Plan A for Winning on Sunday:
1) Plaxico Burress needs to help this offense in a big way, bum ankle or no bum ankle
2) Manning needs to protect the ball well
3) The pass rush needs to get a lot of heat on Favre
4) Between Madison and Ross (both will play) they have to be able to play decently
5) Special teams need to dominate the weaker specials of GB
Plan B for Winning on Sunday:
1) Get the ball to Bradshaw
2) The rest of the team executes reasonably well
Plan A is a much bigger challenge. It means Ross, Madison and Burress need to contribute meaningfully and I do not think/know if that happens. If the last three games are any indication (a) Manning seems to understand the urgency (b) Manning seems to play better vs better teams (c) the carryover of good play will help him. The Packers have a very good offensive line and that tends to neutralize a good defensive line… just as last week, I have my doubts that our line can get pressure on Favre. I believe our specials will play better than the Packers, but I do not think you can expect any large advantage here.
Plan B is the simple way to win. It lets the edge of Bradshaw’s speed and power take over this game. Our defense is hurt. It is going to give up points, more than the 17 miracle points it only allowed to the Cowboys (barring horrendous conditions causing turnovers etc..). Bet on that. So you need to make sure your offense scores a lot and keeps the Packer offense off the field. By now you should have gotten the message of this blog- Bradshaw is the key to the Giants’ chances for going over the top and securing this win. 
We can win this game w/o Bradshaw getting a lot of playing time. But everything else is going to have to go very right. And if the Packers execute well they can kill us too this way. But this is the passive Giants, the team that tries to win by methodical step by step progression, waiting for something good or bad to happen. If Burress is healthy and Manning is playing well, the two of them can take over a game, 100%. But without that, who is your guy to assert our team’s will on them? The answer is #44. It does not have to be a complicated formula. Let him take over the game.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
