Behind Enemy Lines: 5 Questions with Giants Country Pubilsher Patricia Traina

The 49ers play the New York Giants tonight at Levi's Stadium. Here's what GiantsCountry publisher Patricia Traina thinks about the matchup.

What's behind the giants' sluggish start to the season, falling behind 60-0 in the first six quarters? Is that who they are, or have they turned things around?

I think a big part of the problem is that they didn’t play together much in the preseason. I understand it’s Year 2 of the system, but you still have new faces you need to integrate, guys coming back from injury, and new wrinkles. I know the coaching staff would like for us to believe that they can simulate game tempo in practice, but I think we all know that’s not true, especially with defenders not allowed to tackle or hit the quarterback or with receivers not having to worry about getting whacked while out on a route.

I would hope for the sake of those who follow the Giants that they get into a rhythm of sorts by the time Week 4 rolls around otherwise, it will be a long and disappointing year.

What's the biggest weakness you think the 49ers will look to exploit against the Giants?

It's probably the run defense. For whatever reason, the Giants' run defense has picked up where it left off last year, and I don’t mean that in a good way. The Giants ranked 27t against the run, and I believe this year they’re 25th so far. I expect CMC to have a huge game this week for the 49ers.

The other thing I’d watch for is for Nick Bosa, whom I believe doesn’t have any sacks, to have a “get right” game against the Giants offensive line. The Giants played better last week against the Cardinals, but I think the 49ers pass rush is probably on par, if not better, than that of the Cowboys, who feasted on the offensive line. IF left tackle Andrew Thomas doesn’t play this week—and I’d be surprised if he does—this could be the week you see Bosa get his first sack.

With Saquon Barkley out, how will the Giants distribute carries? Does former 49ers RB Matt Breida still have juice?

Head coach Brian Daboll would like everyone to believe that Barkley is still in play for Thursday, but I don’t think he is. And assuming I’m correct, which I believe I am, I think Matt Breida will get the bulk of the carries, with Gary Brightwell and perhaps the rookie Eric Gray getting sprinkled in there. I also think we could see a couple of extra designed runs or two from Daniel Jones, which I’d rather not see, but I would understand if that were the case.

Breida is underrated but still a very serviceable back. No one will mistake him for Barkley, but I do think he’ll be able to get the job done if called up.

The Giants are currently at 10.5-point underdogs. How can they pull off this upset?

In a nutshell, they must play a perfect game or come as close as possible to it. They’ve shown they’re not good enough to come back from mistakes. So, they must be perfect and force some mistakes by the 49ers to pull this one out of the hat. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long night for New York.

From a strategic perspective, I’m concerned about the offensive line vs. that 49ers defensive front. I saw a stat in which the 49ers have three defensive interior players ranked within the top 15 for QBPs: Javon Hargrave (8, ranked 7th) and Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead with six a piece, tied for 13th. I think that’s going to be a huge test for the Giants.

The giants' x-factor is _____ (and why?)

I’ll go outside the box here and say the coaching. The Giants didn’t hold a traditional practice all week—just walkthroughs. So, I think the coaching really needs to be spot on this week, given the Giants' disadvantage. I know the 49ers have the same time constraints, but the Giants, being the road team, don’t have full access to everything they might have had had they been home. So, the coaching staff needs to be thorough and practice getting these guys ready with the game plan because if not, the Giants will be in big trouble.