Giants Climb To The Top Of Power Rankings

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

New York Giants Report

September 23, 2009

The New York Giants continued to roll through the division with their victory against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. They are now 2-0 and in first place in the NFC East. Both victories coming from division rivals, after the win against the Redskins in week one, only make their playoff hopes even better. They are also ranked number one on many power ranking lists.

Things are looking very bright for this young team, fighting to make it back to the Super Bowl. But you can't have the sweet without the sour. Their will always be a ying to a yang. The sour in Big Blue's case has to be the injuries. The Giants injury list could be confused with a grocery list, it's that long. It is the one thing that can ruin a season faster then Tony Romo balling in the playoffs. Hopefully, we can get the team healthy and really start striking some fear in our opponents. 

I am mostly concerned with CB Aaron Ross who has yet to play this season. He is a very big part of the picture and it will be good to get him back into the mix. S Kenny Phillips seems to be back to full strength after his 2 INT performance at the new monstrosity of a stadium in Dallas.

I'm sure every Giants fans heart skipped a beat, when we saw All-Pro DE Justin Tuck go down from a dirty kick by Flozell Adams. Reports say he should be fine. Rookie WR Hakeem Nicks is expected to miss a couple of weeks. We lost rookie RB Andre Brown and DT Jay Alford for the year and have a total of 5 players on IR thus far.

Minor dings include DT/DE Chris Canty, CB Kevin Dockery, RB Danny Ware, WR Dominek Hixon & rookie LB phenom Clint Sintim (watch out for this guy). I'm exhausted just from trying to remember all of the injuries and I'm sure I have probably left someone out.

And now for the sweet. WR Mario Manningham has been outstanding so far this year. He is quickly becoming a favorite target for Eli Manning and had a break out game against the Cowboys, in a very hostile environment. Veteran WR Steve "The Silent Assassin" Smith continues to quietly put up good numbers and through week two, leads the entire NFL in receptions. He is a guy who doesn't talk much but lets his actions speak louder then words. TE Kevin Boss is getting some touches but not nearly enough in my opinion.

Eli Manning has shown why he was worth the money he received during the off season. Easy Eli is calm, cool and collected during some of the most highly intense moments of a game. And more importantly, Eli Manning delivers. He continues to improve, he's dependable and has truly become the offensive general of the team. Without question, I am glad he is on our side.

The offensive line has been playing well and the one-two punch of Brandon "The Bull" Jacobs & Ahmad Bradshaw have been effective thus far but not exceptional. I expect that to change as the season goes on. They may not have the number one running game in the NFL again this year but teams will be going home with a lot of bruises after a game against the G-men.

Kicker Lawrence Tynes needs to get his act together and fast. He cannot continue to keep opposing teams in these close games by missing FG's. He has missed one FG in each game so far this year. I have absolutely no confidence in him anymore and cringe at his every attempt. When Eli was driving the ball down the field in the final minutes, all I kept thinking was, we should be taking a knee and the win and going home by now, if only Tynes had made that FG.

So for the moment, the Giants are the best team in the NFL according to the "experts" and most fan polls I have seen. In my opinion, it is well deserved and will prove to be the truth by the end of this season.

The Giants will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday, in yet another NFC battle. My prediction for the outcome is, Giants 31 - Buccaneers 17.

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