Though Tennessee's Chris Johnson had a better year than Adrian Peterson in '09, Minnesota has more depth.

I. Jacobs Will Almost Definitely Play

It really, really looks like dude will play – he even practiced yesterday on a limited basis.

To their credit, the G-Men have been super-cautious about this: Last week, Jacobs begged the trainers and coaches to let him play, but they insisted he rest, which was smart.  When Plax injured his hammy, he pushed it in a relatively meaningless game against Arizona, aggravating the injury.  Good to see the G-Men are learning from their mistakes.

Maybe if we win this game, we should consider resting Jacobs against the Vikings.  Consider how worn-down he looked in last year’s playoffs, when he averaged 3.2 yards per carry compared to Bradshaw’s 4.3 (which doesn’t include the touchdown-that-wasn’t in the Green Bay game, thanks to a ticky-tack hold on Chris Snee).  This brings up the question of whether we should rest guys against the Vikings if we win on Sunday, but I suppose we’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.

Jacobs had some pretty cool quotes in yesterday’s Star-Ledger.  Check these out:

“I don’t want to [have to] plead [to play] this week.  There’s kind of no choice.  I want to go.  Whoever I have to talk to to get this verdict, that’s what I’m going to do.”

And:

“We are the head honchos of the conference.  This game means a lot to our team, so I want to be out there to have a better chance for our team to win.”

“Head honchos” – gotta love it.  After Sunday, the G-Men will officially be the Big Cheese of the NFC.

II.  Getting Healthier

Via Mike Garafolo, Robbins, Ward, Hixon, and Moss all practiced today.  Yesterday, Jacobs, McKenzie, and Tuck practiced.  We’re getting healthier and we’re gonna fly around in the snow on Sunday night.

III.  Another Reason Not to Panic

As Ralph Vacciano pointed out in his live chat, a horrid performance in Week 15 does not a postseason run preclude.  Last year, we lost to the Redskins, 22-10 in a thoroughly listless, depressing games in recent memory.  This game saw the future Super Bowl MVP set a record for most incomplete passes in a game in a heinous 18 for 52 performance that made us wish Todd Collins was our quarterback.

So let’s see what happens on Sunday.  I’m expecting good things.

IV. Carney and Feagles

Most of the talk about the Pro Bowl has centered around Eli and Peyton becoming the first brother duo to make the Pro Bowl.  But I happen to think that Carney and Feagles become the two oldest dudes to make the Pro Bowl (44 and 42, respectively) is the cooler answer to a trivia question.

V. Great Move Locking Up Webster

Everyone knows that Webster has been good this year, but perhaps people don’t fully appreciate just how awesome: Although my fandom goes back only to around Mark Collins, I would venture to say his play this year is the best by a Giant cornerback I’ve ever seen.  Evidently, a light-bulb went on with this guy, and he was finally able to convert his incredible athleticism – he is quick, balanced, extremely long, and extremely coordinated – into results.

This outstanding article by Mike Garafolo backs up these claims with some statistics.

“Through 13 games, Webster has three interceptions and unofficially 22 passes defensed.  Webster also been the closest defender on 62 passes by opposing quarterbacks, — only 20 of which have been completed for a total of 238 yards and one touchdown.

“Add those numbers up, and opposing quarterbacks have posted just a 30.2 passer rating when throwing Webster’s way.”

So yeah… Webster is awesome and well-deserving of his five-year, $43.5 million contract.  Plus, he’s also only 26, so he’s a good bet to be good throughout the deal.  The following quote by Jerry Reese makes me feel even better:

“Corey has been an outstanding person and player in his short career for the Giants.  We are very happy to get this deal done.”

Outstanding person?  Sure, it’s a quote from a press release, but Reese didn’t have to say that.  If it’s true, it’s nice to know that Webster’s a character guy who can be a team leader in the future.

It sucks that Webster didn’t make the Pro Bowl, but in Asante Samuel, Antoine Winfield, and Charles Woodson, he was beaten out by some very deserving guys.  At first I was a little skeptical of Woodson, given the Packers overall defense.  But it turns out they have an excellent pass defense, so there you go.  Still, there should be Pro Bowl’s in Corey’s future.

I should mention that I had a one-on-one encounter with Webster the Saturday before he inked his deal.

I was at the Meadowlands watching the New Jersey high school football championships, having finagled a field pass through my friend.  (And yes, this was my first time on the field.  And yes, it was ridiculously awesome.)

I was standing near the tunnel – the one the G-Men come out of – when I spotted Webster coming out of the locker room and heading for the parking lot.  And although it looked like he was about to call someone on his cell, I went ahead and shouted, “Corey!” as I hustled toward him.

He was a little startled, but I extended a pound toward him and told him I was a big fan and he was having a great year.  That loosened him up, and he said something to the effect of, “Aright, man!” in a good-natured way, and we pound-hugged.

As we peeled away, I said to him, “You’re gonna get paid, you know.”

“I hope so,” he replied with a chuckle.  “That’s the plan.”

We’ll get to the game later on, but first, some historical perspective:

As much as we all suspended judgment after the Eagles game, it’s now time to face the facts: During the past two games, a Giants Super Bowl title has gone from probable to possible. Yes, I know, calling a Super Bowl ring “probable” is a little illogical. But let’s just say that going into last week’s game, we would have been absolutely crushed if the Giants continued their success only to come up short in the playoffs. That outcome, a nightmarish worst-case scenario eight days ago, doesn’t seem unlikely now.

As evidenced by last year, championships are determined by which team is playing its best when the playoffs come. After Week 15, with only two games to reverse the trend, it’s safe to say the Giants are not playing as well as some other teams. The Panthers are kicking some serious ass. The Cowboys and Eagles just beat us soundly. The Vikings have started to peak, and the Falcons are no cakewalk.

So we’ve fallen from the lofty perch we’ve occupied all season. The dream-like run in which wins came easy is over. We are now immersed in the same desperate struggle as every other team.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that Tom Coughlin’s Giants are uniquely equipped to weather this situation. Perhaps during that 11-1 start we forgot that this is the Giants we’re talking about, a franchise whose identity is tied to a belief that anything worthwhile does not come easy. It didn’t come easy last year, and it didn’t come easy in 1990, the most apt historical comparison if you want to be optimistic.

That year, a 10-0 start gave way to a 3-3 finish, with losses to the Eagles, 49ers, and Bills and thoroughly uninspiring wins against the mediocre Vikings, the lowly Cardinals, and the pathetic Patriots. We were written off, dropped by the experts from the ranks of the elite, but we kept grinding, eventually winning a championship that, like, 2007, owed itself to the team’s mental fortitude. Indeed, at their best, the Giants don’t dazzle, they grind.

Tom Coughlin’s Giants are a proud bearer of this standard of resilience. So while it may not look like it now, this is where we want to be. We don’t want to be above the fray, entering the playoffs with a dazzling 15-1 record. We want to be in the fight. Because there isn’t a team I like more in a fight than the G-Men.

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the nadir of Eli Manning’s professional career, a game that Ralph Vacchiano describes as “his hideous, 21 for 49, 273-yard four pick performance” against the Vikings.  Two of those four picks were returned for touchdowns in a game we lost, 41-17.

Since then, as Vacchiano writes, the Giants have won 17 of their 20 games.  Eli has completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 4,133 yards, 31 touchdowns and 13 picks, good for a QB rating of 87.3.

I attended this depressing game with loyal NYGMen commenter Dan, and the thoughts running through our heads leaving Giants Stadium went something like this:

Wow, that sucked.  We’re 7-4, so we might luck into another bogus playoff appearance in the weak-ass NFC, but this franchise clearly isn’t going anywhere serious.  After more than three full seasons as a starter, our quarterback has pretty much shown us what he is.  Yes, he’s capable of some clutch moments, but he doesn’t seem capable of exceeding a mediocre 55% completion percentage and 75.0 rating.  And great quarterbacks – the type Ernie Accorsi’s old, deluded, Frankensteinish ass convinced himself Eli was – simply don’t turn in performances like that. 

The Giants are halfway decent now, and we should be halfway decent for the next several years.   But our quarterback will hold us back from elite status, a sad irony considering we drafted him to take us to the Promised Land.  Despite his last name and the early promise he showed, Eli is officially a mediocrity.  And now we have to wait an hour and a half for this fucking bus.  This sucks.

This is worth reflecting upon because 1) It shows us how miraculously our fortunes have turned for the better since then; and 2) It reminds us that there was nothing in Eli’s past performance that pointed to his sudden improvement.  It’s not as if Eli had gradually gotten better since 2004, and that last year’s playoff run represented the culmination of a linear progression.  No, Eli was sputtering more than ever until the New England Week 17 game, when behind his goofy smile and tousled hair, a lightbulb switched on.  Nearly a full season later, it hasn’t gone off.

It’s worth noting that the title for Vacchiano’s blog post – “It all began one year ago today, at rock bottom” – is a bit misleading.  For Eli, there were more depths to plumb after the Minnesota game.  He followed the Vikings game with two uninspired efforts against the Eagles and Bears (granted, in the Bears game, he led one of his patented fourth quarter comebacks).  Then came the ugly Sunday night game against Washington, in which – windy conditions and brutal Gilbride playcalling notwithstanding – he went 18 for 52, averaging an unsightly 3.5 yards per attempt.  Then came the two-interception, five-fumble performance against the Bills the next week, during which he went 7 for 15 for 111 yards.  Think about how bad Eli was at this point.

Anyway, as we approach Thanksgiving, it’s worth reflecting with gratitude upon the miracle we’ve witnessed in the past year.  There was nothing to indicate that this would happen.  No, Eli isn’t a world-beater, but as Tom Coughlin said after Sunday’s game, “He just continues to do what has to be done to win a game.”

“The Giants are a new team.  This isn’t even the same team I played on.”

–Michael Strahan

(Note: Today’s entry will deal mostly with the offense.  A separate one on the defense will follow.)

The Best Team in the NFL:

Wow….  Four weeks into the season, the G-Men are the best team in the NFL.  This isn’t a guarantee of another title or even an especially bold statement, but rather a statement of fact.  If this were college football, we would be Number 1.  Does it mean anything?  No, not really – it’s a long season, there are always injuries, etc.  But isn’t this enjoyable?

Today’s game was probably the most dominant Giants performance many of us have ever seen.  At the end of the game, Fox posted a graphic saying the 44-6 margin was our largest since 1972.  But this neglected two playoff blowouts: 49-3 over the 49ers in ’86, and 41-0 over the Vikings in 2000.

Still, I don’t think we’ve ever opened up a can quite like we did today.  In the Niner game, we caught a huge break when Rice inexplicably fumbled, untouched, while streaking toward the endzone for what would have been a first quarter touchdown putting the Niners up 10-7.  The fumble completely changed the complexion of a game that might have gone differently had Rice not fumbled. Yes, we went on to destroy them, but there was a moment there when things looked dicey.

In the Viking game, two rather flukish events – a coverage breakdown on the Hilliard touchdown, followed by a fumbled kickoff – caused the game to be over before it began.  After five plays from scrimmage, it was already 14-0.  At that point, it couldn’t not be a blowout.

But this game was different.  This wasn’t a case of us catching some breaks or springing a couple of big plays.  We whooped their asses through and through, play after play.  The 2008 Giants are really, really good.

The O-Line:

There’s a lot of praise to go around here, but let’s start with the offensive line.  The Seahawks never had a fighting chance in this game because their front seven was no match for our big men, or as my high school football coach would call them, our “fatties.” 

At best, the Giants are a team for whom the run sets up the pass.  On the game’s second play, Jacobs slammed forward for 6.  On the next play, he galloped untouched through a gaping hole for a 44-yard gain.   On the next play, Eli hit Hixon for our first touchdown.

It was pretty much like that all game.  We ran at will, then we passed at will.  When they blitzed, we either picked it up perfectly or Eli maneuvered well in the pocket to elude it.  The first of many game balls goes to the fatties up front, who comprise one of the elite run-blocking lines in the NFL and are no slouch against the pass either.

I’ve discussed FootballOutsiders stats for offensive lines before, but let me point back to one called Adjusted Line Yards, which is meant to isolate the contributions of the offensive line and the running back on a particular running play.  Yes, it’s an imperfect stat, but in the case of the Giants line, it jibes with what we observe with our eyes: Since 2005, the Giants have ranked 10^th, 4^th, and then 2^nd last year in Adjusted Line Yards.  Coming into today’s game, they ranked 3^rd in the NFL, a ranking that should jump after today’s ass-whooping.

More praise in the analytical community for the Giants run-blocking came last week from ESPN columnist K.C. Joyner, who is now contributing a weekly piece for the Times’ Fifth Down Blog.

According to Joyner, the Giants offensive line laps the field in terms of the types of blocking schemes they employ, along with their willingness to run plays to either side of the field.

“The reason they are able to do this is because both their guards are capable of executing a pull block,” Joyner writes, anticipating the awesome job today by Seubert and Snee.

“But the Giants also take that concept one step further by pulling all of their linemen.  Most teams won’t pull their center or tackles, but the Giants have don’t that on nine different plays this year.”

That covers the run-blocking, but the pass-blocking is good too.  Footballoutsiders has a stat – and this one’s not nearly as esoteric – called Adjusted Sack Rate, which basically takes the number of sacks and intentional groundings and divides by the number of passing plays.  The premise of the stat is that it’s a better gauge than the raw sack total.

Since 2005, the Giants ranked 8^th, 7^th, and then 11^th last year in the category.  This year they rank 9^th.

So, Giants fans, it’s time to appreciate this group.  A big NYGMen shout-out goes to Dave Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O’Hara, Chris Snee, and Kareem McKenzie (who missed most of today’s game with a concussion and was replaced by Kevin Boothe, who actually made two notable mistakes).

Eli:

Eli was absolutely fantastic from the get-go, and earned himself a much-deserved second half rest.  For the game, his stats were great – a 136.6 QB rating.  But in the first half, during which the game was sealed, he was virtually flawless.  After starting off the half a perfect 7-7, he wound up 15-18 for 224 yards and a touchdown.

Among the good things about Eli’s performance was the tremendous pocket presence he displayed.  Yes, the protection was very good overall – save for a Patrick Kerney sack and forced fumble at the expense of Kevin Boothe – but Eli was great in the pocket and great at exploiting the weak spots in the defense created by Seattle’s blitzes.

He was also especially demonstrative today in terms of pre-snap reads, looking positively Peyton-esque in his on-field assertiveness.  And his passes to running backs – often a weak point in his game – were, with the exception of an overthrow of Hedgecock in the second quarter, pretty much all on-target.

Four games into the season, Eli has a 61% completion percentage, significantly better than his 55% career rate.  He’s averaging 7.15 yards per attempt, significantly better than the 6.3 yards he averaged coming into this year.  And his rating is 91.1, leaps and bounds better than his 74.4 career rating.  Can you say “The Leap,” anyone?

The following are some good plays he made in the first half that show some of the headiness I talked about above:

–On the touchdown to Hixon on the first drive, Eli did a good job “looking off” the one deep safety before hiring a perfect ball to a wide-open Domenic Hixon.  (The Seahawks would come to regret putting Kelly Jennings, their second-best corner, on Hixon, our most dangerous, if not our best, non-Plaxico receiver.)  He later did the same thing on a third quarter touchdown pass to Moss.

–On a 2^nd and 6 from the 44 on our second drive, Eli did a nice job stepping up to avoid a blitzing Lofa Tatupu before firing a strike between two defenders to Amani Toomer for a 22-yard gain.

–Two plays later, with Tatupu blitzing again, Eli stood in the pocket and waited until Tatupu was just about to hit him, the better to allow Toomer to get separation downfield against safety Jordan Babineax.  Toomer got separation, and Eli got the ball to him for a 29-yard gain to the 3, setting up a Jacobs touchdown to make it 14-3.

–On the next drive he, hit Hixon deep for a 41-yarder on a play-action, which set up our field goal to make it 17-3.

(Although on this pass, with all the time in the world, Eli waited an extra half-beat to unleash his throw, which caused Hixon to outrun the outer limit of Eli’s arm strength.  He’s done this before, and he did this a little bit later on a pass to Moss.  That’s an area he can improve upon.  This drive also saw Eli overthrow Toomer – high, as usual – on a play that could have set up a 1^st and goal but instead forced us to settle for a field goal.  But we’re really nitpicking here…)

 –On the next drive, the Giants fourth, Eli kept things a rollin’ with a play action 19-yarder to Smith (a little high, but Smith did a great job going up and getting it.  His body-control is ridiculous).  Later in the drive, deep in Seahawks territory, he drilled Hixon on a come-back for 1 13-yard first down, setting up first and goal from the 1.  Jacobs took it in on the next play, giving the G-Men a 24-3 lead, and the game was over.

The Receivers:

Hixon: What a ballplayer this kid is, and what an asset for our future.  How in the world could the Broncos let him get away? 

Fortunately, the concussion doesn’t seem too serious: I heard him interviewed after the game, and he said he didn’t go back in because of precautionary reasons.  He seemed pretty coherent saying it, too.

Hopefully when Plax is back next week, we can get him back to returning punts.  R.W. actually did a pretty good job today – who on this team, in any phase, didn’t? – but it would be nice to have a dangerous guy back there.

Amani: Old reliable.  What more is there to say about this guy?  What a great Giant.

Sinorice: Shake, shake, shake, Sinorice!  It’s been an tough-luck career thus far, and who knows how long he’s gonna be with us – when Tyree comes back, if we’re still healthy, he would seem to be the odd man out.  But if we have to part ways at some point, let’s just hope the Cowboys, Eagles, or Redskins don’t pick him up.  He clearly has some talent.

Manningham: It was nice to see him doing some things.  That was a nifty little run on that quick-hitter in the second quarter, and a good job nearly toasting the defender and drawing the pass interference.  He also made a tackle on special teams.

Who’d a thunk it?  The G-Men are stacked at the receiver position.

The Running Backs:

Jacobs: I’ve been critical of Jacobs on this blog, but I have to hand it to him: he played a great game today – it’s hard to take issue with 136 yards, at 9.1 yards per.

It’s possible to say that Jacobs’ performance wasn’t all that impressive given the dominance of the offensive line, but I think this wouldn’t acknowledge Jacobs’ best attribute as a runner: He’s completely unstoppable once he gets a head of steam going.  Given the holes the offensive line opened up, Jacobs was the man for the job.

I also have to admit that he has looked a lot spryer this year.  Some portion of my negative impression of him was based on how lethargic he looked in last year’s playoffs, but perhaps some of this can be avoided this year if we use him a little less.

Ward: This guy is just straight-up solid.  He’s pretty much rates high in every running back scouting category across the board except maybe elusiveness, an unnecessary quality in the see-hole, hit-hole NFL: He hits the hole quickly and hard, he’s got a good burst, he runs with a lot of power, and he’s a good receiver.

Bradshaw: The guy gets in during garbage time when everyone knows a run is coming, and he still breaks off a ridiculous run.  This guy is so good.  I’ll keep saying it every week: FREE AHMAD!

Gilbride:

Last but certainly not least here.  Gilbride has been pilloried by many Giants bloggers in recent weeks, many of whom believe he holds back a very talented Giants offense from achieving true awesomeness.  Whether or not that’s true is still to be determined, but at this point, it’s hard to sneeze at scoring 40-plus points half of the time.

What impressed me in this game was his aggressive, pedal-to-the-medal play-calling, which continued until the Seahawks were dead and buried.  Kudos to Gilbride for bucking the Giants’ historical trend of sitting on leads that don’t warrant such complacency.

Now, I don’t know why, because they have a pretty stocked WR core, with Plax, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith.

But here is what it says:

At least 10 teams have been in contact with the agent for the wide receiver who was released Friday by the Denver Broncos, including all four NFC East clubs, according to a source.

The 49ers, Bills, Bucs, Panthers, Raiders and Vikings also have reached out to agent Kennard McGuire regarding Walker. No visits had been scheduled as of early Saturday.

The Cowboys and Eagles have a couple connections working in their favor in pursuit of Walker. Dallas receivers coach Ray Sherman coached Walker in Green Bay. Walker is friends with Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and the two have been training together in Arizona for several weeks.