The Rams shut quarterback Russel Wilson down this year causing him to have a 57 quarterback rating. That was the tenth lowest of his career. They kept him in the pocket and covered receivers deep. He was sacked six times and intercepted twice. Ram outside linebacker, Leonard Floyd, led the game in five pressures and three sacks. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald was second in pressures in the game with four.
Giants defensive tackle, Leonard Williams, is having a career high year with six sacks, nineteen quarterback hits and twenty-two pressures. Recently signed outside linebacker Jabaal Sheard in 101 snaps on the Giants has already had one sack, one quarterback hit, one pressure and a game closing forced fumble. On a career per game basis his stats are comparable to Rams backer Leonard Floyd. The Giants are tied for third in least number of passing plays of 20+ yards given up this season by the defense. The Giants have to play disciplined defense, contain Russell Wilson and maintain coverage downfield.
On offense the Giants should take their shots downfield. Seattle ranks 31st in number of pass plays allowed of 20+ yards. They are strong against the run and are third in least yards per rush attempt allowed. However in four of their eleven games they did allow 4.7 or more yards per rush attempt and three of those game the opponent rushed for over 100 yards. The Giants run game since Wayne Gallman started in week 8 has averaged 4..09 yards per attempt. Probably want to favor the passing game but maintain a good balance to keep the Hawks guessing.
The Seahawks best receiver is DK Metcalf. He is the league’s leading receiver with 1,039 yards. He is fifth in receiving touchdowns and first downs. However Giant James Bradberry is listed by pro Football Focus as first in the league in single coverage grade and forced incompletions. This should be a good battle.
Quarterback Colt McCoy, a third round pick, is the only quarterback from the draft class of 2010 that is still active. When Colt McCoy left college in 2010 he was the winningest quarterback in NCAA history. He would still qualify in the top five. The guy knows how to win. Don’t count him out. Sterling Shepard is one of the most reliable receivers in the league. His season 56.25% third down conversions to 3rd down targets percentage is 17th among 122 players with 10+ third down targets.
The rest of the division all have difficult games this weekend. The others play the Steelers, Ravens and the Packers. The site FiveThirtyEight.com ranks Colt McCoy as the second best starting quarterback in our division and just slightly behind Alex Smith. I like the Giants chances for a victory over that of the other teams in our division.
Go Giants! Enjoy the Game!
