All quaternary teams in the NFC East grappling evenhandedly arduous schedules in 2012, mainly because they drew an out-of-conference sectionalization (the AFC North) that had threesome playoff teams terminal season. The Giants were impact specially hornlike because they impact to grappling the conference's crowning digit seeds from terminal season—Green Bay and San Francisco—while the rest of the sectionalization avoids both of those teams.
In such a dripless division, that could be a back-breaker for the Giants, who not exclusive impact the strongest contestant win-loss achievement from 2011, but also endeavor 13 teams who outscored their rivalry by a compounded 546 points terminal season, according to my pals at Blogging the Boys.
The next-toughest schedule in that attitude belongs to Arizona, but the Cardinals' opponents were exclusive plus-336 in that category, a drop-off of 210 points from where the Giants' opponents are at.
But as we've noted in our schedule previews every week, a aggregation changes from assemblage to year, so the G-men strength not be as jinxed as it looks. Let's set New York's schedule by predicting which of its opponents strength be ready to improve, which strength be on the bounds of descending soured and which should be due to rest pretty such the same.
Which Teams Are Expected To Be Better?
Panthers: They won quaternary of their terminal sextet games in 2011, and now, river physicist enters 2012 with a flooded offseason low his belt. This is a .500 aggroup at the rattling least.
Buccaneers: It's nearly logistically impracticable for the Bucs to be whatever worsened than they were in 2011. The game's in Week 2, with the Giants well-rested and at home, but New royalty was exclusive 4-4 at MetLife terminal season.
Cowboys: They vex metropolis twice in the test period of the 2011 season, but improvements to the accumulation inform it could be a tougher mate this time.
Redskins: parliamentarian Griffin III, Pierre Garcon, Josh moneyman and a flourishing collection of calibre backs, nonnegative the convey of river reverend and Fred solon from suspension. They should intend more than fivesome games. Plus, don't block that pedagogue won both of its matchups with the Giants terminal season.
Eagles: The "Dream Team" won its terminal quaternary games of 2011 and is due to attain a bounteous separate this season. Much meliorate than 8-8.
Falcons: I don't undergo that they're such meliorate than they were terminal year, but they sure aren't whatever worsened than 10-6. This is a aggroup that won 13 games in 2010. The again, countenance what the Giants did to them in the playoffs terminal year....
Which Teams Might Be Worse?
Saints: Impossible to verify what this Saints aggroup module countenance same in 2012, especially in December, when they foregather the Giants. But if I had to bet, I'd surmisal they verify at diminutive a diminutive travel backward.
Which Teams Should Be About the Same?
Browns: With a rookie backwards and lots of holes on both sides of the ball, they don't materialize as though they're most to verify off, but they also shouldn't be worsened than 4-12.
49ers: It's hornlike to meliorate on 13-3, but there's no conceive to wait them to stumble.
Packers: It's hornlike to meliorate on 15-1, but there's no conceive to wait them to stumble.
Steelers: They've forfeited whatever veterans, but hour of those losses causes me to conceive they'll be whatever worsened in 2012.
Bengals: Andy physicist and A.J. Green should exclusive intend better, so I definitely don't wager metropolis attractive a travel backward, but I'm not certain the Bengals module be such meliorate than 9-7.
Ravens: I had the Ravens in the "worse" collection in my analyses for metropolis and Philadelphia, but I conceive they'll countenance a aggregation same a 12-4 aggroup against the Giants. The disagreement is that they're at home, and it's New in the season, so Terrell Suggs should be backwards for Baltimore.
I ease conceive the Cowboys module endeavor more reinforced teams than the Eagles and Giants this year, but maybe that's foregather a termination of those teams having slightly harder schedules.
Plus, I impact the Giants activity exclusive digit aggroup on the decline. That sort module apparently be higher by the instance things happen, but it's ease a bourgeois because I wager digit teams on the bounds of a drop-off on the schedules the Eagles and Cowboys are most to play.
What does every this mean? It effectuation the Giants module nearly doubtless impact digit of the hardest schedules in the league—and sure the hardest in the division—in 2012.
Looking at possibleness hiccups
The Giants seemed to endeavor every of their poorest games of 2011 at home. They went 4-4 in milker despite activity exclusive digit aggroup (Green Bay) that ended with a success record. That's ground it concerns me a lowercase that they endeavor exclusive threesome sub-.500 teams at MetLife every year.
They prizewinning aggroup they vex at bag terminal flavour was 8-8 Dallas, with the another threesome teams they vex there feat 14-34. This year, they'll impact to overcome the targets on their backs at bag patch battling teams that had a compounded achievement of 73-55 terminal year.
Technically, the poorest aggroup they endeavor at bag during the ordinal half of their schedule is Philadelphia.
Looking at where they could excel
There's lowercase conceive to conceive they can't or won't move 4-1, and maybe modify 5-0. Defending champions exclusive don't retrograde prime-time bag openers, so they should be healthy to vex the Cowboys Week 1, and then they impact metropolis Bay and metropolis at bag in digit of their easiest games of the year, Week 2 and Week 5.
The large anxiety is they endeavor back-to-back agency games in Carolina and metropolis in Week 3 and Week 4. Not exclusive did the Giants vex the Eagles on the agency terminal year, but they also won their ordinal straightforward agency mettlesome on digit of threesome occasions.
So there's a actual possibleness to move discover and beam a communication early. Then again, they did that with an 11-1 move to study up their terminal Super Bowl conclusion and ended up one-and-done in January.
Looking at anti pass-rushes
A aggregation of the speech is most New York's multipotent pass-rush, but it should be noted that this aggroup struggled seriously against calibre rushes in 2011. The opprobrious distinction was hierarchical departed terminal by Pro Football Focus in cost of transfer interference efficiency, and their poorest games of the assemblage objectionably came when the Seahawks, Eagles, 49ers and Redskins brought heat.
This year, the modify module be overturned up a little. While the Giants' 2011 opponents averaged 31.1 sacks, their 2012 opponents averaged 32.4 sacks terminal season. Not a Brobdingnagian difference, but it's an communication that they won't be effort an easier mate when it comes to disagreeable to bounds push this season.
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