SU’s research staff has been running various models of the extended weather forecast for Green Bay for next Sunday. The good news is the temperature will be in the mid-teens with sunny weather and light winds. That should more or less eliminate that element from the equation as being a major factor this game.
SU liked that McAdoo played his regulars yesterday both on offense and defense for much of the game. True: in the NFL, you are rolling the dice but they needed to play a solid game to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs. Green Bay is the hot team now and everyone’s pick to run the table. On the other hand, the Giants have had post-season success there in their Super Bowl runs. Their secondary is as good as its been in recent memory. They still lack a pass rush without blitzing and that will be a key factor. Rogers is a magician back there buying time and you just can’t let him sit there scanning the field. That will be key #1 in determining the outcome for the game.
The second issue is whether the Giants can muster any type of consistent running attack. Perkins showed some signs yesterday and SU was encouraged. But the passing game continues to struggle. OBJ is the obvious target but Green Bay will take that away as much as possible. They really miss having a tight end who can consistently get open and catch the ball down the field. That is one piece missing this year and must be a priority for the draft or free agency in the off season. Eli will have to be on his game and not make the killer turnovers. He has shown that ability in the post-season in the past even coming off regular season games where he has been sloppy.
And key #3 is the Giants’ defense. They are really good this year and might be the best unit of any playoff team this year. You can probably play the field position game to some degree relying on them to hold their ground.
The Green Bay defense does not scare me. I think the Giants have a decent chance here and will surprise the experts coming away with a 23 – 21 win. Others care to weigh in?
SU had to share this box score line from last night’s Atlanta – San Antonio game for Tim Hardaway Jr.: 31 minutes off the bench, 11 – 13 from the field including 6-7 from 3-point range for a total of 29 points including a game tying 3-ball to send the game into OT. Makes me proud. Too bad he could not co-exist with Melo in NY and they had to move him. A fun guy to root for and is coming into his own this season.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
As much as I’d like to blindly predict a Giant victory it is to my regret that either Eli has been putting on an academy performance of being scared of being hit by throwing errant passes and simply becoming such a wimp OR he is going to all of a sudden look like the Eli making great throws downfield with their collection of solid wideouts. After watching him perform these past 6 weeks I have to say he has really become a wimp and playing scared most of the time. I really hope I’m wrong here. Yesterday against one of the poorest secondaries in the league Eli threw the ball down field only 3 times… once a gorgoeus pass and two as throw aways. That’s all. You would think with a pretty good runnng game these past 2-3 weeks with the emergence of Perkins that it would open up some space for completeing passes. This is very disturbing. Toss in the fact that Green Bay has a better pass rush than the Redskins. I won’t even go into the fact that they are playing against th e best or 2nd best QB in the game.
Green Bay 24 Giants 16
We played them ok in Green Bay, and gave a low total in the second half, in the first meeting. That was before the defense started to blossom, and before we had any run game. No JPP for this game, though. I’m cautiously optimistic.
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Andy, I know you are not an Eli fan so not surprised at your comment. Clearly, he needs to step up his game and throw the ball down the field. Cruz needs to be a factor – he is really an after thought at this point. I agree with Marc that the defense has really improved since they last played. The NFC is pretty weak this year – no dominant team. Why not the Giants?
BIG TEN + BOWL GAMES = BLACK EYE (THIS YEAR)…. THOUGH BOTH THE ROSE AND ORANGE BOWLS WERE ENTERTAINING. THANK GOD FOR NORTHWESTERN…. THE ONLY REAL DOMINATING GAME PERFORMED BY A BIG TEN TEAM.
It’s true: a rough year for the Big Ten in the major bowl games. Wisconsin was also a winner and Penn State came close in the Rose. But Ohio State was exposed (good) big time. It’s easy to say the Big Ten teams are plodding vs some of the Pac 12 or SEC teams but I think that varies from year to year. But glad to see that Northwestern represented well.
LAST CALL
What time is SU leaving for Green Bay?
So I’ve been listening to Francessa aka Mr. Arrogant talk about the history of Eli in the big game situation. All the stats Mike threw at all the dubious Callers worried about how poorly Eli has played overall over the past 6+ weeks with only some flashes of pinpoint accuracy but also some real bone head decisions as well was Eli’s 7-0 record in the playoffs when we are the underdog. OK… I get it…. BUT
it has been 6+ years since the end of these statistics counted. For many QB’s that’s half a life expectancy in the NFL. Things change such as your body’s recuperation time, strength of arm, speed, limberness… and then outside the body there is protection from the linemen, offensive weapons, COACHING and play calling. All these are influencing factors. Again, I repeat it’s been. 6+ years in which Francessa is standing by Eli’s playoff greatness. Today, in 2017 you need to toss a lot of his performance stats out the window now.
The biggest negative is the inconsistency of our offensive line. This has created a different mind set in Eli as the year progressed. He is honestly more reluctant to take the hit, sacrifice his body for the good of a solid throw down field… not a 5 yard slant… but a 20-25 yard toss down field. Sometimes I can’t balme him, but sometimes he needs to show some toughness. He has cowered too many times this year.
Eli, at his toughest, if i remember correctly was the brutal beating he took in the win against the 49ers back in the day. Man, he was as tough as you could get that day in the win with the amount of hits he took that day. That was certainly a REAL MAN’S performance. Does he have that in him anymore? Over the last X amount of games going back to his first meeting with Green Bay this season and again against the Vikings he was scared… and for the most part rightfully so. BUT… with the line looking more consistent now…. not great by certainly improved, coupled with the running game also improving it is now time for Eli to regain some of that toughness in some of the throws he makes. He can’t go back to throwing off his back foot. He needs to run the dam ball down field a few times as well. I just can’t get his performance against a weak Redskin defense and to be outplayed statistically against the Browns were both embarrassing.
IF WE ARE TO WIN I’M SURE THE DEFENSE WILL DO THEIR PART. ELI, TOO WILL NEED TO DO HIS P;ART AS WELL. SCORING LESS THAN 17 POINTS I’M AFRAID WE WILL BE ON THE SHORT END OF THE STICK. 21-24 POINTS IS NEEDED. UNLESS RODGERS GOES DOWN AND IS GIMPY SO HE CAN’T ROLL OUT OFF THE POCKET WE NEED AT LEAST 20 TO HAVE A SHOT.
I drank the koolaid and my heart says 23- 21 Giants… as we intercept Rodgers in his final (desperation) drive very late in the 4th quarter. Justin Bieber comes out of the stands to give Cruz, Sheppard and Beckum high 5’s. Bieber also becomes an assistant offensive coordinator during their remaining games.
PS As I have mentioned numerous times i am not a big fan of McAdoo nor his offensive coordinator. One thing you could always feel confident about is Coughlin’s preparation to detail. I think Spags will give that effort… but what about the offensive details and play calling. We need to show some new wrinkles.. at least 4-5 different ones. I’m hopeful Bieber will offer some.