Giants-Rams Preview

SCOUTING REPORT

Rams offense still trying to find itselfNew York looked unbeatable in the first half last week against Washington, then appeared human after halftime. The Giants will need every NFC win they can get their hands on to stay on top of a very tough division. St. Louis was blown out by Philadelphia and must rebound quickly to stay competitive in the NFC West. A repeat of last week's performance would put the Rams in a very difficult position moving forward. Facing a tough early schedule -- at Seattle and a home match versus Buffalo also loom before the Week 5 bye week -- the Rams can only hope that a return to the Edward Jones Dome helps set them back on track.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
NYG	12-4	427	294	7-1	5-3	4-2	9-3
STL	2-14	232	465	1-7	1-7	0-6	2-10
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

NY Giants Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Mannin... 62.3 4021 27 14 Carr 63.6 225 1 0

St. Louis Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Bulger 56.7 1469 5 6 Boller 55.7 899 3 6

NY Giants Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jacobs 224 835 3.7 5 Bradsh... 163 778 4.8 7

St. Louis Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jackso... 324 1416 4.4 4 Darby 27 152 5.6 0

NY Giants Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Smith 107 1220 11.4 7 Mannin... 57 822 14.4 5

St. Louis Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Avery 47 589 12.5 5 Gibson 34 348 10.2 1

Full Player Stats: NY Giants | St. Louis

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	NYG	356.0
	STL	287.0
Yards Passing	NYG	198.6
	STL	184.2
Yards Rushing	NYG	157.4
	STL	103.1
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	NYG	292.0
	STL	371.9
Pass Yds Allowed	NYG	196.2
	STL	217.2
Rush Yds Allowed	NYG	95.8
	STL	154.7

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
NY Giants leads 4-1
Oct 2, 2005	NYG 44, @STL 24
Sep 7, 2003	NYG 23, @STL 13
Sep 15, 2002	NYG 26, STL 21
Oct 14, 2001	NYG 14, STL 15

The New York Giants defense looked fine in the Super Bowl champions' first game of the season. This week, Eli Manning will try to get the offense running more smoothly when New York visits the St. Louis Rams -- a club that wasn't up to the challenge defensively in its opener.

The Giants look to improve to 2-0 and extend their winning streak away from their home field to 12 games when they take on the Rams on Sunday.

Many observers thought New York would take a step back defensively this season after the retirement of Michael Strahan and a season-ending injury to fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora, along with several other key departures. For one game at least, the Giants appeared prepared to overcome those losses.

Limiting Washington to 11 first downs and 209 total yards in a 16-7 home win to open the NFL season Sept. 4, New York performed like the tough defensive team that unexpectedly surged to the championship in 2007.

"We played well and it's no surprise to us," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. "We feel like we got capable guys and we held them for very few yards other than the two-minute situations where they got most of their yardage. We are confident in our defense and feel like if we stick with the scheme we'll have success all year."

The Giants, who led the league in sacks last year, managed only one against the Redskins. However, they limited Washington to 84 yards rushing and held Jason Campbell to 133 passing yards.

"It was a great opening to the season," Manning said. "There was a lot of emotion, a lot of excitement. You could feel it in the crowd. It was great to see Michael (Strahan) holding the (Lombardi) trophy."

Manning completed 19 of 35 passes for 216 yards and an interception, and scored the Giants' only touchdown on a 1-yard run in the first quarter. New York scored on its first four possessions, outgained Washington 354-209 overall and held a 21-11 advantage in first downs. The Giants also dominated the time of possession by holding the ball for almost 36 minutes, and Plaxico Burress had 10 catches for 133 yards.

New York, though, left some room for improvement offensively after a big first half was followed by a scoreless and somewhat ineffective one. The Giants gained 241 yards before the break -- 100 on the ground -- but just 113 after halftime as they failed to deliver a knockout blow to Washington.

However, with the defense playing well, New York will try to extend its lengthy road winning streak this week. The Giants haven't lost away from the Meadowlands since last Sept. 9 at Dallas in their 2007 season opener. They went on to win their final seven regular season road games and four more away from their home field in the playoffs, including the Super Bowl against New England in Glendale, Ariz.

"We are hoping to be able to continue to talk about road warriors and playing well on the road and being able to show the mental toughness and the perseverance and the ability to do whatever is necessary, the idea of not letting the other guys down, the idea of going on the road and being the only group supporting our team so regardless of what happens we are going to be there for each other," coach Tom Coughlin told the team's official Web site Wednesday. "Those things are still very strong and we will again go into great detail talking about that."

That road prowess could be put to the test on the turf of the Edward Jones Dome, where the Giants haven't had much success against the Rams. New York won its last game at St. Louis 26-21 on Sept. 15, 2002, but lost its previous three there. It's 4-13 all-time in road games against the Rams franchise.

St. Louis, though, will have to improve dramatically this week if it wants a win in its home opener. The Rams were pounded 38-3 last week by Philadelphia and Donovan McNabb, who threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns.

Looking very much like the team that went 3-13 last season, the Rams allowed the Eagles to gain 522 yards of offense and managed just 166 themselves.

"It was not very good," said St. Louis' Marc Bulger, who was sacked four times. "They played great, we didn't. Give them credit, but that's about as bad as you can get beat in the NFL."

Running back Steven Jackson, who held out of training camp for 27 days before signing a lucrative new contract, looked rusty with only 40 yards on 14 carries.

The Giants have won three straight over the Rams overall, although the teams haven't met since Oct. 2, 2005 -- a 44-24 New York home victory.

Police: Lack of evidence against Rams' Jackson

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Giants DE Umenyiora threatens to quit football

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Traffic charges against Plaxico Burress dismissed

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NFL Putting Off Plaxico Punishment

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said today there is no timetable for making a decision on league disciplinary action for Plaxico Burress.

GIANTS: Updated: Boldin hires Eli's agent

KTAR Radio in Arizona reports that Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin has hired Tom Condon to be his agent.

Moving the Chains: Giants' Umenyiora takes aim at Eagles

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. A special buzz is building around the 2009 football season in Philadelphia, and a lot of it has to do with the rivalry between the Eagles and Giants.

Canty happy to be part of 'tremendous defense' in New York

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St. Louis Rams coach Spagnuolo mum on sale talk

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Rams keep focus on the job

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Video: If sold, will the Rams stay in St. Louis?

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As sale looms, Rams fans can do their part

If the Rams eventually move from St. Louis, it won't be because of the fans. The customers have stayed loyal during hard times, buying up about 95 percent of the seats at the Edward Jones Dome over the last two seasons.

Vobora now seen as relevant for Rams

A year ago at this time, Rams linebacker David Vobora was irrelevant, as in "Mr. Irrelevant," the last player taken in the draft.