Take Care of Business

After an extremely satisfying victory in Philadelphia, the Giants will travel out west to Glendale, Arizona to take on the Cardinals. The Gmen are 2-1 and after coming off of a big win in Philly they have to make sure they don't allow this to be the "let down" game.

What I mean by that is the Giants can't come in overconfident after a big win. They need to keep their heads on straight. Especially on the road. That task may be pretty easy with receiver Mario Manningham returning to the club, and defensive end Osi Umenyiora ready to make his Giants debut. On the Cardinals side of the ball it looks like running back Beanie Wells will be able to play as well.

Quite frankly, this is a game the Giants should win, and I think it's important that the Giants take care of business without any funny stuff. Control the game. We're the better football team. Play with confidence but not at the point of being cocky. On defense hit Kolb then get up get to the line and do it again. On offense stick to the classic Giants formula of establishing the run early and looking to pass soon after. Get that play action going and remind Patrick Peterson that he's still a rookie.

I think the key to this game is mostly mental, but lets break down the good and the bad possibilities that could occur in this game:

The Good:
-The Giants are coming off an impressive win and their confidence should be high.
-Some players are returning to the club and their position depth is a little stronger.
-Kevin Kolb has not established a consistent rhythm at quarterback of his new team. With the Giants pass rush it could get ugly.
-Beanie Wells is a little banged up. I don't see him successfully running the ball on the Giants at all.
-Keep throwing to the backs. The oline has looked good on screens and need to keep that up.

The Bad:
-Being on the road after a big win, especially out west, it's possible the Giants can come out a little sluggish. This is probably more likely on the offensive side of the ball. If this happens the defense has to come out sharp and keep the Gmen in the game.
-Coverage of Larry Fitzgerald. The Giants will double cover Fitz and Antrel Rolle will be in the nickle, but you know at some point in the game Larry is going to do something awesome. Hopefully it wont be a key point in the game, and hopefully up front we'll have no trouble getting to Kolb.
-Patrick Peterson. I would try to stay away from this guys side of the field. Perhaps that may be giving him too much respect since he's a rookie but this dude can play. Since there's really no one else in the secondary I'm afraid of I wouldn't take any chances near him. He's only more of a reason to put emphasis on throwing to the backs.
-The Cardinals are 1-2 and still have a chance with their season. They could come out with a lot of fire to keep their season alive, especially on their home turf.

I think in the long run the Giants will win this game. It took Gilbride and the offense a little time to find their identity due to the changes at oline and wide receiver, but it seems they're in a little bit of a rhythm now. Just look at Eli's last game, he completed 70% of his passes. That's just awesome, look for Easy E to keep the ball moving on the big blue offense.

As for defense? We know who we are. We're the Giants We mess up quarterbacks.

Time to join the party Osi.