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Packers vs Giants: Previews & Predictions
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<blockquote data-quote="TOPHAT" data-source="post: 202112" data-attributes="member: 781"><p><strong>SPORTING NEWS PREVIEW & PREDICTION</strong></p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=339075" target="_blank">http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=339075</a></p><p></p><p><strong>Giants-Packers: Five things to watch </strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Five things that intrigue me most about Sunday's NFC championship game in Green Bay besides the weather forecast, which is calling for a high-five at Lambeau Field. </strong></p><p></p><p><strong>1. Let's make a deal</strong>. Heading into this season, the Giants were stacked numbers-wise at running back. The position included holdovers Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward; Reuben Droughns, acquired in an offseason trade from Cleveland; Ahmad Bradshaw, the 250th selection in last April's draft; and Ryan Grant, an obscure back from Notre Dame who had been with the Giants for two years but had yet to play in a game. The odd man out was Grant. In fact, the Giants were considering cutting Grant before the Packers offered to trade a sixth-round draft pick for him. And the rest, as they say, is history. After being limited to duties as a special teams player and backup running back for the first six games, Grant had a prime-time breakout performance on Monday Night Football in an overtime victory at Denver, where he rushed for 104 yards. That earned him a new role: feature running back. Grant finished the regular season with a total of 956 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, lifting Green Bay's rushing offense from the bottom of the league to respectability. For an encore, he rushed for a franchise-record 201 yards and three TDs last Saturday in the Packers' divisional-round victory over Seattle. </p><p></p><p><strong>2. Mano a mano</strong>. You have to like the Giants' wide receivers. At 6-5, Plaxico Burress is a mismatch for a lot of corners. Veteran Amani Toomer scored twice against Dallas last week. And now rookie Steve Smith is playing a key role. But Green Bay's Al Harris and Charles Woodson will challenge them. Harris and Woodson, both 6-1, are physical, aggressive, in-your-face corners who like to play press coverage and knock receivers off their routes as they come off the line. They also are excellent cover men who can run with the Giants' wideouts. One NFL scout I spoke with this week emphasized that New York needs to have success running the ball on early downs and quarterback Eli Manning has to be effective with play-action passes. If the Giants are constantly facing third-and-long situations, their wideouts will struggle against Harris and Woodson. </p><p></p><p><strong>3. The ends of the line.</strong> Few teams feature better bookend pass rushers than Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora of the Giants, who had nine and 13 sacks, respectively, during the regular season. Throw in Justin Tuck, who rotates with Strahan and Umenyiora at end but also is a force when he plays inside, and Green Bay could have its hands full. The Giants' D-line overwhelmed the Cowboys' offensive linemen in last week's playoff victory. When the Packers and Giants met in Week 2 at the Meadowlands, in a game the Packers won 35-13, Green Bay tackles Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton held Strahan and Umenyiora without a pressure. They'll need to have similar performances on Sunday. The Giants' secondary lacks speed and is banged up -- rookie cornerback Aaron Ross suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Dallas game, cornerback Sam Madison is battling an abdominal injury and nickel back Kevin Dockery isn't expected to play -- so it will be paramount for the linemen to pressure quarterback Brett Favre. </p><p></p><p><strong>4. End of the road?</strong> The Giants' success as road warriors has been well-documented. They have won nine in a row away from home, including two playoff games, since suffering a season-opening loss at Dallas. The Giants can't explain this phenomenon. In fact, they don't even try to. "Why do we play so well on the road? Nobody knows. We just do," Toomer says. "We're in a rhythm and on a wave, and we're just going to ride it instead of wondering and analyzing and all that stuff." But history is casting a skeptical look at the Giants, who were the NFC's fifth seed coming into the postseason. Since the NFL adopted its current 12-team playoff format in 1990, only five wild-card teams have won a conference championship game. Of the five, three went on to win the Super Bowl. </p><p></p><p><strong>5. Brett Favre or Eli Manning? </strong> <strong>This one is real simple</strong>. I'm not trying to throw dirt on Manning, who has had a run of three good performances and looks like he finally is developing into a quarterback with the skills that suit the family pedigree. But really, who would you rather have leading your team in a championship game? I know I've built up a strong case for the Packers, but I think the game will be close. In fact, it could easily come down to a game-turning play in the fourth quarter. And if it does, I expect Favre or Grant to make that play. </p><p></p><p><strong>Prediction: Packers 28, Giants 20. </strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TOPHAT, post: 202112, member: 781"] [b]SPORTING NEWS PREVIEW & PREDICTION[/b] [url]http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=339075[/url] [b]Giants-Packers: Five things to watch [/b] [b]Five things that intrigue me most about Sunday's NFC championship game in Green Bay besides the weather forecast, which is calling for a high-five at Lambeau Field. [/b] [b]1. Let's make a deal[/b]. Heading into this season, the Giants were stacked numbers-wise at running back. The position included holdovers Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward; Reuben Droughns, acquired in an offseason trade from Cleveland; Ahmad Bradshaw, the 250th selection in last April's draft; and Ryan Grant, an obscure back from Notre Dame who had been with the Giants for two years but had yet to play in a game. The odd man out was Grant. In fact, the Giants were considering cutting Grant before the Packers offered to trade a sixth-round draft pick for him. And the rest, as they say, is history. After being limited to duties as a special teams player and backup running back for the first six games, Grant had a prime-time breakout performance on Monday Night Football in an overtime victory at Denver, where he rushed for 104 yards. That earned him a new role: feature running back. Grant finished the regular season with a total of 956 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, lifting Green Bay's rushing offense from the bottom of the league to respectability. For an encore, he rushed for a franchise-record 201 yards and three TDs last Saturday in the Packers' divisional-round victory over Seattle. [b]2. Mano a mano[/b]. You have to like the Giants' wide receivers. At 6-5, Plaxico Burress is a mismatch for a lot of corners. Veteran Amani Toomer scored twice against Dallas last week. And now rookie Steve Smith is playing a key role. But Green Bay's Al Harris and Charles Woodson will challenge them. Harris and Woodson, both 6-1, are physical, aggressive, in-your-face corners who like to play press coverage and knock receivers off their routes as they come off the line. They also are excellent cover men who can run with the Giants' wideouts. One NFL scout I spoke with this week emphasized that New York needs to have success running the ball on early downs and quarterback Eli Manning has to be effective with play-action passes. If the Giants are constantly facing third-and-long situations, their wideouts will struggle against Harris and Woodson. [b]3. The ends of the line.[/b] Few teams feature better bookend pass rushers than Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora of the Giants, who had nine and 13 sacks, respectively, during the regular season. Throw in Justin Tuck, who rotates with Strahan and Umenyiora at end but also is a force when he plays inside, and Green Bay could have its hands full. The Giants' D-line overwhelmed the Cowboys' offensive linemen in last week's playoff victory. When the Packers and Giants met in Week 2 at the Meadowlands, in a game the Packers won 35-13, Green Bay tackles Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton held Strahan and Umenyiora without a pressure. They'll need to have similar performances on Sunday. The Giants' secondary lacks speed and is banged up -- rookie cornerback Aaron Ross suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Dallas game, cornerback Sam Madison is battling an abdominal injury and nickel back Kevin Dockery isn't expected to play -- so it will be paramount for the linemen to pressure quarterback Brett Favre. [b]4. End of the road?[/b] The Giants' success as road warriors has been well-documented. They have won nine in a row away from home, including two playoff games, since suffering a season-opening loss at Dallas. The Giants can't explain this phenomenon. In fact, they don't even try to. "Why do we play so well on the road? Nobody knows. We just do," Toomer says. "We're in a rhythm and on a wave, and we're just going to ride it instead of wondering and analyzing and all that stuff." But history is casting a skeptical look at the Giants, who were the NFC's fifth seed coming into the postseason. Since the NFL adopted its current 12-team playoff format in 1990, only five wild-card teams have won a conference championship game. Of the five, three went on to win the Super Bowl. [b]5. Brett Favre or Eli Manning? [/b] [b]This one is real simple[/b]. I'm not trying to throw dirt on Manning, who has had a run of three good performances and looks like he finally is developing into a quarterback with the skills that suit the family pedigree. But really, who would you rather have leading your team in a championship game? I know I've built up a strong case for the Packers, but I think the game will be close. In fact, it could easily come down to a game-turning play in the fourth quarter. And if it does, I expect Favre or Grant to make that play. [b]Prediction: Packers 28, Giants 20. [/b] [/QUOTE]
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