The New England Patriots were one play short of perfection in 2007. BB: They’re a really good football team.
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“I much rather have won them than lost them but they won’t have any bearing on this week or what the match-ups are”, Brady said. Two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has returned after losing a finger in a July 4 fireworks accident.
Coughlin said all he is concerned about is heading into the Week 11 bye on a high note, as with a win, the Giants would enter their break on a two-game winning streak and winners in three of its last four games.
The last time these teams met in a meaningful regular-season game was in Week 9 of the 2011 season. Yet as he admitted in an interview on WEEI Radio in Boston with a laugh: “We’ve always had a hard time beating these guys one way or another”. “They’re a good football team and you’ve got to play your best, there’s no other way around it, in all phases because of their ability to score, [and] their ability on defense to rush the passer”. They worked well together and we got a lot of leadership in the secondary from Everson Walls – I mean, the tackle he made on [Thurman] Thomas in the Super Bowl was a huge play. Simply put, the Giants’ safeties, who have taken a few bad angles of late, need to make sure they clean that part of their game up if they’re to stop Gronkowski from burning them deep.
Of course, the Patriots come into the game rolling.
Before New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick even took a question from the NY media during his conference call on Wednesday, he took a moment to honor and pay his respects to two legendary NY Giants, Ann Mara and Frank Gifford, who each passed away earlier this year. But the parallels and commonalities between 2007 and this season are too inviting to not invoke a comparison of the two clubs, and at least assess the likelihood of the Patriots’ approaching another unbeaten campaign. In second place are the 1991 Redskins, who are a whopping 51 points behind, or around an average of a touchdown per game.
Pierre-Paul said the hand did not limit him physically or tactically.
But the losses to the Giants weren’t merely regular losses. What is it about the Giants that your teams have struggled against them?
That spoiled the Patriots’ chances for the NFL’s first 19-0 season. The Patriots’ passing game is ranked third, compared to the 31st-ranked pass defense of the Giants.
One thing the Giants can do to get the upper hand is to keep Tom Brady and that offense of his off the field. He also has 38 total tackles on the year. He comes into the game leading the league in touchdown passes (22), interceptions (2) and quarterback rating (113.5).
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Brady also touched on how the team will move forward with the loss of running back Dion Lewis. Of the 21 previous teams to start 8-0 in the Super Bowl era, 12 reached the Super Bowl and eight of those teams won rings. In the receiving end, Odell Beckham had 105 yards in nine receptions while Rueben Randle added 40 yards and one touchdown in five catches.
