Giants trying to sidestep Lions trap
For a while there, it looked like the Giants might be the trap game for other teams. You know, the one that an opponent overlooks because of its record or its reputation. Now, though, the Giants have won two in a row so they have to be on the lookout for traps themselves. And this Lions game could be one.
Yes, the lowly Lions, who two years ago didn’t beat anyone and last year had one victory. To set the trap even further for the Giants, they go to Dallas for their first divisional game of the season next week.
But Kevin Boss said that Tom Coughlin already set the tone for not overlooking the Lions this week when he met with the Giants on Monday, just a matter of hours after they returned home from Houston.
“This could definitely be a trap game, but I don’t think Detroit is the same team we’ve seen the last couple of years,” Boss said. “I don’t follow every single one of their games, but obviously there was the Calvin Johnson game (when a winning touchdown against the Bears was correctly ruled incomplete) and I heard some kind of statistic that most of their losses have been by under six points.”
Three of the four losses have been by 5 (to the Bears), 3 (to the Eagles) and 2 (to the Packers). Their most lopsided loss this season was a 14-point, 24-10 loss to the Vikings.
In fact, the Lions are one of only two teams in the NFL with a losing record and a positive points differential. They are 1-4 but have outscored their opponents by 14 points (thanks mostly to a 44-6 drubbing of the Rams this weekend). The other team in that category is the Chargers, who are 2-3 and are plus-34 in points.
“They could easily have a good record,” Boss said. “We’re definitely not going to overlook these guys.”
So it won’t be a trap game? Well, the Giants would have to recognize that term to answer. Antrel Rolle stubbornly maintained that he had never heard that term. Chris Canty tried to say the same thing, but the rest of his answer gave him up.
“I’ve been in the NFL six years and I don’t know what that means yet,” Canty said when asked if the Lions could be a trap game. “But I mean we give every opponent their due and we’re going to enjoy the win and come in here and get started on the Lions.”
