Giants Sack Eagles, Now Turn on the Jets

Was the NFL record setting 12 sack performance against the Eagles last week the momentum builder that turns this into a special Giants season? The Giants became the fifth team in NFL history to record 12 sacks in one game. Regardless of the quality of the opponent, one would think a team would have to be pretty darn good to record that many sacks in one game. Looking back at the four prior teams to accomplish this feat, however, reveals that none made it to the Super Bowl and one (the Cardinals in 1980) ended up 4th in their division and out of the playoffs entirely (the other three - Chicago in 1984 and the Cowboys in 1966 and 1985 - all ended up with 10 wins and made it to the playoffs). The losing team giving up the 12 sacks in each of those prior four games all had losing records by the end of the respective seasons.

While history may not, therefore, tell us much about the significance of the sack performance, it does indicate one thing: the Giants have the players to be a dominant pass rushing team. It is also interesting to observe that not all of the sacks were generated by pure speed and instead were, at least partially, the result of good coverage. That is perhaps the most encouraging sign of all from last week's game. While the addition of Ross was not the sole reason, he did play a strong game, especially in view of the fact he is still a rookie combined with the fact it was his first start.

If the Giants can maintain consistent pressure on the QB the rest of the way through the schedule, they should end up with a very decent record. Of the 12 games remaining, only 4 times do they face teams that currently have a winning record (Dallas, Detroit, Wash, and NE). Seven of those games - including the Jets tomorrow - are against teams currently sitting at 1-3 or 0-4. The schedule gods have given the Giants a rare opportunity to build confidence and momentum as they move through the balance of their schedule. If they take advantage, they could easily find themselves with a heady 11-12 wins and brimming with confidence by season end.

I have not changed my view of this team - I still believe there are loads of question marks throughout the roster. But, despite those questions, the schedule is such that I would consider it an unforgivable disaster if they don't end up with at least 9 wins - and purely "ok" play should get them at least 10. And 10 wins means going 8-4 the rest of the way, which translates into momentum and confidence - perhaps the two most important ingredients for success in the NFL. That is the significance to me of what the Giants did last week. Of course, all of this presupposes that I don't find myself sitting here in future weeks writing about a puzzling loss to a losing team.