Let's go Touring SB Nation this morning. I will highlight some of the best work I have seen around SBN's football sites this week.

• Windy City Gridiron is very happy with the way Kyle Orton is playing for the Chicago Bears.
• Pride of Detroit says Lions coach Rod Marinelli should lose his job -- eventually.
• Turf Show Times wonders if there is still hope for the St. Louis Rams this season.
• Stampede Blue interviewed ex-NFL player Tony Mandarich earlier this week.
• Buffalo Rumblings says the Bills still need to find a pass rush.
• The Phinsider talks about Miami's success with the 'Wildcat,' and how to defend it.
• Mile High Report wonders how Denver Broncos' fans feel about Jay Cutler dissing John Elway.

When will these guys learn to keep their mouths shut?

Last week it was Julius Jones of the Seattle Seahawks taking about giving the Giants a "punch in the mouth."

This week, it's Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Corey Williams. Here is what he had to say, in two separate interviews.

"His (Brandon Jacobs) whole thing is, if you let him come out and get a 7- or 8-yard run, get his confidence level up high, then he can be effective," Williams told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "But if we can come out and hit him in the mouth from the jump, he tends to slow down and do some tiptoeing. You've got to swarm him, swarm to the ball."

There is more.

"I'm gonna try to knock his (Jacobs) head off. You know what I'm saying?" Williams told the Canton Repository. "His whole attitude is to knock our head off when he's running the ball. I'm trying to get him before he gets me. He's a pretty good overall running back, but once you go to putting that wood on him, go to really hitting him ... he'll start tiptoeing, shutting it down."

That would be Corey Williams of the Browns, the 22nd-ranked team in the league against the run, talking trash about Jacobs and the best rushing attack in the league. Probably not the smartest thing he has ever done.

It was instructive that Jacobs did not fire back. It speaks both to his growth as a player, and to the fact that on-field success like the Giants have had carries more weight than words.

"There's a bunch of yap that just doesn't really need to be going on," Jacobs said. "Now, my rookie year I would've been here saying a bunch of stuff. I'm an older guy now. I've been around the league a little bit. I got a ring now. I'm certified, so I'm not going to sit up here and have a mouth match with these guys." ...

"No question, I probably would've tried to tap him on the shoulder at some point and be like, 'See, I told you,' " Jacobs said. "That's not me anymore. I'm just going to go out and play football."

We will see if Williams is still talking Monday night.

The Giants face the Cleveland Browns Monday night, and we have our standard '5 Questions' segment today with Chris from our Browns blog, Dawgs By Nature.

1. BBV: The Browns are 1-3, but they have losses to Pittsburgh and Dallas in there. How disappointed are you in the way the Browns have started the season?

Dawgs: Although the Browns compiled a 10-6 record last season, our only victory over a credible team came against the Seattle Seahawks. We knew we were going to be tested in our first two games against the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially with both games being on national television. Since we were 7-0 at home under Derek Anderson last season though, we had hopes that we could at least come away with a victory in one of those games. Instead, not only did we lose both games, we lost the following week to what I still consider a below-average Baltimore Ravens team.

All those things considered, all of the fans in Cleveland are definitely disappointed with how the season has started. The most frustrating part is that our defense, which struggled last season, has played very well through three games, while our offense, which still has so much potential, has been in a shell.

2. BBV: Derek Anderson has completed less than half of his passes and has 6 INTs to 3 touchdowns. Is it just a matter of time before Brady Quinn gets a shot, or is Romeo Crennel firmly committed to Anderson?

Dawgs: Last week against the Bengals, Anderson had a horrible first half. We thought that Brady Quinn had a 50/50 chance at starting the second half, and if Anderson came out, it would be because Crennel wanted to give him another chance to grab the lead (we had the ball first after halftime). So, what did Anderson do on the first drive of the second half? He threw an interception. No matter how bad Anderson played though, Crennel kept on sending Anderson back onto the field with no indication of Quinn coming in.

Personally, I still prefer to at least attempt to have some faith in Anderson, and I think Crennel is fairly committed to Anderson. However, more than half of Cleveland fans want Anderson benched and/or Crennel canned. I guarantee you that when Anderson throws an incompletion against the Giants, the entire stadium will boo him to hell. With that type of "animosity" in the air, it is just a matter of time before Quinn gets a shot. I think Crennel wants to give Anderson the chance to work with Donte Stallworth for a few games though, because he's been working without a No. 2 receiver up until now.

3. BBV: The reverse of a question you asked me. Despite the 1-3 start, is there a player or players who have exceeded expectations so far this season?

Dawgs: This is a good retaliation question. I think I can legitimately say that nobody on our team has exceeded expectations. Since our defense has improved, you can look at that side of the ball for potential overachievers. Rookie linebacker Alex Hall stepped in well for Willie McGinest while he was sidelined the past few weeks, but Hall already had tremendous buzz surrounding him throughout all of training camp. While there are players on defense that stand out more than others, like Brodney Pool and Shaun Rogers, they have simply met their expectations.

One of the reasons I can't name a player is due to what the Browns did in the offseason. Our biggest free agent signing (Donte Stallworth) has yet to play, and because we traded a second- and third-round pick to acquire Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams, the bar was set high for both of them. That left us without a draft pick until round four, and thus less young players to even be put in a position to step up.

4. BBV: OK, I'm putting you on the spot here. Since several writers brought it up this week, saying Eli Manning is better than his brother (a silly notion) I have to ask you. If you had a Super-Bowl ready team right now, which guy are you taking -- Eli or Peyton? Why?

Dawgs: I'm taking Peyton Manning because of his experience and my fascination with his ability to read a defense and act like a field general any time he is under center. Eli Manning has really stepped his game up and Peyton Manning is having a down year, but I have built up too much faith in Peyton over the years to cast him aside right now. Eli is no fluke, but try taking a favorite toy that works away from a child with a toy that's proven in studies to be liked by other children. The favorite pastime wins out.

5. BBV: A prediction on Monday night's outcome, please.

Dawgs: If you go back and track my predictions this season, I have insanely projected the Browns to win every single week. This week, I have to go with the Giants taking care of business on the road, where they have the uncanny ability to excel in hostile environments. The Giants can match up physically against every team in the NFL, and although the Browns have a good offensive line despite what the Giants did to them in the preseason, it'll be another rough matchup. Giants 31, Browns 20.

Thanks, Chris. Obviously, the Anderson/Quinn story is the sexy one here and bears following. And no, I'm not holding his choice of Peyton against him. Be sure to check out my answers to Chris's questions.

Yahoo! Sports Wednesday asked the question no defensive player in the NFL wants to think about. What would it be like playing against the New York Giants if they let Brandon Jacobs carry the ball 30 or more times in a game?

Here is Justin Tuck's thought on that scenario.

“I look at it as, if he wasn’t on my football team and I had to play against him, I wouldn’t want him to get 30 carries. I already told him, if at anytime in our careers we’re not on the same team, the first time I have to hit him, I’m going to try to knock him out the game so I don’t have to deal with him. Every play after that, I’m going to be diving at his ankle. He’s as big as I am. Man, they don’t pay me enough for that.”

Here is Giants' running back Reuben Droughns considering the possibility.

“I know what you’re saying about letting him just have a whole game. We’re not going to do that here, but that would be special. You see how guys try to tackle him now. They might try to take him on once, but then they turn away, try to take him from the side or ride him out of bounds.

“A whole game like that? Beastly. The defense would probably quit. Guys would be asking out all game, like ‘I don’t want none of that.’ ”

Jacobs, 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, is averaging just 16 carries per game, but is 10th in the league 380 yards rushing. He averages 5.8 yards per carry.

With Derrick Ward (33, 217, 6.6) and Ahmad Bradshaw (18, 119, 6.6) the Giants don't have to depend solely on Jacobs. That will be better for them as the season wears on.

Still, though, it's kind of fun to think about what Jacobs could do to a defense given 30-35 carries.

• The Giants have the best offensive line in football, according to Cold, Hard Football Facts Hog Index. In fact, according to this measurement the Giants average of 5.85 yards per rushing attempt thus far in 2008 is unprecedented. The 1963 Cleveland Browns -- yes, the Jim Brown Cleveland Browns -- are the standard-bearers at 5.74 YPA. With the brutal schedule they have the second half of the season the Giants won't stay at this lofty number, but it is fun to look at.
• Here is Eli Manning's take on why the Giants offense has played so well through the first four games.

We have always had the ability to make big plays and we have always made big plays, but sometimes we had so many negative plays where we had penalties or we had just some bad football being played at times where the big plays kind of cancelled out the too many bad plays we had.  It is just a matter of, hey, let’s just play consistent football, let’s play smart, let’s just kind of do what we are supposed to do and naturally those big plays will happen.  We have athletes; we have good players, so those things are going to happen and we take advantage of those long runs or the long pass, but let’s not hurt ourselves also with the bad plays and try to force things when they are not there.

• NorthJersey.com suggests that it is time for the Giants to tear up Eli's contract and sign him for the rest of his career.
• SITE NOTE: Please remember to click the 'Buzz Up' link on stories you like and suggest them to Yahoo! Buzz. You will also notice that links have been added to recommend stories to Facebook and Digg. Please use them.

Here is a Wednesday afternoon New York Giants notebook.

• SI.com's Don Banks is wondering if it is possible that the Giants and Tennessee Titans could go undefeated this season. I don't think there is any chance that will happen, and the Giants don't want to hear about it either.

"You want to win every game, but that's not very realistic,'' said Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, after New York's dismantling of Seattle. "It's only happened twice in the NFL, where teams went to the postseason undefeated. If we can go undefeated in the division, that could be the best undefeated record we could have.''

• Along the same lines, NFL.com has the skinny on how the Giants have done in each of the three seasons in which they have started 4-0. 1968 -- 7-7, missed the playoffs; 1989 -- finished 12-4, and lost in the NFC divisional playoffs to the Los Angeles Rams; 1990 -- started 10-0, finished 13-3, and went on to win Super Bowl XXV.
• Mike Dougherty of the Journal News says Plaxico Burress sounded a lot like Latrell Sprewell during Monday's press conference.
• Great column this morning by Johnette Howard of Newsday on the support Tom Coughlin has from players in the Giants' locker room. Even if Howard can't get Justin Tuck's first name right.
• CAPTION CONTEST: Don't forget to get your entries in to bigblueview@gmail.com. I only have a handful so far, so if you have a creative idea you have a good shot at winning TC's book.

Continue reading this post »

Oh, boy! I read opinions in two places Tuesday that Eli is the best quarterback in the Manning family. Admit it, Giants fans. You never thought you would see the day someone would write that Eli is better than Peyton, and be serious about it.

Yet, Tuesday that was exactly what happened.

Here is ESPN's Gregg Easterbrook.

Eli Manning is now a better quarterback than Peyton Manning. At the current rate, his career achievements will at least match, and perhaps surpass, his big brother's.

Four games into his fifth season, Eli is 44-30 as a starter and has a Super Bowl ring. At the same point in his career, Peyton was 35-35 and had not won a postseason game. In terms of passing stats, the two players are approximately the same. In terms of leadership, Eli won the Super Bowl in his fourth season with a team whose personnel was so undistinguished, not one of the 16 sets of expert predictions ESPN.com ran before the 2007 season even had the Giants making the playoffs, let alone winning the Super Bowl. On Sunday, both Manning brothers recorded monster wins, and both played well. Eli achieved close to perfection -- he was 19-of-25 for 267 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His perfect passing made who-dat backup receiver Domenik Hixon (see below) look like a star, and his leadership skills inspired the who-dat Giants offensive line -- quick, how many of them can you name without peeking? -- to play like the New England offensive line of 2007. Stretching back to last season, the Giants have won eight straight games, and this season's 127-49 scoring margin over their opponents is spectacular. If football stays popular for a thousand years, Eli's escape from four tacklers on that last-minute Super Bowl scoring drive will always be one of the sport's signature plays. Peyton is great, and a near-lock for Canton. Eli may be bound for the same place, with his bust in a slightly nicer corner.

Lest you think Easterbrook is spitting in the wind, here is Roy S. Johnson writing for Yahoo! Sports.

For a while Baby Brother was, well, just a Manning – the second son of former Saint Archie Manning to reach the NFL. The words " 'Ole Miss" and "BCS" were never uttered in the same sentence during his years as a Rebel. He entered the NFL as a haughty pout, refusing to play for San Diego and forcing a trade with the Giants that for years seemed as lopsided as the 1626 sale of Manhattan for about a grand.

Now, Eli is not only his own Manning after winning his own Super Bowl ring last season. Baby Brother is also – buckle up for this one – the Best Manning

One quarter into the season, Eli and the Giants are undefeated (not so special given their weak early-season schedule) and sitting atop the NFC East, the NFL's toughest division. Peyton's Colts, meanwhile, are a wobbly 2-2 and lagging behind the Who-Are-These-Guys Titans, who are 5-0.

On Sunday, Eli dissected the Seattle secondary as if the "No-See" 'Hawks were practice cones. He completed 19 of 24 passes and threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs in about three quarters of work in the Giants' 44-6 rout. Big Brother was impressive, too, against the Texans, but needed a late-game comeback from a 17-point hole (buoyed by fumbles from Houston's stand-in QB, Sage Rosenfels) to eke out a 31-27 win. Big Brother finished with 247 yards, completing 25 of 34 passes with 2 TDs and 1 INT. Baby brother didn't throw a single pick.

For his body of work, Peyton may still be the Best Manning on paper. And, yes, if I had to choose one of them for a pickup game as they both stood around needling each other, I'd be hard-pressed not to tab Big Bro'.

But it would be the wrong pick because right now, Baby Brother is the best Manning.

Wow! I am not going to take sides in this debate, and I will never disrespect Peyton Manning -- one of the best QBs to ever play the position.

I am just here to express my amazement. A year ago we were still wondering if Eli could cut it as a big time quarterback in New York. Now, it is being suggested that he could be heading toward a career that will put him among the all-time greats.

Amazing!

Here are some New York Giants' notes to get your mind off Plaxico Burress -- or, maybe, to get my mind off Burress.

• Coach Tom Coughlin did find something to complain about following Sunday's 44-6 victory over Seattle -- John Carney's kickoffs. 
• 'Embarrassed' by pre-season whipping, Cleveland hopes to do better against Giants this time.
• Neil Best reviews Ralph Vacchiano's book, 'The Making of a Quarterback.'
• Shaun Powell says the Giants keep winning while losing.
• NorthJersey.com grades the Giants' effort Sunday.

This week's Caption Contest photo is New York Giants' receiver Domenik Hixon hauling in a long pass from Eli Manning with a Seattle defender draped around his leg.

As always, prize for the best entry will be a copy of Tom Coughlin's book "A Team to Believe In."

Make sure to e-mail your entries to bigblueview@gmail.com by Wednesday night. Please remember I need your mailing address in the event you are chosen as the winner.

So, I was reading through the transcripts Monday of Plaxico Burress's odd statements regarding his suspension by the New York Giants when I realized what it was that really bugged me about the whole thing.

Here it is. I think Burress is turning into Manny Ramirez. I don't want to think that. I hate myself for thinking it. I hate writing it. With the Giants cruising at 4-0 I don't want any bad thoughts at all messing with the karma.

But, I can't help it. Ramirez is a tremendously talented guy, yet moody, aloof, seemingly oblivious and unpredictable. Same as Burress.

There is one essential difference. Ramirez famously quit on the Boston Red Sox, more than once it seems, before Boston got tired of his act and shipped him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Burress has never quit on the Giants. Once they get him on the field he is a great asset -- a great player who will take the field hurt, never complains about not getting enough passes thrown to him and makes big plays when they are needed. I hope it stays that way.

Yet, there is the other side. The Plax being Plax side. Like Manny being Manny.

 

Continue reading this post »