New York Giants: Analyzing through week 8

After exercising their Dallas Cowboy demons in week 7, the team found itself on the losing end of a historic offensive shootout in New Orleans. The Giants still sit atop the NFC East at 4-4, but things could get interesting as the team has matchups with Patriots, Panthers, and Jets in the coming weeks. This will certainly be a test of the teams merritt and resiliency, one that will either make or break the outcome of the season.

Pros

The offense struggled to get much going against Dallas, However it had no problems in the Big Easy as Eli and the Giants were able to move up and down the field seemingly at will. This is a great sign that the poor performance against their division foes were perhaps an abrupt aberration. If this torrid pace can continue and add a player like Victor Cruz, the sky is definitely the limit for Big Blue.

Dwayne Harris cam on strong in both weeks as he had a game breaking kickoff return score against his former team and two touchdown catches in New Orleans. He's done a nice job filling in the gaps for the offense and should see the ball a lot more gong forward.

Dominique Rodgers Cromartie has been the lone bright spot on a struggling defense. He's done everything he can to he;p, but just can't seem to get anyone else to step up with him. Cromartie is definitely earning his keep out there, so one con't help but imagine what the team would be like without him.

Cons

The Giants defense had a tumultuous two weeks as it surrendered 233 rushing yards against Dallas and 608 total yards to the Saints. With those kinds of numbers going against them, it's safe to say that the defense is completely broken. Jason Pierre-Paul is on his way back, but it's doubtful that his impact will mean anything if this ugly trend continues.

Though there has been improvement, the running game hasn't seen the boost it was supposed to get with the revamped offensive line. The Giants have only managed one 100 yard game this season and are averaging just 94.5 yard per game (27th in the league). Hopefully as the line begins gel the ground game will take off, but for now it's just not enough.