Eli Manning is continuing his quest to become one of the elite NFL quarterbacks. On the flip side, Alex Smith is proving all his doubters wrong by showing that he deserves to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. As quarterbacks always do, both Manning and Smith will play critical roles in Sunday’s matchup, but they will go about it in different ways.
For Manning, he has found a natural fit with Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. What is often lost in the art of completing a pass is the trust a quarterback must have in his receivers. For example, Manning must trust that either Nicks or Cruz will read the defense in the same way he sees it and either throttle down in zone coverage or run past man coverage. The Giants have mastered this art and rarely will you see Manning and his receivers on a different page.
For the 49ers, they will also rely on the passing game, but in a much more controlled fashion. The Niners will create confusion in the play-action game or set up mismatches with pre-snap alignments and motions. Last week we saw them isolating Vernon Davis on either a linebacker of a safety by using a 3x1 formation. With trips to one side, Smith is able to read just that side of the field rather than having to scan sideline to sideline. If the safety is pulled out by the outside two receivers, he can find Davis in a one-on-one matchup in the deep middle of the field.
Defensive line: The 49ers' defense has been praised all season, but the Giants’ defense is finally healthy and playing at its highest level of the season. For both, the defensive lines play an integral part in both stopping the run and applying pressure on the opposing quarterback.
Now fully healthy, the Giants are able to benefit from the front four rotation that has been so successful for them in years past. Cycling in fresh players to apply continuous pressure with only four down lineman allows them to drop seven into coverage, which is a nightmare combination for opposing quarterbacks. In Sunday’s game they will want to do the same thing, but can’t be compromised in the trap running game of the 49ers. The Niners do an excellent job of cracking down on the last man on the line of scrimmage, or in some alignments, the edge rush defender at the second level, and then pull around an offensive tackle to kick out the next defender that shows. This is a simple off-tackle running play, but the crack-back and kick-out blocks create leverage for the offense, especially against a team that likes to rush up-field quickly.
The 49ers' defense is similar to the Giants in strategy, but they utilize a 3-4 defensive front and often can create pressure with only three rushers. We saw that last week with Justin Smith completely dominating the Saints' offensive line. The 49ers know that Smith will be the key, and he will most likely shift all over the line of scrimmage and line up anywhere from the A gap all the way to a 7-technique defensive end. With that versatility, it will be hard for the Giants to draw up a blocking scheme that can anticipate where they will double-team Smith. Conversely, the 49ers often use Smith to pull the offensive line one way and then stunt on the backside rush to free-up Aldon Smith on the other side. Keep an eye out for this chess match as the game plays out on Sunday.
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