Giants vs Panthers Preview: It's Like Christmas Eve

I feel like a kid on Christmas eve.  I'm so excited I can barely stand it.  I am dreaming of all the wonderful things I may receive on Sunday:  a big pass rush, a dominating run game, a high-flying pass attack...oh my!  Of course, I also can't help but think about all the things that went wrong this year: the failure to improve the aging offensive line, the failure to significantly upgrade the LB's, the injuries, the question marks at DT... and I begin to fear that all I'll wake up to find is a lump of coal in my stocking.  That's one of the things that makes week 1 great.  You just don't know.  No matter how much inside knowledge you have, or how many preseason games you've watched, you really don't know what to expect from a team until they strap on the pads week 1.  Of course, with the bi-polar nature of the Giants last season, their new D-coordinator, and all the new faces, I feel I am even more clueless this year than in years past.

The Giants open their 2010 campaign, and the new "GIANTS" Stadium (until they name it, that's what I'm calling it), against the Carolina Panthers--the same team that humiliated the Giants (and me) in the last game the Giants ever played at the old stadium.  The Panthers are another team that is hard to gauge coming into 2010.  They have a young QB who showed promise last year (e.g. when he lit up the Giants), two excellent RB's, and the bold prediction by SI's Peter King that they are going to the Superbowl.  I like Peter King, he's a fine writer and a seemingly lovely man, but he tends to be awful with his predictions and I think that might be the case here.  The Panthers certainly offer an interesting challenge to the G-men, but the fact remains they are starting 4 new defensive linemen.  And when I say new, I don't just mean to the Panthers, I mean they are starting 4 guys who didn't start for anyone in 2009!   They are also going to be without starting RT Jeff Otah (knee).

The Giants need to win this game.  I don't want to overstate the importance of the first game of the season (we all remember what happened at the start of the 2007 campaign), but if the Panthers come in and run all over them again, it will be devastating.  Obviously, not so much in terms of standings, but more for its effect on the team's psyche.  I get the sense the Giants are confident they can bounce back from last season, but still aren't quite sure they will.  With a game in Indianapolis next on the schedule, a loss may very likely mean an 0-2 start.  Now I know they went 0-2 in 2007 and went on to win the Superbowl (come to think of it, in 2007 they also had a new D-coordinator and were also coming off an 8-8 year--just saying), but I don't think this team could handle the pressure that would mount on them with a slow start.

One advantage the Giants have is the element of surprise.  Perry Fewell said the Giants showed about 10% of their defensive looks in the preseason, meaning the defense you see on Sunday won't be on tape yet.  Hopefully they can cause confusion for the young QB and get some pressure to force a few turnovers.  Offensively, if the Giants can't run on this inexperienced front, they won't be able to run on anyone.  I'm pretty confident they'll move the ball against this defense.  Knowing the Giants, it will be a sloppy game.  Don't expect the football equivalent of a Red Ryder BB Gun to be under the tree Sunday, but I don't think we're getting coal either.  I think the Giants win--ugly.