New York Giants vs St. Louis Rams: What to Watch For

The 0-1 New York Giants take on the 0-1 St. Louis Rams tonight in New York in a game of playoff hopeful teams battling to not start the season 0-2. This team will feature musical score from M*A*S*H as both teams will trout out backups at key positions on both sides of the football. The Rams will likely be without two of their top offensive weapons in Steven Jackson (who is listed as questionable) and Danny Amendola (doubtful and it’d be a miracle if he played tonight). Which is unfortunately for the Rams because the Giants are hurting on defense where they are without Terrell Thomas (out for season), Osi Umeminyora (knee), first round pick Prince Amukamara (broken foot). The Giants will also be without starting tight end Travis Beckum .

Who is just healthy enough to survive tonight in Jersey?

And what should you be watching for. Well, here at NFLMocks we like to concentrate on the young guys.

Roger Saffold vs Jason Pierre Paul

Tonight Jason Pierre Paul will get the start at RDE with the Osi Umeinyora injury. It’s also possible that Justin Tuck misses a second straight game (neck) He’ll be lined up vs the second year LT out of Indiana, Roger Saffold. Both the Rams and Giants think they have future probowlers (possible All pro) players in Paul and Saffold. Last week. Jason Pierre Paul was dynamite last week vs Trent Williams especially in the second half. After a strong second half of last year, Paul looks ready to explode. He has long arms, is very athletic, good size, and never stops hustling. Last week Paul had 2 sacks, and a forced fumble in the second half. He also had about 3 Tackles for loss in the game (can’t find the exact stat). Big matchup tonight for two second year players.

Linval Joseph vs the Rams interior offensive line

The massive Linval Joseph is trying to step up and replace Barry Coefield who the Giants lost in free agency. Last week, he did a bang up job helping to control the line of scrimmage though his impact didn’t show up on the stat sheet. The Giants will be starting rookie Greg Jones in the middle of the field. If Joseph can’t occupy blockers and allow Jones the room to operate it could be a very long night for the New York Giants, who must stop the Rams running game with 7 guys in the box because they don’t have any depth at cornerback and the Rams don’t have the top notch WR to make them pay.

The Giants “depth at WR” vs the Rams “depth” at cornerback

Like the Giants, the Rams are hurting at cornerback because of injuries. And like the Rams because of injuries and defections, the Giants don’t have many proven wide receivers. Hakeem Nicks is a Stud, but is questionable for tonight’s game. Mario Manningham is a very solid #2 WR, but if he becomes the number 1 WR because of Nicks injury (Ramses Barden, a training camp sensation is on the PUP list). The Giants are left with Victor Cruz, Domenik Hixon, Devin Thomas, Brandon Stokley (just signed) and Jerel Jernigan (inactive last week) are all that is left at WR. That’s not much. Talent? Yes. Production. Remains to be seen. The Rams aren’t looking great at cornerback either.

Lance Kendricks in the middle of the field vs the Giants rookies

The Giants have a lot of young players who will see significant time. Jacquian Williams the 6th round linebacker no one ever heard of received a ton of snaps in passing downs last week. Greg Jones one of the other 6th round picks will start at MLB and Tyler Sash the third 6th round pick will see a lot of time in Nickel and Dime packages. The middle of the field is vulnerable while these players learn the N.F.L. game on the fly. Can the Rams and Kendricks take advantage of the soft middle of the Giants pass defense?

Ultimately, this game will come down to who can run the ball better. Both teams will try to establish the line of scrimmage because of their injuries, which team can do that better tonight will likely win. The Rams play in a weak division and can bounce back from a loss tonight. The Giants schedule gets harder each week and a loss here could be doom and gloom for the season. For the Rams Spags would love to beat his former team in their first matchup since he left the Giants defensive coordinator position to accept the Rams head coaching job.

Home/NFL Draft