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NFL
Monday, November 28
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Tale of the tape: New York Giants at New Orleans Saints
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New York Giants at New Orleans Saints (-7.5, 51)
Offense
The New York Giants wanted to be a running team, but that isn’t working out so well. With Ahmad Bradshaw expected to miss another game with a broken bone in his foot, New York heads into this one averaging only 83.2 yards per game on the ground – third from the league’s basement. Brandon Jacobs picked up just 21 yards on 12 carries last week and is averaging only three yards per carry with just three touchdowns this season. On the plus side, Eli Manning leads the league with a 120.5 quarterback rating in the fourth quarter and sits sixth in the league with 18 touchdown passes.
New Orleans leads the NFL in total offense (436.9 yards) and passing yards (319.4) and sits second in points per game (31.3). The Saints haven’t been held to fewer than 20 points in a game this year and Drew Brees is having another phenomenal season by averaging 7.9 yards per passing attempt. New Orleans is also getting some production from the running game with Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram all chugging for at least 340 yards. As a team, the Saints sit eighth in yards per rush at 4.6.
Edge: Saints
Defense
Neither of these defenses are anything to write home about – New Orleans ranks 20th in total defense while New York sits 21st and both clubs are giving up 22.8 points per contest.
The Giants’ defense is relatively balanced, sitting 18th against the pass and 21st against the run – much like New Orleans’ defense which sits 20th against the pass and 19th against the run.
The main difference between the two clubs is in the turnover department. The Giants are tied for fifth in the NFC with 22 takeaways while New Orleans has just nine. The Giants also have 31 sacks in comparison to 21 for the Saints.
Edge: Giants
Special teams
New Orleans has the edge in the return game with Darren Sproles, who averages 26.5 yards per kickoff return and 9.6 yards per punt return. New York’s Devin Thomas is starting to make some noise in the return game as well, at 23.7 yards per kick return, while Aaron Ross averages 7.7 yards per punt return.
New Orleans’ John Kasay probably has a bit of an edge over Lawrence Tynes in the kicking game with a couple of 50-yarders under his belt this season. Thomas Morstead averages 48.2 yards per punt for the Saints compared to a 46.7-yard average for New York’s Steve Weatherford.
Edge: Saints
Word on the street
“I know it’s not easy playing there. It’s a loud stadium and we have to try to do our best to concentrate well. We have to try not to let the crowd get into the game. We have to start fast and then not allow them to get big plays.” – Eli Manning about playing in New Orleans.
"It's still and always will be one game at a time. But as you get to this point in the season, you start looking at where you stand in the playoff picture. I know we aspire to be there, as do the two teams we're playing coming up, especially the Giants, who have been there a lot. These games mean that much more because of that." – Drew Brees on the playoff picture.
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Monday, November 28
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Tale of the tape: New York Giants at New Orleans Saints
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New York Giants at New Orleans Saints (-7.5, 51)
Offense
The New York Giants wanted to be a running team, but that isn’t working out so well. With Ahmad Bradshaw expected to miss another game with a broken bone in his foot, New York heads into this one averaging only 83.2 yards per game on the ground – third from the league’s basement. Brandon Jacobs picked up just 21 yards on 12 carries last week and is averaging only three yards per carry with just three touchdowns this season. On the plus side, Eli Manning leads the league with a 120.5 quarterback rating in the fourth quarter and sits sixth in the league with 18 touchdown passes.
New Orleans leads the NFL in total offense (436.9 yards) and passing yards (319.4) and sits second in points per game (31.3). The Saints haven’t been held to fewer than 20 points in a game this year and Drew Brees is having another phenomenal season by averaging 7.9 yards per passing attempt. New Orleans is also getting some production from the running game with Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram all chugging for at least 340 yards. As a team, the Saints sit eighth in yards per rush at 4.6.
Edge: Saints
Defense
Neither of these defenses are anything to write home about – New Orleans ranks 20th in total defense while New York sits 21st and both clubs are giving up 22.8 points per contest.
The Giants’ defense is relatively balanced, sitting 18th against the pass and 21st against the run – much like New Orleans’ defense which sits 20th against the pass and 19th against the run.
The main difference between the two clubs is in the turnover department. The Giants are tied for fifth in the NFC with 22 takeaways while New Orleans has just nine. The Giants also have 31 sacks in comparison to 21 for the Saints.
Edge: Giants
Special teams
New Orleans has the edge in the return game with Darren Sproles, who averages 26.5 yards per kickoff return and 9.6 yards per punt return. New York’s Devin Thomas is starting to make some noise in the return game as well, at 23.7 yards per kick return, while Aaron Ross averages 7.7 yards per punt return.
New Orleans’ John Kasay probably has a bit of an edge over Lawrence Tynes in the kicking game with a couple of 50-yarders under his belt this season. Thomas Morstead averages 48.2 yards per punt for the Saints compared to a 46.7-yard average for New York’s Steve Weatherford.
Edge: Saints
Word on the street
“I know it’s not easy playing there. It’s a loud stadium and we have to try to do our best to concentrate well. We have to try not to let the crowd get into the game. We have to start fast and then not allow them to get big plays.” – Eli Manning about playing in New Orleans.
"It's still and always will be one game at a time. But as you get to this point in the season, you start looking at where you stand in the playoff picture. I know we aspire to be there, as do the two teams we're playing coming up, especially the Giants, who have been there a lot. These games mean that much more because of that." – Drew Brees on the playoff picture.
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