Under the Rockies...tonite

[Box and one]

Under the Rockies...tonite

Being a long time Jint fan its hard to capp this game because no one really knows what Giant team will show up.They have not all played together in the pre-season.Tiki will get his first hit tonite.Sehorn probaly won't play.Amani has seen so little action.Allen their 1st rd draft choice to replace Thomas got beat out by Thomas.No one knows until tonite if that is good news or bad news.Did Thomas get a lot better or did the giants blow another 1st rd pick.Will see when McCaffrey and R.Smith,both with 100 receptions lyr line up opposite him.Even if sehorn does play he is not the same player.Ever since he married his"Law and Order" sweetie he lost a step.[I know its the knee]
Thomas is really the "Weakest Link".Giants secondary tonite could be exposed.
Def. Line is probaly one of the best in the NFL.Holmes,Griffin,Strahan,and Hamilton are all solid. LB's are a litle above avg.
Special teams are bad.poor coverage teams.If Denver has a scat back returner they will always have good field position.Could run one back tonite.New punter Williams can punt with the best of them.But he has one problem.He takes an extra step or 2 and is slow.Fassell has been working with him the past 2 weeks.In pre-season he had almost 10 blocked.Of course we sign Morten Anderson to kick FG's.He'll be OK tonite but he likes the temp. at 68 with no wind.Can't wait for him in Dec. in the meadowlands.

Offense-Collins is one of those guys that is either great or bad.he had great numbers but there is something missing.Maybe its that Penn St upbringing.He looked avg. in pre-season.One game vs.Balt he made so many poor "reads" yet he still threw it.
Really hurting at RB.Tiki is the only real player.Dayne lost weight but he still can't hit the hole.Maybe tonite he will show something.he has been a "bust".
Off. line is solid.Only real problem is they have no depth.
WR's are pretty good.Amani is tough.Missing Ike will hurt.But Jurevicious isn't to bad.Dixon is my favorite player.he can fly,return KO's,etc..
TE-worst in the NFL.Cross just blocks.Big time weakness.

Coaching-Fassell's not bad.Players like him.After lyr's mid-season promise they went on fire.But he has the next NFL head coach in Sean Payton,Off.Coord.And Fox on defense .

Giants have a tough schedule due to their winning lyr.Not sure how they will respond tonite vs.potent off. and a good defense.

I like the under a lot.Look at the Gints scoring on the road the past few yrs.Only once did they ever go over 44 pts.
they beat Philly 33-18.
Then it was Atl-13-6,Clev 24-3,Zona31-7,Wash 9-7,Dallas 17-13,and at the SBowl 34-7.
In 1999,the same.Only one game did they go over 44.In fact in 1998 its almost the same.On the road they play pretty good D and don't score a lot.
So the play tonite is the under.I hope my boys can cover the +7.But its to risky since we never got to see them all play in the pre-season.
Bronco D might shut them dowm totally.Maybe not.With 3 great RB's Jints could have problems with broncos backs.Then if Jint D adjusts Smith and co w/Griese could go long.To many "if's".
take the under .GL

 

[ryno]

Box just one question, is this Giants team about the same as last year? both defense and offence.

i like the under also, both I am not really aware of major changes in the line ups.

A good Defense most of the time will stop a good offence. (rams vs Phi yesterday)

 

[Hoops]

Box- Did you see Vinny's "attempted tackle" yesterday? That provided one or twenty thousand good laughs watching that replay over and over last night.

Giants were the weakest Super Bowl team in recent memory IMO. As you mentioned, Collins is either in a zone or he self-destructs. I think tonight it will be more of the latter. Too many key guys haven't gotten reps in the preseason..Tiki, Toomer, Ike (who apparently isn't playing)...I don't see much from them on the offensive side of the ball tonight. Dayne? Bust is right. 250lb back that likes to do the soft-shoe rather than hit the hole with some gusto.

D-line is going to be excellent. Griffin is a year or two away from the Pro Bowl. Strahan or Holmes could have success against Teague at left tackle. Barrow and Armstead are very solid..might worry with Short on the other side..Shananhan might pick on him with play action and TE's. Secondary is a mess. Sehorn might not play, if he does, I don't seem him as very effective. Thomas is toast at the other corner. Will Allen...meet Smith and McCaffrey...good luck. Denver pretty much runs on anyone, with their line schemes and technique. Giants can't afford to bring any safeties to support the run either. Well, not unless they want Sehorn or Thomas playing chase the receiver running down the field. One significant minus though for Denver is that Griffith is out at FB..Hape will take his place.

Rhodes is going to have the Denver defense attacking. Wilson, Romo, Mobley..they are going to be all over the field. Secondary is a question mark though. But with Toomer banged-up, no Ike..your boy Dixon will need to be a factor. I like their pickup of Washington at DE..he should give them a good pass rusher on the edge. If Chester is motivated, reports are he is but who knows..changes from day to day for him, him and Pryce are going to be a handful at the DT spot.

O'Neal is the punt returner for Denver..no TD returns for him in that role last year, but is dangerous. Looks like Kasper, rook from Iowa, is going to handle kick returns. He's gotten favorable reviews from what I've read. We'll see how the Gints special teams coverage fares with them.

Probably a play on Denver for myself..can't touch the total after watching the Fins/Titans go for 54 last night. Jeez.

Good luck.

 

[buddy]

Box,

Ryno asked a good question. Was wonderin' the same thing myself...do they have any draft choices that might make a dif?

Initially, I liked the gints. Thought Denver might be a public play with the new stadium, home crowd, first game, Griese cool under pressure. Thought the public would remember how pitiful the gints looked in the Super Bowl and figured that memory would remain.

Then.....

this afternoon, I called a bookie (a friend, but not someone I bet with) and asked him who he liked tonight. He said, "Denver, in a blowout." I told him my thoughts and he said, "Here's the hidden stat. Last year, in order to get into the playoffs, the Giants needed to win down the stretch. They did win, but look at who they beat." I forget the order, but they beat Jax, Dallas, Washington, Pittsburgh, Arizona and lost to Detroit as a 7 point FAV. An injury wrought Jax team and a host of second tier teams.

I thought he made a good point.

 

[casper]

i'm not sold on ny's offense at all. barber and dayne will only muster about 50-60 yds on the ground combined. ny will abandon the run in the 3rd quarter or so and really get screwed. the only way ny has a chance IMHO is if collins has a fantastic game, which i just don't see. i'm leaning towards the under because i don't think ny is going to score more than 10 points, but i'm going to lay off and play denver. by the way testaverde is a complete dipshit what the hell was that tackle...that shows a complete lack of heart--he didn't even try. if you are in the nfl you at least know to try and at least jump on the guy, my friggin sister would have shown more balls. good luck tonight everyone and if denver covers i'll have a beer in honor of collins.

 

[Box and one]

Ryno,that is a good question.Probaly about the same as lyr.But their schedule is terrible.They have after Denver,GB home,KC away,NawLeans home,St Louis away,Minny away,Oakland home,and Seattle.Thats 7 teams that should have winning records.Lyr I think they had only 4 or 5 teams with winning records.I didn't include their league games with Philly,wash and Zona.
If Tiki goes down forget.They have very little depth.
They got very little help from the draft.Allen blew a coverage that caused a loss last week.He is over his head now.Tonite he could be with the "Coors man" in the stands serving a brew.
I like Peterson as a DB.He is a 3rd round choice.Has been hurt but I like him a lot.

Hoops,we are on the same page.Jints could be in big trouble.I just like Sean payton as the off. coord.He adjusts his attack but needs a healthy Tiki.To me he is the key.he makes defenses play him which opens it up for everyone else.Payton calls a great game.
A friend of mine covers the Giants for the newark star-Legger. All he talks about is payton.But Collins has to deliver.

This game could easily be a blowout.Big worry is the secondary.They need to improve on that and they didn't.
Vinny's tackling was the best.Even my wife laughed.
Buddy,you make some good pts.Casper,thats why I like the under.I don't think the Giants score much tonite.I can see Denver putting up 30 pts.
Will play the under.Not a big play though.Still to early to tell what Giant team shows up.I don't think Fassell will know either. GL