Approach to the Game – Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants, October 26, 1997: In quite a role reversal, the Giants find themselves as favorites to win this Sunday against the 1-6 Bengals after being viewed as underdogs for most of the season. Going 5-3 and leading your own division will earn you that type of respect. The big question for these Giants, the league’s youngest and most under-appreciated team, is how will they handle this new role? New York has been successful thus far this season because they have talent, but also because of the players’ hard work and focus. The Giants still have too many holes and question marks on offense to afford any letdowns on defense or special teams. The Bengals have been the NFL’s biggest disappointment this year, but they still have some very talented players and if the Giants are not careful, this game might not end well. Most “experts” thought the Bengals would be 5-3, not the Giants.
Giants on Offense: Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau, loves the 3-4 zone-blitz — it’s the same scheme that the Steelers and Panthers run. In this system, pass rush pressure can come from anywhere, including the linebackers and defensive backs. At the same time, it isn’t unusual to see a defensive lineman sometimes drop into coverage. The main focus is to confuse quarterbacks and offensive linemen.
The best way to defeat the zone-blitz is to effectively run the football. The onus will be on the offensive line to not get rattled by all of the perceived threats and to move the Cincinnati defenders off the line of scrimmage. Because Bengal defenders will most likely be attacking from the get-go and attempting to make penetration, it will probably be smarter for New York to keep things fairly basic and pound the ball inside. The Giants’ offensive line has not proven to be particularly adept at the sweep this year, mainly because mobility is not a strong-suit of guards Ron Stone and Greg Bishop. Scott Gragg isn’t very light on his feet either. Smash-mouth, mano-a-mano run blocking should be the order of the day. Because some teams have had success running against LaBeau’s defense this season, he has played more 4-3 sets on first and second down in order to try to stop the run.
The Bengals are somewhat beat up up front. DT Brentson Buckner is out as is back-up DE Ramondo Stallings. The man who plays in front of Stallings, DE John Copeland, is questionable. DE Dan Wilkinson has had a disappointing year thus far, but he is still dangerous when motivated. The right side of the Giants’ line needs keep him disinterested. The Bengals only have seven sacks this year, but they do have some fairly active linebackers in Ricardo McDonald, Steve Tovar, Gerald Dixon, and James Francis. Since any of these guys can be called on to rush the passer in the Bengal defense, Oben, Bishop, Scott, Stone, and Gragg must be aware at all times and maintain their composure. The Lions rattled the Giants with blitzes last week and you had better believe the Bengals have noticed that on game films. In particular, the Giants need to do a better job of adjusting to the inside blitz.
A big question is who will be running the ball for the Giants on Sunday? HB Tyrone Wheatley (shoulder), FB Charles Way (shoulder), and HB Tiki Barber (knee) are all ailing. The advantage New York may have is that they can give the Bengals a variety of different looks. They can run Wheatley behind Way in a two-back set, or they can run Way behind a two-tight end formation, like they did against Detroit. Barber has the type of elusiveness and explosiveness to burn an aggressive defense, but he is still questionable for the game. Much will depend on the health of Wheatley. Erric Pegram may even be called upon more, aside from his 3rd-down work.
Like the Lions, the Bengals will probably play eight men in the box and try to shut down New York’s running game. Fassel may be forced to allow the young and inexperienced Kanell to pass early on first and second down in order to loosen the Bengals up. Aside from his performance in overtime, Kanell was not very sharp last week. Too many of his throws were high — a no-no to coach Fassel who would rather see his quarterback err on the low side in order to prevent interceptions. Surprisingly, Kanell has been far more accurate on his deep stuff this year than shorter patterns. The Bengals have a very average secondary and Danny may be able to do some damage if he can get into a rhythm.
There has been some hints that Amani Toomer might start seeing more action at wide receiver. We believe this is a good thing as Toomer has the size, jumping ability, and speed to present some problems for defensive backs. Where he has had problems is adjusting his routes based on the defensive coverage. In Fassel’s system, the wide receivers must adjust their routes depending on the pre- and post-snap reads of the defense. Chris Calloway had a big week last week, but in previous seasons, he has had a nasty habit of disappearing after big performances. Let’s hope that this is not the case this year. Kevin Alexander has been very quiet since the game against the Saints. He’s a hard worker and has the type of personality you look for, but he needs to make more plays, as does David Patten. Aaron Pierce started to get more looks last week, but didn’t produce. It will be interesting to see if he gets a chance to redeem himself.
Giants on Defense: Another tough test for the defense this week. Cincinnati’s offense may be struggling, but they are loaded at the skill positions. Their biggest problem this year has been up front with the offensive line. To make matters worse for the Bengals, their starting right guard, Ken Blackman is ailing. The Giants’ defensive line should be able do some damage against this group if they maintain their high level of play and sense of urgency. Last year, the defensive line had a tendency to slacken a bit in certain games. Thus far, guys like Strahan, Hamilton, and Harris haven’t done so. Will they continue keep their motors running this week? If they do, they should be able, along with the linebackers, to shut down the run. They also may add to their impressive sack totals.
Corey Widmer has done a steady, albeit an unspectacular, job this in the middle. There have been some “flashy” short-yardage plays from him (i.e., his 4th-and-1 stuff against the Rams), but we’d like to see more sticks at or behind the line of scrimmage from him. HB Ki-Jana Carter can be a problem if he gets on a roll. Widmer and his teammates need to make sure this doesn’t happen. Widmer and OLB Corey Miller must also keep an eye on TE Tony McGee — QB Jeff Blake’s security blanket. The safeties will most likely be more occupied by Cincinnati’s dangerous receivers and the last thing New York needs is for McGee to become a factor. Jessie Armstead has been very solid in coverage as has nickel backer Scott Galyon. They need to keep an eye on Ki-Jana Carter coming out of the backfield.
Another quality receiving corps for the Giants’ secondary to face and another chance to shine for CB’s Phillippi Sparks and Jason Sehorn. Blake may be the best deep-throwing quarterback in the game, and WR’s Carl Pickens and Darney Scott can take the ball to the endzone in a hurry. Both are taller receivers and this is a game where Sehorn’s height should be a good asset. The Giants’ safeties also need to keep a wary eye on the deep ball. The Lions made some plays on Conrad Hamilton last week when they lined Herman Moore up against him in the slot. The Bengals may try to do this too and Conrad needs to rise up to the challenge.
Giants on Special Teams: Right now, the Giants’ kick return game is a mess. They’ve tried David Patten, Kevin Alexander, and Erric Pegram with little success. Amani Toomer made a play by running up the field on a punt return — let’s hope he learned his lesson. Punt coverage remains solid, but kick coverage is still shaky. David Patten’s diving tackle saved a kick return for a touchdown last week. These guys can’t count on PK Brad Daluiso to nail every kick into the endzone. Brad Maynard’s punting has been erratic — sometimes outstanding, sometimes “Horan-like.” He also hasn’t been hitting his coffin corner kicks very well for a few games now. He’s a better punter than that. Daluiso is still trying to get back into our good corner…hitting some more long field goals would do that, especially in pressure situations. Should we even bother to ask for a block?