FanHouse Fred Robbins

To get you ready for week 16, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the New York Giants/Buffalo Bills preview.

2007 Records:

New York Giants: 9-5 (2nd in NFC East)
Buffalo Bills: 7-7 (2nd in AFC East)

Last Game(s):

Redskins 22 - Giants 10
Browns 8 - Bills 0

When the Bills have the ball: Buffalo has had some major success running the ball in recent weeks and it's unlikely they'll stray away from that this weekend. The combination of Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch has proven quite formidable, and if the weather report holds up (rain and high winds), the Bills will need that duo to have a huge game.

Defensively, the Giants should know exactly what's coming. Unless their own offensive coordinator switches sides before kickoff, it's going to be all about the ground game. In fact, no team in the league other than the Giants would pass 52 times when the winds are above 25 miles per hour.

To get you ready for week 12, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the New Minnesota Vikings/New York Giants preview.

2007 Records:

New York Giants: 7-3 (2nd in NFC East)
Minnesota Vikings: 4-6 (t-3rd in NFC North)

Last Game(s):

Giants 16 - Lions 10
Vikings 29 - Raiders 22

When the Vikings have the ball: Minnesota's gameplan is a simple one: run, run and run. They have the best ground attack in the entire league and it doesn't matter who they put back there; both Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor get the job done.

However, they have a bit of a challenge this week. The casual fan may not realize this, but the New York Giants have one of the best rush defenses in the NFL, allowing only 91.3 yards per game. And if they have any chance at winning this game, that unit, led by Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield, will have to step-up huge.

The field presence of Eli Manning made no difference today, as the Giants secondary was picked apart for the second week in a row. Despite having as many offensive injuries as New York, Brett Favre was able maneuver a near back-up squad to a 35-13 victory.

The Giants now fall to 0-2 on the season, and have to be left wondering if defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was the answer. While Tim Lewis didn't fare much better last year, New York's secondary is almost laughable. Through two games, they are by far the worst in the league and showed no indications that they are improving. They were scorched for 286 yards today, and once again, their achilles heel was the tight end -- something the Packers rarely use. On the plus side, their defensive tackles, Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins, played quite well this afternoon.

Offensively, the Giants were all over the place. They looked good early on, and then completely fell apart toward the end. All Giants fans can do is take solace in the fact that Manning played decent outside of his pathetic interception, Derrick Ward looked good, Anthony Mix performed well in garbage time and the offensive line appears to be much more capable than people expected coming out of preseason.

Giants Training Camp Notebook is a cliff notes style post aimed at giving Giants fans up-to-date news about the most recent training camp practices.

- What was all the commotion at Giants practice today? It was number 92; it was Michael Strahan! Hey, wait a second ... that wasn't Strahan; it was William Joseph playing a nasty, horrible prank on Giants fans.

- Eli Manning had another fantastic day of practice today. I realize it's starting to sound like a broken record, but it's a pleasant sound for a change. Honestly, would you prefer hearing about inconsistent Eli?

- Perhaps the best news of the day involved wide receiver Amani Toomer. No, it had nothing to do with his performance on the practice field, just that he will actually be on the field this Sunday. It will be the first time Toomer has played in a game since being carried off the gridiron last year.

Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.

New York Giants:

Out: Wide receiver Amani Toomer (knee), wide receiver Plaxico Burress (ankle), linebacker Gerris Wilkinson (knee), center Todd Londot (ankle), long snapper Ryan Kuehl (calf), safety Michael Stone (hip), cornerback E.J. Underwood (hip), cornerback Aaron Ross (glute) and defensive tackle Fred Robbins (calf)

Probable: Tight end Jeremy Shockey (leg) and defensive end Osi Umenyiora (hip).

Playing: Lots of rookies and free agents. (Kidding, obviously. But seriously, can this team ever escape the injury bug?)

Giants Training Camp Notebook is a cliff notes style post aimed at giving Giants fans up-to-date news about the most recent training camp practices.

- I am going to start off with the weird news of the day: Back-up quarterback Jared Lorenzen was practicing long snapping duties! No, I am not kidding. Although practice was officially over at the time, Lorenzen got down and began tossing them back -- and if I understand correctly, he did quite well.

- Only a day after General Manager Jerry Reese declared the battle for left tackle to be "over," it was announced that Guy Whimper will start with the first team on Saturday night. My only reaction? Great way to get Eli Manning killed.

- What is going on with Osi Umenyiora? This guy has been on fire and given no reason to doubt his earlier prediction that he'd be the NFL's premier defensive end.

Fear not, Giants Training Camp Notebook has not been discontinued, it just went on a short hiatus. In the off chance it's actually something you enjoy, prepare to get your fill.

- Rookie cornerback Aaron Ross had a decent day today and had moments that reminded the Giants why they drafted him in the first round. Unfortunately, his evening practice was cut short when he went down with a hamstring injury.

- The Giants have been searching for some trickery over the last few practices, but it hasn't worked well and if today was any indication on how it's going to be, they should just forget about it.

Eli Manning lateraled the ball to second-year wide receiver Sinorice Moss who was supposed to throw it down field to Michael Jennings. Well, things didn't work out as they were planned and Moss ended up tossing the ball back toward Manning, only to have it intercepted by defensive tackle Fred Robbins.