eli is such a threat, why wouldn't they let him pass at the end of the game? Twice they were deep in their own territory and a sustained drive would have finished the Cowboys: the first time they ran three times then punted, the second time he HAD to pass on 3rd and long.

Doesn't sound like Coughlin has much confidence in him at all.

[mmmdk]

One to fear is Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, former Eagles coach and Packer killer. That's gotta change! :P

[Freak Out]

The Giants D has been playing very tough and Eli has done very well in this run so its not going to be easy. Plus they have won like eight or nine strait on the road. But to have the NFC Championship at home is huge.

Death to all who oppose us!

What the hell has Eli Manning done in the playoffS? Not a damn thing if you really look at it.

He's won two games in the playoffs. Something his brother or Romo failed to do this year. :lol:

I'm not to worried about our defense being able to hold Eli and his offense from scoring to many points....it's the Giant pass rush forcing #4 into some mistakes or putting him on the ground. The conditions should be in our favor and if the running game clicks the way it has been their rush won't matter.

[Carolina_Packer]

I heard one of the ESPN guys report that Thompson didn't want to acquire Grant from NY, he was really interested in another of their young backs. (I forget which one, not Bradshaw, maybe Droughns ) Giants wouldn't deal, so he went with Grant (who NY was going to cut anyway) as a consolation prize.

I just heard a Mort Report on ESPN Radio coming home tonight where he said that when TT went out and got Ryan Grant he could have negotiated for Derrick Ward or Ryan Grant and chose Grant because he liked his body type for a running back because it was different from the backs that were already on the roster. Ward is listed at 5-11, 228 lbs., similar to Brandon Jackson's build, if not a bit heavier. Grant is 6-1, 225 lbs., and according to Mort, he reminded TT of Dorsey Levens, if not a bit more slight.

[twoseven]

I heard one of the ESPN guys report that Thompson didn't want to acquire Grant from NY, he was really interested in another of their young backs. (I forget which one, not Bradshaw, maybe Droughns) Giants wouldn't deal, so he went with Grant (who NY was going to cut anyway) as a consolation prize.

I find that hard to believe.

If Thompson didn't really want Grant, why give up a 6th round pick when he was going to be cut anyway? Thompson isn't giving up a 6th round pick on a guy as a consolation prize.

Why the stories of Philbin being very high on Grant and recruiting him out of high school? That tends to tell me that Green Bay DID want Grant.
No, he's right, I watched the same report. Basically it went down as has been typed. TT WAS going after another back that the Giants didn't want to part with. The giants did look to be cutting Grant anyway, hence the swap working out for both sides. Pretty sure Packers would not have had first crack at Grant if he was turned loose, hence the trade. I thought ESPN mentioned that, if not, my bad. Disagree with the logic if you will, but the report was in fact on ESPN last week.

[twoseven]

I heard one of the ESPN guys report that Thompson didn't want to acquire Grant from NY, he was really interested in another of their young backs. (I forget which one, not Bradshaw, maybe Droughns ) Giants wouldn't deal, so he went with Grant (who NY was going to cut anyway) as a consolation prize.
I think the prpoer verbage is 'TT initially had his sights set on another NYG RB, before the grant trade..' I can see the Leaper's side, 'not wanting' doesn't sound right, if he didn't actually 'want' Grant why trade at all? Makes sense to me.

[hoosier]

I heard one of the ESPN guys report that Thompson didn't want to acquire Grant from NY, he was really interested in another of their young backs. (I forget which one, not Bradshaw, maybe Droughns ) Giants wouldn't deal, so he went with Grant (who NY was going to cut anyway) as a consolation prize.

Don't mean to nitpick, but Ruben Droughns isn't my idea of a young back--he's 29 and in his eighth season. In dog years that's only four years old. But for a running back it's getting a little long in the tooth.

[denverYooper]

The Giants D has been playing very tough and Eli has done very well in this run so its not going to be easy. Plus they have won like eight or nine strait on the road. But to have the NFC Championship at home is huge.

Death to all who oppose us!

Packers are 10-1 in the last 11 games at home and are riding on 6 straight.

True dat, but the media doesn't want to blow that one up too large because it would neutralize one of the "hype" points for the narrative on the Giants thus far.

[The Leaper]

I think the prpoer verbage is 'TT initially had his sights set on another NYG RB, before the grant trade..' I can see the Leaper's side, 'not wanting' doesn't sound right, if he didn't actually 'want' Grant why trade at all? Makes sense to me.

My point is that I believe Thompson valued a couple of the Giant RBs...which is why he made the call to them in the first place. He knew he could get one of the guys he wanted at a fair price based on the Giant's circumstances...and it so happened to be Grant who we got.

I'm not doubting that Thompson attempted to get the greatest bang for his buck...and another RB may have been a higher target, and the Giants balked. That is part of the process, and one that I'm sure Thompson fully anticipated.

I think Thompson went into the negotiation believing NY had several RBs that would work for the Packers...Grant included. He just had to find out who the Giants were willing to give up for a reasonable price.

If Thompson doesn't really want a guy, he's not giving up a draft pick for him. He often doesn't give up draft picks for guys he DOES want.

[cpk1994]

We still have one game to play to get to Arizona. :D

I know the matchup looks good, but the Giants just beat a good Cowboys team, a team that we lost to..............




You can continue your celebrations now. :D
Yeah we lost to the Cowboys....... without Woodson, without Picket, and for most of the game, without Favre. Means absolutely nothing.

[BallHawk]

Just to make a point, it wasn't TT that found Grant. A few guys in the Packers' scouting department saw him on some film and decided they liked him. They went to TT and told him abot Grant and TT liked what he saw, but he prefered Derrick Ward. As we all know, the Giants wouldn't part with Derrick Ward and TT pulled the trigger on Grant.

However, TT was behind drafting James Jones. It's great that we've got talented scouts all around in this orginization. TT's has one of the best knacks for finding talent of any GM in the league, IMO.

[HarveyWallbangers]

The bottom line to this game: we have to shut down the run. If we do that, we have a good shot at winning it.

[mmmdk]

The away team has won 10 times out of 37 in the NFC Championship game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger; that 27% road wins. In the 10 lastest NFC Championship games, the away team has won 4 out of 10 times which is 40% road wins. Green Bay did it in that very span - winning at San Francisco.

[MJZiggy]

Just to make a point, it wasn't TT that found Grant. A few guys in the Packers' scouting department saw him on some film and decided they liked him. They went to TT and told him abot Grant and TT liked what he saw, but he prefered Derrick Ward. As we all know, the Giants wouldn't part with Derrick Ward and TT pulled the trigger on Grant.

However, TT was behind drafting James Jones. It's great that we've got talented scouts all around in this orginization. TT's has one of the best knacks for finding talent of any GM in the league, IMO.

I just watched the press conference with TT when we got him (looking for something else and can't find it--think I'm gonna be quoting a lot of Packers tonight) and what he said was that before they traded for Grant, they talked to Carlyle Holiday (who played at ND with him) and Frank Walker before they went ahead and made the trade. I don't know if that means anything or not, but it seems to me that if they wanted someone else first they might not have done that.

[Harlan Huckleby]

There's all sorts of scenarios to spin:

1) The Silver Fox asked for the back he didn't want, then "settled" for the one he really coveted, Ryan Grant, at a low price.

2) The Packers were really in a tight spot - DeShawn Wynn had barerly been able to play all preseason, Action Jackson was spotty at best, and Concrete Shoes Herron had just been placed on IR. Thompson couldn't get the back he wanted, Ward, so he grabbed the best available player, castoff Ryan Grant, for a low draft pick.

[Harlan Huckleby]

before they traded for Grant, they talked to Carlyle Holiday (who played at ND with him) and Frank Walker before they went ahead and made the trade. I don't know if that means anything or not, but it seems to me that if they wanted someone else first they might not have done that.

I don't think this means a whole lot. If he was considering any player, he would do his homework.

[MJZiggy]

btw, someone said that Grant was gonna be cut, but he said that they told him the day before he was traded that he had made the roster. No waiver issues, he just wasn't going anywhere.

[RashanGary]

My memory of the Grant trade was that the Packers staff had tabbed both Ryan Grant and Derrick Ward as players they liked. Maybe they valued Ward more, I wouldn't doubt if they did. Ward is a good back. Grant has that Tyrone Davis (low value unless it's a zone) runner look to him. Ward could run anywhere in any scheme. Maybe Grant could too, but he's not as nifty as scouts seem to like them.

Regardless, the Packers scouts (lead by TT) had two RB's out of 5 picked out from the Giants and they ended up with one. Ward might have turned out just as well if he didn't get injured. Hindsight, I think either would have been a good trade and who was valued more matters not. What matters most is that the Packers hit on a gem by doing their homework and having a keen eye for talent as well as a little luck.

I guess I don't see the point unless you are trying to call the Packers success dumb luck. It takes a lot of dumb luck to build a team from 4-12 to the SB, right? I really don't buy that theory if that is what you are suggesting HH. A little luck? Sure, but it's funny how often TT gets lucky. Seems like just about everything he does looks lucky in hindsight. At some point you have to attribute it to balancing risk vs reward in a way that brings more reward than risk and that's not to say he doens't do anything because the likely SB team he assembled is evedince that he does enough to get more reward than 30 other teams.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I guess I don't see the point unless you are trying to call the Packers success dumb luck. It takes a lot of dumb luck to build a team from 4-12 to the SB, right? I really don't buy that theory if that is what you are suggesting HH. A little luck? Sure, but it's funny how often TT gets lucky.

I don't really know exactly what to make of the situation, too many unknowns. It seems likely that the Packers got lucky with Grant, rather than having spotted a diamond in the rough. I think the Packers were planning on using Jackson and then Wynn for the starter, I suspect Grant was projected to be a backup.