Bullz-Eye's NFL Game of the Week
09/06/2006
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We’ll be dissecting one big NFL match-up every week throughout the season, whether it's a long-standing rivalry, a divisional clash or a game with playoff implications.
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This week’s match up: Indianapolis at NY Giants
Date: Sunday, Sept. 10
Time: 8:15pm ET on NBC
RESULT: Colts 26, Giants 21
Why to tune in:
Manning Bowl I will feature Peyton’s Colts traveling to East Rutherford, NJ to take on Eli’s Giants in the brothers’ first NFL regular season meeting against each other. Indianapolis gets its first test without running back Edgerrin James and New York finds out if it did enough to revamp the defense in the offseason. NBC, meanwhile, hits big with its first Sunday night game after agreeing to a six-year deal with the NFL last season. NBC says it has installed a flexible schedule so that every game should be a marquee match up, and it certainly has a good opener with two teams that probably will contend for a playoff spot come January.
When the Colts have the ball:
Just like every season, there will be no shortage of passing by the Indy offense in ’06. Peyton Manning goes up against a Giants secondary that features newcomers Sam Madison and Will Demps. Lavar Arrington makes his New York debut while defensive ends Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora look to put considerable pressure on Peyton all game. As mentioned above, the Colts will get their first true look at Dominic Rhodes and rookie Joseph Addai. The duo of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne will be a handful for the Giants defensive backs, much like they’ll be a thorn for every secondary they face this season. The Colts are equipped to handle Strahan and Umenyiora with tackles Tarik Glenn and Ryan Diem, but it will be tough to keep those guys out of the backfield all night.
When the Giants have the ball:
The Giants will score plenty again this season with Eli Manning having the luxury of Plaxico Burress, Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey to throw to. Although many things played into the Giants’ success last season, Barber was the backbone of the unit and will be again this season. The Colts have enough speed to counter Barber with the athletically gifted Dwight Freeney at end, Cato June at linebacker and the duo of Mike Doss and Bob Sanders in the secondary. Doss and Sanders are extremely hard to run on, so don’t be surprised if New York tries to throw early in the game to get the safeties backpedaling so that Barber will have less of a wall to run against. Eli Manning struggled in last season’s playoff game against Carolina and although the Colts don’t produce as much speed as the Panthers’ defense, they are just as opportunistic with turnovers and sacks.
Prediction:
Although the Giants will have the advantage of playing at home, there is no better quarterback in the league at getting the ball out of his hands quickly than Peyton Manning. I expect New York’s pass rush to be neutralized by a combination of Peyton Manning’s release and the Colts solid offensive line. The Giants’ defense is weak up the middle so Rhodes and Addai should have no problem at least giving Indianapolis an adequate running game. Word has it that the Giants aren’t completely sold on Madison being a big upgrade over Will Allen in the secondary and that’s troubling considering Corey Webster wasn’t overly impressive last year at the other corner. Peyton will find Harrison and Wayne easier than expected and although the Giants will make it a game with their potent offense, Indy should come through in the end.
Questions or comments? Send them to astalter@bullz-eye.com.