Arizona Cardinals vs. New York Giants: Breaking Down New York's Game Plan
As he does every week, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning stood in front of his locker to meet the media and never once changed his facial expression, not even when a reporter dared to ask the question that’s been on everyone’s mind following the team’s 35-14 debacle in Detroit.
“I don’t know if there are things that are broken,” Manning said. “I think it’s just a matter of we’ve got to find out what we do well, what all we can handle as an offensive group, not throw more on our plate than we can eat and just go out there, make sure what we’re doing we can do efficiently and do soundly to be able to make plays.”
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The problem is that the Giants are now moving into Week 2 of the NFL season, and the offense, which underwent a massive facelift in terms of personnel and scheme, is not only struggling. It’s showing the same deficiencies it did in the old system under former offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.
We’ll get into the specifics when we break down the units in just a bit, but suffice it to say that if the Giants lose another game playing as inconsistently as it did against the Lions, it could potentially be a long year for the G-Men and their loyal fans.
The Series
The Arizona Cardinals are one of the Giants’ oldest opponents, with the first game between these two being played in 1926.
This will be the 125th regular-season meeting between the onetime NFC East rivals. New York holds the series lead, 80-42-2.
The Giants won the last meeting between the two clubs, 31-27, in Phoenix in 2011.
| Quarterback | X | |
| Running Backs | X | |
| Tight Ends | X | |
| Receivers | X | |
| Offensive Line | X | |
| Defensive Line | X | |
| Linebackers | X | |
| Secondary | X | |
| Special Teams | X |
Unit Snapshots
Quarterbacks
The Giants’ Eli Manning and the Cardinals’ Carson Palmer are both veteran quarterbacks. Give the edge here to Manning, who is the healthier of the two.
Running Backs
An ongoing foot injury to Arizona’s Andre Ellington is a concern. Meanwhile the Giants’ one-two punch of Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams has the potential to be explosive if they get blocking up front.
Tight Ends
Based on receiving potential alone, the Giants would appear to have a slight advantage here—and we do mean slight thanks to Larry Donnell’s five catches for 56 yards in Week 1. That's more than the three Cardinals’ tight ends (Rob Housler, John Carlson and Troy Niklas) combined.
Receivers
The Cardinals have a more productive trio of receivers in Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and slot man John Brown. Floyd, who has been stealing the thunder at this position, is the team leader with 119 receiving yards.
Offensive Line
The Cardinals offensive line did a better job than their Giants counterparts in protecting the quarterback. Per the official game book, Arizona allowed two sacks and four quarterback hits in 37 pass attempts to what appears to be an improved San Diego Chargers defense.
Defensive Line
The Giants run defense played well enough to limit Detroit’s Reggie Bush and Joique Bell each to under 50 yards. However, the front four still is unable to mount an effective pass rush.
Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell told reporters today that he saw flashes of the old Jason Pierre-Paul but those moments stopped when the defense end had to leave the game for a bit due to a neck injury. Damontre Moore could see increased snaps this week at the expense of Mathias Kiwanuka.
The Cardinals defensive front has been victimized by injuries. They’re missing Darnell Dockett, who tore his ACL in the preseason. His replacement, Frostee Rucker, is expected to miss the Giants game. Backup defensive end Tommy Kelly will presumably get the start.
That leaves defensive end Calais Campbell as the man with the bull’s-eye on his back. Last week, Campbell recorded two pressures and two hits, with most of his damage coming from inside.
Linebackers
Both teams have some injury concerns at this position.
For the Giants, inside linebacker Jon Beason’s foot soreness flared up enough to keep him out of Thursday’s practice. Also, rookie Devon Kennard is dealing with a hamstring strain and is unlikely to play on Sunday.
The Cardinals will be without John Abraham, who has taken a leave from the team after suffering another concussion. His replacement is Alex Okafor, but he’s on the injury report with a thigh injury.
That means that Sam Acho, whose pass-rushing abilities pale by comparison to Abraham’s, will likely get the nod if Okafor can’t go.
Defensive Secondary
The Cardinals have a pair of solid corners in Antonio Cromartie and Patrick Peterson, though as Pro Football Focus noted in its weekly “ReFo” feature of the Cardinals’ first game, Peterson had his share of struggles in his new role playing almost exclusively at left cornerback. Still, the Cardinals didn’t have as many communication issues last week as the Giants.
Special Teams
Both teams’ punters are nursing injuries. The Giants’ Steve Weatherford (ankle) will play, and his objective will be to keep the ball away from the always-dangerous Ted Ginn Jr.
Injury Report
| WR Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring) | RB Andre Ellington (foot) |
| OT James Brewer (back) | LB Alex Okafor (thigh) |
| LB Devon Kennard (hamstring) | DT Frostee Rucker (calf) |
| DT Markus Kuhn (ankle) | G Paul Fanaika (knee) |
| P Steve Weatherford (ankle) | QB Carson Palmer (right shoulder) |
| OT Charles Brown (shoulder) | P Dave Zastuldi (left groin) |
| DT Cullen Jenkins (hip) | S Rashad Johnson (ankle) |
| LB Jon Beason (foot) | S Tyrann Mathieu (knee) |
Key Injury: Linebacker Jon Beason
All along, it was anticipated that linebacker Jon Beason, who is coming off a foot injury, would need to have his practice reps managed in the beginning.
However Beason’s absence from Thursday’s practice seemed to catch the Giants off guard.
Beason has on several occasions noted that while the team mostly practices on grass, the games are played on turf. He’s made no secret about his feelings about turf and the effect it has on players’ joints and bodies.
It’s not known if Beason’s footwear, which he changed over the summer to protect his healing foot, was adjusted to compensate for playing on the unforgiving turf.
Judging by the fact that he was sore enough to miss practice, it apparently was not, and that could be a problem for a Giants linebacker unit that’s not expected to have rookie Devon Kennard, who’s trying to get over a hamstring strain.
If Beason can’t go and Kennard misses the game, as is expected, the Giants would presumably start Mark Herzlich, listed as Beason’s backup on the team’s depth chart that was distributed as part of the weekly media release, in the middle and leave Jameel McClain on the outside.
Giants Game Plan
Giants on Offense
Per Pro Football Focus, not a single Giants offensive lineman had a positive overall grade, and each of the five starters gave up at least one quarterback pressure (subscription required).
That has to change.
A key matchup to watch is rookie left guard Weston Richburg versus Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell, who, per the Sports Xchange, moves inside in the Cardinals’ nickel defense.
Richburg didn’t pitch a shutout as a pass blocker against Detroit, but it was encouraging that he allowed just one quarterback hit in his 62 snaps.
In the running game, Cardinals inside linebacker Larry Foote was a one-man wrecking crew against the run, finishing with a team-leading eight tackles (all solo) including two tackles for a loss.
The Giants tight ends and fullback will need to be much sharper with their run-blocking efforts in order to keep Foote from shooting gaps and blowing up plays in the backfield.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Brandon Mosley return to the lineup at right guard, spelling John Jerry, who struggled in run blocking last week, of those duties.
Mosley, who missed last week while recovering from a back injury, is not on the Giants injury report for Week 2, so it’s assumed that he’s healthy and ready to go.
Mosley is more of a mauler, so his more physical style of play could be key in helping to open up the inside running lanes that weren’t there last week.
In the passing game, New York's Victor Cruz can talk about wanting the ball all day, but the bottom line is that he, Rueben Randle and Jerrel Jernigan, need to show they can separate.
This offense has all but taken away the gunslinger in quarterback Eli Manning, which means that he is less likely to attempt to force passes into tight quarters.
If a receiver can’t separate—and it’s going to be hard to do so against the Cardinals’ very good defensive backfield—look for the Giants’ passing game to underwhelm.
Giants on Defense
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is a classic pocket passer, which should be a welcomed breath of fresh air for a Giants defense that has had its share of struggles against mobile quarterbacks.
Defensive tackles Cullen Jenkins and Johnathan Hankins are solid and can help push the pocket.
The problem though is at defensive end. Jason Pierre-Paul showed signs of his old self before his injury, according to what defensive coordinator Perry Fewell told reporters on Thursday.
The problem is that having Mathias Kiwanuka on the other side seems to be dragging Pierre-Paul down. Kiwanuka gives an honest effort, but he has not been double-teamed in years. Without a solid bookend opposite of him, Pierre-Paul is going to draw a lot of double-teams that will limit his pass rush.
Will this be the week that Damontre Moore gets more snaps at the expense of Kiwanuka? Moore plays with endless energy, which sometimes results in him taking himself out of plays, as was the case in that one missed sack last week of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford that resulted in a 67-yard TD strike to Calvin Johnson.
However, there’s no better time than the present for the Giants to start using some of that energy more to their advantage. Moore could potentially start to draw extra attention that teams tend to throw at Pierre-Paul.
A concern with the Giant defense this week is the linebackers. As previously noted, Devon Kennard and Jon Beason are nursing injuries. If Beason can’t play, that would leave Mark Herzlich, who Beason replaced last year in the lineup, as the next man up.
Kennard’s absence, meanwhile, seems to take away a good chunk of the playbook from Fewell, who in training camp used Kennard in a variety of different ways, including as a defensive end in some packages and as an outside linebacker in some 3-4 looks.
Receivers Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald present another tough challenge for the Giants secondary; however, hopefully Fewell learned his lesson from last week and will abandon the heavy use of zone coverage and go back to man coverage, the latter of which appears to be a better fit for his personnel.
Prediction
The winner of this game is likely going to be whichever team is able to run the ball. This week, all signs point to the Giants in this regard.
Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams are both healthy and capable of moving the chains. If the coaches replace John Jerry with Brandon Mosley at right guard, the offensive line’s rum blocking will take a turn for the better.
On the other side of the ball, Andre Ellington is still dealing with a foot issue. According to the Sports Xchange, Ellington was expected to spend time this week in a walking boot. Not surprisingly, Ellington hasn’t’ practiced all week and will probably be questionable for Sunday’s game.
Even if Ellington does play, his matchup against the Giants run defense, which did a good job of limiting Joique Bell, Reggie Bush and the rest of the Detroit Lions runners to 76 yards on 30 carries, is not favorable.
If the Giants win the ground game, they win the game in what will be a close contest.
Giants 24 – Cardinals 21;
2014 prediction record: 1-0
Patricia Traina is the senior editor for Inside Football. All quotes and information obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.
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