Chargers enter land of the Giants

After two weeks of feasting off a pair of the NFL’s worst teams, the Chiefs and Raiders, the Chargers will fly across the country to take on the New York Giants. Although the Giants are currently on a three game losing streak and playing some of the worst football they have played in years, New York will likely be a much greater challenge than the Chargers two previous opponents.

The Giants began their season on a tear, winning their first five games and had established themselves as the league’s number one defense. But things started to turn for them when they got blown out by the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome by a score of 48-27. New York went on to lose to Arizona at home and get blasted in Philadelphia by the Eagles 40-17. Throughout the losing spell the Giants have looked terrible at times on offense and special teams but the biggest problem has been what was once their greatest strength, defense.

With a secondary that has been depleted by injuries to cornerback Aaron Ross who has yet to play this season and safety Kenny Phillips who was placed on injured reserve, the Giants have been ineffective against opponents’ passing games. Their defensive line, which many thought was going to be one of the best the NFL has seen in years has been nicked up as well, but for the most part has underperformed. This is all good news for the Chargers who still possess one of the more prolific passing attacks in the league. Phillip Rivers is having another stellar year with the help of veteran tight end Antonio Gates and the emergence of wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

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While the Giants are looking their worst the Chargers have used the last two weeks to turn their season around and are starting to resemble the team that many thought would challenge for the Super Bowl this year. Of course it was only a few weeks ago that New York ripped apart the Chiefs and Raiders too, and they were the ones being talked about as the elite class of the NFL. Good teams are supposed to blow away inferior competition, but sometimes weak teams make mediocre teams look better than they really are. On Sunday both the Giants and Chargers will be fighting for a win and to prove they are better than just an average team.

Two of the areas that had been issues for the Chargers earlier in the season seemed to have been rectified in the last two games. The running game improved as did the defense, especially against the pass. Once again the game against the Giants will give them the opportunity to see if they are legitimate. New York still has a very formidable group of running back and receivers and although Eli Manning has struggled lately he should give the San Diego defense a real test.

Sunday’s game should be an exciting contest as both teams will battle for what would be a huge win for either of them. But there will be some extra intrigue due the link between the quarterbacks Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers will forever be tied together in NFL history because of what occurred in the 2004 draft. San Diego had the number one pick that year and every intention on selecting Manning who did not want to be drafted by the Chargers. When the time came the Chargers drafted him anyway but then traded him to the Giants who selected Rivers at number four. This will be the first time Manning and Rivers will face each other on the field since that day.

By Steven Mondelli
ProFootball-fans.com San Diego Chargers Correspondent