Giants End Losing Streak, But Does It Matter?

It's Thanksgiving Day, minutes before kickoff in Denver. The Giants are facing a team that has had a very similar season thus far. Like the Giants, the Broncos started off on a winning streak, going 6-0 before losing their last four straight games. This is a team lacking in confidence and a team that is ready for the taking. The question is, are the Giants good enough to do it?

Based on last week's performance, the answer has to be "no". Heading into last week's game, the Giants looked like they were perhaps, for the first time this season, beginning to show their strengths. Against San Diego their run defense showed up for the first time this year. And on offense they totally dominated the clock with some monster "Giant-like" drives. Despite the loss, it appeared they had maybe turned the corner.

But last week they were abysmal. They couldn't stop the run. They had very little pass rush and their efforts to create pressure with the blitz were completely ineffective. Worse, their offensive line appeared to be the weakest link of the entire team. Thank goodness for Eli Manning and the receiving corp (yes, that same group that was supposed to be their achilles heel - and the same group that sustained them on their 5-0 winning streak). But this team is not going to go far if the sole strength on the team is their young group of wide receivers.

A good team would beat the Denver Broncos this evening hands down. The offensive line would dominate and Brandon Jacobs would touch the ball 25+ times for 150+ yards. But, alas, this does not appear to be a good team. While a win is important, once again the real issue is how they play. At this point in the season, I'm not holding my breath that the 2009 team is suddenly going to find their way out of the woods and start playing ferocious defense and physically dominating offense.