St. Louis Rams at New York Giants Preview

By Jonathan Solomon | Saturday, October 01, 2005 | ( 0 )

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The New York Giants return home this Sunday and will welcome the St. Louis Rams to the Meadowlands on Sunday. Kickoff is set for for 1pm EST.

These two teams have always played each other roughly and the last time the Rams were in New York, Kurt Warner was knocked for a loop. Nevertheless, the Giants will try to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Chargers last week and go into their bye week on a high and winning note. The Rams have played anything but consistent football but have found a way to be, like the Giants, 2-1 heading into this weekend's game. After a disastrous opening week loss to the 49ers, they returned to defeat the Cardinals and Titans who are all certainly among the leagues lower tier of teams in 2005.

The New York Giants received some news this week that could be of devastating proportions. Starting cornerback Will Peterson has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his lower back and will probably have to miss the rest of the season. Also, rookie corner Corey Webster is not expected to be active for the second week in a row due to a quadriceps injury. An already weakened Giants defensive unit will try and piece together a poor secondary that has allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw at will. For the Rams, wide receiver Issac Bruce is listed as doubtful and is not expected to play this week because of a toe injury. That injury should help ease the pain on the field for the Giants' defense. Also of note, running back Steven Jackson will likely be a game-time decision after not practicing this week because of a chest injury. If he's unable to go, the amazing Marshall Faulk will get the start.

With all that said, the game should be chock full of offense with both teams utilizing their healthy tools, and both do have plenty. Eli Manning played his best game as a pro last week and will improve even more if the running game steps it up a notch.

The St. Louis Rams were not great at protecting quarterback Marc Bulger versus Tennessee. Bulger was sacked a handful of times but was still able to have a good game. He threw three touchdowns on the day. One of the most dangerous and underrated receivers in the game, Torry Holt, will be roaming free and is expected to be covered by Will Allen who has yet to shut down his opposition thus far.

The New York Giants and St. Louis Rams have allowed an combined average of over 710 yards in 2005, expect that number to increase dramatically once this game is over. One way the Giants hope to change their failed defensive ways is by shaking up their line-backing group. Reggie Torbor will not start this Sunday while Nick Griesen will. Carlos Emmons will move back to the weak side, his natural position. Head coach Tom Coughlin has hinted that more defensive switches may be on the horizon if the defensive play doesn't improve.

The key, as is the case with most Mike Martz coached games, is whether or not the Rams can establish the run game. Although he's not known to favor a lot of run plays, expect something different as the winner will become one of the few 3-1 teams while the loser will drop to a .500 record through the first quarter of the season.

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