What To Watch For: Giants Must Get To Tom Brady To Have A Chance
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Everybody knows that 2007 was eons ago in terms of football years, and for that matter, 2011 also remains in the distant history of the NFL record books.
Nevertheless, the history between the New York Giants and New England Patriots is so rich that nobody has been able to avoid talking about the four fateful meetings between these two teams in the last eight years. There was Week 17 in '07, when the Patriots barely completed their 16-0 season; the famous (or infamous, depending on your location) meeting in Super Bowl XLII, aka The Night of the Helmet catch; the regular-season meeting in '11, when the Giants handed the Patriots an ultra-rare loss at Gillette Stadium; and the rematch in Super Bowl XLVI, when the Giants once again left the Patriots heartbroken.
When the ball is kicked off this Sunday, games from years past will have nothing to do with what takes place. Though both head coaches are the same, just five Giants on the current roster were part of that Super Bowl XLVI team, while 14 Patriots remain from 2011. Going back to '07, the only remaining Giants are Eli Manning and long snapper Zak DeOssie; the only Patriots left are Tom Brady and Stephen Gostkowksi. Most of the players from that game in February 2008 are out of football, and so are many players from the '11 teams. Some have been voices in the media for years. Some have passed away. Some are in prison.
The point is, these games took place a long time ago, yet it's hard for folks to erase the memories of 2007 and 2011 when looking at these two teams.
Yet if we can clear that mental hurdle, here's what to expect when the teams meet again this Sunday in the Meadowlands.
A Weakness Vs. A Thinness
The Giants employ very few men who can get to the quarterback. The Patriots employ very few men who are healthy enough to protect the quarterback. This is the matchup that can ultimately decide the game.
The Giants did receive a shot in the arm last week when Jason Pierre-Paul returned to the field after an offseason marred by a fireworks accident that cost him his right index finger and damaged the tip of his middle finger and thumb. While Pierre-Paul wasn't 100 percent up to speed in last week's win against the Buccaneers, he rounded into form by the end of the game and finished with two tackles and two QB hits.
The Giants desperately need Pierre-Paul to revive the pass rush, which ranks dead last in the NFL with just nine sacks. As a result, opposing QBs have averaged more than 300 yards passing per week, and the Giants' D has allowed 17 touchdowns through the air, tied for fourth-most in the league.
This is all bad news for the Giants, but what will give them a chance at leveling the playing field is the fact that the Patriots' offensive line is decimated by injuries. Last week, tackle Sebastian Vollmer left early with a head injury, and both he and Marcus Cannon (toe) are out for Sunday, leaving them with just Cameron Fleming as the only real tackle to be suiting up on Sunday. (Fleming was on the practice squad until Week 6.)
Bryan Stork, a center, played right tackle last week, and with guard Tre' Jackson out with a knee injury and with guard Shaq Mason questionable with a knee injury, either Stork or someone else will be forced to play out of position on the outside of the line. The Patriots also have Michael Williams, who was a tackle in Detroit before switching to a tight end in the Patriots' offense, if they so choose.
If anyone can make it work, it's Tom Brady, and he did last week. But it's certainly far from an ideal situation for New England.
Essentially, if Brady has enough time to operate, he's going to tear apart that miserable Giants pass defense. But if the Giants can get to Brady with even a little bit of regularity, it could be enough to keep the Giants in the game.
What About Eli?
In all the talk this week, Eli Manning has gone a bit overlooked.
The quarterback is having a pretty solid year, with a 65.9 completion percentage for 2,339 yards, 19 touchdowns and six interceptions. He's thrown just three fewer touchdowns than league leader Tom Brady, aided largely by a six-touchdown afternoon against New Orleans two weeks ago.
Against Bill Belichick-coached defenses, Manning has thrown nine touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 62.8 percent of his passes.
While the receivers have changed for the quarterback and the secondary has certainly changed for New England, Eli's never been overwhelmed by anything Belichick's defenses have thrown at him.
Don't sleep on Eli. He's always a candidate to turn in the performance of a lifetime out of the blue.
Covering Beckham
The Patriots have a weapon who simply cannot be covered in Rob Gronkowski. But the Giants might have one of their own in Odell Beckham Jr.
While everybody has seen last year's one-handed touchdown grab about a thousand times, Beckham has simply been racking up catches since he came into the league last fall. Coming off a 91-catch, 1,305-yard, 12-touchdown rookie season, Beckham has already caught 59 passes for 759 yards and seven touchdowns. That has him on a rough pace for 105 catches, 1,350 yards and 12 touchdowns.
This season, Bechham's gone over 100 yards four times, and he's a candidate to do it again on Sunday.
Whether he draws Malcolm Butler or Logan Ryan in coverage, there is no one man on the Patriots' defense who can keep Beckham completely in check for a full game. It's likely that safety help from Patrick Chung will be needed, but even still, Beckham is someone who is liable to find a way to sneak free at least once for a huge gain. He's got catches of 67, 50 and 49 yards already this season.
"Beckham plays big," Bill Belichick said this week. "He's not a big guy, but he plays big. He's tough. He plays bigger than guys that are taller and weigh a lot more than he does. He's a tough guy, he competes for the ball, he's hard to tackle, and like you said, he plays like he's 6-5. He's got a great catching radius, great ball skills. His ability to get the balls and catch them is better than a lot of receivers that are probably six inches taller than him."
If Beckham is the only Giant that puts up stats, then the Patriots will probably be OK with that result. The Giants are just 2-2 in his 100-plus-yard games. Yet if Beckham creates a problem not only as a receiver but as someone who frees up space for Rueben Randle or Shane Vereen as well, then this one could be on track to be a shootout.
Tom
It always comes down to Tom Brady, doesn't it?
There's no doubt that Patriots' defense has come a long way, and Dont'a Hightower is legit, as is Chandler Jones and the rest of the mostly anonymous defensive line. And every single football game ends up being decided by no fewer than a dozen players who greatly impacted the game.
But, let's be real here. The Patriots go as far as Brady goes, and at multiple points this season, the Patriots have simply put the entire game in Brady's hands.
That was certainly the case three weeks ago, when Brady threw 54 passes and the Patriots ran just six designed running plays. As his O-linemen dropped, so too did his passing attempt numbers, to 38 and 39 in the past two games. Through eight games, Brady is on pace to throw 656 passes, which would set a career high. While that pace is likely to slow a bit as the weather worsens, it's clear that at age 38, Brady is being relied upon to carry the Patriots as much as ever.
So far, he's more than answered the challenge, as evidenced by his 2,709 yards, 68.6 completion percentage, 22 touchdowns and two interceptions. This week presents a tricky test with that tattered O-line, but the overall weakness of the Giants' pass defense has to have Brady rather excited to take the field on Sunday afternoon.
With how dominating Brady has been this year, if he can function behind that offensive line early and put up a couple of quick touchdowns, the game may be over as quickly as it begins. It always comes down to Tom Brady.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
