Giants Talk: Offensive Simplifies

Without weapons, offense still moves

EAST RUTHERFORD – Long before Kevin Boss scored the touchdown to help win a ball game the team needed to have in order to save their season, the big question coming into the game was “How would the Giants be able to move the ball?”

It was a fair question.

They did so with stunning efficiency and resiliency in their 11-point second half rally, resulting in their 24-20 win at New Meadowlands Stadium.

“We executed really great when we had to, said Ahmad Bradshaw. “We are really excited about this win, especially coming from behind.”

“This win is a huge confidence builder for this team.”

With all the injuries, their once potent offense that once shot bazookas was now shooting water, and with their nasty penchant for turning the football over, their margin of error had slipped to zero coming into the game.

Steve Smith was out for the third straight week. Ramses Barden was out for the season after loss to the Cowboys. To top it all off, second-year standout Hakeem Nicks injured his leg in last week’s loss to the Eagles that needed surgery, putting him on the shelf.

Did I mention that three-fifths of the offensive line was out?

“We simplified some things a little bit,” said Eli Manning.

No one is going to confuse the Jaguars with the 1985 Bears, but it was up to the offense to be as resourceful as possible and find creative ways to move the ball.

To the surprise of many, Jacksonville did not stack the line and force Eli Manning to throw the ball to the inexperienced receivers that found their way into the lineup due to all the injuries and force the makeshift offensive line to protect.

Instead, on the Giants first possession, they moved the ball well. Derek Hagan quickly got involved with a 15-yard catch and Brandon Jacobs showed flashes of former self, ripping off two runs for
double-digit yards.

Luckily, a fumble by Hagan at the Jaguars 3 was overturned after a replay challenge showing that the pass was incomplete. They had to settle for a field goal, but it set the tone for day in many ways.

“We had some good plays (called), Manning said. We just have to fix things up there.”

The problem with the offense was despite their ability to move the ball up and down the Jaguars porous defense, drives would stall inside the red zone. This was normally their strength during the year until the injuries began to decimate that side of the ball.

“We had a drop here. We had a hold there. We had a wrong route on one. You can’t afford to make mistakes and a lot of those brought touchdowns back.”

Manning is referring to a play in the second quarter, as a touchdown pass to Mario Manningham was negated by a clear holding penalty on Boss that would have tied the score at 10 late in the first half.
There were different looks. Gone was many of the multiple receiver sets because the team did not have enough receivers to begin with. After Manningham, Hagan had the most experience of anyone at the position. he was only signed by the team two weeks ago.

This meant that Bradshaw would be split out as a receiver. Travis Beckum became a part of the offense along with Boss as the Giants anticipated double coverage on Manningham as the Jaguars would force anyone else to beat them.

All the changes meant they had to simplify would they do. Only using the plays that would generate a high percentage of success and trimming the fat.

The Giants only had to punt three times in the game as they showed an ability to establish a run game that had been dormant for the previous two games and that allowed the offense to open up.

None of this would have been possible without the great play of the offensive line. The remade group was tremendous despite the losses of David Diehl, Shaun O’Hara and Shaun Andrews. Second year man Will Beatty got the start at left tackle and was a monster protecting Manning blind slide and providing terrific protection, opening up running lanes.

“(Today) those guys came off the ball,” said Jacobs. “They knocked people off the ball. They created holes. They played their butts off.”

Jacobs took the ball and run hard, breaking several nice runs, including one nearly taking off what could have been a 50-yard burst if not a last second ankle tackle.

His 87 yards on 14 carries kept the balance the offense wanted to achieve. It also justified Coughlin’s decision to bench Bradshaw after watching him lose another fumble in Philadelphia last Sunday night.

He would make the most of his nine carries, running for 49 yards.

Coughlin felt after the game that both Jacobs and Bradshaw provided sparks to the running game.

Trailing 17-9 late in the third quarter, the Giants offense came to life with an 88 yard drive, finishing with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham to pull within two and Bradshaw’s two-point conversion tied the game.

Manningham would say later, “I just had to make a play.”

With the game on the line with less than six minutes left, the drive would start at their own 31 trailing by three points. Manning found Manningham on a great scooping catch for 18 yards and when Jacobs followed that up with a 18 yard run of his own.

On third-and-10, the Jaguars sent an all-out blitz at Manning, leaving Boss as the “hot” read. Boss and Manning were the only two receivers on the field with the most experience, so it was no surprise the two were on the same page before the snap.

The blitz came, and Manning quickly spotted Boss to his left side and he made the catch, escaped an ankle tackle from safety Courtney Greene and outran everyone into the end zone.

“It’s important to be on the same page as the quarterback,” Boss said. “Eli and I were both able to see the pressure coming.”

“The last two weeks have been pretty frustrating, We definitely wanted to come in here and get a victory.”

Another reason for their success was their ball security, not turning the ball over for the first time all season.

While they had problems converting on third down and not able to score touchdowns in the red zone, the Giants found a way.

Playing conservative and smart is not a bad plan of action.

“We did a few things really well and I think that paid off,” Manning would say.

Perhaps less is more.

Giants Talk: Saving Grace

Second half comeback spurs Giants to victory

EAST RUTHERFORD – When David Garrard faked out nearly half of the Giants defense and found his way into the end zone to give the Jaguars 17-6 going into the break, the fans at New Meadowlands Stadium had seen enough.

They vented their frustration, cascading thunderous boos from their pricey PSL’s on to the players, particularly the defense, as they would head into the locker room.

Led by an inspired halftime speech by defensive captain Justin Tuck, the Giants found a way, clamping down defensively and executing with precision despite limited weapons on offense to come from behind, ultimately pulling out a 24-20 victory to end a two-game losing streak.

“I thought our second half was outstanding and our guys came back,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin.

In almost three weeks, the Giants went from NFC favorites to seeing potential meaningless games in December if they did not snap out it in those final 30 minutes.

The Giants rally from 11 points down in the second half was their largest come from behind victory of the season and biggest since September 2007 at Washington (14 points) allowing them to slip back into a first place tie with the Eagles by virtue of their loss at Chicago later in the afternoon.

“Coming from our two game losing streak, we really needed to win it with the race with the other teams for the top of the NFC,” said Brandon Jacobs.

Playing with the amount of losses on offense, Eli Manning found a way, directing the offense to two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. The first came on a 26-yard strike to Mario Manningham and the game-winner, a 32-yard catch-and-run to Kevin Boss when the Jaguars sent an all-out blitz.

“It was a blitz they’d done before and it was kind of last minute,” said Eli Manning. “I just hit it to Boss and thought it might be that blitz zero.

“He saw it. He went up the field looking for the ball.”

The first 30 saw the Jaguars in total control and running all over the Giants defense at will. This was a shocker to anyone watching considering their number two rushing defense ranking in the NFL, allowing only 89 yards a game.

A combination of Maurice Jones-Drew, Rashad Jennings along with Garrard would gash their front to the tune of 145 yards, many of them coming due to poor gap-control and other times when defenders would lose contain.

“They did hurt us on the run and everyone in that locker room knew it at halftime,” said Coughlin.

The Giants own inability to score in the red zone during the first half help aided Jacksonville. In the first quarter, the offense stalled at the Jaguars 5, having to settle for a 22-yard field goal. It was the first time all season the offense scored points on their first possession.

Jacksonville quickly marched 75 yards in nine plays to answer with a touchdown and take the lead and got a 22-yard field goal by Josh Scobee to go up 10-3, as the defense appeared flat and uninspired.

Said Justin Tuck, “They did a great job of running the ball and keeping
us off balance as a defense.”

A second failure to convert in the red zone came because of a holding penalty on Boss nullifying a nine-yard touchdown reception by Manningham in the second quarter. This led to another field goal by Lawrence Tynes that the Jaguars would answer with 0:30 remaining in the half when Garrard found his way into the end zone.

On the play, the elusive Garrard rolled to his right and Osi Umenyiora appeared to have him for a sack but missed him. Garrard then reversed field, catching both Tuck and Jason-Pierre Paul out of position. Jonathan Goff was wiped out on a block allowing easy entrance into the end zone.

“He’s stronger. He’s a lot stronger than (Michael) Vick,” said Osi Umenyiora. “We got to him, but a couple times we weren’t able to wrap him up.”

Terrell Thomas intercepted Garrard on the first play of the third quarter to set the Giants up at the Jaguars 34. However, for the third time in the game, the offense was unable to convert in the red zone, having to settle for another Tynes field goal.

Forcing punts on Jacksonville’s next two possessions, Manning would direct the offense on a five-play, 88-yard drive ending with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham. Ahmad Bradshaw’s two-yard run on a two-point conversion tied the game at 17.

Said Coughlin, “That was an incredible play there.”

Jacksonville answered with a 42-yard field goal by Scobee to retake the lead. Later, the Giants defense would force a three-and-out and took over on their own 31 before embarking on their game winning scoring drive.

Manningham made a great scooping catch for 18 yards after Manning took a hit on blitz, followed by a knifing run of 18 yards by Brandon Jacobs, who got the start as Coughlin benched Bradshaw due to his continuous fumbling problems.

Jacobs finished the game with 87 yards on 14 carries.

On third-and-10, the Jaguars sent an all-out blitz and Manning found
Boss, who escaped a leg tackle by Courtney Greene and ran into the end zone.

“You’re kind of just hoping it’ll be close,” Manning said about the play.

“Maybe he’ll fall forward and get the first down. You’re not really thinking of a touchdown on that play. But sure enough, he did a good job.”

Garrard attempted to move his offense to the game winning score. However, Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell dialed up the blitz, getting sacks on three successive plays. The final one came when Thomas got a sack, forcing a fumble that Antrel Rolle would recover at the Jaguars 39 to seal the win.

“It was a complete team effort,” Tuck said. “Sometimes you just have to win some games ugly.”

For a team as desperate as this one was, they will take it any way they can.

Giants Talk: Big Apple Turnover

Giveaways threatening to derail season

PHILADELPHIA – The Giants to a man say they have to be smarter as a football team.

If that were the case, then the results on the field would prove a severe lack in intelligence.

What else can explain the turnover epidemic that, along with the mounting injuries threaten to take a season a promise into a season of regret with potential ramifications?

After turning the ball over five more times on Sunday night in their 27-17 loss at Lincoln Financial Field to the Eagles for the fifth consecutive time, you begin to wonder whether there is any cure to this deadly disease ailing this team.

Said Head Coach Tom Coughlin after the game, “This callous disregard for the ball, which has been going on for probably a year and a half here, and no one seems to be able to do anything about, again, cost us the football game.”

Clearly, Coughlin has no answers for this problem. Otherwise, he would have found a way to correct it. The “year and a half” that he references goes back to 2009 when his squad gave the ball away an astounding 31 times. 26 of those came in the final 11 games after their 5-0 start that dissolved into a playoff-less 8-8 finish.

This year, the problems have grown worse. 30 turnovers is the number with six games remaining. Unless there is some magic potion that the suddenly depleted offense will take between now and say, starting next Sunday against Jacksonville, the Giants will shatter that number by a healthy amount.

It is outright reckless.

“We’ve got to stop, somehow, some way, stop the turnover,” Coughlin continued.

All season the Giants have given the ball away much as a family doles out candy on Halloween to kids who trick-or-treat.

Come one come all! Free footballs for everyone!

Quarterback Eli Manning, responsible for 20 of the teams 30 gifts to the opponent said, “If we want to go anywhere, we have to fix it.”

You can get away with this lack of ball security against teams like Carolina, Houston, and in the first Dallas game when you have the talent and scoring ability to overcome it. Eventually, this catches up with you and it will always happen against an opponent of your equal.

“I have to stop the turnovers,” Manning said.

Yet, it keeps happening.

It is a miracle the Giants were even able to make this loss to the Eagles as close as it was. In the
second quarter, the offense tried to make sure the game was over by halftime by turning the ball over on successive drives. The first one came when Ahmad Bradshaw had the ball ripped out of his possession by Eagles rookie Brandon Graham, giving them the ball at the Giants 23. The second one came when Asante Samuel read Eli Manning’s eyes, jumped in front of Hakeem Nicks and intercepted a pass, returning it to the Giants 15.

Incredibly, the defense (aided by a dropped touchdown pass in the end zone by Jason Avant) both times limited the high-octane Philadelphia attack to only field goals on both drives when the score could have been as much as 21-3.

Give the defense credit for picking up the offense in those spots. However, it is becoming very apparent that this issue of turning the ball over is not going to stop no matter what the players or the coaches say on the subject.

The tired line of “we have to fix it” has become old. Even older is the tired line of “we beat ourselves,” a phrase Brandon Jacobs mentioned after the game.

“We cannot continue to beat ourselves. I don’t think that we are being outcoached or outplayed in many of these games.

Maybe so. However, when you turn the ball over 30 times, you can no longer use that excuse. Continuous self-inflicted damage becomes part of their DNA. Yes, they can move the ball as well as any team in the league (with the exception of last night). Eventually though they will find some way to make a mistake and spoil everything they done.
It is unusual coming from a team that only two years ago set the NFL record low for turnovers with 13. The 32 last year represented a 250% jump from 2008 and the Giants are on pace this season to shatter that.

Jacobs continued, “There is a dark cloud hanging over us right now”, speaking of the giveaways.

In that sense, they are nothing more than a good team that cannot get out of its own way. What good is it to gain 400 yards of offense if you are going turn the football over numerous times?

Manning himself has been a large part of the problem. His 20 charitable donations on the season place him second in the NFL to Brett Favre. While you may put the blame somewhat on his receivers for allowing balls to bounce in the air (or in last week’s case, Nicks failing to run his route fully), a majority of his interceptions are on him.

Said Manning, “We can’t afford to make mistakes.”

Bradshaw, for all the heart that he shows on the field as a runner, fighting for extra yardage and refusing not to go down, has grown the reputation as a man who will put the ball on the ground. The number of fumbles could have grown to six if not for Coughlin’s replay challenge in the middle of the fourth quarter showing that his wrist was on the grass before the ball came out, averting disaster.

Miraculously, the Giants still had a chance in the game down by a touchdown after LeSean McCoy gave the Eagles a 24-17 on a 50-yard sprint on fourth-and-1.

Manning’s pass for Derek Hagan was tipped and intercepted by Samuel for the second time, but Bradshaw forced a fumble to give the ball back to the offense.

Three plays netted four yards and the Giants faced a fourth down needing six. Manning took the shotgun snap, and with no one open, elected to scramble for the first down.

He got it.

Then, instead of going to the ground by sliding, Manning awkwardly stumbled to the grass. Problem was that he did give himself up, thus the play was not dead. The same play happened when the two teams played last season.

The ball came out and the Eagles recovered.

Game over.

“I have to slide,” Manning explained. “It has happened to me before, I just got to not worry about the yardage, we already have the first down and I need to go feet first and move the chains.”
In that one play, you saw what has become of the Giants season. A mixture of great play combined with the bonehead mistakes that now has them fighting for a playoff spot instead of growing their status as elite title contenders.

“You know it’s frustrating,” said Justin Tuck. “But the good thing about it is we can fix it. It is something that can be fixed.”

Easier said than done.

Giants Talk: Turned Away

Five turnovers lead to fifth straight loss to Eagles

PHILADELPHIA – All season long, the Giants have made a habit of finding ways to shoot themselves in the proverbial foot by turning the ball over.

It was only fitting that it would happen again in horrific fashion.

Trailing by a touchdown in the fourth quarter with 3:13 remaining and needing six yards on fourth down, quarterback Eli Manning had no open receivers to throw to, opting to use his feet to get the first down and ten additional yards before going to the ground head first.

“I have to slide,” Manning would say after the game.

Problem was he did not.

On the way to the ground, the ball came out. It was reminiscent of a similar fumble he had at old Giants Stadium against this same team last year. The Eagles would recover the fumble and hold on to beat the Giants for the fifth straight time since 2008, winning 27-17 at Lincoln Financial Field.

Said Head Coach Tom Coughlin after the defeat, “This disregard for the ball, which has been going on for probably a year and a half here, and no one seems to be able to do something about it, again, cost us the football game.”

When referencing last year, Coughlin speaks of to the 31 turnovers his team committed a season ago in which 26 of them came after their 5-0 start.

It was the most devastating loss for this team that now sees most of its early season goodwill slipping away as quickly as their playoff chances.

“We’ve got to stop the turnover,” Coughlin continued. “This is our team, these are the guys that are going to play.

The five turnovers were a season high, bringing the total to unfathomable 30 over 10 games. It is a problem the Giants have spoke of but are either unwilling or unable to correct it.

It has also been the difference in these games with the Eagles where over their last four meetings the Giants have turned it over 14 times.

Brandon Jacobs summed up the feeling throughout the locker room when he said, “We cannot continue to beat ourselves.”

The disgust coming from the players represented a missed opportunity. In reality, it was a game that saw a heroic effort by the defense in the game they likely never should have been in at halftime.

Philadelphia had numerous chances in the game’s first 30 minutes to jump out to substantial lead, aided in part by the Giants and the Eagles own inability to convert.

The defense did a good job of containing Mike Vick and not allowing many of the explosive, game-breaking plays that the Eagles put on the Redskins to the tune of 59 points last Monday night. However, it became apparent that when Vick had time and the Giants were only utilizing a four-man rush that was when he was most effective.

Vick used his feet to score the first touchdown of the game on a four-yard scamper that saw linebacker Michael Boley lose outside contain by falling for the fake inside. Once he bit, there was open room to the end zone.

The Giants would then attempt to gift-wrap the game in the second quarter when Ahmad Bradshaw lost his fifth fumble of the year when rookie defensive end Brandon Graham ripped the ball away from as he was going to the ground.

Said a distraught Bradshaw after the game, “I just have to protect the ball.”

Vick and DeSean Jackson missed on a potential touchdown strike, having to settle for a field goal. On the next possession, Asante Samuel jumped in front a pass intended for Hakeem Nicks and picked it off, returning it to the Giants 13. However, Jason Avant dropped a touchdown pass all alone in the end zone.


Another big break came at the end of the half when Terrell Thomas blocked a field goal attempt by David Akers, keeping the score only 13-3 in a game they were thoroughly outplayed.

“We’re lucky that it was as close as it was even with how well we played despite the mistakes,” added Justin Tuck.

Akers’ third field of the game halfway through the third quarter extended the lead to 13 before the Giants began to mount a rally.

With their running game non-existent (61 yards) and the Eagles, limiting the Giants offense, they would help them out when a 31-yard pass interference call on safety Quentin Mikell put the ball on the 2, eventually leading to a touchdown pass to Travis Beckum to cut the margin to 16-10.

After allowing Vick time to throw in the first half, the Giants defense finally would get to him as Justin Tuck would get one of his three second half sacks on a third down, forcing a fumble that Barry Cofield would recover at the Eagles 27.

Two plays later, Manning found newly signed Derek Hagan in the end zone for a touchdown pass to give the Giants an inconceivable lead.

With 7:52 left, the Eagles started at their own 10 after a holding penalty and advanced the ball near midfield. On third-and-six, rookie Jason Pierre-Paul jumped offside moving the play up five yards preventing the possibility of forcing a punt.

After a stop on third down, Vick nearly fumbled the snap and Osi Umenyiora almost used his outstretched hands to deflect the pitchout with defense selling out on the run. Instead, LeSean McCoy found space to the outside and sprinted 50 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

“We had a guy who was supposed to be man-to-man on McCoy,” said Tuck of the play. “Once he got out on the edge, it was a foot race and he out ran us.”


Turnover number three came when Manning’s pass for Hagan was deflected an intercepted for the second time in the game by Samuel who would then fumble while running for extra yardage and the Giants recovered before Manning’s fourth down fumble ended any hope.

Averaging over 400 yards on offense during the year, the Eagles held the Giants to only 208, their lowest production to date as the loss of Steve Smith and the reshuffling of the offensive line appear to be taking its toll, taking the spotlight off of game effort by the defense until late in the fourth quarter.

“This is one of the tougher loses I have been around in a long time,” said Osi Umenyiora.
Having given up the division lead, the Giants now must regroup this Sunday at home against the first place Jacksonville Jaguars amidst questions that they annual “second half swoon” is not already taking effect.

“We’ve got to take care of our situation,” said Coughlin.

What if it already has?

Giants Talk: Power Outage

Led by defense, Big Blue collapses

EAST RUTHERFORD – When you are in need for the proper perspective, who better to speak up than co-owner John Mara?

“If I had known it would’ve ended like this,” Mara said. “I would’ve kept the lights off.”

Mara was referring to the outage inside the new $1.6 billion New Meadowlands Stadium that certainly is no Motel 6, where they at least keep the light on for you.

Of course, he also could have been speaking of the Giants team as a whole, particularly the defense.

Perhaps they watched the film of the Cowboys last three games and assumed they only had to show up and cover the two-touchdown spread.

Instead, they were on a the wrong end of a 33-20 score that was not as close as the 13 point margin would indicate and now brings questions of the team mental fragility and sudden inability to handle praise and prosperity.

“Today, I don’t think we brought the energy that we had brought the last five games,” said Justin Tuck. “For whatever season, I don’t know.”

What else could explain such a woeful performance? Don’t tell me that the offense played well in this game because even early in the game you could see that the same crispness shown in the last several games clearly was missing.

However, this paled in comparison to what we saw on the other side of the ball.

After a good defensive stand on the Cowboys first drive, smack the Giants in the mouth when Dez Bryant beat Terrell Thomas on a 45-yard reception and then made a great, athletic play hauling in a 13-yard touchdown.

Dallas likely would have scored again needing one yard to go for a touchdown on third down when Jon Kitna tripped over feet on an exchange causing a three-yard loss forcing a field goal.

Maybe the Giants did not know it then, but it was clear that the Cowboys were here to play. This was not the gutless, 1-7 squad who quit on their former coach Wade Phillips. They played so bad Jerry Jones had to fire him six days ago. Suddenly, that team had a sense of belief in what they were doing.

The Giants, boasting statistically the best defense in the league, had zero answers.

“They came out to play,” said safety Kenny Phillips. We didn’t and we didn’t play well. They did what they had to do, but we didn’t take care of our business.”

When backup cornerback Bryan McCann stepped in front of a potential Eli Manning touchdown pass and returned it 101 yards for a touchdown, the sense of dread began to fill New Meadowlands Stadium.

Yet the score at halftime was 19-6. The Giants offense at least was moving the ball, but killing themselves with penalties and backing themselves and long third down situations. However, all the defense needed to do you figured was to stop the Cowboys on their opening possession of the third quarter and get the ball back to have a chance.

They could not.

The defense held them to zero yards on the first two plays as the stadium lights (about half of them) mysteriously went out. Needing to prevent Dallas from gaining ten yards on third down, Felix Jones got 71, taking a screen pass and using his great speed with help from his blockers to sprint all the way to the end zone to increase the Cowboys lead to 20 points.

“It was a great play,” said Antrel Rolle. “They got us at the right time.”

All season the Giants defense has been great at not giving up big plays all year. Only four times had an opponent gained 40 yards or more on a play. In this game, it happened four times.

There was a sense of confusion among the players. Were they complacent or perhaps taking the Cowboys lightly?

Maybe.

If so, they did a great job of talking themselves into believing it wouldn’t happen all week. Yet, it was happening anyway as everything Dallas was doing on the surface appeared to confuse the Giants.

“They played well,” said Osi Umenyiora. “They hit us with a lot of big plays.”

The pass rush could get to Kitna the way it did to Tony Romo in the first meeting.

Because of the Cowboys new scheme to protect its quarterback from suffering the same fate, tight ends Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett in to block and occasionally keeping a running back, thus negating pressure and allowing time to throw, something very few teams have done until Sunday.

With time, receivers were in one-on-one matchups with Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas. Arguably, the two played one of their worst games of the year.

None was more evident that a sequence late in the third quarter when trailing by 13 points, the defense needed to make another stand. The Cowboys faced a third-and-22 at their own 49 when Kitna lofted a pass down the left sideline that Roy Williams brought in for a 27-yard completion for a first down.

On the next play, Miles Austin spun Webster around three times before beating him inside on a post after Kenny Phillips crept close to the line, taking him out of the play. The result was a 24-yard touchdown that sealed any real chance the Giants had of making a comeback.

“They attacked our weakness, and they made plays,” said Thomas. “They went right after us, and they kind of caught us off guard.”

Kitna only completed 13 passes, but threw for 327 yards, the most by any quarterback against this defense this season. The 427 yards was the most allowed all year despite the Cowboys only having the ball for just over 22 minutes as the breakdowns and the big plays opened up an old wound watching last year’s defense torched over the final 11 games.

With the injuries to the offensive line and the wide receivers, the production from the offense is going to drop from the 36 point per game clip they were at over the last four games. It was now time that the defense carry them while they found their way back into the game.

They could not.

It was an ugly loss. Not the fact they blew a chance to cement their standing as one of the league’s elite, but because it bring about questions as to how good this team truly is. Did the Cowboys expose a flaw in the Giants that other teams surely will attempt to exploit, most notably the explosive Eagles attack next Sunday night.

“Maybe this is that wakeup call we can use,” Tuck would say. “I think we are poised to kind of rebound from this.”

After this loss, you wonder if this defense can flip the “on” switch and return to their dominant selves.

“We just have to bounce back,” said Rolle.

If they don’t, as we saw, it may be “lights out” on the season.

Giants Talk: Short Circuited

Giants fall flat in loss to Cowboys


EAST RUTHERFORD – The way the Giants were playing perhaps it was an omen that the lights went out.

Yes, the new $1.6 billion New Meadowlands Stadium experienced a power outage early in the third quarter. However, the Giants were playing as if they flicked their own off-switch long before that.

“We didn’t play well enough to win,” was how Head Coach Tom Coughlin put it.

Coming in pronounced as one of the elite teams in the league before the game, to the point where they were favored by two touchdowns, the Giants saw their five game winning streak and splendid play go into the dark as an inspired Cowboys team under new interim head coach Jason Garrett took advantage in their shocking 33-20 loss.

Coughlin continued, ‘We didn’t execute the way we’ve been executing. We gave up big plays.”

There were definitely many of those.

“Sometimes you play lights out, literally, and sometimes you just don’t have it,” was how Justin Tuck put it.

How ironic.

The game saw a team appearing to come out flat at the beginning under the impression that Dallas was the same team they saw on film the last three weeks give up 121 points, including 41 in their previous matchup three weeks ago. Unfortunately, the Giants did not see that team.

“There are definitely some things that we have to fix,” said Eli Manning. “Maybe a few things that we have gotten away with in the past that you kind of know eventually are going to bite you and today they definitely bit us.”

They saw a desperate Cowboys squad under Garrett playing aggressively and intelligently without turning the ball over. This was contrary to the Giants who from the outset, appeared to be in quick sand, digging themselves a hole created of their own volition that they could not get themselves out of.

After an early field goal gave the Giants an early lead, Cowboys rookie receiver Dez Bryant made two great plays, one on a 45-yard reception when he sprinted past Terrell Thomas, and another when he showed incredible body control hauling in a 13-yard touchdown pass that officials initially ruled incomplete. Kicker David Buehler would miss the extra point.

With the score now 9-3, the Giants appeared to be on the verge of taking the lead. The ball rested on the Cowboys 2 on third down when Dallas sent a blitz. Eli Manning spotted Hakeem Nicks in one-on-one coverage, but Nicks did not finish his slant to the inside as he slipped and when the ball got there, cornerback Bryan McCann intercepted the pass and raced 101 yards to the end zone for a touchdown taking what could have been a potential 10-9 lead into a 16-3 deficit.

“You can’t do that,” Coughlin stated about Nicks appearing to give up on the slant route. “You have to continue to run the route, run through the defenders, do whatever you have to do.”

Trailing 19-6 to begin the third quarter, the Giants defense looked to force a three-and-out from the Cowboys and force a punt. Instead, on a third-and-10, Jon Kitna found Felix Jones on a perfectly executed screen pass that was set up for him and he sprinted past the defense for a 70-yard touchdown, shocking the crowd at New Meadowlands Stadium.

“It was a great play, and they got us at the right time,” Said safety Antrel Rolle, whose bad angle on the play sprung Jones for the score.

Manning would lead them back into the game briefly when he found Mario Manningham for a five-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 26-13. Yet again, the defense would break down again as with the Cowboys moved 85 yards with ease, starting with a 46-yard catch-and-run by Bryant.

Another key play of the game would come in the drive with Dallas facing a third-and-22 from their own 49. Kitna found Roy Williams on a 27-yard completion that followed up by Miles Austin beating Corey Webster on a post pattern for a 24-yard score to put the lead back up to 20.

“We got out-executed and outplayed, said cornerback Terrell Thomas.“That’s not Giants football.”

The touchdown was the third of the game by Kitna, who on the afternoon only completed 13 passes (13-for-20), but threw for 327 yards, the most allowed by the Giants this season. The 427 total yards were also a season high.

Kitna benefited from time in the pocket to throw as the Cowboys used a “max-protect” scheme, using two tight ends and occasionally a running back to slow down a pass rush that ended Tony Romo’s season in the team’s first meeting. The result was only one sack and that came when he tripped over his center on a third down play with the ball at the Giants 1 in the second quarter.

“They attacked our weakness, and they made plays,” Thomas continued. “They went right after us, and they kind of caught us off guard.”

It took just 1:08 for the Giants to bring the game back to 33-20 when Kevin Boss hauled in a 35 yard touchdown pass. Dallas would give the Giants several opportunities in the game to get close, but the offense was unable to capitalize.
On a fourth-and-1 from the Cowboys 49 with 1:08 left, Head Coach Tom Coughlin elected to punt rather than go for it. The result was Matt Dodge punting the ball into the end zone.

Facing second-and-20, Manning had Nicks wide open in the middle of the field after he split the safeties, but dropped the pass.

“I tried to cut up field and tried to make a play,” Nicks said. “I should’ve looked it in.”

Two plays later needing one yard, the Dallas defense stoned Brandon Jacobs short of the first down forcing a turnover on downs.

Deon Grant would intercept a Kitna pass in the end zone, but the Giants would give it right back when a bad snap saw Manning chasing the ball and eventually fumbling it as Anthony Spencer recovered.

David Buehler would then miss a 34-yard field goal late in the fourth, but the Giants would see their dreams for a comeback end when at the Cowboys 17, Manning would have his pass intercepted by Alan Ball to seal the game.

“Every time we tried to close the gap they would answer and we would make mistakes,” said Boss. “You are not going to win ballgames like that.”

The third turnover of the game increases their season high total to 27. The loss, pending the outcome of the Eagles game tomorrow against the Redskins now make next Sunday’s game for a share of first place in the NFC East.

“We have only played two division games and we have a lot of football left,” said Manning.

All season the Giants had been able to overpower opponents past their own miscues.
Sunday was either a wakeup call or a preview of things to come.