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The New York Giants are heading out to California this weekend to take on a familiar foe in the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are not just familiar in the sense that the Giants played them twice last season, including a 20-17 victory in the NFC Championship game, but because this offseason, two key members of Big Blue's Super Bowl winning squad packed their bags and took off to the Bay Area. Needless to say, it will feel unnatural to watch Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs suited up in red and gold on the opposing sideline on Sunday.
Despite reports from Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara that Manningham was "already talking" about this week's matchup, Manningham does not seem to be carrying a public grudge against his old teammates. The Super Bowl XLVI hero expects his former team to be come ready to play this weekend.
"That's a player's dream, to beat his old team.'' Manningham said. "They're going to be ready, I know how they roll over there so I know we're gonna be ready.''
So far through 2012, Manningham has 19 receptions for 186 yards, including a touchdown last weekend against the Buffalo Bills. He will surely look to take advantage of an injured, inexperienced Giants secondary that will take the field on Sunday.
While the Giants could have certainly used Manningham's veteran presence in the midst of injuries to Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden at the wide receiver position, Big Blue's former number 82 seems to be enjoying life out in San Francisco.
"I couldn't ask for no better team, no better teammates,'' Manningham said. "Everybody down here is real cool and down to earth.''
The Giants are going to have their hands full on Sunday. They are playing the number one rushing offense in the league, as well as a veteran wide receiver core with a banged up secondary. However, this is going to be an intense matchup between two teams with a lot to prove. The 49ers obviously want to avenge their loss in last seasons NFC Championship game, while the Giants want to avoid falling back to .500 on the season.
With that, Mario Manningham will be playing with a little extra motivation on Sunday. He knows how intense this rivalry is, and how hard fought last season's NFC Championship game was. Although he had a fantastic career in New York, he's on the other side of the ball now. The Giants defense is going to come after him at full force, and it should be interesting to see who comes out on top.
photo credit: Mike Morbeck via photopin cc
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(Rank) 73 Mario Manningham SF WR (Rec.)19 (yds)186 (Ave.)9.8 (TDs) 1
Pretty cool that his rank now equals his IQ.
LOL–that was almost a vodka/tonic nasal geyser.
Don’t discount him on stats. He is still a number 2 on many teams in the NFL. Some of the guys that were signed to more money haven’t done squat. Robert Meachem and Laurent Robinson have 9 catches each so far. Mario has tools and can put pressure on our secondary. San Fran had nobody on their bench last year that could do what Mario can, and they beat us once and took us to the wire a second.
He’s the brains behind the Whiners.
He’s a good kid. he means well. Let him enjoy his time out there. Make some money. I read a documentary about where he grew up. Good that he got out of there.
I’m a big fan actually … and wish we paid him the $79.50 extra to keep him. But I understand … it’s a business … and he has to feed his family … if he had one that is.
+1
And he, and BJ, were significant contributors to Giants’ Lombardi Trophies. They also are both “good guys”. None of us should be too tough on either of them. I hope they both fail miserably on Sunday, but otherwise I wish them well (unless and until we see them again).
Apparently, Jacobs is already pissed at the 49ers because they haven’t played him yet. He said he has been ready to go the past two weeks.
BJ signed there for less than we offered him. That’s one hell of an agent he has.
I’m glad he’s there and not here….unless he puts a whupping on the Giants Sunday. Otherwise, don’t miss him.
I find it ridiculous and embarassing that my favorite Giants fan site perpetuates this myth of Osi’s supposed inability to contain the run, a statement that is completely unfounded in fact or statistics.
For a site that runs a weekly piece that quotes Twitter randoms saying Eli looks stupid, jumps on people who take shots on Coughlin’s coaching and comes to the defense of Tiki Barber after he handgrenaded the locker room for his own pursuits, it’s straight up ridiculous that the writers (and some readers) can’t stop hating on a player that, like Eli and Coughlin, has been very instrumental in bringing two (2) Super Bowl Championships for all of our mutual pleasure. (By the way, if Coughlin is indeed so great, why do you think he and his staff decided to keep Osi at DE and move Kiwi to LB?)
Since the writers and readers refuse to use actual stats in their unfounded arguments regarding Osi, I will. In their two losses so far, below I present the run stats. Read them and continue to pin the problem on Osi. I used ESPN game logs for my stats – where did you get yours?
vs. Dallas and Philly Combined:
Left: 28 for 117 (4.18 YPC)
Middle: 10 for 65 (6.5 YPC)
Right: 23 for 159 (6.91 YPC)
In the Dallas game, they had no success at all running left. And to the right: one big missed tackle by Tuck, maybe a tackle/block on Kiwi and the piling up of YAC was on to the right.
Left: 15 for 67 (4.47 YPC)
Middle: 4 for 26 (6.5 YPC)
Right: 7 for 56 (8 YPC)
In the Philly game, Eagles running backs were held to zero (0) yards at halftime. Enter the 3rd quarter, where the right side was completely abused on a drive that featured 5 of 6 runs to the right for 56 yards (then a loss of 1/forced fumble out of bounds to the left on the goal line). The rout on Tuck and JPP was on, and the final stat line looked like this:
Left: 13 for 50 (3.85 YPC)
Middle: 6 for 39 (6.5 YPC)
Right: 16 for 103 (6.44 YPC)
Much like “that Broncos game”, these claims continue to be unfounded and ridiculous. Dude has been a successful defender, important for us in two championships and will be important in what we’re trying to accomplish this year.
I just wish that my favorite fan site would spend a little less time making gross mistatements about him, perpetuating an untrue myth, and treat him like all of the other current greats on the team.
Excellent job.
More of this, please.
Whoever is out there we better start stopping the run
So, running left for an average of 4.18 yards per clip qualifies as “no success at all?”
Of course, that’s the lowest average for the year, but it’s still more than “no success at all.”
Good call – I originally pasted the Eagles stat of 3.85 in there as I was typing that. I guess that really isn’t “no success at all” either (although certainly is so relative to the right side these two games)
Fantastic research.
Only thing I want to point out is that the stats for the Philly game MIGHT be skewed. I’m not fully confident on this, but I think with the loss of their starting left tackle, Jason Peters, McCoy’s been running more to the right behind the lead of the established veterans there. So that could explain why Philly ran the ball more to their right in their game against us.
JPP plays both RE and LE for us and that has to be kept in consideration. I’ve seen Dirt bring up the Eagles game stats (I think it was Philly) and refer to the right side as “JPP’s side” and it’s just a bit misleading as he plays everywhere. To get a really accurate breakdown you’d have to go off a snap by snap analysis and make sure to note who lined up where.
That being said, I agree with the overall point that Osi isn’t as bad as a lot of people have tried to paint him re: the run game. I’ve been saying that for a few years actually. Most people tend to harp on it because when Osi DOES give up a run play it’s blatantly obvious due to the fact he gets off the ball so quickly and tends to go REALLY wide in an attempt to get around the left tackle. This leaves a very obvious hole that the RB takes advantage of. Sometimes though, this is done by design and a LB or safety is supposed to be there to fill the gap. If they don’t get there in time, Osi gets blamed because it isn’t obvious to the viewer that a LB missed his assignment.
Anyway, the whole defensive line has to step their game up big time. They’ve been a huge disappointment thus far and we won’t win many more games if they don’t get their act together.
Thank you Dirt! Maybe this will stop the nonsense but probably not.
But what those stats certainly show is that our play up the middle (tackles and MIKE) is not even close to good enough.
Yanks doing their annual flame-out
Bang up job by Girardi batting AROD 3rd.
Never mind. He was clearly planning all along to pinch hit for him in the 9th so Ibanez could hit the game tying HR.
God I hate the Yankees.
….and winning it in the 12th!!!
Amazing!
Dirt
That was excellent revealing stat work. And I understand what your point.
However, those run stats are appalling for both sides and the middle.
They basically say if not for Eli and the wide outs, we are cellar dwellers.
And it’s not all Osi’s fault. But it’s not like a herculean effort he’s giving vs. the run either. I mean 3.8 = a first down every 3 carries? That’s back breaking.
It practically screams THIS TEAM NEEDS A MIKE and A SAM….YESTERDAY.
Osi would much rather run around or “Hand Dance” with an OT, than put a hand on his chest/shoulder and set the edge and establish leverage. In other words, he’s a designated speed rusher. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
As for Tuck, he used to be the poster boy for being able to defend the run and rush the passer, close to Strahan strata….very close.
Your statistics reveal that just as Justin claims, HE (now) SUCKS.
The middle defense running statistics prove that although Blackburn may know where to be, it makes absolutely no fkn difference. Because just like he can’t cover, he is also no run stuffer.
And they won’t draft someone to help out with that? And I’m not talking a 5th/6th rounder. I think you should send those stats to Fewell, Coughlin and Reese. Because judging by their draft habits, they don’t have a fkn clue what you have just unearthed. Can you dig up the YPC on offense, so Reese has some impedance to draft an O-lineman in the spring? And not in the 7th round……………………..
Nosh
Sorry buddy, but the simple truth is this:
DEATH
TAXES
YANKEES
You will never escape those three things in life. LMAO!!!
My bad impedance = impudence