TWO QUESTIONS I HAVE AFTER A NEAR DEFEAT

[mission]

Giants pretty much had the formula for beating the Packers:

Get pressure on Rodgers without a lot of blitzing.
Run the ball well enough to force Packers safeties closer to line of scrimmage.
Stop Packers running game.
Throw deep on Packers safeties.

Just one problem. Two turnovers, one returned for a touchdown. To beat the Packers, a team is going to need to score 28+ while playing turnover-free football. Saints and Patriots probably have the best chance of doing that.

Saints and Patriots don't have the defense. We don't technically either but that's where the turnovers give us the edge in a close game.

[pbmax]

Personally, I thought the game plan for this game on defense was the worst of the year. How often do you have to play Eli Manning to know that he likes to wing it deep? Yet, I saw a lot of safeties cheating up. I saw a lot less 2 deep safety play than I would have liked. If Hawk, Bishop, Sitton, perhaps Clifton get back healthy and we have a better game plan, I think we take care of them easily in the playoffs at home.

DC was worried about the running game and Bradshaw gave them a pretty good lift. Even Jacobs ran well. I would bet he was playing tendencies down to down.

Even in 2 deep, Peprah was playing run first.

[George Cumby]

Anyway, "exposing" to me means the Giants did something against the Packers that other teams can now copy and exploit to win. What did they do? Throw a bunch of balls to a stud WR who made some big plays? Intercept Rodgers? Have more talent on their DL than just about anyone in the league? Run up the gut against two crappy linebackers? There's just not much there to emulate, no replicable blueprint unless a team has the raw talent to match up like the Giants did. Not a lot of teams do.

This. This is why I thought the Pack could lose this game. In addition to the desperation of the Giants; they seem to play best for Coughlin when their backs are to the wall.

NFC: Saints

AFC: Steelers, Patriots, in that order.

[Upnorth]

Our main weakness has long been talked about and expossed, hint hint its the pass D. However an additional weakness that shows up with Hawk and Bishop out is the run D. If you keep the ball away from our O you might, might, win (see 58 secs to go). When Hawk and Bishop get back it will be a bit harder to run on us.
I think we only need to worry about the Saints and Baltimore. Now that Harrison is back Pitt has a very improved pass D and I do worry about them (I previously was not but have changed the ruling upon further review) but not as much as baltimore. NE Pass D rating of 86.6 suprises me, but now that they have WR's playing corner I cant see them keeping up to our O.

On a tangent, D pass rating is much better in the AFC than the NFC. Does the AFC have that much better of a defence as a whole, or are the NFC qb's that much better?

[LEWCWA]

I don't know if they were exposed, but I sat through that whole game and never really felt like they were in jeapardy of losing. Even when they tied it up, I would have bet alot Rodgers would put them in position to win....MM was the only one that was going to lose that game for them, but the deep pass to Jordy took that chance away.

[LEWCWA]

Don't forget Nicks is pretty close to a Johnson clone. The guy is a beast...

[Pugger]

But was the Giant's scheme really any different that what other teams have said they wanted to do - get after Rodgers, score a lot of points, run the ball and keep Rodgers on the sideline? The difference Sunday was they were successful scoring a lot of points and they actually got after Rodgers. But ultimately we were our own worst enemy. Our defense had a worse game than normal besides CM3, we couldn't run the ball and we had a bad case of the dropsies. But when the game was on the line Rodgers was magnificent yet again.

Only NO can play toe to toe with us because of Brees. The 49er D is very good and they could cause us problems. By the time Cutlet comes back the bares will be well out of the playoff picture. NY gave us their best shot AT HOME and lost. The girls beating us in GB? I don't think so.

Brady and company can score like NO so they could be handful. Baltimore's D is formidable but Flacco? I too do not think the Steelers D is as good as last year.

Truly, the only team that can really beat the Packers is the Packers.

[Upnorth]

I think this game showed that when Collins Woodson Hawk and Bishop are injured we are screwed on Defence. That is a huge part of why a better than what it looks like on the surface defence played their worst game of the season.

[pbmax]

McGinn on O Line:

He gives Newhouse credit/blame for 2 bad runs, 1.5 sacks, 3 knockdowns and 2 hurries with one sack nullified on penalty. EDS was worse in the run game with 3 bad runs and 2.5 pressures, though no sacks.

[LEWCWA]

Clifton can't get back soon enough, imo. If Sherrod isn't better than Newhouse at this point we may have a bust on our hands!

[pbmax]

But was the Giant's scheme really any different that what other teams have said they wanted to do - get after Rodgers, score a lot of points, run the ball and keep Rodgers on the sideline? The difference Sunday was they were successful scoring a lot of points and they actually got after Rodgers. But ultimately we were our own worst enemy. Our defense had a worse game than normal besides CM3, we couldn't run the ball and we had a bad case of the dropsies. But when the game was on the line Rodgers was magnificent yet again.

Only NO can play toe to toe with us because of Brees. The 49er D is very good and they could cause us problems. By the time Cutlet comes back the bares will be well out of the playoff picture. NY gave us their best shot AT HOME and lost. The girls beating us in GB? I don't think so.

Brady and company can score like NO so they could be handful. Baltimore's D is formidable but Flacco? I too do not think the Steelers D is as good as last year.

Truly, the only team that can really beat the Packers is the Packers.

Giants can get to Rodgers with four, that is the difference.

[Packers4Glory]

A good defense and an offense that has a good TE.

SF is a real threat in my mind for that reason. Plus they have just enough at the WR position to make me nervous with our iffy pass defense. I do think we could force Smith to make some bad throws tho which is about the only way our defense seems stop anyone.

New Orleans I think can win one in the cold. I don't feel as if Brees is going to melt in the snow and they have a pretty good RB combo of Thomas and Ingram who could do some damage on the ground.


I seriously doubt Forte hurries back and plays this yr w/o a contract. Reality just hit him upside the knee. Barber tho isn't much fun to bring down and looks like a good back for bad weather. however I see them missing the playoffs unless Hanie figures it out.

[Upnorth]

So I just read that Manning threw 11 passes trageted at or behind the line of scrimmage. Between this and the running game I am not suprised the safties cheated up and then got burnt. Also Bush did play for a bit so that is part of it as well.

[mraynrand]

Personally, I thought the game plan for this game on defense was the worst of the year. How often do you have to play Eli Manning to know that he likes to wing it deep? Yet, I saw a lot of safeties cheating up. I saw a lot less 2 deep safety play than I would have liked. If Hawk, Bishop, Sitton, perhaps Clifton get back healthy and we have a better game plan, I think we take care of them easily in the playoffs at home.

good post. Also, Manning gets rattled and throws picks in bushels. He was rattled about a quarter into the game - after the pick six - and the Packers really didn't get after him. I've seen it where you can beat the Giants in a short stretch of plays if you go after Eli when he is in panic mode.

[mraynrand]

McGinn on O Line:

He gives Newhouse credit/blame for 2 bad runs, 1.5 sacks, 3 knockdowns and 2 hurries with one sack nullified on penalty. EDS was worse in the run game with 3 bad runs and 2.5 pressures, though no sacks.

Doesn't that add up to about 7-8 bad plays. The Giants had two total sacks. maybe it's just me, but this didn't seem like the disaster others have pictured it as.