The Giants have become this playoffs season’s Rodney Dangerfield. Even on a now nine game road winning streak including a stunning triumph over the conference’s number one seed on the road, the Giants are getting no respect from anyone heading into Championship Weekend. Perhaps it’s the lack of a marquee star or simply the media trying to justify overlooking the team the past two weeks, but it seems as though most everyone is content on skipping this weekend and sending New England and Green Bay to Arizona.

The great thing about this team though is that they simply don’t care; they feed off of each other and don’t need reinforcement from anyone to know they belong. “This team doesn’t want to let [this season] go,” said Jeff Feagles, 20 year NFL veteran. “We get into the locker room before the game and no one wants to go home. We’re afraid to lose because of the ride that we’re on.”

For the Giants, this is a chance more than just a chance to go to the playoffs – this week and last week give the Giants a unique opportunity to exercise the demons that haunted them earlier in the season. The Green Bay game in Week 2 was something of a watershed moment in the Giants season and the players should take great pride in the fact that the team that takes the field on Sunday will be different in a host of ways from the one that look browbeaten and downtrodden after being torched late against the Packers.

That is not to say that the Giants will have an easy week in any way, the Packers are a team that has evolved in their own right. The emergence of Ryan Grant, who ran for over 200 yards and three touchdowns against the Seahawks last week, has solidified a running game that was very much in a state of flux during their previous meeting. “You characterize him as a downhill, cutback runner,” said Steve Spagnuolo. “He makes that cut as good as anybody, and he has great speed.”

Playing in Green Bay in the playoffs brings another element into the game, subzero weather conditions that will test the road warriors to their core. The Giants have had a notoriously tough time getting in gear in poor conditions – struggling to get started in games against Miami, Chicago, Washington, and Buffalo all this season. With temperatures forecasted at -8 degrees and pitted against a team with an offense that attack at the blink of the eye, this could prove to be their toughest challenge yet.

But if there is one thing you can count on, it is that the Giants will give everything they have on the field this Sunday, they just want to keep playing too much. “We have a lot of guys on our team who we want to get there, myself included,” said Michael Steahan. “And we're going to fight for it. It’s not going to be an easy game for either team.”

Injury Report

The Giants will have some more help in the secondary this week, which will be bolstered by the fact that Sam Madison should be suited up and ready to go. The veteran practiced lightly this week and has show signs of improvement from his abdominal strain. Aaron Ross suffered a shoulder separation and re-aggravated the injury after trying to play hurt. Never the less, the rookie will play against the Packers with the aide of a shoulder harness. Kevin Dockery will not be available; the defensive back is still suffering the effects of a hip flexor and has already been ruled out.

On the offensive side of the ball, Plaxico Burress seemed to be a little more hampered by his ankle than usual last week. Burress was held out of practice but, as always, will go this weekend against a talented secondary. Kareem McKenzie rounds out a small Giants list, he is still fighting off an ankle injury that was re-aggravated against the Cowboys. McKenzie will start though, and will be integral in controlling the pace of the game.

The Packers have a few big names listed on the injury report this week, but considering the magnitude of the game, they will likely start. Nick Barnett, Charles Woodson, Greg Jennings, Bubba Franks, and Koren Robinson all found themselves limited in practice but all are listed as probable. The only player in question in Will Blackmon, Blackmon is hampered by a foot injury and is listed as questionable.

Game Preview

Offense

Eli Manning will have his biggest test yet this week in the form of a solid pass rush, a talented secondary, and the type of conditions that have given him fits all season. In the poor weather games Manning has had to deal with so far this season, he has yet to go over 200 yards and has struggled to consistently complete passes, but then again this doesn’t appear to be the same Eli Manning. Manning will once again need to keep his passes short and accurate, there may be even more screens and slants over the middle this week than weeks past in an effort to keep the ball moving. Over the past week there has been a lot of talk about Eli finally turning the corner, finally maturing into the quarterback the Giants saw on draft day – well Sunday will be his chance to announce his arrival as a successful NFL signal caller.

Brandon Jacobs almost certainly will be the focal point of a Giant offense that will look to slow things down and control the pace of the game. Jacobs will go against a very talented group of linebackers in Nick Barnett and AJ Hawk who are not overly big but are hard tacklers and will put Jacobs down easily. For that reason, the Giants will be well served in throwing out a heavy dose of Ahmad Bradshaw to keep the linebackers honest. The Giants have to sustain some long drives to keep the ball out of Brett Favre’s hands; the running game will have to step up if there is any hope of accomplishing this.

The receivers are going to have their hands full with a talented, physical secondary that ranks second in the NFL with 19 interceptions. Both Al Harris and Charles Woodson are crafty veterans who Plaxico Burress should have a hard time getting separation from. Amani Toomer will again be a key figure with his underneath and comeback routes that serve he and Manning so well. Steve Smith has emerged as the unquestioned third receiver on the team; he is a much better pass catcher than Moss and has come up with some big plays when the Giants needed them. Kevin Boss also has emerged in the absence of Jeremy Shockey and will have to be watched deep.

The offensive line will go against a talented defensive front, particularly Aaron Kampman, who is one of the finest pass rushers in the NFL. The rest of the line doesn’t get much of a pass rush, so shutting down Kampman will go a long way in providing Manning with some time to find open receivers. The Green Bay run defense is middle of the road at best; last week however they stuffed Sean Alexander all day and held him to only twenty yards. If the Giants can get a good push at the line of scrimmage, they should be able to open some holes for the big back and force the Packers to make some open field tackles.

Defense

The defensive line was instrumental in the second half turnaround last weekend, this week they will need to get their pressure more consistently as Favre doesn’t become shaken as easily as Tony Romo. The tackles will pose a big problem, they don’t allow a lot of sacks and even when they do allow pressure Favre has a quick release. The Giants will have to get their push up the middle through Justin Tuck, but starting Tuck makes it much harder to stop Grant – quite the conundrum. If the ends can get some consistent pressure, it will take a lot of work off of the rest of the team.

The linebackers will have to stop another tough rusher in Ryan Grant. Last week they struggled to wrap up Marion Barber and he routinely broke tackles and ran over players – the Giants cannot afford that again. In their last meeting, the Giants were burned over the middle to the tight end, which is something the Packers will likely try and focus on again, which may take Kawika Mitchell out any blitzing situations.

The secondary stepped up in a big way last week, the good news is that they will have Sam Madison and Aaron Ross back, the bad news is they will go against a deep field of receivers that break tackles and get a ton of yards after the catch. The performance of the secondary will almost certainly hinge of the performance of the defensive line, if the line can get pressure the secondary will have an easier go of it. The safeties will have their hands full playing centerfield with receivers like Jennings and Driver – meaning of course that there will be two less men to commit to the run.

Special Teams

Lawrence Tynes would be a big factor this week – the kicker has improved as the season has progressed, but he is still somewhat of a liability for the Giants. The Giants kick returners will have to play a big part again this week – if they can get their offense in some short field situations, they will take some pressure off an offense operating in bad conditions.

The Verdict

The Giants will have their hands full with an offense that can attack quickly and in a bunch of different ways – if they can get pressure they can force bad throws and maybe bring out “Evil Favre”. On offense they must get some sort of consistency going on the ground to keep the clock running. Expect a hard hitting, brutal game that will tight all the way to the end.

Giants 24 Packers 21