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Giants vs Packers Halftime Report

Well, this is not going to be easy, but who thought it would besides Packers fans?  The Giants dominated early, and after some key adjustments, the Packers got themselves, as well as their frozen fans, back into the game. The Giants were struck by lady luck a few times in the first half, with a Plaxico Burress fumble tumbling harmlessly out of bounds.  However, several things have not gone right this game, and as is the norm, the Giants must come out in the second half with some critical adjustments. 

Penalties have hurt the Giants, and this is a team that has not had to fight penalties this offseason.  How will they respond to this newfound form of adversity?  We know how they handled it in the regular season, but to get to Arizona, they will have to try something else.  In addition to penalties, the Giants have been plagued with poor tackling in the second half, aside from Antonio Pierce coming up with a critical tackle on a screen pass that was destined for a late first down, or even touchdown. 

The refs called a pretty good game in the first quarter, but they seemed to forget to throw the flag when it favored the Packers in the second quarter.  I hate to complain about officiating, but do not think for a minute the NFL would not love to pair Favre and Brady against one another in the Super Bowl.  There have been plenty of no-calls made, especially interference and illegal contact fouls.  The Giants must play through the officiating, because this road will not be easy.  Example: Plaxico’s reception on the 2 yard line that is ruled incomplete.

Players of the half:

Plaxico Burress

Plax has won the battle against Al Harris, and he will surely see more double coverage looks in the second half.  Mr. Harris might win the jawing contest, but right now Eli and lax are making him look foolish, slow, and undisciplined.  Plax has had great grabs, and is displaying all of his skill sets: strength, acceleration, great hands, and elevation.  He is on fire this game, and Gilbride has to get him even more involved in the second half.  I have replayed his drop several times, and if you look carefully, he caught the ball, and was touched by Harris prior to releasing the ball from his possession; therefore, he was down by contact.  Keep your chin up Plax, you will still have an opportunity to win this game.

Brandon Jacobs

He doesn’t have the greatest stats, but his punishing running style has brought the safeties up and allowing several one-on-one matchups on the vertical routes.  He is also ringing numerous bells in the heads of the Packers defensive players, and they might be scared to tackle him.  Gilbride must not get away from him the second half, because this is a close game and Jacobs can provide a spark to this offense with his bruising hits.

Letdowns:

Giants Pass Rush

These guys have done plenty of great things this season, but it doesn’t mean much if you don’t win this game.  This game will be won in the trenches, and the Packers offensive line has the upperhand right now.  Favre has been under pressure, and when he has, errant throws were made every time.  But they have not gotten to him, and Spags has to figure out how to get there.  We see that the field isn’t the issue, rather, it is simply the offensive line of the Packers wanting it more.  Tuck, Osi, and Strahan have to figure this out.  Quickly.

Up next:

Still a lot of football, so do not get down, Giants fans.  The Giants get the ball at the half, and have a great opportunity to take a lead.  Special teams needs to get productive, and when that happens, we all know how the offense handles great field position.  I expect Plaxico to be even more busy this half, as  Harris has sown that his mouth is larger than his coverage skills, and Brandon Jacobs and Bradshaw will control the clock and wear out this defense.  They have to get the pass rush going, and it will be an uphill battle.  Sags holds things back for the second half, and trailing by only 4, he might have his defense exactly where he wants them to be.  The Giants must eradicate these costly penalties and rediscover the skill of tackling. If they can do those things, there is no reason why we all won’t be booking tickets to Glendale in two weeks.

Hope you have your beverage of choice.  Strap in, and get ready for a great show for the next thirty minutes.

GO G-MEN!!!

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 20th, 2008 at 8:25 pm and is filed under Brandon Jacobs, Osi Umenyiora, Ahmad Bradshaw, Justin Tuck, Plaxico Burress, Eli Manning, Michael Strahan, Giants 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.