Giants vs. Saints Preview

While Giants fans have accepted the fact that Tiki Barber will walk away after the season, missing the playoffs after a 6-2 would be totally unacceptable. The team has a chance to rebound in today's critical home finale versus the NFC South champion Saints. On the opposing sidelines will be one of the talented young coaches in the NFL, a man who rose to prominence guiding the Giants offense to the top record in the NFC in 2000. Once presumed to be the man groomed to take over the reins for Big Blue, Giants fans can just wonder "what if" as they see Sean Payton lead the Saints this afternoon. However, Coach Coughlin can score a big victory over the doubters with wins in the Giants final two games. In order to get that win, the Giants must accomplish the following:

Run the football effectively. Much has been made of Tiki's final home game and the star back has a chance to carry his team to the postseason. The Giants must get him involved early and often for two important reasons. First of all, the Giants are simply a better football team when Barber gets his touches. Second, controlling the clock keeps the explosive Saints offense on the sidelines. With Saints run stopping specialist Hollis Thomas sitting as part of a suspension, the Giants should be able to run the football at will.

Get pressure on Drew Brees. The Giants get a huge boost by the return of Michael Strahan. In his absence, opposing quarterbacks have had plenty of time to pick apart a below average secondary. Last weekend the Redskins showed a lot of pressure up the middle of the field which clearly disrupted Brees' rythym. If the Giants can get some big bodies in the passing lanes, the undersized Brees will have a tough time finding his talented skill players.

Get stops on 3rd down. The Giants inability to get crucial stops has plagued them all season. With injuries taking their toll on depth, a thinning defense has logged too many minutes. If they can't get off the field with stops on third down, expect more troubles holding leads in the fourth quarter.

Convert in the green zone. For such an explosive offense, the Giants inexplicably have struggled inside the green zone. Several key drives have stalled inside the 10 yard line, including two crucial ones against Philadelphia last Sunday. More plays need to be called for their tall receiving targets Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress. Their size needs to be used in mismatches when the field shrinks.

Spread the ball around. Often times Manning gets locked in to getting Burress involved and neglects his other receivers. Jeremy Shockey needs to get touches early in the game to keep the defense honest. The Giants have a home-run threat in Sinorice Moss, but for some reason continues to remain on the sideline. Moss can be a real gamechanger if they can get him on the field.

With kickoff about thirty minutes away, the Giants face the real possibility of being virtually eliminated from playoff contention with a loss. While everyone would like to "win one for Tiki", the bigger focus is winning one to stay alive. Getting Michael Strahan will be a huge boost. His leadership has been sorely missed and his presence on the field will force the offense to account for him. It could spell for a huge day for Osi Umenyiora. Offensively, the Giants need to establish the ground game. The Saints have struggled against the run and a lower scoring game favors the Giants. While they have played very well this season, the linebacking corps of the Saints is not capable of containing Jeremy Shockey. Number eighty needs to get his touches. For the Giants, the wild card could be Sinorice Moss. He may get an opportunity to return kicks and his speed could be a huge difference maker. If the Giants can get him on the field, he could be poised for a big day. Look for the Giants to play with a lot of energy and seal up an important late game victory.