Wonder roots for the Giants. He roots for the Jets even more. And if you add up those two, it is probably equal to his hate for the Patriots. Yes, Wonder loathes the Pats the way we cannot stand teams like the Eagles and the Cowboys. So Wonder knows the Patriots inside out- I cannot imagine anyone better to give us a preview of what the Giants need to do to win on Sunday.
Here is a list of the things Wonder wants to see:
1. Eli no huddle.
2. Spread offense.
3. Webster on Welker.
4. Ballard could have a huge game.
5. Ross on Ocho Cinco.
6. Utilize Andy’s favorite play against the Pats, the screen pass.
7. PRESS COVERAGE. ALL DAY. ALL NIGHT.
8. Practice the DIME 4-1-6 all week long. Heck, go 5-0-6.
9. Rolle on Gronkowski. Who covers Hernandez???> ?> Phillips?
10. Don’t need to run the ball much, get RB touches with use of draws, dumpoffs, and screens.
11. No run-stuffers on DL, just pass rushers: Tuck, Osi, Kiwi, JPP, and Canty.
12. Cruz in the slot, assuming Nicks healthy.
Wonder on the NYG offense- Mayo and Spikes cannot cover, so you spread’em out. Line up Ballard wide, who is going to cover him? Put Bradshaw in the slot. Eli is made to beat the Patriots. Do not want to see the Giants run the ball much. Need to score lots of points. Must continue to attack them through the air. The screen pass is MADE to beat this weak NE defense that has weak LBers in coverage. “Gilbride should be fired on Monday if he does not throw at 6-8 screens.”
Wonder on the NYG defense- TEE OFF ON BRADY. Practice the dime all week long and do not worry about them running on you. Ryan Clark said the Steelers used the most press coverage in the last 6 years this past Sunday vs the Patriots- keep doing that. Pass rush, press coverage, dime coverage. Take Brady’s head off. Phil Simms said this vs the Steelers and he was right: don’t worry about the run. And btw, if NE beats you on a 70 yd TD pass, do not worry, it is allowed to happen. What you do not want is for them to control the clock and move the chains with their pass all day. That means sure tackling and no YAC. Brady is a rhythm QB, so you must throw off his timing. If you give him a soft Tampa 2 zone, he will rip you apart. “If Fewell gives him that piece of cr*p T2 zone, he should be fired on Monday morning.”
For Wonder’s $, +9 points is too many, the Giants should score 24 (if not more) and you take the +9 points. “The Giants have a shot at winning this game if they play their cards right and don’t turnover the ball.”
UltimateNYG here. The reason why we penciled this game in as the start of the real regular season is that we all understood that Brady and Belichick were going to bring the Giants a game. What we did not know is that the Patriots would be DEAD LAST (#32) in team defense, allowing 424 yds/game. So that makes this game not only an opportunity for the Giants, it makes it the kind of game that can propel the team into the playoffs. THIS GAME IS WINNABLE. If the Patriots defense was mediocre, I would not be thinking this way. It is a very soft defense, so all the Giants need to do is execute well on offense and do more than a few things on defense to slow down Brady just a little bit. Gilbride MUST take responsibility for the game. If he attacks on every possession and assumes that it is his game to win, the Giants can win this game. If he plays footsie, the offense comes out tentative and lacking urgency, the team will lose critical minutes that it simply does not have. 60 minutes. We have been talking about that all season. Well, this is the time to deliver. You can get away w less than 60 minutes like the Giants did vs Arizona and Miami. But that will not wash here.
The Giants have a habit of playing up and down to the level of their opposition. We are hoping it will be a good thing this Sunday, because we think the Giants will be ready, focused and determined vs a good team. Before you get too worked up about an upset, let’s just keep our feet on the ground and remember that the Pats are a very good team at home (3-0). They are coming off a loss, and that means Belichick will be at his best. When the Patriots have the ball, you know that Brady is going to have success, so it is a matter of limiting it to manageable points. Fewell’s defense is clearly weaker than Gilbride’s offense in all areas except the pass rush. If the Giants lose this game, it will most likely be because Fewell could not gameplan and scheme properly. (The other reason will be because of offensive turnovers, but Eli should not have that problem here.) There are no excuses at Week 9. Suit up and play!
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