FanPost

NFC East Breakdown: New York Giants

We have this crazy bye week and everything so I figured I would do a team by team breakdown of the NFC East over the next few days. Now I'm actually not sure if I can do the whole 4 part-er myself so I'd like to see if a few of you guys would like to join in on this and do it your way, just let me know in the comments section.

Now the analysis is completely opinion, what I think of a player is my opinion etc.. I will make this as unbiased as I can. So we'll get going with this after the jump starting with The New York Football Giants

New York Giant's overview:

Offense:

The Giants offense has really been up and down over the first few games of the season however they've been able to score enough points to cover for their defenses deficiencies and win games. Unlike the Giants offenses of the past the running game has actually been pretty stagnant racking up a mere 90.2 yards a game (placing them at 26th in Rushing offense), however where the Rushing defense has failed the passing game has flourished with 278.2 passing yards a game and 11 TD's. Now you have to give credit where credit is due and I have to say Eli is actually having a good season so far and Hakeem Nicks really is turning in a great season so far. All in all the Giants rank 12th in Yards Per Game (368.3 YPG) which is actually pretty good considering the losses on the offensive side of the ball since last season.

Defense:

The Giants Defense is the one which has been impacted the most by injuries. They lost Osi for the first 3-4 weeks of the season, Tuck's been out the last 2 games, their top DT Austin is out for the Season, Thomas tore his ACL, Stintim and Goff both tore theirs, and Amukamara's been out most of the season with a foot injury. The Giants are starting rookie Greg Jones at MLB and fellow rookie LB Paysinger is playing a lot so far this season.. The Giants defense has caused 7 INT's and have 21 sacks so far this season, those are both good totals. That being say they're giving up 20 first downs a game, and 24.5 points a game. (Note: JPP is looking damn good)

Team:

The Giants team is one that's very dangerous offensively, they have the weapons at receiver to hurt you with Nicks and Cruz on the outside and Manningham in the slot. They're still missing Steve Smith but so far they're doing just fine without him. If the Giants can somehow find their running game of years past and tighten up their defense for the final 10 game stretch of the season they could realistically take the division and land in the playoffs, maybe even take that first round bye.

Players to watch:

Eli Manning, Quarterback- Eli's playing extremely well this season, he's completed 125 of 196 passes for 1,778 yards (9.1 average and 63.8 completion percentage) and 11 TD's while only throwing 5 INT's and getting sacked 14 times. He has a QB rating of 101.1 so far this season... The last time Eli was playing football like this the Giants were in the playoffs on the way to getting that title they hold so dear to their hearts. (Note, I'm talking about that stretch they had towards the end of the season and through the playoffs where he barely made any mistakes).

Hakeem Nicks, Wide Receiver- Nicks is having a fantastic year so far, he has 32 catches for 508 yards and 3 TD's and has been simply amazing at times. This man is going to have a great year if he continues to play the way he is. He's putting up stats very similar to Jeremy Maclins right now.

Jake Ballard, Tight End- Over the last 3 games Ballards actually put together some decent games, during this span he has 8 rec, 185 yards and both of his TD's.. The other 3 games he had just 7 rec for 88 yards... It's looking as if Ballard may turn into the go-to guy that Eli's been searching for this season.

Antrel Rolle, Safety- Rolle's doing well so far this season, he has 45 tackles in just 6 games. He's also added 1 forced fumble and 1 INT. He's having a solid season right now and when he keeps his mouth shut he looks so much better.

JPP, Defensive End- The man is having a phenomenal season and has really filled the void of both Osi and Tuck through the first 6 games, he's provided some great sparks at times with his 7.5 sacks and batted balls at the LOS. If he keeps this level of play up he'll likely be punching his own ticket to the Pro Bowl.

Final Thoughts:

All in all the Giants are a solid team, everybody was down on them due to injuries but I always respect the Giants because no matter what they're fighters just like the Eagles are. They will likely have a rough time with the last 10 games where they face teams like the Patriots, Packers, 49ers and of coarse the NFC Rivals, this is going to make it very difficult for the Giants to hold onto the division but they have the players to do it... However that brutal 2nd half of the season proves lucky for the Eagles considering our situation right now.