To get ready for Sunday's Detroit Lions game, I exchanged five questions with Ed Valentine from Big Blue View, SB Nation's New York Giants blog. You can check out his answers below.
1. This has been a tough season for the Giants with them currently sitting at 5-9. What do you think the future holds for Tom Coughlin? Will he be the Giants' head coach next season?
Coughlin will be the Giants' coach next season ... provided that he wants to be. He will be 68, and the question that hangs over him is not whether or not he will be fired (he won't be), but whether he will choose to walk away. I seriously doubt he will, and every indication he has given is that he returns for 2014. Personally, I'm glad. I think he's a terrific coach.
2. Much like Matthew Stafford, Eli Manning has had issues with interceptions this season. He leads the NFL with 25 picks right now after throwing 5 in the Giants' last game. What has been the cause of his turnover problems?
Well, I could write a book on this topic. It starts with incredibly poor offensive line play. He has had six different starting running backs and two fullbacks. Hakeem Nicks has had a bad year and has basically checked out -- he's given Eli no help. Rueben Randle is still learning the intricacies of the offense. Brandon Myers has not given them anything at tight end. Now, because of all of the issues around him, I don't think Manning trusts his protection or his receivers, and this is the result. His fundamentals have begun to break down and he isn't throwing the ball well.
3. On a positive note, the Giants defense has seemingly done a much better job since Week 6 of the season. Opponents are averaging only 19.4 points a game against the Giants since then. What has led to their improvement?
The arrival of Jon Beason has helped. The emergence of Will Hill at safety after he was suspended for four games at the start of the year. The resurgence of the pass rush, led by Justin Tuck. Those are the primary factors.
4. After starting the season 0-6, the Giants went on a four-game winning streak, and they had a stretch where they won five out of six games. What was the main reason behind their success during that part of the season?
Well, it helped that they played a string of awful quarterbacks -- Josh Freeman, Scott Tolzien, Terrelle Pryor, Michael Vick/Matt Barkley. During that stretch they played outstanding defense and minimized their turnovers.
5. In order to beat the Lions on Sunday, what one matchup will the Giants have to win?
The Giants have to win in the interior vs. Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh. The interior of the Giants' line has been awful this season, and Sunday the Seattle Seahawks just ran over the Giants on the interior. The center and guards were constantly being pushed 2-3-4 yards into the backfield. Fairley and Suh are, obviously, formidable and the Giants have to at least get a stalemate.