Giant strides?

After being steamrolled by Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, it was a bit of a surprise to see the New York Giants put up such a good fight against the undefeated Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, eventually coming out losers in a hotly contested 38-35 defeat that means the G-Men are now 6-6 after a four game losing streak.

It is this inconsistency of performance that could prove fatal to their playoff push in a surprisingly weak NFC East. This run is coming off the back of an impressive 24-20 win over the New England Patriots, currently the AFC’s 1st seed. So why are the Giants so inconsistent at the moment?

Well the main cause has to be the ridiculous lack of a running game. Without Ahmad Bradshaw, the New York offense has been massively unbalanced, Bradshaw’s replacement DJ Ware has been poor and Brandon Jacobs is simply not an every down back. While Eli Manning has many good targets to throw to, including the breakout star Victor Cruz, teams know exactly what the Giants’ plan will be, and find it easy to limit the damage done in the passing game.

Bradshaw returned in a limited capacity against the Packers, and the results were instant. A more balanced offense, opening up big plays in the passing game, with Green Bay, an already poor defense against both the run and pass, worrying about the man in the backfield.

The Giants are currently dead last in the NFL for rushing yards per game after losing Bradshaw to injury, and so it will be crucial for their #1 running back to stay healthy if the Giants are to make the playoffs, because although Eli is becoming a top class QB, he is still prone to mistakes if the game is placed on his shoulders, and is forced to throw too much.

The other issue that the Giants face is that of injuries and youth on defense. Their linebacking corps is thin, and when you have to rely on a liability in the pass game like rookie linebacker Mark Herzlich, opposition Tight Ends and Slot Receivers are always looking forward to their trips to New York.

The G-Men also have an average secondary that can be exposed at times (see Drew Brees’ 5TD masterpiece). But they do have a decent pass rush, with players like Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka who all have good ability, strength and speed in order to get after opposing Quarterbacks.

The key thing for the Giants when looking at the last four games of the season is that their fate rests in their own hands. They play two divisional rivals with two games against Dallas and one against Washington, and they also have a test in what is effectively a home game at the New York Jets.

If Tom Coughlin’s men can beat the Cowboys in Arlington, they can put themselves in a good position to win the division, as they welcome Jerry Jones’ circus to the Meadowlands in week 17, and what a showdown that could be. Winner goes to the Playoffs, loser loses their Head Coach?

Having said that, the crucial game could be the Christmas Eve encounter against Rex Ryan’s Jets. Depending on how the Cowboys react to last week’s horrible loss to Arizona in overtime, a loss in this game could be the killer for the Giants, handing the Cowboys the division and the Playoff spot that goes with it.

But if it comes down to a winner takes all shootout in week 17, Eli Manning vs Tony Romo, Ahmad Bradshaw vs DeMarco Murray, Hakeem Nicks vs Dez Bryant, I’ll be taking the Giants to make the playoffs.

Any possible playoff route would be tough however, when finishing 10-6 would leave Eli’s men with, most likely, a wild card home game against Atlanta and then just the small matter of a Playoff game in Lambeau Field. But then what do you expect, it’s the Playoffs.

I’m not normally one to sit on the fence, so I won’t. My gut feeling is that the Giants will make the Playoffs. But how far can they go after that? Not far enough.