We take a look at teams on bye in the NFL‘s Week 8.
We’ve reached the eighth week of NFL action and the final week where we only have a pair of teams out until we reach Week 12.
This week we have one team coming off a disappointing loss with another coming off a pair of them.
Yes, while losing to the Denver Broncos might have been rough for the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Giants not only dropped two games but did it to a pair of division foes who are red hot and ahead of them in the standings.
While San Francisco have problems, the Giants have enough to fill out storylines for a prime-time drama.
So let’s start there.
New York Giants
For one brief moment (three weeks really), the Giants looked like they were on their way to become a dominant force in the NFC East.
A few things happened on the way to that moment though, and in rapid succession.
First, Rashad Jennings got hurt. Now some will say rookie Andre Williams can be a complete back at some point, but really (at least at this point in his career) he’s just a North-South runner who is slowly getting better in pass protection and a middling receiver. In other words, having him in the game limits the offense. Peyton Hillis has had to be in on third down often now because he adds more flexibility.
Williams/Hillis cannot keep the defense honest the way Jennings could.
Losing Jennings was the first domino.
For whatever reason, the offensive line forgot to get off the bus in Philadelphia and have yet to recover. It had seemed that some injuries along the line hadn’t been as bad as we originally thought, but in Philly tackles Will Beatty and Justin Pugh fell apart, as did rookie guard Weston Richburg.
They were unable to get back on track in Dallas, though they played a little better.
This hurt not only the passing game but made a difficult job even harder for the backfield.
The line was the second domino.
What was the last domino? Losing Victor Cruz.
Now after just two weeks, I firmly believe Odell Beckham Jr. will be a special player. He has caught up with the rest of the offense much more quickly than anticipated and looks very good. While that’s all true, he cannot be asked to replace Victor Cruz, who went down with a torn patella tendon against the Eagles.
Preston Parker can step into the slot but he’s no Cruz. Rueben Randle can make tough catches, but he’s no Cruz.
Cruz was the most reliable and dynamic weapon on the offensive side of the ball and he’s gone.
Cruz was the third domino.
The final domino? The defense has suddenly fallen apart.
Over the three weeks of wins, the defense looked so good we forgot how bad it looked in the first two games.
And there weren’t good. In fact the only part that was really solid on defense was the secondary.
A secondary which has been awful the last two weeks and, along with the front seven have been repeatedly allowing long drives where they cannot get off the field, capped by touchdowns.
The first thing the team needs to do to turn this around is get players back. Jennings should be back in Week 9 against the Colts, with perhaps Jon Beason and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie a little less banged up.
Secondly, they have to move players around to get better matchups. If a guy like Rodgers-Cromartie goes down, you have to adjust for it. You can’t allow Chandler Fenner—a recent practice squad player—to cover Dez Bryant. That’s just asking for disaster.
The worst thing is that coming out of the break, the Giants face a merciless slate of games. After the Colts, they travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks, then welcome the 49ers to Metlife after which they see the Cowboys again.
The last three games of the season (after playing the Jaguars and Titans on the road) are Washington, St. Louis and Philadelphia.
It’s a hard group of teams to turn things around against, especially without their best players.
Speaking of the Niners…
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have been up and down this year, following big wins (31-17 over the Rams in Week 6) with big losses (42-17 loss to the Broncos last week). Their opening week win was followed by two losses and then a three-game win streak.
This is a team which seems like it’s all over the place.
There have been some injuries (Patrick Willis the latest) and some odd play choices (just six carries for Frank Gore in Week 3) and perhaps a division which is not playing out the way we expected. St. Louis and Arizona are much better than expected.
Which may mean the game against the Seahawks in Week 13 is less critical than we expected as well.
The 49ers need to come out of the bye week with more consistently. They come right back to the Rams to see if they can repeat their road win at home, then take on two teams playing badly in New Orleans and the New York Giants before getting back to divisional play against Washington.
Then comes a Raiders game in Week 13, sandwiched between the aforementioned Seattle game and another in Week 14. The Chargers and Cardinals finish things off.
There are plenty of games the Niners should win, but the question is, which team will show up?
For Niner fans. they’re hoping the team which pounded St. Louis and not the one who lost to Chicago and Denver.
More from FanSided
- MLB Trade Grades: Dodgers land Amed Rosario from Guardians
- Colorado gives Pac-12 a possible death knell with move to Big 12
- NFL rumors: Dalvin Cook suitor maintaining very ‘real’ interest
- Braves get dose of bad news on Max Fried as ace nears return
- LA Galaxy vs. Club Leon Leagues Cup match rescheduled for July 26