Gameday Thoughts

The Titans went down. The Panthers went down. Wow. Does that bode well for the Eagles or does that mean that all the upsets happened yesterday? I mean, what are the odds that both #1 seeds lose in the Divisional Round?

The teams that lost yesterday had turnovers to blame. The Titans had 3 turnovers inside the 30. If they just get FGs on those possessions they win the game. Jake Delhomme was a turnover machine for Carolina. He had 5 picks and a fumble. Talk about nightmare game. I live in Panthers country and can't wait to hear the fans going after him.

Turnovers could be huge today. Unfortunately the Giants are very protective of the ball. They set an NFL record with only 13 this year. Miami also had 13 this year. Then they fell apart in their playoff loss. Pennington threw the ball to Ed Reed a couple of times. Teams that are safe and smart in the regular season can come undone in the postseason. Let's hope that happens to New York today.

FAST START

I know some fans are concerned about the team getting off to a fast start. That isn't a big deal for me. We're a defensive team at this point. As long as they aren't getting scored on the offense can take a few series to really get going. I do want us to move the ball so that we can play good field position football.

OVERRATED ?

Something has been bouncing around in my head this week. Is the Giants D overrated? The group that won a SB isn't around this year. Osi is on IR and Strahan is stuck between Jimmy Johnson and Howie Long at Fox.

I watched the NFL Network's Playbook show. Sterling Sharpe and Brian Baldinger went on and on about the Giants D. You'd think we were facing the '85 Bears. We finished ahead of them in most key defensive categories. We have the better defense this year. We have the hotter defense right now.

The Giants finished 5th in yards allowed. However...they faced the 4th fewest plays. Their offense ran a lot and that shortens the game. The Giants allowed 18 yards a game more than us, but they faced 63 fewer plays. That is basically like an extra game.

They finished 6th in sacks, but their reputation is that of a dominant DL. People are thinking about last year. 6th is very good, but it isn't dominant.

Maybe they'll raise their game a notch in the playoffs. That can happen. I just find it odd that we put points on them in both games, but some analysts act as if the Giants D owns us. Not the case.

They are good...very good, but they haven't been dominant in a while.

FINAL STUFF

It feels great to be back in the playoffs, playing in these big games. I'd forgotten just how much fun this is. If our defense is able to play like they have been and the offense can get us at least one TD, we'll win this game.

I want a big game from Trent Cole and lots of touches for Westy and Buck.

Give us a W Birds. Let's keep this thing going.