Approach to the Game – Denver Broncos at New York Giants, December 13, 1998: I love the “David versus Goliath” role. This is the type of game that is easy to get up for. Sunday’s game could be a lot of fun, but the Giants need to play well on all cylinders — offense, defense, and special teams. The coaching staff has to pull out all the stops; the players need to play with intensity and emotion for four quarters, regardless of the score.
Giants on Offense: The game plan is simple: keep the ball out of the hands of Denver’s offense for as long as possible. Smash-mouth running game, don’t turn the ball over, control the clock, win the field position battle. Denver is going to load up against the run, but the Giants absolutely must run the ball regardless of what the Broncos do. Mano-a-Mano. Win individual match-ups up front and run HB Gary Brown behind FB Charles Way repeatedly — just like last week.
But the Denver defense isn’t the Cardinal defense. The Broncos will be ready. Just like the game against the 49ers, the Giants may want to throw Denver off by taking some shots on first down early in the game. But I’d quickly move back to running the ball.
The offensive line is the key. This up one week, down the next crap has to stop. The Giants need the line to play even better than it did against the Cardinals. Big match-ups will be LT Roman Oben versus DE Alfred Williams and RT Scott Gragg against DE Neil Smith. Williams and Smith are on the smaller side, but they are very active pass rushers. Wear them down by running right at them. Punish them. Take a little of that quickness away so when the time does come to throw the ball, they won’t be as active. Obviously, with Brown and Way carrying the ball, much of the focus of the ground game must be between the tackles. Thus, RT Ron Stone, OC Lance Scott, and LG Greg Bishop need to control DT’s Keith Traylor, Maa Tanuvasa, and Trevor Pryce. Be physical. The Denver linemen like rushing the passer a whole lot more than stopping the run.
An interesting subplot to this game is the brewing quarterback controversy. Starter Kent Graham has been told that Danny Kanell will be inserted into the line-up if he falters. Graham’s biggest problem has been hitting his backs on the short passes. That is unfortunate because HB Tiki Barber is breaking out of his slump and is starting to make an impact again. I’d get Tiki isolated on the Denver linebackers and try to make a big play down the field. That could be tough because WLB John Mobley is a very quick and fast player in his own right. SLB Bill Romanowski (one of the biggest jerks in the game) should have no problems handling Howard Cross. Does TE Andy Haase see more action his way in the two-tight end set again? The Giants have used a lot of the two-tight end set with some relatively good success in recent weeks. The good news for the Giants is that they finally executed a screen pass last week and the Bronco pass rushers will have to keep this in the back of their minds.
Denver’s secondary is the weakest part of their team. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants come out throwing, but this is a risky strategy given the problems the Giants’ offensive line has had with pass protection, the quickness of the Denver defensive line, and the poor overall accuracy of both Giant quarterbacks. Regardless, the Bronco safeties are hard-hitting, tough run-stoppers who are somewhat vulnerable against the pass. This could prove to be decisive if the Giants can get the ball to Joe Jurevicius or Amani Toomer as the third receivers. I might even use David Patten deep a few times. CB Ray Crockett and Darrien Gordon are ordinary, but Gordon is capable of making big plays. The Giants need great games from Ike Hilliard and Chris Calloway. Ike, in particular, must make some noise. Throwing is risky, especially given the Giants’ personnel. If you are unsuccessful, it stops the clock, puts you in bad long yardage situations, and increases your chances of turning the ball over. But the Giants might have to take those chances. Still, let’s get that running game going.
Giants on Defense: Denver is very tough to stop. They have a veteran quarterback who knows how to make clutch plays in tight situations, the best running back in the game, an excellent offensive line, a strong blocking fullback, and a deep threat tight end. Their receivers are average, but when all the other parts are working as they are, it really doesn’t matter.
Denver is so tough because in order to stop their running game, you have to play your physical, run-stuffers and cheat up at the line of scrimmage. But as soon as you do that, TE Shannon Sharpe is running by you for a big play. Ideally, you want to keep a defensive back on Sharpe, but as soon as you do that, you are more exposed to Denver’s superb running game. So what do you do? Good question.
I think the Giants have to play Denver straight-up with their base personnel and hope that their intensity level is higher than the Broncos. The Broncos are expending a lot of energy each and every week now in order to keep their unbeaten streak alive. They might be due for a letdown, especially with the Monday night game in Miami coming up. The Giants simply cannot afford to let All-World HB Terrell Davis take charge of the game. It is a daunting task. The man in the spotlight will be MLB Corey Widmer. He has to play off his blocks quickly, watch for the cutback, and fill the hole. FB Howard Griffith will be coming at him. Widmer has been exposed somewhat on cutback runs and he can’t be overaggressive. He also needs help from fellow linebackers Jessie Armstead and Marcus Buckley. The Giants’ linebacking corps hasn’t had a good season. Much of the success of the defense will depend on them.
Does Defensive Coordinator John Fox risk putting Buckley on Sharpe instead of a defensive back when the Broncos are not in an obvious passing situation? I think he has to. The strength of Buckley’s game is pass coverage and it will be severely tested by Sharpe. The closest player to Sharpe the Giants have seen this year is Green Bay’s Tyrone Davis and Davis had a monster day against the Giants. If it isn’t Buckley, then one of the safeties such as SS Sam Garnes or SS/FS Percy Ellsworth may be the designated whipping boy. Garnes could be a huge factor in this game, both in coverage and playing the run.
What the Giants need to have is good tackling from all defenders, especially in the secondary (and from the safeties in particular). It is obvious who I am singling out here, Mr. Wooten and Mr. Ellsworth. Because of the stress that Davis and Sharpe place on a defense, the Giants have to pray the corners can handle WR’s Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith. CB Conrad Hamilton has been exposed somewhat in the last two games. Elway will test him.
The trenches. Got to take charge here. The good news is that the strength of DT Christian Peter’s game is stopping the run. That will help. Keith Hamilton needs to play as well as he did last week and not take plays off. These two will be very important in determining the outcome of the contest. Denver is smaller inside and Peter and Hamilton have to use their power and strength against their opponents. Outside, DE Chad Bratzke faces a tough test against LT Tony Jones. DE Michael Strahan will battle veteran RT Harry Swayne. That latter is a battle that New York MUST win.
The Giants have a young and aggressive defense. They will be fired up. Denver and their head coach know this. Look for Denver to try to take away that aggressiveness with some misdirection and trick plays. Watch out for screens, reverses, and draw plays.
Giants on Special Teams: Denver is very strong on special teams. New York is not. Bronco punt returner Darrien Gordon is one of the best in the game. Coverage will be key. The Giants need to win the field position battle desperately. Brad Maynard could be a huge factor in the game. The Giants need one or two big plays to win — a big return from David Patten or Amani Toomer or a blocked kick.