Welcome to Week Nine of the NFL season, as the 3-4 Giants return to action following their mid-season siesta. If the Chargers, who had 10 days to prepare for the Dolphins, are any indication, the Giants are going to lose 37-0 to the Colts on Monday Night Football. But hey, more than 100 former Giants players are going to be at MetLife Stadium to honor Michael Strahan as he receives his Hall of Fame ring, so it won’t be a total loss.
If we’re going to be honest and factually correct -- the standard in this column -- we have to point out that the Giants have won their last six games following the bye week; they haven’t scored a touchdown on their opening drive in their last 18 games; and Monday night's officiating crew is the most penalty-happy in the NFL.
Which of these tantalizing factors will play the largest role in Monday’s game against the Colts? Let’s use our old friend the NFL injury report to decide.
Probable Factor of the Game: Carl Cheffers and his officiating crew.
I was at the Tuck Rule game in 2002 when Walt Coleman chiseled his face on the Mount Rushmore of NFL officiating calls, saying, “Upon further review, the quarterback’s hand was going forward because we hate the Raiders, first down New England on a bogus call.”
Do I paraphrase? Perhaps. But it’s nevertheless the case that Walt Coleman is the first name that comes to mind when I think of NFL referees, which is somewhat odd when you consider his crew ranks last in the league in number of penalties called per game (12.7).
Maybe that wasn’t always the case. Maybe Walt became gun shy after the Tuck Rule game. Maybe a braver soul would spend a considerable amount of time researching the behavioral patterns of NFL referees. Call me a coward, but I’m not going down that rabbit hole of hall monitors and public shaming.
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Instead it’s enough for me to know and point out that the crew covering the game leads the league with 21.9 flags per game –- so nine more per game than Coleman’s crew.
There’s every possibility that this game will end on Wednesday morning.
Questionable factor of the game: Winning one for Michael Strahan.
MetLife Stadium is going to be raucous as Big Blue fans honor Strahan on his recent induction to Canton and also welcome back many former players. Will the pregame and halftime ceremonies juice up the crowd, and in turn inspire current Giants to play above their usual skill levels? God I hope so; that kind of unprovable/irrefutable storyline will make writing a game recap as easy as filling out Mad Libs.
Doubtful factor of the game: Hakeem Nicks.
Do the Colts and their No. 1 offense have weapons? Yes, they do. At quarterback, they have Andrew Luck. At running back, they have former Giant Ahmad Bradshaw and former good player Trent Richardson. At tight end, they have Dwayne Clark and Coby Fleener. At wideout, they have TY Hilton, Reggie Wayne and Donte Moncrief.
And down there among the options, ranked eight on the Colts with 168 receiving yards, is former Giant Hakeem Nicks. If Nicks plays a big factor in this game, it’s probably because he’s inspired by the ceremony for former teammate Michael Strahan.
Out factor of the game: Rashad Jennings.
The Giants are once again going to be without their injured starting running back, which means the team will have to rely on Andre Williams (3.1 yards per carry) to help control the clock. My math is a little shaky, but 3.1 YPC is probably gonna require four runs to make 10 yards and a first down. The Giants usually prefer to punt on fourth down, so Williams will only have three tries to make 10 yards. 3.1 x 3 = less than 10. Hmm.
Well, the Giants shouldn’t write this game off just yet. Failing their ability to keep up with the Colts, they can always hope for a lot of penalties on Indianapolis. Thanks to Carl Cheffers and Co., that’s a real possibility.
