By Matthew Frank
The New York Giants take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday night. While all the commentators are concentrating on the Manning v. Manning matchup, this game boils down to another three things:
1) The Giants Pass Rush
The Giants need to get pressure on Peyton Manning all night. And by pressure I mean without big, sell-out blitzing pressure. 3rd and longs killed this team last year and that was largely due to the lack of push by the front four leading to massive blitzes. If Kiwanuka, Tuck, Umeniyora, and company get in that backfield often, the rest of the defense should be able to neutralize the passing game. The Indianapolis offensive line is also really beat up with several players coming back early from injury. Expect the defense to come out in a lot of nickel looks and really put a lot of pressure on the receivers. The Giants can’t count on Peyton Manning throwing several red-zone interceptions like they got last week.
2) The Giants Running Game
In case anybody missed it, the Texans ran right over the Colts last week decimating them for 257 yards on the ground. With Bob Sanders out, the Giants should be licking their chops over Bradshaw and Jacobs running over and through the Indy defense. Last week the New York offensive line had a lot of issues getting blown back repeatedly. The Giants don’t have to be as dominant as Houston was last week, but they certainly need to show marked improvement or rumors of their demise may start to get played up.
3) Special Teams
The Giants don’t need to be world beaters here; just merely competent. Will Matt Dodge actually show up, or will we be shopping for a punter next week?
All in all a really tough game considering who they are playing, but this game is winnable. If the defense can hold their own, the offense should be able to get going. Let’s just hope the defensive line can introduce themselves to Peyton early and often.
Football Fan Spot 