Packers will beat Giants

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Brett Favre is at home and confident

Yes, according to Pat Kirwan | NFL.com the Green Bay Packers will defeat the New York Giants by the score of 24 – 14.

Let’s take a look at some of his expert analysis.

Giants

The New York Giants bring a fantastic pass rush, solid running game, and the improved play of Eli Manning to get the job done.

Hmm.

Packers

The Green Bay Packers bring a very good defense (ranked 11th), a balanced run/pass offense (ranked 2nd), and getting Brett Favre to take less chances.

Hmm, so far sounds kind of interesting, but tells us nothing.

How about the matchups?

1. Packers RT Mark Tauscher vs. Giants DE Mike Strahan:

Strahan has been playing his best football the past few weeks and, as he says, “I’m not ready for it to end.” He is up against a solid tackle in Tauscher, who neutralized Seahawks DE Patrick Kerney in the divisional round. source

2. Packers RB Ryan Grant vs. Giants MLB Antonio Pierce:

Patience is the key against Grant and then solid tackling, which Pierce does well. Grant should get 25-30 carries, and Pierce needs to be in on 80 percent of the tackles.

3. Packers WR Donald Driver vs. Giants CB Corey Webster:

If Webster plays off-coverage, Favre will check to the slant route for Driver. If Webster plays up and tight, then Driver will work the go route. This could be a tough day for the Giants corner.

4. Packers DE Aaron Kampman vs. Giants RT Kareem McKenzie: Kirwan has Kampman getting to McKenzie.

5. Packers CB Charles Woodson vs. Giants WR Plaxico Burress: Kirwan says Woodson will take away the injured Burress from getting any big catches.

Giants on offense

Manning does not throw a lot and the Packers have a great secondary. This means the Giants will have to rely on Jacobs and the running game to set up Manning to pass to Toomer and Burress.

Packers on offense

At first this seems impossible for the beat up Giants secondary. Brett has so many weapons with Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, and Donald Lee. It would not be so bad if that was all there was, but Ryan Grant will kill you on the ground if you only play the pass.

So what can the Giants do?

Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has a fire-zone scheme that will bring pressure against the run and the pass. His instincts are to attack good offenses, and he gets great execution from his players. In the Week 2 matchup, the Giants defense really didn’t know how to run the whole package, but they do now. New York led the NFL with 53 sacks this season after a very slow start. The Giants will disrupt the running game and they will get to Favre more than once.

The Bottom Line

Favre has an excellent playoff home record and Lambeau field promises to be very very cold. The Giants have slow receivers and a banged up secondary.

It comes down to a team great at home against the best team on the road.

Kirwan is taking the Packers. How about you?

The key here seems to be if Strahan and the boys can get to Brett Favre at all without him killing them with his quick slants. We already do not expect Eli Manning to beat us with his arm, so anything gained there is a bonus. Ryan Grant and Jacobs will probably neutralize each other.

It seems all Packers, but then this has been exactly the scenario the Giants have thrived on.

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