FanHouse

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Green Bay Packers/New York Giants preview.

2007 Records: (Click names for 2007 preview)

New York Giants: 0-1 (4th in NFC East)
Green Bay Packers: 1-0 (2nd in NFC North)

Last Game(s):

Packers 16 - Eagles 13
Cowboys 45 - Giants 35

When the Giants have the ball: Will Eli Manning play or will he be replaced by Jared Lorenzen? Now that the Giants have a true fullback, will Reuben Droughns or Derrick Ward get the carries?

Due to an overwhelming amount of injuries, it's hard to grasp exactly what to expect from New York this weekend. The loss of Brandon Jacobs will severely alter their gameplan, and if Manning can't play due to his injured shoulder, it will change that much more. If you were the Packers, your best bet would be to throw all the possibilities up on a wall and go with whichever one sticks.

When the Packers have the ball: After watching what Tony Romo did to the Giants secondary last week, Brett Favre has to be licking his chops. And because of that, it's likely that the Packers come out firing. Even with their injuries and the potential for some wide receivers to miss the game, the Giants secondary is in shambles and a quarterback like Favre could pick it apart with reserves.

Defensively, the Giants must come up with a way to stop Green Bay. They obviously couldn't do it in Dallas, but that kind of performance is CFL quality and cause for some early season coaching changes. Unfortunately, due to a variety of injuries on the defense, personnel swaps are likely, basically forcing the Giants to start from scratch once again.

The Edge: Experts, analysts and fans are always looking for the "edge" and what team has it. This week, you'd have to go with the Giants. Sure, the Packers are coming off a huge three-point win against Philadelphia, but the Giants were completely embarrassed (defensively) on National TV and will be looking to redeem themselves.

Keep an eye on:

Battle in the trenches - The Giants offensive line did surprisingly well last week and will look to continue that on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Packers front seven will look to put as much pressure on an injured or back-up quarterback as possible.

Michael Strahan - Strahan's holdout clearly cost him on Sunday night. He looked like he was playing at half speed, and it really cost New York. With a defeat in the books and the loss of Osi Umenyiora, the Giants will need number 92 to step up huge against the Packers.

Packers running game - Simply put; can they get it going?

Note: As I pointed out in the headline, this game is between two of the NFL's most injury plagued teams. The injury report is sure to be massive, and it will dramatically change how the game is played. Here's to at least one game without anymore injuries.