The Rundown:
New York Giants @ New York Jets -- Saturday, Dec. 24th, 1:00 p.m. EST
Location: Metlife Stadium. East Rutherford, NJ.
Coverage: FOX. DirecTV 709. Sirius XM 86.
Record: The Giants lead the all-time series 7-4.
What happened last time? Giants won 35-24.
Injury report:
Jets Questionable: Marquice Cole (CB) Knee, Joe McKnight (RB) Shoulder.
Eagles Out: Jake Ballard (TE) Knee, Mark Herzlich (LB) Ankle, Osi Umenyiora (DE) Ankle. Doubtful: Mario Manningham (WR) Knee. Questionable: Danny Ware (RB) Knee.
Rankings
Offense: The Jets are 26th in overall offense, 7th in points, 21st in passing and 21st in rushing. The Giants are 8th in yards, 13th in points, 3rd in passing and 32nd in rushing.
Defense: The Jets are 21st in points allowed (9 place slide in one week), 7th in overall yards allowed, 7th against the pass, and 18th against the rush (we finally regressed). Giants are 28th in points allowed and 29th in passing yards allowed, 29th in total defense and 22nd against the run.
Words fail me.
Giants are awfully similar to what we faced last week, if you shift their defensive power from the secondary to the front 7 and have the QB more accurate and less mobile. Much like the Jets, the Giants have the potential to beat (or lose to) any team in the NFL. If you asked me to pick a 7-7 team that could beat anybody in the NFC, it would be the Giants.
Someone said it earlier this week; each of the Giants' receivers has the skill to back up this weeks trash talk. While I do agree not to give up on Shonn Greene, we will not win this or any other meaningful game against a tough opponent unless Mark Sanchez can throw on the 29th worst pass defense in the NFL (he failed twice against the worst), with or without a bad OC.The reason Mark Sanchez plays so well in high pressure situations such as 4th quarter, 2 minute drills, and no huddle offense (or a combination of the three) is because he's relying on his pure physical talent instead of Schotty pissing advice in his ear. Sanchez IS improving, and his intelligence and skill have been more apparent since Tom Moore started traveling with the team. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I choose to believe Sanchez is a serviceable QB who can get us a victory if he isn't neutered by his OC. That's a pretty big if.
It's not all doom and gloom. If any team consistently plays their worst football in the last quarter of the season, it is far and away the Giants. If any team consistently pulls out all stops and wins at the end of the year, it's the Jets. Last week the Giants were badly beaten at home by a very average Redskins team that the Jets handily beat not even two weeks prior. On the flip side the Jets were just crushed by a team that beat the Giants with a backup QB, so there is no lack of uncertainty on either side.
Other good news: Jake Ballard and Mario Manningham won't play, neither will Osi Umenyiora. The Giants overall defense is ranked as bad, actually worse, than our offense.
Every Giants player is one to watch. Not really concerned by the Giants secondary but they could get some picks off of the Giants incredible front 7 and pass rush. Pick your own X-factors and MVP's, I'm hosting family this weekend. Also feel free to use this as an open thread for predictions or pre-game discussion.