25-year old WR Victor Cruz has been amazing this year for the Giants.  He has played in 11 games so far this year for the Giants and he has caught 55 passes for 957 yards (17.4 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He has four games in which he has went over 100 yards receiving for the Giants so far this year.  Eli Manning has completed an amazing 55 of 75 passes (73.3%) in Cruz’ direction so far this year.  He is going to eventually bump Hakeem Nicks down the totem pole if he keeps playing like he is right now, and the Giants are banking on that happening.

The Giants have lost 30-year old DE Osi Umenyiora for the next 2-4 weeks due to a badly sprained ankle.  He has played in 8 games for the Giants this year and he has 23 tackles, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  Umenyiora has now played in 112 games in his first 8 years with the Giants and he has 331 tackles, 67 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss, 30 forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries and 12 passes defensed.  The Giants are going to miss Umenyiora’s playmaking ability while he’s out of action.

The New York Giants have re-signed 28-year old linebacker Chase Blackburn.  Blackburn played in 14 games last year for the Giants and he had 20 tackles.  He has played in 93 games in his first six years with the Giants and he has 210 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  The Giants were lucky that Blackburn wasn’t playing for someone else as they really need help at LB.

The Giants never had a chance last night as the Saints took them behind the woodshed!  Eli Manning’s numbers look good but he got most of them in the 4th quarter when the game was essentially over.  He completed 33 of 47 passes for 406 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Brandon Jacobs led the way on the ground for the Giants in this game with 46 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  D.J. Ware pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 5 carries (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 45 yards (5.6 avg) in this game.  WR Victor Cruz had another very solid game for the Giants and he caught 9 passes for 157 yards (17.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Hakeem Nicks pitched in with 7 grabs for 87 yards (12.4 avg) in this game.  The Giants finished up with 73 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.3 ypc) and they completed 33 of 47 passes (70.2%) for 392 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:28.

The defense absolutely sucked for the Giants last night.  DE Jason Pierre-Paul (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit), safety Antrel Rolle (6 tackles) and safety Kenny Phillips (6 tackles) led the way for the Giants’ “D” last night.  The Saints finished up with 205 yards rushing on 30 carries (6.8 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 39 passes (64.1%) for 372 yards last night.  The Giants are now 6-5 on the season.

The Giants have lost 29-year old WR Michael Clayton for the rest of the year due to a knee injury.  Clayton played in 5 games for the Giants this year but he didn’t catch any passes.  He had 1 tackle on the year for the Giants.  Clayton has played in 11 games for the Giants in his first two years with them and he has caught 2 passes for 19 yards (9.5 avg) and he has 1 tackle.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Giants.

The New York Giants are on a two game losing streak heading into this game, but they have played pretty decent football on the road this year.  The Saints are 4-0 at home this year, where they have outscored opponents 159-69!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants are going to need to get a running game going on Monday Night, if they are going to have a decent shot of winning this game.  Brandon Jacobs can’t play like he did last weekend against the Eagles, or the Giants are in trouble.  The Saints are giving up 121.5 yards rushing per game and 5.2 yards per carry this year, so the Giants are likely to have success on the ground on Monday Night.  The Saints like to blitz a lot so Eli Manning is going to have to make quick decisions with the football.  WRs Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham will likely give the Saints’ corners fits in this game, but TE Jake Ballard is going to be the secret weapon in the passing game for the Giants.

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are a pass first team.  The Giants will have to get after Drew Brees in an effort to get him to rush his passes.  The Giants have 14 interceptions to go with their 31 sacks this year, but they will be in for a race for time as the Saints are averaging 319.4 yards passing per game.  Saints’ TE Jimmy Graham is going to cause problems for he Giants in coverage due to his size and speed.  Drew Brees does a good job of spreading the ball around making it almost impossible to double anyone.  Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas will give the Saints solid ground support in this game.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 30, GIANTS 24

30-year old QB Eli Manning has really stepped up for the Giants this year.  The Giants usually high powered running game is only averaging 83.2 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry so far this year!  That has put a lot of pressure on Eli Manning and the passing game to carry the offense.  He has played in 10 games for the Giants so far this year and he has completed 220 of 355 passes (62%) for 2,952 yards with 18 TD passes and 9 INTs (94.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 25 times for 0 yards (0.0 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  The Giants need Manning to finish this year strongly if they want to get back to the playoffs in 2011.

The New York Giants have lost 26-year old LT William Beatty indefinitely as he will have surgery tomorrow to repair a detached retina in his right eye.  He has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Giants this year.  He has now played in 34 games (16 starts) in his first three years with the Giants.  30-year old Stacy Andrews will likely replace Beatty in the starting lineup at LT.  Andrews has played in 8 games (2 starts) for the Giants so far this year.  He has played in 93 games (48 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL.  He might actually wind up being an upgrade over Beatty.

UPDATE:  David Diehl will move from left guard to left tackle to block on Eli Manning’s blind side.

UPDATE II:  (11/30/2011) – The Giants have placed William Beatty on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.

The Giants have signed 27-year old CB/PR/KR Will Blackmon.  Blackmon played in 5 games for the Giants last year and he had 2 tackles.  He also returned 14 punts for 94 yards (6.7 avg) and 13 kickoffs for 238 yards (18.3 avg) last year for the Giants.  Blackmon has now played in 37 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 43 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 pass defensed.  He has also returned 61 punts for 609 yards (10.0 avg) with 3 TD returns and he has returned 79 kickoffs for 1,631 yards (20.6 avg) in his career.

The Giants have placed 27-year old cornerback Michael Coe on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to shoulder surgery.  Coe played in 10 games for the Giants this year and he had 10 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 14 games in his first two years with the Giants and he has 16 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  This is not a big loss for the Giants going forward.