Press sets up Giants game: Rams not been favored this much on road in 12 years

Looking ahead to Sunday’s game between the Giants and the Rams

Art Stapleton

http://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/nfl/giants/2017/10/31/looking-ahead-sundays-game-between-giants-and-rams/818023001/

Early line

Rams by 3.5: The Giants are 7-0 against the Rams since 2002, outscoring them 216-124 over that span. That includes a 17-10 victory last season in London at Twickenham Stadium during the NFL’s International Series. Just judging by this season, though, it would appear that these two teams are headed in opposite directions. The Rams have won two in a row and lead the NFC West behind 31-year-old head coach Sean McVay, whose presence has invigorated the Los Angeles offense. The Giants have lost all three of their home games this season after finishing 7-1 at the Meadowlands in 2016.

In the spotlight

Rams LT Andrew Whitworth. The one that got away. Giants fans and those of us in the media will spend the week again talking about how Big Blue brass opted not to pursue Whitworth in free agency. That will shift attention to Giants LT Ereck Flowers, of course, and his unsteady play at best in stark contrast to that of the 35-year-old Whitworth, whose presence at left tackle has been viewed as a game-changer in helping the Rams reinvent their offense.

New York Giants tight end Evan Engram (88) runs upfield
New York Giants tight end Evan Engram (88) runs upfield during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, in Denver. (Photo: AP Photo)
Game plan

The Rams’ offense has been fun to watch under McVay with the emergence of former No. 1 pick Jared Goff at quarterback. This has also been a bounce back season for RB Todd Gurley, who is averaging 131 all-purpose yards per game, which is second in the league. A focus for the Giants will be to slow Gurley down, which they did last season (92 total yards). The Giants have allowed eight touchdowns to tight ends in seven games.

The Giants will again be challenged offensively if Justin Pugh (back) is unable to go. Rams All-Pro DT Aaron Donald will wreck the game if given a chance. Eli Manning could really use WR Sterling Shepard back in the fold. His ankle injury has kept him sidelined the last two games. TE Evan Engram has 11 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns with Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Shepard sidelined.

What They’re Saying: The New York Giants

Kristen Lago

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/What-Theyre-Saying-The-New-York-Giants-/07ba0170-e4e7-4f24-b838-df38d113dcff

Each week TheRams.com will be taking a look at what Los Angeles’ opponents have to say about facing the Rams. In Week 9, the Rams will travel to MetLife Stadium to face off against the New York Giants in a non-conference matchup. Check out what the Giants’ coaches and players had to say about their contest against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon:

On what has changed for the Rams this season:

“The biggest thing is their quarterback. He’s getting them going now. He’s not afraid to throw it downfield. I would say he’s not a rookie anymore and he’s got experience and he’s playing great ball, took that team to limits they haven’t seen in a minute. He just keeps on pushing, so yeah, their quarterback is their biggest difference.”

– Giants’ Safety Landon Collins

“Guys are just making plays and they are winning close games. Everybody is playing more as a unit whereas last year they had the new quarterback who didn’t really play. Still, he’s coming into his own right now and he’s got a lot to prove.”

– Giants’ Defensive end Olivier Vernon

“On defense and special teams there’s a lot of similarities. The system may be different on defense, but you’re getting a very good front seven that plays hard, that had a ton of speed and creates messes in the back field. And special teams is a challenge to play obviously, with everything that they do from a formation, a schematic standpoint to challenge you. They try to force you to play on your heels. Offensively is where they’re a little bit different and not really necessarily some of the things you’ll see schematically, but the tempo and the pace that they play with. They try to change speeds on you that way in and out of the huddle with some no huddle and try to match up what they’re doing underneath and down the field, but they have a lot of new starters – three new guys on the offensive line, new skilled players. A quarterback that’s young and coming into his own and a running back that is as talented as anybody in the league.”
– Giants’ HC Ben McAdoo

On his impressions of QB Jared Goff:
“Yeah, I think that a young quarterback there I think his 15th start. He seems to be gaining confidence. He’s definitely a young quarterback that has a lot of tools and has some good rhythm in his body. The system seems to fit his skillset. He’s very comfortable dealing with the ball, whether it’s under center or in the gun. He’s come a long way in a short time in this league under center. He spent a lot of time in the gun, but he’s got some nice weapons to distribute the ball to – that helps, some guys that he’s building chemistry with that obviously are some players that have some football smarts to them.”

– Giants’ HC Ben McAdoo

On what challenges the Rams present defensively:

“They have a great team, a good front seven, a lot of speed and their corners play well. They do a good job of getting to the quarterback, a good job stopping the run. So we have to be sound up front, know our assignments because they got some good players and we have to win on time in our receivers. They play a good bit of man so that gives you some opportunities to make some plays.”

– Giants’ Quarterback Eli Manning

On what challenges the Rams present offensively:

“They’re fast and explosive. They definitely rely on Gurley and that’s big. We definitely have to stop him and if we stop him, we have a chance.”

– Giants’ Safety Landon Collins

“They have a great running game. Gurley, he’s been having a great year and one thing we have to do is just stop the run. We can’t stop the run, then it’s going to be a long day for us. So we know the jobs we have to do as far as our unit to help us get this W.”

– Giants’ Defensive end Olivier Vernon

On how similar the Rams offense looks to the Redskins offenses from the past few seasons:
“I think there are a lot of similarities there. They do some outside zone, they do a lot of window dressing with the receivers as far as the old fly-sweep stuff, the reverses, the fake reverses. You’ll see a little bit of the Shanahan system in there as well with their shots down the field, how they like to tie the spacing concepts into their shots down the field as well as some of the Gruden type stuff.”

– Giants’ HC Ben McAdoo

Giants end bye week in search of any hopeful sign amid disaster

Paul Schwartz

http://nypost.com/2017/10/30/giants-end-bye-week-in-search-of-any-hopeful-sign-amid-disaster/

When asked what he planned to be doing during the bye week, running back Shane Vereen offered a quick response: “Not thinking about football,” he said.

Smart guy.

The less thought about the pre-bye work of the Giants, the better. They lost six of their seven games, and only the Browns and 49ers were worse. Those two other teams, both winless, were supposed to be as rotten as they are. The Giants? Big, big things were anticipated. An NFC East title was certainly part of the discussion, and at the very least, this was a team viewed as worthy of serious playoff contention.

Not this.

All the hopes and dreams of the Giants are gone, and it is not even Halloween. It has been all tricks, no treats for Ben McAdoo’s team. The Giants head into their final nine games depleted and defeated, without Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall, sucking the life out of their offense. This dreadful downturn cannot be blamed on injuries, though, as the Giants were 0-4 and on the way to 0-5 when Beckham, Marshall and Dwayne Harris were lost for the season and Sterling Shepard went down with a sprained ankle in the loss to the previously winless Chargers, four receivers lost on a day of infamy in franchise history.

There is negativity in every corner of the Giants room.

“It’s even more important — don’t let the outside world affect what we’re doing,” Eli Manning said. “Now it’s about us playing for each other.”

It sure is not about playing for any tangible reward — other than an extremely high pick in the 2018 draft.

“I would say at some point it’s got to come down to pride,” Vereen said. “It’s got to come down to, ‘I’m a man, I’m with other men on this team, we’re a band of brothers and each week we’re going to go fight, we’re going to play as hard as we can.’ The outcomes definitely haven’t been what we wanted them to be. We all know that. We’re still going to go out every Sunday after this bye week and fight and fight. We got nine games left and we’re going to try to play the best Giants football we can.”

Pre-bye highlights (few) and lowlights (many):

Seven-game MVP: Not many great candidates here. Justin Pugh started the season as the left guard until injuries on the line prompted the move to right tackle. The move to the outside has increased Pugh’s value, and he can be viewed as the long-term right tackle, which is not a bad deal, as tackles in free agency make more money than guards.

Seven-game LVP (Least Valuable Person): Brandon Marshall was a candidate for this before he got hurt and Paul Perkins was in the mix before he banged up his ribs. Punter Brad Wing has been uncharacteristically inconsistent. Let’s go with the head coach. Ben McAdoo did not have his team ready to roll at the start of the season and should have given up the play-calling duties after the first two offensive stinkers.

Least surprising surprise: General manager Jerry Reese opted to keep the 2016 offensive line intact, leaning on what he believed would be significant development in the two 23-year old tackles, Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart. This plan was not embraced by fans and it turned out to be folly. The offensive line has been sub-standard, Hart got benched and Flowers’ improvement has been so sluggish that it seems obvious he will never live up to his lofty draft status.

Best surprise: Evan Engram is a first-round pick, and the initial expectation for him was to be an immediate factor as a pass-catcher. He has exceeded that expectation and is also a willing blocker, although that is not his forte. It looks as if Engram has a Pro Bowl in his future, and incredibly, he has already emerged as a respected voice in the locker room, which is rare for a rookie.

Biggest disappointment: Do we have to pick just one? The offense was anemic before all the injuries hit, and the offensive line has played down to the fears of most fans. This defense was supposed to be rock-solid, though, and it has not been. It is shocking the Giants are ranked 27th in the NFL — 23rd against the run, 27th against the pass — and blew three fourth-quarter leads.

Best moment: The Giants were ahead 10-3 in Denver, but the Broncos had the ball and plenty of time to cut into the deficit before halftime. That is when Janoris Jenkins lived up to his Jackrabbit moniker by anticipating a Trevor Siemian pass for an interception he returned 43 yards for a touchdown. The Giants were ahead 17-3, the Mile High fans were stunned and the Giants were on their way to their first, and only, victory.

Worst moment: Odell Beckham Jr. missed the season-opener with a high-ankle sprain and was slowed in game No. 2. He finally broke through with his first touchdown catch of the season in Week 3 in Philadelphia and decided to celebrate the feat by getting on all fours and raising his right leg, mimicking a urinating dog. Beckham was hit with a penalty, and the vulgar celebration drew the ire of co-owner John Mara, who had Beckham in for a private chat about it.

Most revealing stat: Here’s three for the price of one: The Giants are tied for 30th in the league in first downs per game (16.6), 30th in third-down efficiency (32.6 percent) and 30th in scoring (16 points a game). Get the feeling the Giants are lousy on offense?

Longest list: Remember back to the good-old days of 2016, when it appeared the Giants had finally solved their injury hex? Well, it’s baaaaack. The Giants have 14 players on injured reserve — the league average is 10.6 — and notably with Beckham and Marshall out for the season.

Upcoming decision: When does the time come to tell Eli Manning he must give up playing time in order to give the coaching staff and front office a look at Davis Webb? If the Giants are sitting at 3-10, Webb has to get some snaps in the final three games. Manning can continue to start (he’s made 206 straight), but at some point, McAdoo must tell the franchise quarterback to give the ball to Webb.

Upcoming decision, part II: Weston Richburg missed the past three games in the concussion protocol. When he is ready to return, does he immediately slide back in as the starting center, no questions asked? Brett Jones filled in admirably, and there are whispers around the Giants that Jones may not get pushed aside for Richburg, who was not playing great before he went out.

#LAvsNYG pic.twitter.com/pXmzaULQuL

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 4, 2017