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Gameday Thread: NY Giants vs. Jacksonville Jaguars


BronxRik

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gmen_team_sm.jpg VS. jax_team_sm.jpg


Monday 11/20/06 8:15 pm (ET), ESPN


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N.Y. Giants at Jacksonville
NFL.com wire reports
Matchup Breakdown | Game Notes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2006) -- Injuries were a big reason why the New York Giants missed a chance to claim the NFC's best record last weekend. They hope that's all the disheartening loss cost them.

After suffering several more key injuries, the banged-up Giants (6-3) will look to rebound from a home defeat to Chicago when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4) at Alltel Stadium on Monday Night Football.

New York came into the Bears game missing five starters. The lack of depth eventually caught up to the Giants, as they blew a 10-point lead and lost 38-20.

Making matters worse, New York also saw cornerback Sam Madison (hamstring) and tackle Luke Petitgout (broken leg) go down, while star running back Tiki Barber suffered an injured finger.

Coach Tom Coughlin said he's unsure who will return this week. Petitgout is likely out for the year, joining receiver Amani Toomer, who sustained a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago.

Madison re-injured his hamstring on the rain-slick Giants Stadium field. Michael Strahan (mid-foot sprain) was already out and could miss up to three more weeks, and fellow All-Pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora is listed as doubtful for the Jaguars game with a hip flexor.

Starting linebackers Carlos Emmons (groin) and Brandon Short (quad) are questionable.

Of the injured players, Barber is the only one who's expected to play against Jacksonville. The NFL's leading rusher with 971 yards, Barber suffered a sprained right thumb against the Bears.

"It's painful, but I'll play with it," he said. "I haven't been on any pain medication, so it's not killing me, and that's really a good thing."

New York needs all the help it can get as it looks to get back on track. With a chance to tie the Bears at 7-2 and seize the tiebreaker, the Giants dominated early, building a 13-3 lead while shutting down Chicago offensively.

New York, though, couldn't maintain its momentum and seemed to wear down against Chicago, which got a 108-yard Devin Hester return of a missed field goal and big games from quarterback Rex Grossman, Thomas Jones and Muhsin Muhammad as it rallied to win.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning should be happy to be done with Brian Urlacher and the Bears' NFC-best defense, as he went 14-for-32 for a season-low 121 yards and two interceptions. He failed to throw a touchdown for the first time this season.

"He knows that it wasn't a good game and he didn't play well," Coughlin said of Manning, who has recorded as many touchdowns (six) as interceptions in the past five games.

"We talked about why and he has a little time to reflect on that now. ... He certainly is upset about it and would do anything he could to rectify the situation, but as in all these things, they're gone. It's on to the next one."


Coming off a tough loss, the Jaguars might lean on Fred Taylor.
Barber says he's optimistic despite the Giants' five-game winning streak ending, pointing out that New York is still is good shape in the NFC.

"I think it's twofold: one, we're in good position at 6-3 and we still have great control of our season," he said, "two, some of these young guys are getting their first chance and getting an opportunity to make a difference."

Coughlin will be facing his former team for the first time since being fired in 2002. He was the Jaguars' first coach in 1995 and led them to the AFC Championship Game twice, finishing with a 68-60 record.

"I'm going out a different door, that's for sure, and if I remember, it's not a long walk," Coughlin told Giants.com about being in the visitors' locker room at Alltel Stadium this week. "It'll be a different experience, no doubt. Being on the other sideline will be different."

The Jaguars roster still includes 13 players acquired by Coughlin.

One of them, quarterback David Garrard, struggled in Jacksonville's 13-10 defeat to Houston last week. He went 15-for-34 for 214 yards and threw four interceptions in his first loss as a starter.

Garrard played in place of Byron Leftwich, one of several tense situations surrounding the team. Coach Jack Del Rio benched left tackle Khalif Barnes for the game following his arrest on drunken-driving charges, and receivers Reggie Williams and Ernest Wilford got into a sideline shoving match in the closing minutes of the Jaguars' second loss of the season to the Texans.

Garrard appears likely to start again this week, as Leftwich headed to Birmingham, Ala., on Nov. 13 to get a second opinion on his injured left ankle. He listed as questionable.

Leftwich, though, disputed some of Del Rio's assertions to the media last week that the injury was the reason he wasn't starting, saying no doctor had told him that extended rest would make a difference and that he believed his benching was performance-based.

Del Rio was testy Nov. 13 when discussing his team and the situations surrounding it.

"We've got an inconsistent team that has a coach that doesn't have control of the team. That's what you want to write," Del Rio said sarcastically. "That's complete bull."

Three of Jacksonville's four defeats have come against teams with losing records.

The Giants and Jaguars will be meeting for the first time since 2002. New York has won two of the three matchups, but Jacksonville's victory came at home by a 40-13 score in 1997.


AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2006, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved


GO GMEN!!!
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New York Giants at Jacksonville Jaguars

 

NYG OUT T Luke Petitgout (Fibula)

DE Michael Strahan (Foot)

DE Justin Tuck (Foot)

 

DOUBTFUL CB Sam Madison (Hamstring)

DE Osi Umenyiora (Hip Flexor)

 

QUESTIONABLE OLB Carlos Emmons (Groin)

WR Sinorice Moss (Quadricep)

OLB Brandon Short (Quadricep)

WR David Tyree (Groin)

 

JAC QUESTIONABLE OLB Jorge Cordova (Hamstring)

SS Donovin Darius (Knee)

P Chris Hanson (Left Hamstring)

DT John Henderson (Hamstring)

QB Byron Leftwich (Ankle)

T Stockar McDougle (Ankle)

RB Montell Owens (Head)

FS Nick Sorensen (Head)

DT Marcus Stroud (Ankle)

 

PROBABLE CB Terry Cousin (Groin)

T Wayne Hunter (Wrist)

OLB Clint Ingram (Shoulder)

LB Brian Iwuh (Shin)

CB Rashean Mathis (Hamstring)

DE Bobby McCray (Shoulder)

SS Gerald Sensabaugh (Shoulder)

OLB Daryl Smith (Biceps)

RB Fred Taylor (Groin)

CB Dee Webb (Shoulder)

DE Marcellus Wiley (Groin)

WR Ernest Wilford (Thigh)

CB Brian Williams (Foot)

RB Derrick Wimbush (Ankle)

TE George Wrighster (Back)

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Any predictions? I'll start us off...

 

 

We go up, 23-10 in the third... then with the lead, Huffnagle decides it's obviously a great time to air out the ball. Eli throws a pick, and Jacksonville goes in to make it 23-17. The crowd is back in it. Huffnagle figures it out: with a 7 point lead in the 4th, it's a good time to air out the ball. A nameless DE blows by Whitfield, Eli gets sacked, fumbles, and Jacksonville recovers again. They go in to make it 23-24. I stay up four quarters again to see my team lose in the 4th in prime time. :furious:

 

 

Final score: Jacksonville 24, Giants 23.

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