NFC Championship Preview

New York Giants @ San Francisco 49ers - Sunday 6:30pm

The Case for New York:

Last weeks’ win in Green Bay has made it all but impossible to look at this year's Giants team without comparing them to the 2007 Giants team. If the 2011 Giants want to reach the same level as the 2007 Super Bowl team, they should follow the media’s lead, and take a look back at their championship run. The 2007 Giants were a team of great balance, and while this year's team is going into San Francisco to face one of the league’s best run defences, the 2011 team has to commit—at least to some degree—to run the football.

Eli Manning will have to overcome a great 49ers defence this Sunday

At this point, Eli Manning is the key to the Giants’ offence. However, to win on Sunday, the Giants have to keep the Niners’ D honest. While they may not have a 100-yard rusher on Sunday, the Giants’ best chance of winning is to run the ball 20+ times in order to keep San Fran’s D off balance.

On the other side of the ball, the G-Men have to produce an effort similar to last Sunday’s brilliant performance. If the Giants front four can harass Alex Smith, the secondary should be able to limit explosive plays. This, in turn, forces Smith to be more of the game manager he was during the regular season, as opposed to the game-changer he was last week. To be sure, the Giants will pay a lot of lip service to stopping Frank Gore and San Francisco’s running game. But the true key for the Giants is the same as it was last week: pressure the quarterback with the D-line, and drop the other seven men into coverage.

The Case for San Francisco:

Unlike the Giants, the 49ers shouldn’t aim to emulate their performance from a week ago. Honestly, how many people thought that the Niners would out-duel the Saints through the air? Instead, San Francisco should go back to the blueprint that won them the NFC West crown: run the offence through Frank Gore, and go from there. A strong ground game will benefit Alex Smith most, as it would slow the pass rush, and give him more time to find receivers downfield. If Vernon Davis can continue his hot play, and if Michael Crabtree can regain his sure-handedness, the Niners should be able to move the ball, and put up points against the Giants’ D.

Defensively, the 49ers also should focus on what has made them successful all year. They are an extremely physical defence, who can intimidate the opposition with huge hits (just ask Pierre Thomas of the Saints), and who always seem to be in the right place at the right time. The run defence is one of the best in all of football, and their secondary proved that they can play too, intercepting Drew Brees on multiple occasions last week.

The goal in Sunday’s game should be to eliminate the Giants’ running game, making New York one-dimensional. If the 49ers can force Eli Manning to make a couple throws under duress, they could steal a couple possessions through turnovers. If they can give Alex Smith and the offence a couple of short fields to work with on Sunday, they should end up representing the NFC in the Super bowl.