• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

 

The Giants are coming off a much needed win against the Ravens and if they’re to have a chance of making the playoffs they’ll need to notch another victory against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.  Below are three keys for the Giants to stay in the win column and keep pace with their division rivals.

 

Establish the running game:

The Giants running game has been very ineffective this season party due to injuries to Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen and partly due to ineffective blocking by the offensive line.  Last week the team rushed for a paltry 38 yards on 17 attempts and the week before that they were shut down by the Packers defense which held them to 43 rushing yards.  The team has had a very difficult time establishing the run early on and staying with it throughout the game.  For this reason their offense has become more predictable and perhaps that is a part of the reason that the Giants offense has lacked consistency through the first six games.  Defenses don’t respect their rushing attack as a true threat and can put more pressure on Eli Manning during the course of the game.  Currently they rank 30th in the league, averaging 76 rushing yards per game.  For the passing attack to be the formidable threat that it is, the Giants need to find some more balance and focus on getting their running backs the necessary touches throughout the contest.

 

A strong game from the offensive line:

The offensive line need to put forth a consistent effort in both their run and pass blocking to allow for the Giants offense to truly click for the first time this season.   Eli and the offense have been wildly inconsistent for the first six games of the year.  Though Manning threw for over 400 yards last week, 222 of those yards were to Odell Beckham on 3 plays which is why that statistic is misleading.  It can be said that the offensive struggles are partly Manning’s fault due to errant throws or due to receivers running poor routes but one cannot forget that the offensive line’s deficiencies play a significant role too.  The holes for the running backs have not been there on a regular basis to allow for the running game to be consistent.   Left tackle Ereck Flower’s play has frequently been less than stellar and right tackle Bobby Hart has not been much better.  As strange as it is to say, Giants fans are now longing for Marshall Newhouse to get healthy so that his replacement Hart can go back to being a reserve which is where he belongs.  For the Giants offense to finally have a strong and consistent game from start to finish they will need the offensive line to do something they haven’t done thus far which is play a game where they effectively block from start to finish.  They will be contending with one of the best defensive tackles in the league in Aaron Donald so they will have their work cut out for them.

 

Get Shepard and Cruz more involved:

The difference in last weeks game was the play of Odell Beckham Jr. who caught two touchdown passes and a third long reception which later led to a field goal.  He’s probable for the game as he deals with a hip pointer that may affect how much he plays.  For that reason its vital to get Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz involved early and often.  Last week Shepard and Cruz had 4 and 3 receptions respectively though they were targeted 15 times collectively. The Rams defense is 17th in the league in passing yards allowed, giving up an average of 246 yards per game which bodes well for the Giants.  The Rams strength is their defensive line and their weakness is their secondary.  Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson is out and they do not have anyone who is capable of covering Beckham, let alone Shepard.  If the Giants can get Shepard and Cruz frequently involved then Rams secondary will have trouble throughout the game.

 

Of Note: 

Aside from preparing for the Rams, the Giants organization have been forced to discuss Josh Brown and the issue of domestic violence yet again as more information pertaining to Brown’s conduct was released this past week.  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell placed Josh Brown on the league’s exempt list yesterday which means that he is essentially on paid leave as the league continues to investigate the matter.  The Giants signed kicker Robbie Gould, who flew to London with the team.  The Giants and the league mishandled the Josh Brown situation from the outset and now they both have egg on their face.  If the Giants truly had a zero tolerance policy for domestic violence then he would have already been cut but they are still saying they support him.  They still have a chance to do the right thing and that is to cut ties with him before their bye week which is next week.

 

Prediction: Giants win 24-20

 

Dan Evans is a Contributing Writer for PureSportsNY    You can follow him on Twitter @DanEvansPSNY

 

By Vernon McKenzie

Graduate of New Institute Of Technology with a BA in Communications with a focus on Television Radio. Owner and Executive Producer of PureSportsNY

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