New York Giants Official Website

OCTOBER 15, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - When the Giants face the New Orleans Saints Sunday in the Superdome it will be the biggest game thus far in the 2009 NFL season. The teams are a combined 9-0, their offenses are both ranked among the league's top three and quarterbacks Eli Manning and Drew Brees have star power and passer ratings well above 100. The game could well have implications when the NFC postseason berths are settled in January.

"(This is) no doubt a game in which tremendous excitement is generated from just the idea of the quality of teams," Coach Tom Coughlin said.

At the same time, it is only the sixth week of the season. New Orleans has played only a quarter of its games, the Giants one more. Nothing but the outcome of one regular season game will be decided Sunday and a million things that will impact the playoff race will occur between now and the end of the season.

So is this an important measuring stick or just the sixth of 16 games?

"It's both," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "Obviously, you can't look at this like a college season, where it's a make or break game. We aren't playing for BCS points here. It's still a game where you can definitely see where the team is. We are definitely going to find out how good our offense and defense are, because this is probably the best offense we've played against so far and probably one of the better defenses we've played against so far. We will definitely know where we are after this football game."

"I think the cliché is to say it's the sixth game of the season," center Shaun O'Hara said. "But it's a great matchup. And if we were 4-1 and they were 3-1, it would still be a great matchup. You can throw the records out the window if you want. They're playing really well and they have a really good team. I think we have a good team. I think it's going to be an exciting game."

If nothing else, the game Sunday will give the Giants an indication how they stack up against another NFC playoff contender. In the last three weeks, they defeated Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland, teams that are a combined 1-14. The Saints, who were off last week, delivered a message in Week 2 with a resounding 48-22 rout of the Eagles in Philadelphia. Their most recent outing was a two-touchdown victory over the previously undefeated Jets.

"It's still the sixth game of the season, but it's obviously a big measuring stick for our team, because we are playing a talented team on the road," linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "It's going to be loud. We played in Cowboy Stadium. That was supposed to hostile, but this will probably be a little bit more. With them coming off the bye week and a lot of hype about this game, I think it's a good measuring stick. But at the end of the day it's not the season. Everything is not balled into this game. We want to play well, though."

That is a given. The relative importance of this game is not. And some Giants decline to attach special significance to it.

"It's a long NFL season," cornerback Terrell Thomas said. "We are preparing for them like we do any other team. Once we are done with them we will prepare for another team. Even though they are 4-0 and we are 5-0 and it's a big marquee game, it's just another week in the NFL and that's how we are going to prepare for it."

 Perhaps no one personifies the conflicting opinions more than Osi Umenyiora. Within about five minutes yesterday, the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end made persuasive arguments for it being both an important game and just another game.

"It's a little bit of a barometer game, for sure," Umenyiora said. "Obviously, they are undefeated, we are undefeated, also. They have the best offense in the league and we are trying to prove that we have the best defense in the league, so it's definitely a barometer game for both of us."

Moments later, Umenyiora was asked if the game will "help you know where the team is?"

"Not at all," he said. "It's the sixth game of the year. So many different games are left. We still have all of our division matchups that we have to go up against. It's a bunch of different things that are still going to play into how good of a football team we are. We are not going to base it all on this one game."

What everyone can agree on is that the Saints will be a formidable foe. New Orleans averages an NFL-best 36 points a game and is second in the league with 166.3 rushing yards a game. The Saints have yet to trail in a game this season. Brees has long been one of the NFL's best quarterbacks and he throws to several outstanding receivers, including Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Reggie Bush and former Giant Jeremy Shockey.

"(Brees is) a great, accurate quarterback," cornerback Corey Webster said. "He knows how to get the ball to the skill players and playmakers. He allows them to make plays down the field. He does a great job of buying more time in the pocket, getting rid of the ball when he needs to, putting it in the right position where only his receiver can make a play on the ball. I think down the field we have to stay close in coverage because he can buy an extra second for his receivers to get down the field. So we have to be very disciplined on our coverage assignments."

In four games, Brees has thrown only two interceptions and been sacked just four times. Running backs Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas and Bush have rushed for a combined 589 yards and five touchdowns.

"Brees gets so much attention that people don't realize they are averaging over 160 yards rushing," Tuck said. "They are definitely a balanced football team. I think they are right up there with us as far as balance. I know a lot of people don't understand that because people look at Brees and all the numbers he puts up, but that three-headed monster running back that they have down there is doing a great job, too."

Defensively, New Orleans is ranked sixth in the NFL after finishing last season 23rd. Credit for the improvement goes to new coordinator Gregg Williams, who has turned these Saints into attackers. New Orleans leads the NFL with 13 takeaways and 10 interceptions - five by safety Darren Sharper, two of which he returned 97 and 99 yards for touchdowns.

"Their defense is playing really well," Eli Manning said. "They cause a lot of turnovers, a lot of interceptions, they make a lot of big plays defensively. They are very sound. They mix it up, they play a lot of different looks. We have to be very well-prepared offensively. They have gone into some games and shown some different things. They had a whole new game plan, depending on who they were playing. There is going to be some new stuff, I assume, that we haven't seen yet. But we have to be prepared for all the looks they have given so far and be prepared for something new. We've got to take care of the ball and play great on offense."

If both teams play close to their potential, it should be quite a game, even without universal agreement as to what it all means.

GAME NOTES

"New Orleans is playing really well," Manning said. "They have a lot of great players, offensively and defensively. We know we have to get out there and play our best football. It is a great setup. (It) should be a great game."

*No player has intercepted Manning more often than Sharper. He has four picks in two games off the Giants quarterback from his days with the Minnesota Vikings. In 2005, he intercepted Manning three times in one game and returned one 93 yards for a touchdown.
 
"I've kept him in the Pro Bowl many years," Manning joked. "I know he likes facing me.  But he is a good player. Obviously, I'm not the only one who he has made plays against.  He has five interceptions this year, a couple for touchdowns. He is a smart player. He reads and reacts and he will guess and he will take some chances. You have to keep your eye on him and try to play smart."

*Reason for the Giants to be worried: The Saints are 8-2 at home since the start of the 2008 season. Reason for the Giants to be confident: The Saints are 0-3 in post-bye games under Sean Payton.

*The Giants have won seven of their last eight games in domed stadiums, including Super Bowl XLII. Overall, they are 24-13 indoors, including 3-5 in the Superdome.

*Giants injuries: Cornerback Aaron Ross (hamstring), defensive lineman Chris Canty (calf) and linebacker Michael Boley (knee) are out. Manning (foot), running back Ahmad Bradshaw (ankle/foot), tight end Kevin Boss (ankle), safety C.C. Brown (shoulder), linebacker Bryan Kehl (finger), guard Rich Seubert (shoulder) and running back Danny Ware (elbow) are all probable.