Sniper’s Bullet Points

Injury Update: To no one’s surprise, Shawne Merriman has been ruled out for Sunday’s soiree after his Achilles flared up in practice this week. He’ll have this week and the bye to get ready for Washington.

Back with another of addition of Sniper’s Bullet Points. Here are some thoughts going into this weeks game:

• Will the Bills acquire a veteran WR through the trade market? It has been reported by multiple sources that Reggie Wayne and Brandon Lloyd are available. We have reported this with multiple articles here on Buddy Nixon, but I really think we could get something done on Monday or Tuesday. It just happens to fall right on our bye.
• Is a third round draft pick really too high? I don’t think so. Go back and look at our third round picks. Outside of a promising Carrington and Sheppard, we have done very little with this pick. A veteran WR that could come in and help this team make a playoff push might be MORE than worth it. This is all contingent on Wayne or Lloyd resigning in Buffalo. This isn’t the MLB  or NHL, rent-a-players are not good in this league.
• How will we handle the bye? Will we let the success get to our heads? We have a huge opportunity to rest our players and prepare for another NFC East battle against the Redskins.
• WR Naaman Roosevelt will have a big chance to shine this week. Will he do more to solidify his spot among the top 3 receivers? Can he eliminate the need to trade for a veteran receiver?

Injury Report from NFL.com:

• As you can see there are a bunch of big name players OUT for both teams. The Giants will be without Jacobs, Snee, and Hynoski, all big parts of the Giants running game.
• Can Bradshaw hold down the fort alone without his FB or change of pace partner?
• With Justin Tuck out again, dynamite DE Jason Pierre-Paul will get yet another start. There is no reason he shouldn’t be an entrenched starter at this point.
• With Batten getting another start for the injured Kelsay, either Carrington, Johnson,  or Moats will now be getting the start on the other side for the injured Merriman. We believe that Carrington will start the game at “Jack” linebacker and with Moats subbing in for both Batten and Carrington throughout the game. I think Spencer Johnson could get some OLB time again in obvious running downs as well.
• Manning has been sacked 14 times this year. Can we FINALLY break though with a multiple sack game? Might be hard without Merriman, but the Giants offensive line has been terrible. I like Carrington and Moats to record their first sacks of the season.
• The Giants OLB Williams and ILB Jones play A LOT. They were both 6th round picks this year and have been playing well. However, the are still raw players, and fell in the draft for a reason. Can Giants D Coordinator (and former Bills Head Coach) Perry Fewell rely on these young inexperience players to stop Fred Jackson?  Even if they slow him down, Fred Jackson should have another big day.
• Like the Eagles, the Giants have a strong pass rush with weak linebackers and safeties. Additionally, the Giants secondary has been bad this year as well. I think we have multiple options to attack the Giants defense this week, as long as long as all of these options consist of slowing  down their pass rush.