Focal Point: Special teams
 
Focal Point: Tiki Barber vs. Jamal Lewis
 
Focal Point: Marvin Lewis vs. John Fox
 
Focal Point: Kerry Collins vs. Trent Dilfer
 
Focal Point: Ravens DBs vs. Giants WRs
 
Focal Point: Lewis vs. Strahan
 

Focal Point: Sam Adams vs. Ron Stone


The Matchup:
Sam Adams vs. Ron Stone

The Game:
Ravens vs. Giants, Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, CBS.

The Question:
Who will get the best of this matchup?

Sam Adams Ron Stone

By Tom Jackson
Special to ESPN.com

The Giants entire offensive line has played very well together. They do a lot of iso-blocks, they don't do a lot of combination stuff, and they've played well as a collective unit. Individually, Sam Adams is a more complete player. He has been getting great push, and he can rush the passer -- which is why he gets to stay in the game when their nickel or dime package is on the field. For the first time in his career, Adams is showing the versatility that made him a No. 1 draft pick. He never lived up to the hype surrounding him in Seattle when he came out of the draft.

Adams' improvement has been extremely impressive. He can get a push up the middle of the field better than anybody in the NFL. The Ravens will make sure Adams' knows it's important to make Kerry Collins throw off his back foot -- that is when the Giants will make mistakes. However, Adams' performance in this game isn't really about Adams; it's about the guy behind Adams. Tony Siragusa, Rob Burnett and Adams' primary job will be to keep the Giants away from No. 52, Ray Lewis.


By Sean Salisbury
Special to ESPN.com

It's hard to make a case against any of the Ravens, but the Giants' Ron Stone -- who's been in the league for eight years and has been on two Super Bowl teams--is playing with a great deal of confidence right now. Sam Adams will win his fair share of the battles, but if the Giants want to win the game, Stone has to beat Adams and get a shot at Ray Lewis.

Stone has great quickness, he's coming off a Pro Bowl season, and he's a big, physical player. He must use great angles and leverage to beat Adams to the punch. If he can beat him to the punch, he can move some people and there will be holes open. If there are holes open, and the Giants can get four yards against the Ravens every time they're around the football, they should feel pretty good about it.



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