Two tough road games are in store this weekend for New York’s football teams. The Jets will be playing against an opponent with a stifling defense while the Giants will be facing one with a high-flying offense. In both cases, the match-ups feature division leaders squaring off.
In the first game on Sunday at 1pm, the New York Jets (7–3) will travel to Tennessee to take on the unbeaten Titans (10–0) at LP Field. The Jets have played well as of late, with the defense and offense clicking, but there is room for improvement. The Titans defense will pose a much bigger challenge than what the Jets faced last week, when they played against the depleted New England Patriots. This week, they will not have the luxury of facing a team missing half its defensive starters, or its starting quarterback.
In the Tennessee Titans, the Jets will be squaring off against a defense that is ranked sixth overall in the NFL (281.8 yards allowed per game), first in fewest points allowed (13.1 points per game), tied for second in interceptions (15), ranked sixth in sacks (28), and are first in scoring defense.
The good news is that Brett Favre is having a solid season (93.0 QB rating and has thrown for 2,237 yards and 18 touchdowns), and is leading an offense that is averaging almost 34 points per game. He has not thrown an interception in his last two games.
On the other side of the ball, the Jets defense will be facing wily veteran Kerry Collins and the rest of that resilient Titans offense. With Collins, the Titans get solid game management and a quarterback who enjoys handing off to running backs Chris Johnson and LenDale White, both of whom lead a rushing attack ranked seventh in the NFL (132.7 rushing yards per game).
In last week’s game, the Jets allowed over 500 yards of total offense. They cannot be as generous this week, and will have a tall order ahead of them. They must pressure Collins and prevent the Titans running backs from running wild.
Kerry Collins has only been sacked six times this year, but considering the Jets have a defense that is ranked third overall in sacks (34), it should be possible to get to him. As for containing Johnson and White, they will be going against a Jets run defense that is ranked fourth overall (81.3 yards allowed per game).
In the second big game on Sunday, the New York Giants (9–1) will face the Arizona Cardinals (7–3) at 4:15pm at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Cardinals are second in total offense (392.7 yards per game) and second in passing offense (305.8 yards per game). With 20 touchdowns, only seven interceptions, 3,155 yards passing, and a 105.5 rating, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is throwing into the record books this season.
Catching his passes are star receivers Larry Fitzgerald (67 receptions for 939 yards) and Anquan Boldin (62 receptions for 792 yards). With this trio, the Cardinals are mounting a passing attack that is reminiscent of another high-powered offense once lead by Warner in his days with St. Louis, commonly known as “the greatest show on turf.”
In the first game on Sunday at 1pm, the New York Jets (7–3) will travel to Tennessee to take on the unbeaten Titans (10–0) at LP Field. The Jets have played well as of late, with the defense and offense clicking, but there is room for improvement. The Titans defense will pose a much bigger challenge than what the Jets faced last week, when they played against the depleted New England Patriots. This week, they will not have the luxury of facing a team missing half its defensive starters, or its starting quarterback.
In the Tennessee Titans, the Jets will be squaring off against a defense that is ranked sixth overall in the NFL (281.8 yards allowed per game), first in fewest points allowed (13.1 points per game), tied for second in interceptions (15), ranked sixth in sacks (28), and are first in scoring defense.
The good news is that Brett Favre is having a solid season (93.0 QB rating and has thrown for 2,237 yards and 18 touchdowns), and is leading an offense that is averaging almost 34 points per game. He has not thrown an interception in his last two games.
On the other side of the ball, the Jets defense will be facing wily veteran Kerry Collins and the rest of that resilient Titans offense. With Collins, the Titans get solid game management and a quarterback who enjoys handing off to running backs Chris Johnson and LenDale White, both of whom lead a rushing attack ranked seventh in the NFL (132.7 rushing yards per game).
In last week’s game, the Jets allowed over 500 yards of total offense. They cannot be as generous this week, and will have a tall order ahead of them. They must pressure Collins and prevent the Titans running backs from running wild.
Kerry Collins has only been sacked six times this year, but considering the Jets have a defense that is ranked third overall in sacks (34), it should be possible to get to him. As for containing Johnson and White, they will be going against a Jets run defense that is ranked fourth overall (81.3 yards allowed per game).
Giant Desert Challenge
In the second big game on Sunday, the New York Giants (9–1) will face the Arizona Cardinals (7–3) at 4:15pm at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Cardinals are second in total offense (392.7 yards per game) and second in passing offense (305.8 yards per game). With 20 touchdowns, only seven interceptions, 3,155 yards passing, and a 105.5 rating, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is throwing into the record books this season.
Catching his passes are star receivers Larry Fitzgerald (67 receptions for 939 yards) and Anquan Boldin (62 receptions for 792 yards). With this trio, the Cardinals are mounting a passing attack that is reminiscent of another high-powered offense once lead by Warner in his days with St. Louis, commonly known as “the greatest show on turf.”
The Giants top-ranked defense will certainly face its biggest challenge yet. If they’re going to win this battle, they must get to Kurt Warner. Despite his excellent numbers, Warner holds the ball for far too long and has a tendency to take the sack. The Giants swarming defense, fourth in the NFL in sacks (31), could take advantage of that.
When the Giants have the ball, Eli Manning must limit the mistakes that have plagued him the past few weeks. The “Earth, Wind, and Fire” trio of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, and Ahmad Bradshaw must also be wary of Arizona’s stout run defense, currently ranked seventh in the NFL.
In order to break the Cards defense, the Giants must continue to get stellar play from their offensive line and control the line of scrimmage. If they can do that, the next step will be feeding the ball to “Earth, Wind, and Fire” and opening up the passing game for Plaxico Burress and the rest of the Giants receivers.
Friends Read Free