A Giant Trip to the Superdome: Road Showdown or Homecoming Shootout?

Sean Payton.  Jeremy Shockey.  Eli Manning.  Corey Webster.  Brandon Jacobs.

This game has no shortage of story lines.  

Saints Head Coach, Sean Payton, was the play-caller for the Giants team that lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV.

Shockey and his blue history are well documented.  A four-time Pro-Bowler with the Giants, Shockey's departure was the ending of a failed relationship that should have never failed.  

His final season with the Giants concluded when the GMen won Super Bowl XLII with Shockey in a luxury suite overlooking the game.  This will be the first time he suits up against the Giants.

Eli Manning returns home to make his first ever start in the Superdome, the same place he used to watch games growing up dreaming about being an NFL star.  Eli may find no bigger "home crowd" for him then the one down here.

Cornerback Corey Webster is also returning home for the first time since winning a National Championship with the LSU Tigers back in '03 inside the Superdome and also played his high school ball down in Louisiana.

As for running back Brandon Jacobs, he played high school ball in Louisiana and also played a season at Auburn.  He split carries with Cadillac Williams of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Ronnie Brown of the Miami Dolphins before transferring to Southern Illinois.

As this game gets closer, more talk will surround it from every angle.  Both teams come into the game with an unblemished record, and while other games, such as the Minnesota/Baltimore game garner some attention, nothing touches this one.

In terms of numbers, it is a ridiculous matchup.

The Giants are second in the league in total offense and first in the league in total defense.  

The Saints are third in the league in total offense and sixth in the league in total defense.  

It does not get much closer.  

Drew Brees, who came out like gangbusters the first two weeks of the season, has not thrown a touchdown pass since the week 2 matchup in Philadelphia.

Eli Manning on the other hand has been red hot, and despite injuring his foot in the game at Kansas City, has thrown five touchdowns in the past two weeks in only about five or so quarters of play.

The Saints boast the league's second best rushing attack while the Giants have the fourth and their respective run defenses are seventh and 15th in the league.

With everything so close up at the line of scrimmage the fun really takes place in the air.  

The Giants have the No. 1 ranked pass defense in the league, have only given up four passing touchdowns all year, and have held teams to an average of 104.8 yards per game, 61 yards less than the next closest team.

The Saints, the 11th ranked pass defense in the league, have only given up three passing touchdowns this season and have held teams to 212 yards per game in the air.

Both defenses force turnovers and pounce on offensive mistakes.  

The Saints have forced 13 total turnovers, leading the league with 10 interceptions and recovering three fumbles while sacking the quarterback 10 times.  

The GMen have 11 total turnovers, five interceptions and recovering six of their nine forced fumbles while sacking the quarterback 14 times.  

All these stats and numbers lead to just one thing: NOTHING.

These two teams are so close in numbers they might be wearing the same uniforms.

Wipe the slate clean and play football. 

Ironically enough, I believe one of the biggest issues in this game for the Giants will be what to do with Shockey.  With Kenny Phillips out for the season and Michael Boley out for another eight weeks or so, covering him will be an issue.

Pierce certainly cannot do it.  Chase Blackburn cannot do it.  C.C. Brown cannot do it. Michael Johnson is the best possibility for it, but he will be physically outmatched against Shockey.

Best bet is to put Johnson there and bring pressure at Brees to force him out of his timing.  So much of what the Saints can do in the air has to do with Brees' timing with his receivers.

Shockey needs to be hit on the line of scrimmage and not allowed a clean release, disrupting his timing with Brees.

As for Marques Colston, he and Brees have great timing together.  So many times you see Colston, who in no way is a burner, run a great quick route, leave a defender just a shade behind, and use his body to shield away the defender from a ball released perfectly on his break.  

I expect to see the Giants corners, who cannot matchup physically to Colston's size, to jam him on the line, force Brees to hold the ball a bit longer and let their pass rush disrupt Brees even more.  

Even if the Giants do all that, they still have to worry about Reggie Bush out of the backfield.  He poses the same type of threats that division rival Brian Westbrook does, and he has notoriously burned the Giants when used correctly.

There is nobody on the Giants defense who is capable to matchup to Bush's athleticism coming out of the backfield.  As soon as he comes through the line, he will have to be hit and accounted for or he will break through for a touchdown.

I would expect to see defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan have a few wrinkles to keep an eye on all the weapons the Saints can use, but getting to Brees will be the key.

As for Eli and the Giants, I would not expect them to change a thing.  Unlike the Saints, who I think will have to adjust to the Giants defense, the GMen do no not have to adjust here.

The Giants lead the league in time of possession, have only turned the ball over three times and been sacked only three times this season.

The only player on the defense who remotely scares me at all is Darren Sharper, who has seemingly haunted Eli's career every time he shows up.

The Saints are a good defense, not a great one, and they excel when teams make mistakes, something the Giants rarely do.  

Opportunistic defenses, like Saints and Jets (Monday's game in Miami for example), can be neutralized when their opponents dominate the line of scrimmage and control the football.   

Normally, I call for offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride to take a few chances, but not this week. 

The Giants just have to play sound football like they usually do and make plays when they present themselves.

This will be a great football game, a lot can happen, but I think the Giants are a cut above this team.  

A lot has been made about Brees and if he's ready to make the leap to Peyton/Brady level.  Well, first step would be to beat Peyton's little brother who is making his own mark on the league.

In a week where the winner of this matchup will emerge as the NFC favorite, it is the familiar faces that will make the difference down on the Bayou.