These do not come around often, a game where the Giants defense knows exactly what is coming and where it is coming from.
Now for the big question: Are they tough enough to stop it?
The task is clear: Deal with Frank Gore, who will come at the Giants early, often and with a relentless fury whether the Niners are up, down or even. Trickery is for other games in other weeks. Wild air shows from gifted quarterbacks are the norm, but not this Sunday in San Francisco.
“This is old-school football, man,’’ linebacker Michael Boley said. “In our league there’s not much of that anymore. In our league it’s slowly evolving into a run-and-gun league. When you get a game where you know the outcome is going to be determined in the trenches you’ve got to love it.’’
Thus far this season the Giants haven’t loved the physical confrontation because, despite their 6-2 record and hold on first place in the NFC East, they have not lived up to the standard their defense set in previous seasons. The Giants give up 127 rushing yards per game and have allowed four different running backs to gain more than 100 yards in a game; somehow they are 4-0 in those games. It’s a tightrope the Giants know they cannot continue to walk. After all, the 49ers in the past five games are averaging 176.4 rushing yards.
There was improvement in last week’s comeback 24-20 victory in New England but, as Tom Coughlin assessed, “It is still not to where you want it.’’
At the moment, the 49ers strength is about to clash with a Giants weakness.
“Obviously you look at the stats, I have a hard time sitting here and arguing with you that this one plays into our hands because we just haven’t stopped the run,’’ defensive end Dave Tollefson said. “We’re going to find out Sunday. Other than that I don’t know what to say. If they run the ball on us they’re going to beat us. Everybody knows that.’’
It probably is as simple as that. The 49ers are 7-1 and Coughlin said ,“They play a certain way … they’ve been able to stick to that.’’
The way they play is to hit you in the face, whether it is running the ball or making sure you don’t run it on them. Gore is the first player in 49ers’ history with five consecutive 100-yard rushing games and he’s fifth in the league with 782 yards.
At least the Giants have Eli Manning to bail them out if the ground game sags. The 49ers are using Alex Smith for ball-control, low-risk passing and he’s thrived under those constraints, tossing 10 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. The entire offense is predicated on Gore pounding away.
“They run it early, they run it often, he’s a tremendous running back, speed, vision, power,’’ defensive tackle Chris Canty said. “You name it, he’s got it. We’ve got our work cut out for us. He can make his own space. He can BYOB … bring his own blocker.
“What you have to do is take away their strength and they want to run the football, we know that, they know that, they know that we know. We’re not tricking anybody here.’’
Antrel Rolle goes back to his Pop Warner days playing against Gore in Florida — both were running backs who wore No. 3 — and says “He’s definitely an all-around back you want in your backfield.’’
Tollefson grew up in the Bay Area — a fan of the Raiders, not the 49ers — and says “This ain’t Joe Montana’s 49ers. These guys run the hell out of the ball and they’re physical and the guys up front are blocking really well.’’
The Giants in the past have been able to handle that sort of challenge. Now they want to make the past into the present.
“The New York Giants have been known for that their whole history of the game,’’ safety Deon Grant said. “That’s up our alley. That’s the type of game we want to play. As far as knock ’em in the mouth football, that’s what we play also.’’