Indianapolis Colts vs. New York Giants: Complete Week 9 Preview for New York
The New York Giants are back on the field this week—and in a prime-time slot.
It's a Monday night clash with the Indianapolis Colts. The Giants (3-4) have already lost on Monday Night Football once this year—a 35-14 trouncing at the hands of the Detroit Lions in Week 1. The Colts played the following Monday night and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 30-27.
MNF has not been kind to Giants fans so far this year.
That could change this Monday, of course, with a win over the Colts. Will Andrew Luck prove to be as tough a quarterback to beat as his predecessors.
Peyton Manning faced the Giants four times in his Colts career, winning three games and losing just one (2-0 vs. brother Eli as a Colt; 3-0 vs. Eli all time). Johnny Unitas won two championships for the Colts—back when they played in Baltimore—including the 1958 NFL title game, dubbed the "Greatest Game Ever Played."
Someday we might be talking about Luck as the greatest quarterback ever, but the Giants can't allow that day to be Tuesday morning.
The Giants are coming off a bye, so they had an extra week to perfect a game plan for these Colts. Meanwhile, Indianapolis was just thrashed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8. Can the Giants pile onto the 51-point embarrassment the Colts suffered only a week ago?
Read on to get the latest news, injury updates, matchups to watch and more.
Burning Questions over the Bye
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I usually do a recap of the previous week's action on this slide, but since the Giants didn't play last week, I've decided to change it up a bit.
This week, we'll take a look at three burning questions coming out of the bye:
1. Can the Giants offense operate with Andre Williams at running back?
Big Blue's offensive performance against the Eagles marked pro football's biggest collapse in Philadelphia since the implosion of Veterans Stadium. Not unrelated: It was also Williams' first start at running back.
The rookie became a fan favorite as a change-of-pace back for Rashad Jennings through the first five weeks of the season. However, the plowing rookie lacks a certain dynamism as a starter, and the entire offensive unit has suffered because of his inexperience.
Not all of New York's woes on offense are his fault—Williams can do nothing about poor blocking or a season-ending injury to Victor Cruz—but the moment the rookie becomes comfortable as an offensive leader is the moment the Giants offense can begin to make a turnaround.
2. Can the Giants defense overcome injuries, most notably the one to Jon Beason?
The Giants began the season with a rather dominant defensive unit, at least on paper. Since then, a few positional groups have taken major injury hits.
The slot cornerback position was manned by free-agency acquisition Walter Thurmond III until he landed on injured reserve. Trumaine McBride filled in admirably for a couple of games, but he also followed Thurmond to injured reserve. Now, the Giants rely upon the unreliable Jayron Hosley in the slot, while Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie's health is in question on the outside.
Veteran defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins injured his calf against the Dallas Cowboys, putting him out a few weeks. Still, the leadership void created by Jenkins' absence is nothing compared to the one New York currently faces at middle linebacker.
Jon Beason was shut down for the season over the bye, after it became apparent he would not be able to fully recover from his foot injury this season. Beason is one of the Giants' defensive captains, and the Giants are now asking Jameel McClain to provide a seamless transition.
3. Can the Giants keep pace with the Eagles and Cowboys?
New York must keep its sights locked ahead on Philadelphia and Dallas, the leaders in the division. Right now, it's looking like the Giants' best shot at the playoffs is a wild-card berth, which means either the Eagles or Cowboys must crash, while the Giants make up ground.
New York has a game each against Dallas and Philadelphia remaining on the schedule. The Giants dropped both early meetings (but beat the Redskins for a 1-2 record in the NFC East).
Last week was a step in the right direction. Although the Giants were off, both the Eagles and Cowboys lost. Now, the Giants, at 3-4, are within striking range of the 5-2 Eagles and not all that far behind the 6-2 Cowboys.
News and Notes
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Jerry Reese Speaks Out
Over the bye week, we typically get to hear from Giants general manager Jerry Reese. This season was no different, as Reese met with the press to talk about a more "aggressive" Giants team in the second half of the season, according to Connor Orr of NFL.com.
What's interesting is Reese pointed to the Giants offense, which has been efficient—yet undoubtedly vanilla—through the first seven games of the season. Eli Manning hasn't attempted many of the deep balls we saw him heave in Kevin Gilbride's offense. Instead, the veteran passer opts for shorter, higher-percentage completions under Ben McAdoo.
This completion percentage seems to be the underpinning of the Giants' limited success on offense, and to undo it could be catastrophic. Reese may be letting his sense of urgency shine through his press conference, as he has in the past. Manning should only start pressing downfield if the option presents itself. If he starts forcing bombs again, New York's turnover-plagued offense from a year ago will resurface.
Bradshaw, Nicks and Strahan in the House
It should be an emotional night for a few former Giants. Two of them now play for the Colts offense. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw found Indianapolis after he was cut by New York after the 2012 season; Hakeem Nicks landed there this offseason as a one-year reclamation project at wide receiver.
Bradshaw, who won two Super Bowls with the Giants, recently said his departure "hurt" (read the full quote at the bottom of this slide). Nicks, who won one, said he "definitely" has something extra in store for his old team, according to Dan Hanzus of NFL.com.
Bradshaw and Nicks were both great players for the Giants, yet both players ended their Big Blue careers with sour tastes in their mouths.
It's a sad fact that should make a player such as recent Hall of Fame inductee Michael Strahan—who will be honored at halftime of Monday night's game—all the more appreciative of his storybook ending, calling it a hard-fought career after 15 seasons a Super Bowl victory in the final one.
Like I said, it should be an emotional night.
Beckham No Longer a Rookie
Or so says his positional coach Sean Ryan, according to Tom Rock of Newsday. The fact is New York can't afford to have Odell Beckham Jr. perform like an average rookie; the Giants need him to be exceptional, every ounce of a 12th overall selection.
Now that Victor Cruz is out of the receiving picture, Eli Manning is in desperate need of a new favorite target: Manning can keep throwing it to the big, cumbersome, undrafted guy from Grambling State, who sometimes disappears and is suspect to hold onto the ball after the catch, or he can target the thoroughbred playmaker from Louisiana State, who has three touchdowns in his first three NFL starts.
The Giants are placing a ton of weight on a very young player's shoulders. Beckham doesn't even turn 22 until next Wednesday. Hmm, stop me if this sounds familiar. The last time the Giants relied this heavily on a young, high draft pick, New York was carried to the Super Bowl by that player.
Yes, I'm talking about Jason Pierre-Paul. To me, this prime-time slot coming up against the Colts has an eerily similar feel to the Giants' Sunday night game versus the Cowboys late in the 2011 season. New York only won that game because JPP took it over; I think OBJ will have to do the same on Monday night.
Quote of the Week
Colts running back Ahmad Bradshaw on his departure from New York, per Bill Pennington of The New York Times:
"It just hurt me because that was my family; I was a big part of that team. I gave everything I could to the Giants. Injury-wise, I gave my all whenever I was out there, hurt or not. When I left, I didn’t know at first why. I still felt like I had a lot of football left."
Injury Report
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The Giants' Week 9 injury report, courtesy of NFL.com:
| Player | Injury | Practice | Game |
| DT Cullen Jenkins | Calf | DNP | OUT |
| RB Rashad Jennings | Knee | DNP | OUT |
| P Steve Weatherford | Ankle | Limited | Probable |
| CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | Back | Limited | Questionable |
***NOTE: There are no injuries to report at this time. This list will be updated when a report is made.***
There are some significant names mounting on the Giants' injured list—Rashad Jennings, Cullen Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Things get even uglier when you take a look at the injured reserve and see names such as Victor Cruz and Jon Beason. The Giants are dinged so badly, the entire boat may be in danger of capsizing.
The Giants must plug the leaks with several young players. On offense, Weston Richburg has been doing this all season from his left guard position. Odell Beckham Jr. looks like he's ready to do his part at wide receiver, and Andre Williams is still coming along at running back.
Now it's the defense's turn. Devon Kennard must get into the mix, allowing Jameel McClain to fully take over the middle linebacker role. Maybe Jay Bromley gets some reps with Jenkins sidelined, and perhaps it's not too soon to call on Nat Berhe in a withering secondary.
We talked about GM Jerry Reese's 2014 draft class being his most pro-ready since the 2007 class. He targeted a lot of former team captains and players who could make an immediate impact, presumably for this exact reason. Could this year's rookie class deliver the Giants a playoff push a la the rookies who led the quest for Super Bowl XLII.
Matchups to Watch and X-Factors
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I put together a full article earlier in the week on the matchups to watch in this game. You can read that here. On this slide, I usually include a blurb on New York's weekly X-factor. To avoid matchup redundancy, I'll go into more depth on my X-factor selection:
Giants X-Factor of the Week: Justin Pugh
This week's X-factor will have a successful outing if we never hear his name called.
Pugh had a scary bad game against Connor Barwin and the Philadelphia Eagles a few weeks back. The Giants surrendered eight sacks, and the second-year right tackle gave up six of them. He later called it the worst game he had ever played in his life, according to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News.
It was such a bad game that we're still talking about it three weeks later, after he played a decent game against the Cowboys (Manning did not get sacked once) and then spent a weekend out of the spotlight.
Yeah, that's pretty bad. So bad that, after already making a public apology for his play, Pugh admitted to losing sleep over his performance against the Eagles, per Tom Rock of Newsday. Now, some are asking if the 24-year-old lineman will be defined by his one terrible outing in a 27-0 blowout.
Sounds like Pugh's on the fast track to become the next Winston Justice, right?
I don't think it's that bad. Pugh was a first-round selection just last year, and, as a rookie, he was one of the only reliable linemen among a porous group of protectors. He has even had tremendous single-game performances this year, although none has garnered the praise his Eagles game did criticism.
Against the Colts, Pugh will face some amorphous 3-4 fronts that could confuse him. He'll likely experience some of his draft classmate's pressure, outside linebacker Bjoern Werner, rushing against him at some point in the contest. Indianapolis doesn't really have a star pass-rusher without Robert Mathis in the lineup; New York's O-line can take advantage of an understaffed unit if Pugh lead's by example.
Prediction
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I know you missed Boilard's Bullet-Point Predictions over the bye week...
- Seven. It's going to be a shootout, as both teams' passers light up MetLife Stadium. I'm calling for seven touchdown passes from Eli Manning and Andrew Luck combined.
- Two. Jason Pierre-Paul had two sacks the last time he played. It was his highest single-game total since Oct. 14, 2012. I say lightning strikes twice.
- 4.5. Andre Williams will look much better after an extra week of preparation. Expect him to average around 4.5 yards per carry against the Colts defense.
- 40-plus. We'll get our first taste of Odell Beckham Jr. as a deep threat. I bet he hauls in his first touchdown pass of 40 yards or more against the Colts.
- Blanked. The offensive line will serve up its second consecutive shutout, as it somehow finds a way to keep Manning upright for a full 60 minutes versus Indianapolis.
- Picked off. Antrel Rolle will get his hands on an errant Luck pass. He has become more of a ball hawk since last season with nine interceptions in his last 20 games played.
- Ahmad scores. Bradshaw will find the end zone on a short run and do his famous 180 jump-spike in MetLife again. Giants fans will probably still cheer.
- Hakeem won't. Let's be honest: When was the last time you remember Hakeem Nicks scoring in a Giants game?
Don't forget to leave your game predictions, including final score, in the comment section below.
My prediction: Colts 34, Giants 31
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