Pats Preview: Pats Vs. Giants

This week the New England Patriots take their 8-0 record on the road as they head to New Jersey to play the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. 

Here's a brief preview of things to keep in mind before the game kicks off tomorrow, at 4:25:

Don't Believe The Hype- Pretty much anyone, who is looking for clicks and page views this week has been drumming up the notion that this is a trap game for the Pats because of their struggles with the Giants in the Super Bowl in both 2007 and 2011. Here's a newsflash for all the doubters; This Giants team is not even close to the teams from those two years. The biggest issue for the Patriots in those previous games was that those teams were full of dynamic pass rushers, who were elite at their positions and were able to get to the quarterback at will. This year's Giants club rolls out a defensive front led by a guy who blew three of his fingers off with fireworks on July fourth.

Filling The Void- This week will be the first shot for both James White and Brandon Bolden to prove that they can step in for the injured Dion Lewis, who tore his left ACL in last week's win. Bolden was inserted late last Sunday, after Lewis left the game, and had a touchdown reception. The consensus thought seems to be the White will get the bulk of the work early, as he most closely aligns with the skills Lewis brought to the team. The second year back out of Wisconsin was a healthy scratch last weekend.

Stork To Start At RT- After being fluxed into last week's game at the right tackle position in emergency duty, after starting left tackle Sebastian Vollmer left with a concussion, it appears last year's starting center, Bryan Stork, will be reprising the role to start this week's game. Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reported the news earlier today. The decision isn't that surprising as Stork filled in nicely at the position in the second half last Sunday and both Vollmer (Concussion) and tackle Marcus Cannon (toe) have both already been ruled out for the game. By playing Stork, the coaching staff is putting its best five available linemen on the field, so there can't be much fault in that thinking. The team also added depth on the line today by signing practice squad tackle Chris Barker to the active roster. He'll most likely be rotated in at potentially both tackle positions tomorrow as the Pats normally do with their backup linemen.

Inactives Already Adding Up- The Patriots, like every team in the league, must make seven players inactive each week. The team had already ruled four guys out do to injuries and illness early today. Starting linebacker Jamie Collins will miss his second straight game due to an illness he is battling which has made him very weak. Guard Tre' Jackson (knee) will join fellow linemen Vollmer and Cannon on the bench as well. Late in the day the Pats added a fifth player to the inactive list as wide receiver Keshawn Martin was ruled out late again with a hamstring injury that he's been battling the past few weeks.

Class Reunion- This week's game sets up a bit of a reunion for a couple members of last year's Super Bowl Champion squad. Both running back Shane Vereen and linebacker Jonathan Casillas are now members of this 2015 Giants team. It will be especially interesting to see how Vereen fairs against his former team and whether the Pats neutralize him, after he played such a big role in the Patriots' offense for four seasons.

Getting To Eli- Giants quarterback Eli Manning has been sacked 12 times through the team's first nine games of the season. With the Patriots' strong pass rush this season, led by Chandler Jones who leads the league with 9.5 sacks, getting to the quarterback 18 times through eight games, it will be interesting to see if they can find a way to put the heat on Manning and pull out a couple more sacks Sunady. The team may also get pass rush specialist Jabaal Sheard, who has been out with an ankle injury since midway through the team's fifth game, back as he is a game-time decision. In just 4.5 games this season, the fifth year pro has tallied four sacks.

Secondary Schooling- The most dynamic part of New York's offense is its wide receiver unit, led by Odell Beckham Jr. While the team's other dynamic receiver, Victor Cruz, has been ruled out, the combination of Beckham and Reuben Randle will give New England's top two cornerbacks, Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan, a tough match up. Both match ups should test the defensive backs and give fans a glimpse at how good they both are.

Prediction- The Giants are 5-4 on the season and this game is on the road, but it's hard to see a way the Patriots don't win this game. Even playing poorly last week and battling more in-game injuries, they still managed to score 27 points on Washington. While the Redskins aren't really any good, it's still impressive that the Pats didn't have their A stuff last week and still cruised to an easy win. Expect their offense to come out with a blaze tomorrow and put point on the board, early and often. This is the same Giants defense that gave up 52 points to the New Orleans Saints a couple weeks ago.

Look for the Pats to advance to 9-0 on the season with a 36-14 win.