Approach to the Game – New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings, November 19, 2001: Football is pure Darwinism, that is, survival of the fittest. If you don’t compete and excel, then you don’t win. You don’t go the playoffs and you certainly are not given a chance to win the ultimate prize. No excuses. Don’t blame the schedule, injuries, fate, or the Monday night hex.
My point? The Eagles are playing damn good football. The thumped the Vikings and Cowboys back-to-back. Two weeks ago, the Giants were lucky to escape with a win against the Cowboys. Now, they get the Vikings. This is a team the Giant should beat. If they don’t, then the Eagles deserve to win the division – not the Giants. Its in their own hands. Now go out there and kick some ass!
Giants on Offense: The Vikings have a bad defense. There is no reason why the Giants should not be able to move the ball and put up at least 24 points on this team. I don’t care if the Giants are playing against a team that is looking for revenge. As long as the Giants come mentally ready to play, talent wins ball games.
I think the Giants should be able to use a well-balanced strategy in this game in terms of run versus pass. The Vikings’ secondary is in a bit of chaos, but it will be helped by return of Robert Griffith – the Vikes’ best defender and one of the very best safeties in the game. It should also be helped by the addition of Dale Carter at left corner. Carter has had his problems off the field and been out of football for a while, but he is a superb athlete. Carter will be matched up on Ike Hilliard. Amani Toomer faces rookie CB Eric Kelly when the Vikes are in their base set (Kelly moves over to the slot in the nickel). While Kelly will likely be given help with Toomer, there is no reason for Toomer not to have one of his best games of the year as long as Kerry Collins is on target. It’s time for Toomer to stand up and make some plays – he’s been paid a lot of money to do so. The Giants will probably use a lot of 3-WR sets in this game (like the NFC Championship) and could even use some 4-WR sets in order to get more weak defensive backs on the field. This could be Ron Dixon’s chance to make a play as a receiver finally this year. Tyrone Carter is the new starter at free safety this week.
The Giants could take another route and, opposite of the NFC Championship Game, come out with a running strategy. If so, the Giants would not throw the ball from multiple sets as much. When the Giants do pass, Tiki Barber, Greg Comella, and Dan Campbell could be used more as underneath targets. Campbell had a great week of practice and Barber is starting to round into shape. The latter fact is good news if the Giants do decide to run a lot.
In order to move the ball, the Giants need to control the line of scrimmage. The only one up front who really concerns me is DT Chris Hovan. He is a physical, competitive presence with good mobility for an inside player. He can be disruptive and LG Glenn Parker will have his hands full with him. LT Lomas Brown faces Talance Sawyer on run downs and Lance Johnstone on passing downs. Likewise, on the right side, Luke Petitgout battles Stalin Colinet on run downs and Patrick Chukwurah on pass downs. Winfield Garnett is the other tackle. As you can, these guys are not exactly household names. WLB Ed McDaniel is a decent player. The middle backer is Kailee Wong and the strongside backer is Lemanski Hall.
Offensively, the Giants need the offensive line to dominate and for QB Kerry Collins to make plays while keeping mistakes to a minimum. If these two things happen, the Giants should win easily.
Giants on Defense: The big thing is prevent the Vikings from making the big play deep to their talented wide receivers. Don’t let the Vikings get points quickly or easily and the Giants should be alright. That is sometimes easier said than done. They key match-ups will be WR Randy Moss versus CB Jason Sehorn and WR Chris Carter against CB Will Allen. Sehorn has been getting beat some deep this year and you can bet your ass that Daunte Culpepper will test him deep. At the same time, Carter is a master of running routes underneath. Allen, as a rookie, likes to play off more in order not to get beat deep. This may be a good idea since Carter has been running deeper routes this year, but at the same time, Allen may give up some cheap completions underneath. If this occurs too much, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the more aggressive Will Peterson play over Carter.
What everyone, including Sehorn, has to be wary of is that the Viking wide receivers like to push off a lot. This is illegal, but Minnesota tends to get away with it quite a bit in their home dome. Last week, David Boston’s push off against Sehorn came on Arizona’s lone TD play. Also, Jake Reed is back with Vikings – most Giants fans will remember his name from the infamous ‘97 playoff game.
Because of their talented wide receiving corps and their big, strong-armed quarterback, the quality of the pass rush will be most important. DE Kenny Holmes should finally have his break-out game. LT Brad Badger (toe) is not likely to play. His replacement, Everett Lindsay, is more of a swingman, guard-type. Holmes’ outside rush should give him fits. The Giants also need a big game from Keith Hamilton who will be playing over Calvin Collins – the third-string guard. Both Holmes and Hamilton have to destroy the left side of the line or the Giants may be in trouble. DE Michael Strahan will face RT Chris Liwienski and that’s another match-up New York must win. DT Cornelius Griffin faces off against RG David Dixon. The center, Matt Birk, is a Pro Bowler.
The Vikings will try to take some pressure off of their line and Culpepper by attempting to run the ball. First rounder Michael Bennett is back this week after missing three games due to an injury. He has breakaway speed, but he isn’t a very tough runner. Mike Barrow, Jessie Armstead, and Brandon Short need to pound him. They also need to keep an eye on TE Byron Chamberlain – who is a good pass receiver.
Giants on Special Teams: Kick and punt coverage on the Giants has improved in recent weeks, but there is still room for much improvement. Nate Jacquet is a dangerous punt and kick returner.
The big question for the Giants is how strong will the punting game be. Whether Rodney Williams (wrist) plays or not will be a game-time decision. If he does play, how well will he be able to catch the snap? Gabe Lindstrom may punt instead, but he has no NFL experience. Expect the Vikes to come after either one.