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Giants (0-1) Cardinals (0-1)
Last Sunday in Washington, the Cardinals saw
their 6 point lead disappear early in the fourth quarter. The Commanders kept
up the pressure and added a field goal to wrap up the game with a 20-16 win.
The
Giants opening day game did not go well against the Dallas Cowboys. Down 16-0
at the end of the second quarter, they also failed to score in the second half,
giving the Cowboys a 40-0 win. Arizona
Cardinals
The
Cardinals won only one home game last season, and finished up with a 4-13 record.
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim stepped away to focus on his health, and
Jonathan Gannon became the new head coach. Gannon is familiar with the Giants
as he was the defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons.
The team made some sudden player changes right before the start of the season
that have left some analysts guessing. Arizona
Cardinals Offense
Things likely would have played out better
for the Cardinals last week if quarterback Kyler Murray was available, but he
is still recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee, and he will miss this game
as well. Many expected two year backup Colt McCoy to be the starter, but he was
suddenly cut from the team just two weeks before the season started. In a trade
involving draft picks with Cleveland, Joshua Dobbs, who had appeared in just 8
games in his six year career, and has thrown for 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions,
became the Cardinals starter.
As expected with a quarterback having only two
weeks to become familiar with the team and the players, the offense was not in
sync. Dobbs did complete 21 of 30 passes for 132 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions,
but a sack fumble led to the Commanders taking a one point lead. Late in the fourth
quarter Dobbs fumbled the ball away, and that led to a four point deficit they
couldn't overcome.
James Conner was the top rusher the last two years, and
he had 14 carries for 62 yards. Conner also has averaged about 8 yards a catch
over his career, but against the Commanders he had 5 receptions for 8 yards. Top
receiver Deandre Hopkins was released by the Cardinals in the offseason, and Rondale
Moore and Marquise Brown each caught 3 passes, with tight end Zach Ertz leading
the team with 6 receptions for 21 yards. Ertz is recovering from a torn ACL he
suffered last year. Arizona
Cardinals Defense
The
team brought in a defensive minded head coach, and it seems to have served them
well. Jonathan Gannon also enlisted Nick Rallis, his former linebackers coach
with the Philadelphia Eagles. Last week the Cardinals kept the Washington Commanders
off balance all game with their pass rush. They came up with six sacks, which
is quite impressive considering the team had a total of just 36 in all of last
season. Add to that the fact that J.J. Watt retired, and Zack Allen left in free
agency, and those two were responsible for 18 of those sacks last year.
Aside
from the six sacks by five different players, the defense hit Washington with
six tackles for losses, one interception, and two fumble recoveries, with one
becoming a defensive touchdown. Kyzir White was also brought over from the Eagles,
and this linebacker had 110 tackles last year. White led the aggressive defense
last week with 9. In the secondary, safetys Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson work
very well together, but the cornerback spot took a hit when Byron Murphy left
in free agency. Giants Offense
The
only good news for the Giants offensive line is that the Cardinals defense, despite
their good showing last week, is nowhere as intimidating as the one the Giants
faced last week. Daniel Jones was sacked 7 times. The right side of the line provided
the worst protection, and that was mostly on guard Mark Glowinski, and tackle
Evan Neal. It didn't help that on the other side their best linemen, left tackle
Andrew Thomas, suffered a strained hamstring early on, and had to deal with that
for the rest of the game.
Their best numbers last week came from the running
game, but it's hard to stay with that when you need to score points to stay in
the game. Saquon Barkley had 12 carries for 51 yards before he was pulled from
the game, and the Giants will be looking to capitalize on his skills. Working
under constant pressure, Jones had only 2 long completions, a 24-yarder to Isaiah
Hodgins, and a 22-yard catch by tight end Darren Waller, who was the top receiver
with 3 receptions for 36 yards. Giants
Defense
Last week the Giants defense came
up with no sacks or interceptions on Dak Prescott, but there were no touchdown
throws, and Prescott completed less than 55 percent of his throws. The secondary
held up fairly well with CeeDee Lamb giving them the most problems, catching all
four passes for 77 yards, including a 49 yard catch.
The Giants picked up Isaiah Simmons from the Cardinals for a 7th round draft pick.
Simmons was drafted by the Cardinals eighth overall in the 2020 NFL draft, and
the Cardinals felt he didn't fit in their current defense. Simmons is very familiar
with their offense, and that's a definite plus.
The Giants should be able to
dominate an offense that is in the process of breaking in their starting quarterback,
who would be a backup on any other team. The Cardinals rushing game produced a
total of 96 yards, and that number was only that high because wide receiver Marquise
Brown came up with a 29 yard run on one play. You can expect Dexter Lawrence and
Leonard Williams to play better this week against the Cardinals weaker offensive
line, and they are familiar with former teammate right guard Will Harnandez. Overall
Both teams will be looking for their first win of the season. Both will be most
concerned about the other teams defensive unit. If you look at it that way, things
should favor the Giants, with quarterback Daniel Jones being much more experienced
and familiar than his counterpart, Joshua Dobbs, who is tasked with trying to
figure out his best options each time he takes a snap with his new team. NFC
East Games
Thursday at 8:00pm Vikings (0-1)
at Eagles (1-0) - - - Results Eagles 34 - Vikings 28
Sunday at 4:05pm Giants
(0-1) at Cardinals (0-1)
Sunday at 4:25pm Jets (1-0) at Cowboys (1-0)
Sunday
at 4:25pm Commanders (1-0) at Broncos (0-1)
The Eagles, Giants and Cowboys
are the NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Next Games
Sept
21 Giants at 49ers
Oct 2 Seahawks at Giants
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