The Browns have the worst ranked offense in the league right now, and with the G-men coming to town they will be hard pressed to do any better than the 210 total yards a game they have averaged so far this season.  Cleveland does have a lot of weapons on offense, but they have been a disappointment to everyone that thought they had finally turned things around.  While the Browns blamed injuries for the 30 unanswered points the Giants scored in the first half of the pre-season game , I don’t think the Browns will have any excuses if things go the same way Monday night.  Because of this, I think the Browns know this is the big game (not that every game isn’t) that can turn their season around.  Unfortunately the champs are still playing with a chip on their shoulder and having won 10-11 road games going into Monday night, the Browns better be prepared for a battle.

The Giants offense will have Plaxico back in the line up Monday night.  Having served his one game suspension, Plaxico remains unapologetic about the absence that caused him to be removed from the team for two weeks.  He claims it was a family issue and family comes first.  If he had to do it over again he said he would do the same thing, he would just make sure to call the team to let them know of the situation.  While Plaxico doesn’t seem to care much about the suspension, I do hope Eli will put it in his head that they need him to be a better teammate and role model for the younger guys on the team.  

With Plaxico back, Eli will no doubt be looking to his favorite target.  The Browns defense ranks 10th against the pass, so not forcing the ball into tight places will be a big factor.  Eli needs to be smart since the Browns secondary has some playmakers therefore keeping the ball on the ground to start will open up his receivers later on in the game.  With the way Brandon Jacobs and Co. have been running the ball, the Giants should let them go to work on a defense that ranks 22nd against the run. I think the Giants top ranked ground game will be the deciding factor, because once they get going, the offense proves difficult to stop.  Hopefully Eli will spread the ball around to all his receivers like last week, especially Amani Toomer who has had a lot of success against the Browns in the past.

The Giants defense will be up against an offense that hasn’t clicked the way people thought they would.  Is this the game they come alive? I doubt it.  The Browns might be without pro bowl TE Kellen Winslow as he has been hospitalized due to illness.  A bad time for him to be down as the Browns are coming off a bye week and have been preparing for this game the past two weeks.  The Browns do get a weapon back as WR Donte Stallworth will be back in action.  Derek Anderson should be able to get the passing game going, only if RB Jamal Lewis is able to establish the run.  For a team with talent like WR Braylon Edwards, Donte Stallworth, and Kellen Winslow, it’s pathetic that they are one of the worst passing offenses in the league.  The Giants are on pace right now to break the single season team sack record and will be going after Anderson all night.  If he’s unable to get something going in the first half, do we see Brady Quinn?  No, I think Romeo Crennel is too smart to throw him out against that defense, but another bad performance out of Anderson and Quinn won’t be waiting much longer for his number to be called.   

In the end I think the Browns had it in their head that they were good and believed all the pre-season hype, where as the G-men still act disrespected even though people are praising their style of play.  The spread going into the game is 8 points and unless the Browns’ special teams runs a couple of returns in for touchdowns, I think the Giants are going to beat them by at least a couple of TDs.  

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Last post (s) by Adam Provost

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