Top Stories

By KEVIN SHIELDS, WCBSTV.com
NEW YORK (CBS) ― After spanking their opponents during the first half of their season, the New York Football Giants have been doing whatever they can to prove that they are the team to beat in the NFC. They beat a tough, albeit banged up, Pittsburgh Steelers team. Then, they dominated the Baltimore Ravens and their vaunted defense, racking up 210 yards against the league's best rush D.

But with this week comes perhaps the biggest test for the Giants, a game that could establish them as perhaps the best team in the NFL – or could make all of us question whether or not we should be booking flights to Tampa.

The G-Men are poised for a date with destiny at Super Bowl XLIII, and are truly defending their title and are carrying a champions' mentality. Their road to Tampa, however, is riddled with obstacles that I can't help but worry about.

Kurt Warner is a front-runner for the MVP award this season, recapturing the 1998-99 St. Louis Rams magic that brought him his two previous trophies as the league's best player. Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald are playing like the best two receivers in the league, and Warner is finding them non-stop. The two combined for over 330 yards receiving last week. Read that sentence again. In Boldin, Fitzgerald and fellow receiver Steve Breaston, the Cardinals could have three 1,000-yard receivers in 2008 – the first time a team has accomplished the feat since Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokley of the 2004 Indianapolis Colts. Coincidentally, in 2004 Warner began the season starting for the G-Men, before giving up his starting job to Eli Manning.

The Giants absolutely have to stick to their gameplan, and just run the ball down Arizona's throat. If they can do that successfully, they can control the clock, and keep Warner and his explosive offensive unit at bay. If the Giants struggle on the ground Sunday, this game could quickly become a shootout – something that the Giants would be better off avoiding.

Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward have been invaluable this season, powering the Giants' #1 rushing offense (172.7 yards per game) that's been able to control games and wearing down defenses. Ahmad Bradshaw has been doing his part with consistent running in the fourth quarter and running the clock down to protect New York leads to finish games. Jacobs has been an absolute beast this season, and the Giants are praying that he'll go on Sunday. Jacobs is listed as probable, and is expected to play through his knee injury.

Manning has been nothing if not efficient, and is on-pace for the best quarterback rating (87.6), completion percentage (60.2%) and touchdown-interception ratio (15-7) of his career. With the running game dominating opposing defenses, he's has been doing what's been asked of him – nothing more, nothing less – and winning games. If the ground game sputters, though, Manning will need to step up and make some big plays.

Make no mistakes: this game means little for the Giants as far as the playoff picture, as their hold in the division – and on the NFC as a hole – is pretty strong. But a strong showing, and victory, against the surging Cardinals would maintain the absurd level of confidence with which Big Blue has carried itself this season.

Destination: Tampa Bay for Super Bowl XLIII can wait. For now, everyone should keep their sights on the Arizona Cardinals, and we can see what this team's really made of.

Are they the class of the NFC, or did the G-Men just feast on a soft first-half schedule? We'll find out Sunday.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

WCBSTV.com Popular Pages

• Go! New York For A Healthy Lifestyle
• Got Wit? Play CBS 2's Caption Game!
• 20 Questions
• Celebrities On Twitter
• Celebrity Real Names Revealed
• When It Was Out To Be Out
• Hilarious Movie Blunders
• World's Coolest Fighter Jets