Approach to the Game – Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants, October 11, 1998: The Giants keep backing themselves into a corner. After starting 1-2, the Giants faced a “must” game in week four against the Chargers. They won impressively, evening their record to 2-2. But after a disappointing effort against Tampa Bay, the Giants are 2-3 and face another “do or die” game — this week against Atlanta. To make matters worse, there is more of a circus-like atmosphere surrounding the game as former Giants’ head coach Dan Reeves returns to the Meadowlands. He and much of his coaching staff will have a distinct advantage in this game due to their familiarity with the Giants’ personnel. Reeves knows their respective strengths and weaknesses.
All that aside, if the Giants are to turn things around and start a winning streak, they need to get things right on offense. What is becoming clear is that the Giants still lack talent and maturity on this side of the ball. There are some good players: Ike Hilliard, Chris Calloway, Amani Toomer, Joe Jurevicius, and Charles Way. There are also good players who are having down years so far like Roman Oben and Ron Stone. Then there are those players who there are question marks about — players who might still develop into fine players or who need to be replaced. Guys like Danny Kanell and Scott Gragg. What is frustrating with the Giants on offense right now is that when one element of the unit plays at an acceptable level, the other does not. The Giants have yet to play one game this year when all phases of their offense (quarterback, running backs, receivers, and offensive line) were clicking.
Giants on Defense: We’ll start off with the defense this week since they are the only ones getting the job done in 1998. We all know how Dan Reeves likes to play the game offensively — run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. Spice things up with the passing game and an occasional trick play. Thus the focus of the Giants’ defense should be to shut down Atlanta’s running game and HB Jamal Anderson in particular. The Falcon offensive line is not a strong unit. They are also starting a rookie at right tackle (Ephraim Salaam). It is vitally important that the Giants’ front four play a strong game. DE Michael Strahan will face Salaam and must dominate this match-up. Reeves may use someone like H-Back Brian Kozlowski to help out against Strahan. DT Keith Hamilton should do well against second-year man LG Calvin Collins. Chad Bratzke faces the up-and-down Bob Whitfield — a very talented, but lazy player. We wouldn’t be surprised to see OC Robbie Tobeck have to help out with Hamilton. If this is the case, then whoever is playing at LDT (Harris, Peter, or Holsey) needs to perform well against RG Gene Williams. If Anderson sparks the Falcon running game, then the Giants will be in trouble.
Against the pass, Chris Chandler is a decent, veteran quarterback who wins games. He’s not having a great year and has proven to be injury-prone, but he generally finds a way to get things done. He has two potentially dangerous receivers in Tony Martin and Terance Mathis. Of course how well CB’s Phillippi Sparks and Conrad Hamilton play against these two will also be decisive. TE O.J. Santiago is an athletic pass catcher. The key to playing him is to be physical with him. The Giants need to keep an eye on him. They also need to be wary of WR/HB Tim Dwight — the center of many of Dan Reeves’ potential trick plays.
Atlanta’s offensive line is not a strong pass blocking unit. They do give up a lot of sacks. Shut down the run, put Chandler in obvious passing situations. That’s the key.
Giants on Offense: The Giants need QB Danny Kanell to rebound in a big way on Sunday night. If he plays as poorly as he did last Sunday, the Giants have absolutely no chance to win. Danny’s never going to beat teams with his mobility or a strong arm. He’s got to do it with his leadership, poise, pocket presence, instincts, and, most importantly, his accuracy. However, right now, Danny is not a very accurate passer. He has to keep his head about him and remember to use proper technique. The Falcons have a very ordinary secondary. CB Ray Buchanan is the best of the bunch and most likely will face WR Chris Calloway. WR Ike Hilliard needs to dominate CB Ronnie Bradford. If Kanell and Hilliard play good games, this could be a breakout game for Hilliard. SS William White is a good run support player, but he can be exposed in coverage. Forcing him to cover someone like Tiki Barber might be a good idea. FS Eugene Robinson is a savvy veteran. The Giants also may be well-advised to get the ball to Amani Toomer or Joe Jurevicius in 3-WR sets. But none of this matters, including the play-calling, unless Kanell executes the plays better.
The offensive line also has to block. Atlanta’s defensive line is smaller than ideal, but they have decent quickness and a history of being a good pass rush team. Their sack numbers are down so far this year, but they still have some players who can cause problems. Their best player is RDE Chuck Smith and his match-up against LT Roman Oben is the one to watch. If I were Fassel, I’d power the ball right at this smaller line. Yes, the Falcons are going to gear up against the run. But they might not have much success if New York executes it’s power running game successfully. Oben (310lbs) versus Smith (265lbs), LG Greg Bishop (315lbs) versus DT Shane Dronett (295lbs), RG Ron Stone (325lbs) versus DT Travis Hall (300lbs), and RT Scott Gragg (325lbs) versus DE Lester Archambeau (275lbs). Get FB Charles Way (250lbs) or Lance Scott (300lbs) out on MLB Jesse Tuggle (230lbs) and run HB Gary Brown right behind them. If the Giants want to run Way, then I’d get FB Greg Comella to lead-block for him. It’s time for Gragg to start earning his fat paycheck. It’s also time for Stone to play like the player he was last year. The Falcons also have a relatively inexperienced linebacker, Craig Sauer, subbing for the injured Henri Crockett. I’d test him both by running and throwing at him. Charles Way may be used more as a receiver this week because of this. The Giants desperately need to start getting the tight end more involved in the offense. Al Pupunu has good hands and a feel for the passing game. Why he isn’t being used in this capacity is a mystery to me.
Giants on Special Teams: Here we go again…the Giants have to do a better job of covering kick-offs and punts. Tim Dwight is a scary return man. He regularly returned punts for touchdowns in college and he returned a kick-off for a touchdown last week. We recommend kicking away from him. The good news is the Giants get one of their better special teams players, Scott Galyon, back this week. One curious thing we have noted thus far this year is that all the punters the Giants have faced have kicked the heck out of the ball and not given Amani Toomer much of a chance to return punts (of course the sorry-ass blocking on the gunners hasn’t helped either). That may change this week as P Dan Stryzinski is not having a very good year.