Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Saturday's game will be watching matchups between the Giants receivers and the Jets cornerbacks. Very few teams have a three receiver set as good as the Giants with Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Victor Cruz. Very few teams have three corners as good as Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, and Kyle Wilson. How will they line up?
My guess is Revis will draw Nicks. Nicks is Eli Manning's favorite target. He is the most thrown to Giants receiver on the year. Those numbers might be a bit skewed with all of the injuries the Giants have suffered, but he has six more targets over the last two weeks since everybody has been healthy. As much as anything else, Revis disrupts an offense by taking away the quarterback's security blanket, thus making him uncomfortable.
Big Blue says it will not be fazed and will challenge Revis. That could be a mistake. Revis makes quarterbacks pay who come after him, and Eli Manning for all of his good can be prone to mistakes. Nicks is also the most physical receiver the Giants have so it makes sense for the Jets to use their most physical corner.
Manningham is a speedy receiver so he will probably draw Cromartie, whose game is based on his pure athletic ability.
Cruz will probably get Kyle Wilson. Cruz is the slot guy so keeping Wilson in the nickel, where he has played all season and has become comfortable makes sense. Since Revis took a lot of snaps against Wes Welker, Cruz will probably be Kyle's most difficult assignment all year in the slot. He is a superb route runner. Wilson has been the unsung hero of the defense. It should be a fun matchup.
I think the Jets will keep their eye on the Cruz-Wilson matchup, though. If Cruz starts getting hot, they can move Revis inside the way they flipped Revis onto Dez Bryant against Dallas.
What do you think?