2007 NY Giants Articles and Video

[jerseygiantfan]

Strahan is the ultimate Sunday warrior

Jay Glazer

FOXSports.com, Updated 20 hours ago

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The New York Giants have become everything they weren't supposed to be when this season began. Their coach Tom Coughlin now looks like his butt has cooled considerably and the hot seat has been taken out of his office.

 

Quarterback Eli Manning has not only answered the questions with his recent play and field command, so far he's actually earned himself a much-deserved trip to Honolulu. Can you believe it? He's gone from whipping boy to Pro Bowl possibility and is well on his way to legitimizing he's not that far off from stardom.

 

The defense a mere three weeks ago looked as if it would get Coughlin canned, put more pressure on Manning and send this entire team to the basement of the NFC.

 

But in the NFL so much can change in a mere two to three weeks.

 

The man who leads his team into battle each week is Pro Bowl DE Michael Strahan. Forget his low sack number — Strahan remains the heart of that locker room. As he goes, they go. Even if his stats don't show it, and he's a favorite target of the tabloids and paparazzi in a high-profile divorce, he's the man his teammates look to on Sunday.

 

 

This week Strahan and I released a book together titled, "Inside the Helmet, Life as a Sunday Afternoon Warrior." It's not an autobiography, as Strahan himself admits he'd fall asleep reading about his upbringing. It's not a smut book, slinging mud at his ex-wife and naming names. We don't do that (although there is an absolutely hilarious joke that Ronde Barber played on Strahan when his ex made certain accusations about him in the N.Y. tabloids).

 

Instead, our book is a first-hand, intimate look at the life of an NFL player — the brutality, the violence, the pain, the camaraderie, the way these guys fight together like brothers and against each other like brothers. It talks of practical jokes, the things these guys say to each other during battle, underneath piles and during TV timeouts. Strahan brings the most knowledgeable NFL fan to another level of feeling like you're on the inside.

 

After spending much of this off-season with Strahan, there's something I can now admit that may surprise some — I'm stunned he's playing this year. Shocked, actually!

 

Strahan and I have been close for years. His first month in this league was my first month covering anything professionally. I was bartending in Brooklyn the year I met Strahan and he was a typical high draft pick who got hurt early. I wasn't exactly loved by my reporter brethren and he was just another dumb, injured rookie. We started hanging out together when nobody else really cared to and an odd player-reporter relationship blossomed into one of the most cherished friendships I'll ever have.

 

He'll readily admit I know him better than just about anybody in his life. We probably fight worse than most brothers related by blood and when we're wrong, we lambaste each other harder than people could ever imagine.

 

Inside the Helmet: Life as a Sunday Afternoon Warrior (Hardcover) ()

 

But as close as we are, and thinking I knew everything there was to know about this long-time Giant, there were things about him I never imagined. Quite frankly, I was shocked.

 

Shocked at what a mess my big buddy's body is. Shocked at what he's had to do in order to put himself in harm's way for 15 years of football Sundays. Shocked at what he has to do to get on that field on Sunday. Shocked at the mind games he's played with himself to get his body to do the things in battle he asks of it.

 

Despite being privy to more inside info than many in the public, this experience was eye-opening to say the least.

 

I did not know it takes him 15 minutes to get out of bed each morning. Every single morning he awakens to a mental checklist of sorts. Left ankle? OK. Right ankle? Not so good. Knees? Check. Hip? Check! Lower baaaaa….damn! Right shoulder? Lousy, gonna have to shoot that today. And it goes on and on.

 

I also didn't know that when Strahan is alone he can't wear shoes with laces because on most mornings he's unable to bend to tie them. A few vertebrae in his lower back are completely shot. He writes that there's nothing more humiliating in this world than to be 30 years old, sitting at the end of a bed and trying unsuccessfully to put on a sock. He'd sit there and try and try and try and never even get close. That was when he was 30! In the five years since he's lost even more. His body is a road map of pain, the effects of Sunday brutality and violence. But unfortunately the pain isn't confined to Sunday. Those games may end Sunday afternoon but the pain lasts forever.

 

One day while I was typing, I was startled when Strahan gave a yelp followed by a few expletives. I turned to see that one of his fingers had actually dislocated while text-messaging somebody. His fingers are grotesque, mangled and will forever pop in and out doing mundane things. He'll have a lifetime of dislocations while doing something as second-nature as biting his nails.

 

It's not just Strahan, of course. All NFL players ask their bodies to do things on Sundays for our viewing pleasure and get paid handsomely as a result. Now more than ever I understand why players try to get so much money while they can.

 

Michael Strahan came back for a 15th season and has helped the Giants win three straight. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

 

A few years ago Strahan started shooting his shoulders with Lidocaine, a numbing agent that he hoped would alleviate the pain. It started with one day of pain shots, followed by two a week his next year, followed by three a week his next year and so on. There are shots, pills, whatever it takes to get him through another Sunday. That, too, I didn't know. (I also came to learn during our writing that teams in the NFL bring in people to take blood from these players, testing their liver and kidneys to protect them from the negative effects these shots can sometimes cause.) Like the rest of the world, I see the affable side of Strahan and many times the angry side. But now I understand the anger. The constant pain and discomfort would cause me to lash out at times too.

 

One of the great things about doing a book with a guy like Strahan is the fact that while all players know what they have to go through for Sunday glory, the NFL's single-season sack holder has a fantastic way of expressing the deepest, darkest thoughts of an NFL player.

 

When it comes to this pain and the injuries and problems he'll face in the coming years, Strahan delves deep. He admits that a few years ago he began playing games in his own mind, convincing himself that modern medicine will eventually catch up. Strahan says he had to put his mind in the frame that five years or so after he's done science will come up with something that will allow him to live a normal existence. It's a deal he's made with his body — keep giving and I promise help will be on the way. Now that his career is winding down, he's as hopeful as ever, but within the past year that brazen exterior has cracked and he knows that's not much of a real possibility.

 

 

That's why I'm shocked Strahan is still playing. How many deals can one guy make with his body before it smacks him in the face for being a liar?

 

Now, when I sit in the FOX NFL Sunday studios on the weekend and watch these afternoon warriors beat the living you-know-what out of each other, I have a newfound respect. More of a first-hand respect for what we ask these guys to do for our entertainment pleasure.

 

Luckily for the suddenly streaking Giants, Strahan has a few more games left to play with his mind this year. I just hope my pal gets out OK.

[jerseygiantfan]

Giants' coaches want Eli Manning to complete 60% of passes

 

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Saturday, October 13th 2007, 4:00 AM

 

 

 

The bar was set high for Eli Manning entering his third full season as the Giants' starting quarterback. His coaches wanted an end to his maddening inconsistency. They expected his completion percentage would top 60%.

 

More than a quarter of the way through the season, Manning's percentage is close (58.6), but also skewed by a fantastic opening-night performance when he completed 68.3% of his passes. He hasn't topped 60% in any of the last four games. And his percentage for the last two games is only 52.9 (27-for-51).

 

As he heads toward a Monday night game in Atlanta, Manning has completed only 54.5% of his career passes over nearly 3-1/2 seasons and 45 career starts. That's why Kevin Gilbride, the Giants' offensive coordinator and previously Manning's quarterbacks coach, was asked: Were the expectations too high? And is that all there is?

 

"I don't think I'm being naïve," Gilbride said. "I think my faith will be rewarded and he's going to finish the year playing the way we all think he can - not turning the ball over, making the great throws that he always does make and maybe cutting down on some of the inconsistency."

 

"We're always going to feel that he can do better," Gilbride added. "I honestly, genuinely feel that he will."

 

Certainly the ability is there, judging by the 12 games in his career in which Manning has completed more than 60% of his passes. But that's hardly enough for a former No. 1 overall draft pick. He's compounded the problem lately with incredibly slow starts that have forced the Giants to have to rally for victories in two of their last three games.

 

Some of that has to do with Plaxico Burress' nagging ankle injury, which has robbed him of all his practice time the last two weeks and kept the offense out of synch. But the Giants have other weapons that Manning isn't finding, such as tight end Jeremy Shockey (a career-low three catches in the last two games) and receiver Amani Toomer (no catches last week).

 

Plus, Burress has been a second-half star, as evidenced by his five-catch, 124-yard performance after intermission last week against the Jets. Given all that, it is hard to believe that Manning hasn't completed more than 15 passes in either of the last two games and that in those games he's thrown for 321 yards combined.

 

So what's the problem? Some of it, Gilbride said, is style. Manning has been sacked only five times this season, and while his offensive line has been terrific, some of that can be attributed to Manning's willingness to throw balls away when he's in trouble.

 

"If he sees a guy coming, he's going to throw it away," Gilbride said. "That's always going to hurt his percentage a little bit."

 

Another issue has been the Giants' offensive style. They have a downfield passing attack, especially when Burress is on his game. And while those deep balls can be game-changing plays, they are not exactly high-percentage throws.

 

"I think we felt and feel with the style he can still complete 60%," Gilbride said. "It wasn't a capriciously arrived-at number. With his ability, with his knowledge, with his accuracy, if we give him time we'll (complete) around 60%, even in that context."

 

Nevertheless, that number is still out of reach, which is one reason why Manning's quarterback rating of 82.7 ranks him only 18th in the NFL - which puts him below even embattled Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington (87.3).

 

Maybe when Manning finally does hit 60, the Giants' offense will get going again, too.

 

BRACING FOR BIRDS: DE Osi Umenyiora (knee) was back at practice yesterday. With the Falcons starting two backup tackles (rookie LT Renardo Foster and RT Tyson Clabo), Umenyiora knows that after the Giants' 12-sack performance two weeks ago, the expectations for the pass rush are high. "People have to expect that, given the caliber of defensive ends that we have over here," Umenyiora said. "But those guys are no slouches. I know especially my guy is a good football player. Plus they're going to have a lot of help." ... Burress (ankle) did not practice, but is expected to play.

 

 

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Manning leads Giants to road win

Associated Press, Updated 26 minutes ago

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ATLANTA (AP) - Eli Manning made enough good throws to overcome some glaring mistakes. Joey Harrington didn't have much time to do anything.

 

Manning threw a pair of touchdown passes and set up another New York TD with three straight completions, leading the New York Giants to their fourth straight win, 31-10 over the hapless Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

 

Manning hooked up with Amani Toomer on a 5-yard scoring pass during a wild first quarter in which the teams combined for 24 points.

 

Before the half was done, Manning went deep for a 43-yard touchdown to Plaxico Burress that gave the Giants (4-2) a 21-10 lead.

 

The Giants quarterback threw two interceptions and had another turnover when John Abraham knocked the ball out of his hands just before his arm went forward on an attempted pass. The way Atlanta (1-5) was playing offense, it didn't matter.

 

Manning was 27-of-39 for 303 yards, his most since a 312-yard performance against the Cowboys in Week 1.

 

Playing behind a patched-up line, Harrington was sacked four times, had several passes deflected at the line and did plenty of scrambling to avoid New York's fearsome pass rush, which had tied a league record with 12 sacks of Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb two weeks earlier.

 

The Falcons, who were starting two new tackles because of injuries, actually did a better-than-expected job keeping Osi Umenyiora, Michael Strahan & Co. away from Harrington. That was largely because Harrington went with quick drops and short passes, not leaving much time to open up the passing game.

 

Harrington was 18-of-39 for 209 yards. He lost 28 yards on sacks, and the Falcons were totally inept after their quick start. They managed only 159 yards and nine first downs over the final three quarters, most of them coming after the Giants already had put the game away.

 

After yanking Harrington the previous week in favor of Byron Leftwich, the Falcons didn't have any other options against the Giants. Leftwich was designated as the third quarterback because of a sore ankle, and backup Chris Redman has not played in a game since 2003.

 

Redman did start warming up at one point late in the first half after Harrington was shaken up on a sack by Antonio Pierce, but the starter was able to stay in the game, much to the chagrin of Atlanta fans who still miss Michael Vick.

 

When another Falcons possession fizzled with about 10 minutes remaining, the red-clad fans at the Georgia Dome delivered one last round of boos and headed for the exits, leaving a healthy contingent of New York fans to cheer on their team the rest of the way.

 

The Giants have bounced back from losses to Dallas and Green Bay. Now, they must avoid the sort of letdown that knocked them out of the playoffs a year ago.

 

A five-game winning streak had New York at 6-2 midway through the 2006 season, but the Giants managed just two more wins the rest of the way.

 

The Falcons started quickly, jumping ahead on Morten Andersen's 47-yard field and reclaiming a 10-7 lead when Jerious Norwood broke off 67-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage after Manning's TD pass to Toomer.

 

New York bounced back to take the lead for good before the quarter was done. Brandon Jacobs broke off a 20-yard run and Manning completed three passes for 56 yards, the last of them a 17-yarder that Toomer gathered in at the 1 and managed to drag both toes along the turf before tumbling out of bounds.

 

 

Reuben Droughns powered over on the next play, and the Giants were up 14-10 and on their way.

 

Toomer became the leading receiver in Giants history with his 587th career reception, and also tied Kyle Rote's club mark with 48 TD catches.

 

Derrick Ward added New York's final score with just over 3 minutes remaining on a 9-yard run.

 

The Giants became just the third team in NFL history with 600 regular-season wins. The are 600-502-33 in franchise history, following Chicago and Green Bay.

[jerseygiantfan]

Surging Giants still have room to improve

 

 

By Len Pasquarelli

ESPN.com

(Archive)

 

Updated: October 16, 2007

 

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Toomer, Eli and the Giants Roll Over Falcons

 

ATLANTA -- With the New York Giants now having won four straight games after a sluggish 0-2 start, people around the league are beginning to wonder just how good this team can be.

 

And some of the most curious people, following Monday night's 31-10 victory here over the Atlanta Falcons, were located right in the middle of the Giants' locker room.

 

"We talk all the time about not being a roller-coaster team, about [establishing] a good level of consistency and not having so many ups and downs," said free safety Gibril Wilson. "The goal is to be on a steady rise, not to slip back, [to] keep on moving forward. And you do kind of think to yourself, 'Yeah, if we can do that, how good can we be?' I mean, as good as we played tonight, we can still play even better. This team hasn't played its best game yet, not by a long shot."

 

With a home game in Week 7 against the inconsistent San Francisco 49ers, followed by the historic matchup in London versus the currently winless Miami Dolphins on Oct. 28, the Giants might not need their "A" game for a little while at least. Neither of those contests figures to define the real pedigree of the Giants and how they stack up against the rest of the NFC competition.

 

But after a bye on Nov. 4, New York gets a rematch with Dallas, arguably the best entry in the NFC and a team that whipped the Giants, 45-35, in Week 1. And that game, at Giants Stadium on Nov. 11, should provide New York with a pretty good measuring stick.

 

In dispatching the floundering Falcons, who dropped to 1-5 and showed only sporadic signs of life after snatching an early 10-7 lead, the Giants broke out the whipping stick at times. But the game also offered, on both sides of the ball, a microcosm of what still makes the Giants a question-mark team.

 

After allowing Atlanta to score on its first two series, on a 47-yard Morten Andersen field goal and a 67-yard burst by tailback Jerious Norwood, the New York defense righted itself. Atlanta's next 10 possessions resulted in seven punts, a missed field goal, an interception and a series on which the Falcons turned the ball over on downs.

 

Offensively, the Giants opened the game by scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions, and on three of the first four series. At one point during that stretch, quarterback Eli Manning hit 12 straight passes for 170 yards, including a beautiful 43-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress on a post pattern.

 

But then the offense went six series before it scored its next touchdown -- a 9-yard run by backup tailback Derrick Ward with 3:08 remaining in the game.

 

"You would like to see [the momentum] sustain itself throughout," Coughlin acknowledged. "The coach in me tells me that you want more."

 

There are only four franchises in the league right now, two in each conference, with more wins than the Giants' four victories. And while no one is prepared yet to suggest that New York is poised to move into elite status, the Giants certainly are at or near the top of the second-tier group, and with a chance to be very good if they keep improving.

 

Part of the progress the Giants have made is seen in their defense, which struggled in the first two weeks to come to grips with the scheme that first-year coordinator Steve Spagnuolo installed. But the unit has grown considerably, flies around the field, and has been able to camouflage its shortcomings in the secondary with aggressive blitzes up front. The Giants, who came into Monday's game tied for the NFL lead in sacks, notched four more, three of them on blitzes, including a corner fire off the edge by Aaron Ross.

 

"Maybe we didn't get pressure the way everyone thought we would," said right defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who did not add to his league-leading seven sacks despite lining up against rookie Renardo Foster all night. "But we still got pressure."

 

Credit the Atlanta staff for this much: They didn't go into a shell against the Giants and use maximum protections to try to insulate quarterback Joey Harrington from the New York pass rush. To the contrary, the Falcons spread the field much of the night and counted on Harrington to get the ball out on three- and five-step drops.

 

For a while, a short while, the blueprint worked. But then the New York defense tightened up, and twice held firm after turnovers provided the Falcons scoring chances. And the Giants' offense, despite hitting a lull period in the middle of the game, when Manning tossed a pair of interceptions and cooled off for a while, still managed to move the ball well enough to control the tempo.

 

Even with the stretch of inconsistency, Manning threw for 303 yards and the Giants rolled up 188 yards on the ground.

 

"We have a lot of playmakers here," said wide receiver Amani Toomer, who finished with seven catches for 89 yards and one touchdown. "I don't think there are that many defenses that can keep us down for long. As long as we're not keeping ourselves down. There are times we kind of play down to the level of other people. If we play at our level, up to what we're capable of doing, I really do think we have the potential to do some special things. I guess we'll see."

 

Indeed, when the Cowboys show up on the schedule again, we will.

 

In a moment of incredible incongruity Monday night, the public address system at the Georgia Dome blared the Bruce Springsteen anthem "Glory Days" when Ward capped off the scoring late in the game. Maybe it was meant to entertain the thousands of Giants fans still remaining in a mostly empty stadium.

 

Or maybe it was designed to augur what might lie ahead if the Giants can stay on a roll.

 

"I guess," said Wilson, "time will tell."

 

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

[jerseygiantfan]

Coughlin, Manning lead Giants' turnaround

Adam Schein

FOXSports.com, Updated 16 hours ago

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At halftime in Week 3, it was over.

 

And by "it" I am talking about the game against the Redskins. I am talking about the season for the Giants. I am talking about the Tom Coughlin regime.

 

But a funny thing happened. The Giants responded to adversity and — in improbable and impressive fashion — came all the way back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to beat the rival Redskins in Washington.

 

The Giants were 0-2 entering that game. They are 4-2 now.

 

And there are a lot of bouquets to throw around.

 

Plaxico Burress is playing on one ankle, and playing as well or better than any other receiver in the NFL. David Diehl has been phenomenal at left tackle, a surprise to many, including myself. Chris Palmer has done wonders with Eli Manning's mechanics. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward have formed a formidable one-two punch at running back.

 

Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer have combined for 56 catches for 813 yards and nine TDs through six weeks. Burress has scored touchdowns in all six games. ( / Getty Images)

 

Ever since the halfway point of the Washington game the Giants defense has looked the part. It all started with the game-ending, goal-line stand in D.C. Steve Spagnuolo's defense is flying around, highlighted by the team-record 12 sacks against the Eagles and poor, poor Winston Justice. Recently, Antonio Pierce is playing as well as anyone in the conference at linebacker. Michael Strahan has shaken off the holdout rust and is making a difference. Osi Umenyiora is dominating games. The versatility of Justin Tuck, the evened-out play of Mathias Kiwanuka and the game-changing picks from veteran Sam Madison and first-rounder Aaron Ross have aided the cause.

 

But, when you talk about the Giants, you have to talk about Coughlin and Manning.

 

Both have changed for the better.

 

When you talk to players like Pierce, Diehl, Tuck and Kareem McKenzie, they tell you about Coughlin being more accessible, showing more of a human side and forming a players committee to properly take the pulse of this team.

 

Ross tells us that he expected a different coach from what he heard he was getting. He says he loves playing for Coughlin.

 

 

 

Diehl says it is all about trust and being on the same page. The tackle told us Tuesday, "We've been together for four years now. All of the players know what to expect out of Coach and Coach knows what to expect out of the players. We are working extremely hard. And the hardest critics aren't from the outside. They are from inside. It's us on ourselves. We want to be a good team. Coming in, Coach Coughlin established a set of rules and guidelines for the team to abide by. At first, maybe it struck some people as odd or different. When it gets down to it, we just have one common goal: to win a world championship."

 

Meanwhile, Manning has truly improved as a player and leader.

 

"I think it is a progression," said NFL on FOX lead analyst Troy Aikman. "I know, the quarterback position takes some time. Even when he goes into his 10th, 11th, 12th year, he'll have a much better understanding of what defenses are trying to do against him. He'll continue to improve in those areas. You don't lose a guy who produced 1,700 yards rushing in Tiki Barber and replace him. And yet, in some ways, maybe that's been good for Eli Manning. Maybe it's made him more of the leader of that group.

 

"I watch him on the field and I don't think I am reading too much into it, but he seems to be so much more comfortable in his role and showing more leadership than he has in previous years. I think he's done a nice job. He's completing a higher percentage of passes than at any point in his career. Plaxico Burress has been great. I don't know how he's doing it, banged up and missing practice time, but yet they are connecting."

 

Manning's play Monday was razor sharp, distributing the ball brilliantly to the bevy of Giants weapons. Perhaps as pretty a throw as any was a third-down toss to Amani Toomer in the second quarter when Manning got flushed out of the pocket, still set his feet, didn't panic, used proper fundamentals and hit his target. On the next play, he drilled Plaxico Burress for a 43-yard touchdown off of a beautifully executed play-action pass. It was 21-10. It was over.

 

Manning has time to throw the ball with the play of his offensive line.

 

I loved Diehl at guard. I was highly skeptical about him being a full-time player at the ultra-important left tackle position.

 

"It was something that wasn't easy," Diehl said. "I had to work hard on it. The advantage for me was I knew I was making the change early on. I was able to go through the mini-camps and OTAs to prepare myself the entire summer for it. During our break time, I went back to Chicago and I worked with Michael Jordan's old trainer, Tim Grover. I worked with him twice a day, five days a week. We did so much on agility. Actually, most of it was basketball-related just because it's a similar type of thing to a basketball player trying to dribble past you and you have to cut him off on an angle. It's the same thing playing left tackle.

 

"It wasn't easy. But everyone tells you what you can't do. That was surely motivation for myself."

 

Now starts the challenge, something New York couldn't master last season, of dealing with success.

 

But there are actual signs that the Giants are more prepared for dealing with it this time around.

 

Over the last two weeks, the Giants showed their grit against inferior teams. They used a well-rounded, come-from-behind second half to suffocate the Jets in the battle of New York.

 

And twice on Monday night, when Atlanta jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 10-7, the Giants marched down the field for immediate "answer" scores.

 

 

 

Jeremy Shockey hasn't blown up. Burress is playing his tail off. The team seems more interested in winning than doing radio and television shows. These are all changes and major positives.

 

The Giants have the offensively challenged Niners on FOX this weekend at home. Then they travel to London to face the winless and hapless Dolphins.

 

If this team is for real, they will be 6-2 heading into a Week 9 bye, immediately followed by a home date with the Cowboys.

 

The NFC East is still an incredibly strong division. Dallas is the team to beat in the conference. Washington has proven to be stout. And please don't discount the Eagles, who played without Brian Westbrook, Brian Dawkins, Lito Sheppard, William Thomas and L.J. Smith in the loss to New York. The NFC is a jumbled conference. It won't be easy. Let's see what Coughlin and Manning do when opportunity knocks this time around.

 

Fantasy Land . . .

 

For the first time all year I won in all three fantasy leagues. I'm 4-2 in the 16-team profootballtalk.com media fantasy league, 3-3 in the Syracuse alumni league, and 2-4 in the SNY challenge (we won starting my guy Cleo Lemon last week).

 

Thankfully in my 'Cuse league I have my good friend "Rabbi" on the slate, who is winless on the season and could be the worst fantasy player ever. (This is the same guy who drafted Eric Hinske in the fifth round of our AL-only fantasy draft two years ago). But Rabbi has Willie Parker against the Broncos run defense. Ouch.

 

 

I'm in a pool with my father-in-law picking the spreads every week. After being absolutely dominant the first four weeks, we won a total of three games in Week 5. But that was a crazy Sunday. We bounced back to break even in Week 6. My wife can't figure out how we've been so bad the last two weeks. She sounds like one of my readers!

 

ESPN is unhappy that Jimmy Kimmel was knocking Joe Theisman on MNF? Come on! What did you expect him to do? Kimmel was hysterical on Joe and on Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington when he said, "Harrington's not a very good quarterback but he's very nice to his pets." Come on. That's funny. And that's what happens when you invite a late-night host into the booth.

 

For the record, I love the MNF team of Mike Tirico, Jaws, and Tony Kornheiser.

 

 

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Stats do lie when it comes to quarterback rating

 

Thursday, October 18th 2007, 9:09 PM

 

 

 

 

One local quarterback is regaled as a comer, a kid who is catching onto the demands of his position while winning games for a contender. Just last Monday night, he completed a career-best 12 passes in a row against the Falcons, a sure sign of his impending arrival.

 

The other quarterback is maligned. He is supposedly a weak-armed has-been who is fighting for his job on a weekly basis while losing games faster than a speeding wide receiver - a target he is very likely to underthrow.

 

The first quarterback is Eli Manning, with a passer rating of 83.7, 17th-best in the NFL. The other is Chad Pennington, with a rating of 83.6, 18th-best in the NFL.

 

By the fancy numerical system first introduced back in 1973 by the league's special-study committee, Manning and Pennington are basically the same, unimpressive quarterback in different New York uniforms. They stand in a virtual tie, more than 45 points behind Tom Brady.

 

Some hard numbers back up this conclusion. Manning has thrown eight interceptions, Pennington six. Manning has completed 60.7% of his passes, Pennington 68.3%.

 

So what's happening here? Are our opinions swayed too much by wins and losses to recognize consistent mediocrity? Do we focus too much on last Sunday, and forget too quickly the Sunday before that?

 

Are the stats lying, or our eyes?

 

More likely, it's the stats.

 

"You look at them," Manning said yesterday, about the quarterback ratings. "But I don't know what my quarterback rating was for the last game. You can't get caught up in it. The thing that matters is wins and losses."

 

Wins and losses may matter most, but they are not factored into NFL passer ratings. Even Manning said he doesn't see how they could become part of the formula. For starters, you would have to come up with new rules that defined the winning or losing quarterback, if more than one took snaps in a single game for the same team.

 

We can't discard these ratings entirely, because the very best quarterbacks always seem to rise to the top, while the very worst usually fall to the bottom. The numbers can't be totally arbitrary, because Brady and Peyton Manning are at Nos. 1 and 3, while Rex Grossman and Gus Frerotte are at 32 and 33.

 

Eli Manning is right there in the middle, and that's probably where he belongs now. He's been getting solid pass protection this season and a balanced running game. He's responded with some nifty drives and too many mistakes.

 

"Three turnovers," Manning said, referring to a fumble and two interceptions against Atlanta. "I got to fix that."

 

He's a work in progress, for sure. Yet there are plenty of stats to back the case for Manning against Pennington. Mostly, they suggest that Pennington should be ranked lower than 18th.

 

Despite their reputations, Manning's completions are not much longer than Pennington's average gains (7.04 yards to 6.76). But the Giants' QB throws a lot more passes than Pennington, and leads his team into the end zone far more often. Pennington has not completed a pass of 30 yards or longer this season.

 

Manning has the ninth-best quarterback rating in the fourth quarter, compared to 42nd-best for Pennington. Pennington is the better third-down passer, but the Giants have far more first downs and are way, way ahead of the Jets in passing offense (230.3 yards to 189.2) and in points scored by the offense (the Giants rank fifth in the NFL, while the Jets rank 23rd).

 

Aided by an easier schedule, Manning has a real edge in most departments. The Manning-Pennington comparison demonstrates that the NFL passer ratings could use significant tweaking, and greater sophistication.

 

A weighting system based on late-game performance would help. Sustained drives and successful two-minute drills should be rewarded. In an age when all but the very best quarterbacks are judged on their ability to "manage" a game, points produced on offense should be a factor.

 

Otherwise, we will continue to face contradictions like we do this week, when Jet fans are calling for Pennington's fanny, when Giant fans are singing the praises of their young Manning, and when the NFL statistics say there is really not much to choose between them.

 

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Fox broadcast paints picture of new Tom Coughlin

 

Tuesday, October 23rd 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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After listening to Fox's Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa for over two hours Sunday, there is absolutely no doubt Tom Coughlin has a future hosting HBO's "Def Comedy Jam."

 

From the beginning of the Niners-Giants telecast, and right throughout Big Blue's 33-15 win, the voices were selling a "new Tom Coughlin." The coach's personality transformation, they contended, has had very much to do with the Giants' recent success.

 

Coughlin, they said, is now so much "fun" and such a comedian, his players are responding in ways Johnston and Siragusa could never even imagined.

 

"Last season he (Coughlin) absolutely was no fun. That's how his players played," Siragusa said on the air just before kickoff. "They were scared to make mistakes out on the field. They played tight. ... I was skeptical about this 'new' Coughlin. But coming here to the complex on Friday, talking to the players, talking to him, I'm convinced he wants to have fun."

 

Yeah, Tom just wants to "have fun." Following Siragusa's pronouncement, we expected Fox to present a closeup of Coughlin patrolling the sidelines wearing a clown nose and Bozo wig.

 

That did not happen. Nor did Fox give viewers many looks at the coach. That was judicious directing. It indicates the "new" Coughlin is a boring version of the more telegenic "old" Coughlin, whose sideline tantrums were Academy Award- worthy.

 

Are Foxy voices very perceptive or easily fooled? While Coughlin may be showing a more caring side to his players, a side he often displays off the field, there is no doubt any change in his demeanor occurred because he had to change - in order to keep/save his job.

 

If Siragusa and Johnston were buying this "new" Coughlin theory, they should have - at least - said the perceived change was, well, forced.

 

It's surprising that Johnston, who takes a backseat to no other NFL TV analyst, did not add that fact to his fourth-quarter analysis when he said: "I just think he (Coughlin) created a whole different vibe with this organization. ... Tom Coughlin is a different guy."

 

Pass the whoopee cushion, please.

 

Right from X-Man: Joe Buck's postseason baseball assignments forced the Foxies to juggle their NFL play-by-play roster. This wasn't all bad. We got to see play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian a couple of times, including Sunday (Niners-Giants).

 

Vasgersian is anything but vanilla. He can go right to the edge without falling into Stupidville. Some cannot get past the fact he was the voice of the XFL (I would consider that an honor). That's their problem.

 

The man is entertaining. And fearless. He shocked Siragusa/Johnston in the second quarter after Brandon Jacobs ripped off a fine run.

 

"This, while Tiki Barber sits on a sofa every morning talking shoes and handbags with Ann Curry and Al Roker," Vasgersian said.

 

Vasgersian must think this Fashionista thing does not require heavy lifting.

[jerseygiantfan]

Antonio Pierce doesn't want Giants to become overconfident

 

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Tuesday, October 23rd 2007, 10:21 AM

 

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For years, the Giants have been somewhat uncomfortable playing the role of favorites. They are usually at their best when they're expected to be at their worst.

 

That's why Antonio Pierce doesn't want a flood of people jumping on the Giants' bandwagon just because they have won five straight games. They might be on the verge of becoming a serious contender in the NFC, but Pierce would prefer if people still thought of the Giants as they did way back when they were 0-2.

 

"We need more people to keep telling us how bad we are," Pierce said. "We don't need no pats on our backs. Just be honest."

 

Unfortunately for Pierce, the truth is going to hurt. The Giants are 5-2 after their 33-15 pounding of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and unless they wake up in a London fog on Sunday, they will be 6-2 after they finish with the 0-7 Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. If that looks familiar, it is because the Giants were 6-2 last season as well.

 

In fact, they have been 5-2 in each of Tom Coughlin's four seasons with the team.

 

Here's the part Pierce will notice: All that has gotten them is one record over .500 and exactly no playoff wins. The Giants are 10-17 over the final nine games of the last three regular seasons, including their 2-6 fade last year. So while the 5-2 record is nice, especially after the 0-2 start, why should anyone believe it's not just a set-up for another second-half collapse?

 

"I think our injury situation has been a lot better," said receiver Amani Toomer. "I think that's one of the reasons we went on that skid last year. If we keep everybody healthy we'll be competitive."

 

That's a good point. Despite flirting with disaster - Plaxico Burress, Derrick Ward and Brandon Jacobs have all missed practice with ankle injuries, Jacobs missed a few games with a knee issue, and Osi Umenyiora (knee) and Eli Manning (shoulder) had close calls, too - the Giants have been relatively injury-free.

 

"Obviously you have to deal with what you have," Coughlin said. "We are excited about being able to line up basically with our starting units on a weekly basis and would like to think that we could continue to do that."

 

If they do, it would be the first time that's happened in the Coughlin Era. It would also make them dangerous down the stretch - especially if they continue to play defense the way they have played it since their 0-2 start. In the last five games, the Giants have given up just 255.6 yards per game and registered 25 sacks. That's helped their defense rise to eighth in the NFL rankings.

 

Then again - and Pierce will like this - some of that may have had to do with their competition. The victories have come against offenses that are ranked 25th (Washington), 27th (Atlanta), 29th (the Jets) and 32nd (San Francisco), and against an Eagles team (ninth) that was playing without injured running back Brian Westbrook.

 

So is this 5-2 record real, or are the Giants a product of an easy schedule? Did they learn their lessons from whatever happened to them in the second half last year?

 

"I haven't talked about that at all," Coughlin said. "I haven't used that. ... The winning is the key. Everyone is very happy to be involved in this type of a scenario and it lasts as long as you continue to win."

 

 

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Giants don't get much time to rest before facing Dolphins

 

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Saturday, October 27th 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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* Read Ralph Vacchiano's The Blue Screen

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COBHAM, England - Antonio Pierce sat on a cart before practice with his head in his hands and his eyes barely open. Gibril Wilson's eyes were open, but that was mostly due to the hot cup of coffee in his hands.

 

The rest of the Giants, meanwhile, were walking like zombies around their improvised practice field at the Chelsea soccer training facility yesterday morning as they waited for practice to finally begin. They had just flown overnight from Newark and most of them hadn't slept yet.

 

And they weren't likely to get much sleep anytime soon.

 

"I told some of the guys (yesterday) morning not to take a nap," said Giants co-owner Steve Tisch. "Because if they do, they'll probably wake up mid-afternoon (today)."

 

Not surprisingly, jet lag was the first and perhaps biggest obstacle the Giants (5-2) were facing as they prepared for their game tomorrow at London's Wembley Stadium against the Miami Dolphins (0-7). Their energy was clearly sapped by the six-hour flight that left Newark at 6 p.m. Thursday and landed at Heathrow Airport at 5:15 a.m. yesterday.

 

And that was just the beginning of their day.

 

They went from the airport to their hotel, where they had a whole 45 minutes to themselves before beginning their daily meetings. When those were done, they took an hour-plus bus ride out to practice, which Tom Coughlin mercifully cut short. After that, the players pretty much had the rest of the day to themselves - assuming they had the energy left to do anything at all.

 

"If the Dolphins weren't doing the same thing we were doing, then we'd have a problem with this," Pierce said. "But both teams are going through it. We're tired, stressful, irritated. We'll have a good night's sleep, wake up (today) and be back on the same page."

 

Unfortunately for the Giants (and the Dolphins), they are the guinea pigs in the NFL's grand international experiment, and no one knows for sure how jet-lag might affect tomorrow's game. The NFL has played preseason games overseas before, but those are considerably less stressful and players are rarely, if ever, asked to play a full game.

 

Tomorrow's game is uncharted territory, which isn't necessarily a good thing. That's a big reason why Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes, who was born in Scotland, always has been skeptical of the NFL's international plans.

 

"Now that I'm in the game, of course I've changed my mind," Tynes said. "But it's just one of those things we have to do for the league. I'm for the league expanding itself throughout the world. But I still think most of these guys would rather be in New York."

 

Actually, despite the heavy eyelids and blank stares, the Giants did seem to sense the building excitement for the first game in what the NFL is calling the "International Series." Their practice was covered by about 100 U.S. and British reporters, including cameras from about 20 TV stations. Outside their hotel, Pierce noticed people "look at you a little differently. They see all the big guys getting off the buses and they wonder what's going on."

 

But none of that figures to be a distraction come tomorrow, assuming the Giants can manage to stay awake.

 

"If we played (yesterday) it would be (tough)," Pierce said. "But we've got two days and the Dolphins are going through the same things we'll be going through. We'll both be tired, but by (tomorrow) we'll both be ready to play."

 

STRAINED STEVE: WR Steve Smith, who has missed five games with a fractured shoulder blade, suffered an unrelated setback this week when he pulled his hamstring. He was unable to practice yesterday. ... RB Derrick Ward (ankle), S James Butler (ankle/hamstring), and WR Plaxico Burress (ankle) missed practice as well. ... All 86,000 tickets for tomorrow's game are sold out. Tisch said he believes the NFL "could have sold 11 times that amount" based on ticket requests.

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Interviews after the game

[jerseygiantfan]

Giants get sloppy win over Dolphins

Associated Press, Updated 22 minutes ago

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WEMBLEY, England (AP) - For art, they could have gone to the British Museum. For something grand, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace were a train ride away.

 

Instead, what the fans got on this history-making Sunday in London was old-fashioned, muck-it-up football — not very entertaining and not pretty at all, unless you ask the New York Giants, who came out with a 13-10 victory over the still-winless Miami Dolphins.

 

"We won, so obviously it was worth it," said Giants defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora, who was born in London.

 

Eli Manning threw for only 59 yards but ran for New York's lone touchdown to lift the Giants to their sixth straight victory, a mud-caked slog through the unfriendly pitch at torn-up Wembley Stadium in this, the first regular season NFL game played outside North America.

 

The Giants (6-2) had more riding on this game, and were in no mood to take a 3,500-mile trip to help the league expand its international presence. But Brandon Jacobs helped make the journey a success, running for 131 yards, the second straight week he's hit a career high.

 

And helped in part by a steady rain that made offense nearly impossible, the New York defense allowed only 254 yards and held the Dolphins (0-8) out of the end zone for the first 58 minutes.

 

 

 

"I'll be glad to give my opinion to the commissioner with the issues that came up," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said, when asked if the trip was worth it.

 

Most issues had to do with jet lag, transportation and the general inconvenience of coming this far to play a game. Whether that or the sloppy conditions had more to do with the less-than-scintillating game is up for debate.

 

But there were brief moments of intrigue, especially when Cleo Lemon drove the Dolphins 80 yards to pull them within 13-10 on a 21-yard pass to Ted Ginn Jr. with 1:54 left. But Jay Feely's onside kick went out of bounds — "The field was like ice," Feely said — and the Giants kneeled on it three times to seal the game, ignoring the loud boos from a crowd of 81,176 that wanted more.

 

Coughlin said that was the only off-note he noticed from the enthusiastic crowd.

 

"You'd have to know a lot about football to understand that," he said.

 

One thing that didn't need clarification — that ugly winless record the Dolphins now take into their bye week.

 

"We're going to keep our eyes up, our heads high," Dolphins coach Cam Cameron said. "This group's got a lot of football left this season. There's eight games staring at us."

 

The idea behind this game was to offer Londoners a firsthand look at the real thing after they'd suffered through decades of meaningless exhibitions and NFL Europa. And while the mud made for good television and some fun slips and slides, this was hardly a clinic of American football at its best.

 

The teams combined for a grand total of 492 yards, only 187 passing — numbers single teams often put up by themselves in a single game. They combined for seven fumbles, two missed field goals and 14 penalties, including four by the Giants on one late drive that had Coughlin annoyingly yelling at his team to "stay calm" as they tried to salt this one away.

 

"When you're on a world stage, you want to be representative of what the best the NFL has to offer," Feely said. "You didn't the see the aerial game that the NFL provides on a weekly basis because of the conditions."

 

Overall, the teams played conservative but not exciting football. They played not to lose — a strategy the Dolphins still haven't figured out this season.

 

Trailing 13-0, Miami had a chance to creep back into the game in the third quarter when Matt Roth dislodged the ball from Manning on a blindside sack and Jayson Taylor — who has had a 26-foot-high replica of himself touring around London all week — fought through a rugby scrum to come up with the recovery at the Miami 49.

 

Two plays later, Jesse Chatman (16 carries, 79 yards) reversed field for a 22-yard gain — longest play of the game — and a moment later, the Dolphins had second-and-goal from the 2. But Lemon bobbled the ensuing snap, got tackled for a nine-yard loss and Miami settled for a field goal by Feely.

 

Earlier, Lemon put himself on the blooper reel when he reared back to pass, but lost the ball on the windup. He lost a fumble there that led to New York's second field goal and a 13-0 lead before halftime.

 

Manning is the answer to the trivia question: Who scored the first regular-season NFL touchdown in Europe? He rambled to the corner for a 10-yard score to make it 10-0 in the second.

 

And Lemon threw the first overseas touchdown pass to make this game exciting for the briefest of moments — until Feely's onside kick ended that.

 

Next year, the NFL will try again when it returns to the international scene in Mexico, Canada, Germany or maybe Wembley again.

 

The game had many trappings of something special, though it wasn't overrun with the kind of corporate "fans" who often fill seats at Super Bowls. Instead, spectators wearing jerseys from every corner of the league made up a big part of the crowd that sat through the steady rain. During the pregame, one singer performed the national anthem and another did God Save the Queen.

 

Among the honorary captains for the pregame coin flip was former English rugby captain Martin Johnson, who was roundly booed when he was introduced; it's not often that the captain gets booed at a game in the States. At halftime, an English streaker did his thing at midfield for about 30 seconds before he was gang tackled by security and taken off the field to cheers.

 

Then, it was back to the drudgery.

 

There were clearly more Dolphins fans in the house, but they had little to cheer for. Still, with about three minutes left and the game basically decided, more than three-quarters of the seats remained full, most of the fans booing during the NFL's anticlimactic ritual of a quarterback burning two minutes off the clock by kneeling on the ball.

 

 

Those boos and the overall nature of this game couldn't dampen the spirit of league officials, who might have been hoping for a 49-45 thriller but got the exact opposite.

 

"Sports fans and the world know that's the nature of sport," said Mark Waller, the NFL's vice president for international affairs. "It's unpredictable. You don't know what you're going to get. That's the beauty of sports."

 

Even when it's ugly.

 

Notes

Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season. ... Ginn, who returned the opening kickoff in last year's college football championship game, scored his first NFL touchdown. ... Miami's 14th-ranked pass defense is sure to improve after allowing only a net 49 yards to New York.

[jerseygiantfan]

Eli Manning struggles through worst game of year

 

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Monday, October 29th 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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LONDON - The world got its first up-close look at Eli Manning, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

 

In the NFL's first regular-season game overseas, a game that was broadcast to 216 countries, Manning endured his worst performance of this season yesterday, and one of the the worst of his career. Playing on a muddy field in a driving rain and throwing a wet football, he completed just 8 of 22 passes for 59yards as the Giants held on to beat the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium, 13-10.

 

The yardage total was his lowest since Dec. 12, 2004, when he got benched after completing just 4 of 18 passes for 27 yards at Baltimore in his fourth career start.

 

"Well, we won, and that's the most important thing," Manning said. "We didn't have an interception. Had the one fumble. Couldn't do much about that. But we tried to play smart. I wish I could've had a few more completions, but winning the game is the most important thing."

 

None of the Giants was going to argue with that logic. They were more than happy to let Brandon Jacobs (23 carries, 131 yards) power a rushing attack that gained 189 yards and led them to their sixth straight win.

 

It seemed that most of Manning's problems had to do with the miserable conditions. His receivers had trouble getting their footing on a grass field that was coming apart in clumps. When Manning hit his receivers, the wet ball was a problem. He was victimized by at least five drops.

 

Still, on more than a few plays, Manning sailed the ball over the head or just beyond the reach of a wide-open receiver, including twice from the Miami 3-yard line on the first series of the game. He also just barely missed Plaxico Burress twice on deep routes, including once when the ball bounced right off Burress' hands.

 

Tom Coughlin said Manning "never complained about anything, but it was obvious some balls sailed and got away from him." The coach wasn't ready to blame all the problems on the wet ball and slippery field.

 

"When the rain would really come, I think for both teams it was difficult," Coughlin said. "But in the second half, to be honest with you, there were times when there wasn't any rain and it should not have been a factor. I don't have any excuse about the conditions."

 

In the second half, Manning went 3-for-10 for 31yards, while Miami's Cleo Lemon went 10-for-20 for 100 yards. For the game, Lemon was 17-of-30 for 149 yards and a touchdown, although his receivers didn't have the same drop problems as the Giants did.

 

Regardless, Manning found a way to win - a way that included running for a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

 

"That's football and you've just got to deal with it and do a really good job finding a way to win," Manning said. "We were able to run the ball well and made enough plays to win the game."

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Giants defeat Dolphins, 13-10

The Giants enter the bye with a six game winning streak. They imrove their record to 6-2.

By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

 

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October 28, 2007

 

LONDON – It might not have been a golly good show, but the Giants will happily take the result of the American football game played Sunday evening on the famed pitch at Wembley Stadium.

 

In a sloppy game played in a persistent downpour on a muddy, chewed-up field – “The worst conditions I’ve ever played in,” Plaxico Burress said - the Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins, 13-10, in the first regular season NFL game played outside of North America. A loud, enthusiastic, pro-Dolphins crowd of 81,176 packed Wembley for the Miami home game.

 

The Giants won their sixth consecutive game after an 0-2 start, their first six-game winning streak since the final six games of the 1994 season. They enter their bye week with a 6-2 record – the same record they had at midseason in 2006. They next play on Nov. 11 in an NFC East showdown vs. Dallas.

 

“We expected a difficult game under the circumstances and there’s no question we got one,” Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said. “Give credit to the Dolphins, they played a heck of a game. Our players came here with one thought in mind and that was to win the game, and we did win the game. We’re excited about that.”

 

The Giants scored on a 10-yard touchdown run by Eli Manning and field goals of 20 and 41 by Lawrence Tynes, the first Scottish-born player in NFL history. Tynes also missed a 29-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Brandon Jacobs set a career high for the second week in a row with 131 rushing yards; he had 107 last week against San Francisco. The Giants ran for a season-high 189 yards, one more yard than they had against both the Jets and Atlanta.

 

“We did run the ball – we expected it would be that kind of day,” Coughlin said. “But we didn’t get the kind of points we thought we might be able to do here.”

 

“I’ve never really had to run in the mud before,” Jacobs said. “I did it once in high school, but I’m not really a fan of it. It takes some traction away from you and you’re not able to move as well. We had take choppier steps and get what you could get. We left a lot of big runs out there, but we kept the chains moving, and that’s what’s most important.”

 

It was the kind of game most offensive linemen love.

 

“It was getting down and dirty, a grinder, smashmouth football game in the mud,” guard David Diehl said. “It’s like you played when you were a kid, just enjoying the experience.”

 

“It felt like one of those old high school games you played on Thanksgiving when it rained and the field was a big mud bowl,” center Shaun O’Hara said. “It was that type of game. I think everybody would liked to have seen a cleaner game, but ultimately, that’s football. You have to handle the environment and the conditions. It’s fun.”

 

Of course, not everyone enjoyed it.

 

The Dolphins didn’t. They fell to 0-8 and didn’t score a touchdown until less than two minutes remained in the game.

 

Manning didn’t particularly like it, either. He completed only eight of 22 passes for 59 yards, the second-lowest total of his career. Manning passed for 27 yards on Dec. 12, 2004 at Baltimore.

 

“I wish I could have had a few more completions, but winning the game is the most important thing,” Manning said. “I think I managed the game well and made some good decisions.”

 

Manning did rush for a career-high 25 yards, including a career-long 18-yarder and the touchdown.

 

Although the final score was close, the Giants were never threatened until the waning moments of the game. Immediately after the two minute warning, the Dolphins faced a third-and-17 when Cleo Lemon threw a 21-yard touchdown pass down the middle to rookie Ted Ginn, Jr. “That was a shock to me,” Coughlin said.

 

But the suspense ended when Feely’s onsides kick sailed out of bounds. Manning then took a knee three times to end the game.

 

The Dolphins actually scored the game’s final 10 points. Feely kicked a 29-yard field goal in the third quarter, a score set up by a Manning fumble. On second-and-10 from the Dolphins’ 39-yard line, Manning dropped back to pass and lost control of the ball. After a mad scramble in the mud, Jason Taylor recovered the ball on the 49. Matt Roth was credited with a seven-yard sack and a forced fumble on the play.

 

The Dolphins then moved 40 yards in seven plays, aided by Jesse Chatfield’s 22-yard run and Barry Cofield’s personal foul penalty, which gave Miami a first down on the Giants’ six.

 

Chatman then gained four yards up the middle. But on second-and-goal, Lemon bobbled the snap and was sacked for a nine-yard loss by Kawika Mitchell. Lemon’s third-down pass fell incomplete and Feely came on to kick the field goal.

 

The Giants scored 10 points in the final 59 seconds of the second quarter to take a 13-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

 

Manning’s 10-yard touchdown run made the score 10-0. On first down, Manning dropped back to pass, but spotted no on open. He put the ball down, started running to his left and crossed the goal line just inside the pylon.

 

“It was a play action,” Manning said. “The first read was to (Jeremy) Shockey. I turned back to where our receivers were running across the middle and I saw a huge opening. I thought I could tuck it and make some yardage. I started running and saw the goal line and eventually I got there.”

 

It was the second rushing touchdown of Manning’s career. He scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak at Philadelphia on Dec. 11, 2005. It was the longest touchdown run by a Giants quarterback since Dave Brown ran for an 11-yard score vs. Oakland on Nov. 12, 1995.

 

The touchdown concluded a 14-play, 69-yard drive that consumed 8:07. Reuben Droughns twice kept the series alive with two-yard runs, the first on third-and-one from the Giants’ 40, the second on fourth-and-one from the Miami 49. The latter was the second of seven consecutive runs by Droughns and Jacobs that left the Giants with a third-and-four at the Dolphins’ 15-yard line.

 

Manning then threw a pass in the center of the field to Burress that was ruled incomplete. But replay official James Wilson reviewed the play (it is his decision inside of two minutes) and reversed the call, giving the Giants a first down at the 10. Manning then scored the touchdown with 59 seconds left.

 

After the kickoff, the Dolphins took possession at their own 36-yard line. On first down from the 48, Lemon dropped back to pass, cocked his arm…and dropped the wet ball. Michael Strahan recovered for the Giants at the 34-yard line.

 

Jacobs picked up 11 yards on a third-down run to move the ball close enough for Tynes, who kicked a 41-yard field goal with just two seconds remaining.

 

The Giants took a 3-0 lead when Tynes kicked a 20-yard field goal on the Giants’ first possession. But the 59-yard drive was still frustrating for the Giants, because Manning was unable to complete any of his three passes into the end zone. Manning’s deep throw for Burress was knocked away by Michael Lehan. Four plays later, on second-and-goal from the three, Manning overthrew Amani Toomer, who was all alone in the end zone. On third down, Madison Hedgecock couldn’t catch up to Manning’s pass on the left side.

 

The closest the Dolphins came to scoring in the first half was Feely’s failed 48-yard field goal attempt on the game’s first series.

 

“The field conditions were tough,” Manning said. “It was slick – the grass was real thin. That’s football and you have to deal with it. We did a good job of finding a way to win. We were able to run the ball and make enough plays to win the game.”

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Giants midseason report card

 

By RALPH VACCHIANO

 

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Wednesday, October 31st 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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OFFENSIVE MVP: WR Plaxico Buress

DEFENSIVE MVP: DE Justin Tuck

SPECIAL TEAMS MVP: P Jeff Feagles

MOST IMPROVED: CB Sam Madison

LEAST IMPROVED: S James Butler

BIGGEST SURPRISE: LT David Diehl

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: CB Corey Webster

BEST ROOKIE: CB Aaron Ross

BEST FREE-AGENT: LB Kawika Mitchell

WORST FREE-AGENT SIGNING: They only had one

BEST-KEPT SECRET: G Chris Snee

BEST COACHING MOVE: Benching Webster and putting Ross in the starting lineup.

WORST COACHING MOVE: Three straight pass attempts (and incompletions) to open the second half in the London quagmire.

BEST MOMENT: The game-saving and, perhaps, season-saving goal-line stand against the Redskins on Sept. 23.

WORST MOMENT: Losing to the Packers, 35-13, in Week 2 and dropping to 0-2.

 

 

3 REASONS TO HOPE

1. The Giants are healthy: After years of bad luck with injuries, the Giants might have all 22 of their regular starters ready to go after the bye week.

2. Nobody misses Tiki Barber: Plaxico Burress has become their go-to guy, and Brandon Jacobs leads a powerful three-headed rushing attack.

3. The pass rush: You can make an argument that Michael Strahan is their fourth-best pass rusher right now, which means Steve Spagnuolo's attacking "D" must be pretty good.

 

 

3 REASONS TO WORRY

1. Eli Manning is struggling: He has thrown for less than 200 yards in four of the last five games, and his quarterback rating since the opener is a dismal 72.8

2. The schedule gets tougher: After an easy six-game stretch they get the Cowboys (6-1) and Lions (5-2), division games with Philadelphia and Washington, one at Chicago and one vs. New England.

3. They are walking a fine line with Burress (ankle), Jacobs (ankle), RB Derrick Ward (ankle), S James Butler (hamstring/ankle) and WR Steve Smith (shoulder/ankle).

 

 

 

 

If this was any other year, the Giants might feel pretty good at the midpoint of the season. They might even be impressed with the way they've dug out of an 0-2 hole with six straight wins.

 

But it's impossible for them to escape the reality of what happened to them last year, when they were also 6-2. They know how that turned out, and they know everybody else remembers it, too.

 

"Is our team for real? Is it for fake?" cornerback Sam Madison said. "This has been the nature of this football team over the previous years. So, we'll see what happens. Nobody holds our destiny except for us."

 

The Giants should be able to avoid the complete collapse that ruined last season. If nothing else, they are healthier (all 22 starters could be available for their next game), they are playing better defense, and the dissension in their locker room is gone.

 

"I think our team is a lot more focused," Amani Toomer said. "But everybody knows that it can go either way."

 

The midseason grades:

 

QUARTERBACKS: B-

 

Winning is what matters, so Eli Manning gets points for being 6-2, but four games with fewer than 200 passing yards is unacceptable for a quarterback with his ability and weapons. He is still making too many mistakes and missing on too many big plays. He must improve if the Giants hope to sustain their success in the second half.

 

RUNNING BACKS: A

 

Tiki who? The way Brandon Jacobs (450 yards), Derrick Ward (448) and Reuben Droughns (155) have been running, there might not be a deeper backfield in the NFL. Jacobs is emerging as the go-to guy and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Health seems to be all this unit has to worry about.

 

WIDE RECEIVERS: B+

 

What Plaxico Burress is doing on one good ankle is amazing (37 catches, 564 yards, eight touchdowns) and if he stays healthy, he should be the Giants' first Pro Bowl receiver since Homer Jones in 1968. Amani Toomer (30-355-2) is showing no signs of aging or offseason knee surgery. With Steve Smith (shoulder) out, no one has emerged as a viable No. 3 receiver. Whatever happened to Sinorice Moss?

 

TIGHT ENDS: B

 

It's not Jeremy Shockey's fault that he's not used more. His 31 catches for 358 yards and two touchdowns aren't bad, but he has the ability to do much more. His occasional drops don't help his case. He has become a good blocker, and so has rookie Michael Matthews, who has been powerful at times in the second TE role.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE: A+

 

Enough good things can't be said about this once-maligned unit, which is now one of the NFL's best. It allowed only eight sacks, and powers a rushing attack that has averaged 137.8 yards per games this season and an amazing 176.3 yards over the past four weeks. It doesn't matter which of the three RBs are behind this group. David Diehl has been much better than expected at left tackle.

 

DEFENSIVE LINE: A

 

The line has produced 21 sacks and is about as deep a unit as the Giants have ever had. Its best player, Justin Tuck (seven sacks), isn't even a starter. Osi Umenyiora (eight sacks) is much-improved against the run. And Michael Strahan (four) is starting to look like his old (or younger) self.

 

LINEBACKERS: B

 

This unit has been much, much better than it wasthe first two weeks, but those first two games were horrendous. Tight ends still tend to run a little too free in the middle of the defense, and despite Mathias Kiwanuka's 4½ sacks, the linebackers could provide a little more pass rush. They are getting better every game, though. The amazing part is, they're healthy for a change.

 

DEFENSIVE BACKS: B+

 

Their turnaround after the first two games was much more dramatic. CB Sam Madison has seemingly rediscovered the step he looked like he lost last season. And rookie CB Aaron Ross has had an immediate impact (three INTs) since taking over for the disappointing Corey Webster. There hasn't been a huge impact from the safeties, though. They've had their issues with coverage, too.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS: B

 

P Jeff Feagles has been his usual outstanding self. Beyond that, things have been average, at best. The return game has been solid, but unspectacular. The coverage teams have had some very shaky moments. And K Lawrence Tynes' job status has been a constant issue thanks to two missed extra points and three missed field goals.

 

COACHES: A-

 

Can Tom Coughlin go from the hottest seat in the NFL to Coach of the Year? He has won over a divided locker room, played nice with the press, and even held the team together during an 0-2 start. Steve Spagnuolo has earned raves by putting the attack back in the Giants' defense. And has any assistant in the NFL done a better job than O-line coach Pat Flaherty?

 

FRONT OFFICE: B+

 

It looks like GM Jerry Reese was right not to rebuild the Giants or overspend on a mediocre market. Most of his moves, like adding RB Reuben Droughns and not buying a left tackle, looked great so far. It's hard to endorse letting Jay Feely go, though, and trading for Lawrence Tynes. The kicking game looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Jacobs dishes out punishment

Alex Marvez

FOXSports.com, Updated 20 hours ago

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LONDON - Skeptics believe his size makes him too susceptible to injuries as an every-down NFL running back.

 

Auburn University thought he was better suited to play tight end or linebacker.

 

Brandon Jacobs is doing his best to prove both wrong.

 

Jacobs — all 6-foot-4 and 264 pounds of him — is a major reason why New York enters its bye week at 6-2 with six consecutive wins. Jacobs averaged 106 rushing yards and 5.7 yards a carry in the past four contests.

 

"Late in the game when people get tired, he seems to get stronger," Giants quarterback Eli Manning said. "Defenders can't just throw an arm out and tackle him. He's too big and powerful. He doesn't have many plays where he gets just one or two yards. He gets to the safeties and they get tired of hitting him. They don't like seeing him come through that line.

 

 

"We're dominating the line of scrimmage right now and that's a good thing."

 

This was evident in last Sunday's 13-10 victory over Miami as Jacobs rushed for a career-high 131 yards on 23 carries. But it was a non-running play that truly showcased how massive Jacobs really is. Aligned as a wide receiver, Jacobs towered over a Dolphins defensive back who was probably praying Manning didn't throw in that direction.

 

"Sometimes I get out there and run and I'll hear some guy say, 'That boy, he is big. Real big,'" Jacobs told FOXSports.com. "I'll get tackled on (the other team's) sideline and that's all I'll hear. It's funny."

 

So is the fact two Miami defensive starters (linebacker Channing Crowder and cornerback Michael Lehan) actually said their unit played well against Jacobs, which goes to show how punishing the back can be.

 

Whether Jacobs is still smiling at season's end will help determine how far the Giants go. Jacobs missed three games after suffering a torn knee ligament in the season-opening loss to Dallas and was slowed by a sprained ankle upon his return.

 

Jacobs said defenses are trying to tackle him low hoping to avoid a direct collision.

 

"There's nothing you can do to keep it from happening," Jacobs said. "You just have to make sure your cleats are out of the ground when guys hit you. I think the last two weeks I've done a real good job of that."

 

Those aforementioned "nicks," as Giants coach Tom Coughlin describes them, has raised questions about whether Jacobs is better used as a situational player like during his first two NFL seasons. The thinking is that a target as large as Jacobs might be most effective in smaller doses over the long haul.

 

Coughlin, though, doesn't buy that logic. He also frequently spells Jacobs with backup Derrick Ward and Reuben Droughns, a smaller back who ironically has filled Jacobs' previous role as a short-yardage and goal-line back.

 

"You'd like to have pretty good distribution so that at least two of the three backs get a nice opportunity," Coughlin said. "But (Jacobs) also has shown the endurance factor. He can play well into the carries."

 

A lack of carries playing on the same college team as Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams — combined with attempts by Auburn coaches to convert him from running back — prompted Jacobs' transfer to Southern Illinois. Jacobs said he was committed to playing the position and began trying to emulate the rushing style of another bruising back.

 

 

"I was an Eddie George guy because he was big and wore No. 27," Jacobs said.

 

Yet the comparisons Jacobs has heard for most of 2007 were to Tiki Barber, who retired following last season's 1,662-yard rushing campaign. Such talk has now faded with the Giants rushing for 137.8 yards a game. That figure is roughly what the club averaged in the first half of 2006.

 

"There was no question about what we were going to be able to do," Jacobs said. "That's the least of our worries. We just got tired of hearing us being compared to Tiki. Tiki's doing a great job on TV (announcing) and we still love Tiki like a brother. But we're taking care of our business."

 

In a big way.

[jerseygiantfan]

Giants GM Jerry Reese: We'll pay Tom Coughlin later

 

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Thursday, November 1st 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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Jerry Reese expects Tom Coughlin "to be here for a long time," and he hopes to be able to give him a long-term contract extension at the end of the season. But even after a surprising 6-2 first half of the season, the Giants GM isn't ready to do that just yet.

 

Though he heaped praise on Coughlin's first-half work and insisted "Tom is my guy," Reese told the Daily News yesterday that the subject of Coughlin's future has yet to be discussed inside the front office. He left the door slightly open that something could be discussed in the coming months, but said the plan likely would be to wait until after the season instead.

 

"That's something we're not talking about at this point," Reese said. "You never know what will happen with that, but we're not looking at months from now. We're looking at a couple of weeks from now. That's all our concern is. We're not looking at what the future is for the coaching staff."

 

Coughlin's future will be a hot topic over the next few months, regardless of how the Giants' season plays out. At the end of last season he was given a one-year extension through the 2008 season. But considering the Giants' policy of not allowing a coach to enter the final year of his contract, that was a weak commitment that simply forced them to make another decision on Coughlin at the end of this year.

 

And this time, they are not likely to discuss another one-year extension. If he's not fired, Coughlin will almost certainly ask for a multi-year extension with a raise over the $3million average salary he's made in his first four years with the team.

 

Coughlin has no problem waiting until the end of the season for those discussions, and he said he is not wondering at all what the future holds.

 

"I never did last year, either," he said. "And I say that in all honesty. Look, my job is to get our football team in the best possible position we can be in to win. That's where all my energy and all my thoughts are. It doesn't go in any other direction. There's a time and a place for everything, and there will be a time and a place for discussions along those lines, but it's not now. And I don't waste any time thinking about that."

 

If the Giants can avoid the second-half collapse that all but buried them last year, Coughlin won't have to worry about much, especially since Reese said "nobody's pulling for Tom more than me."

 

MONEY MONTH: RB Brandon Jacobs was named the NFC's Offensive Player of the Month for October. He rushed for 424 yards in four games.

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Tom Coughlin has turned image and Giants around

 

By RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Sunday, November 4th 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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Game 1: Cowboys 45, Giants 35

Let's see, the defense is a disaster, Brandon Jacobs hurts his knee, Osi Umenyiora hurts his knee and Eli Manning hurts his shoulder. And did we mention the defense is a disaster?

COUGHLIN'S SEAT: Currently located in the sixth level of Hell.

Game 2: Packers 35, Giants 13

Can a defense play any worse after giving up 80 points in two games? Manning is back, but now Plaxico Burress is hurt, too. Suddenly, the question isn't how many games the Giants will win, it's: When will they win their first game?

COUGHLIN'S SEAT: The Heat Mizer wouldn't touch it.

Game 3: Giants 24, Redskins 17

At halftime, Bill Cowher and Charlie Weis are probably working on their resumes. But lo and behold, Manning engineers another second-half comeback and the defense saves everyone with a brilliant, game-ending, goal-line stand.

COUGHLIN'S SEAT: Hot, but no longer melts steel.

Game 4: Giants 16, Eagles 3

Sure, the Eagles are missing half their team and Andy Reid seems to miss the fact that his inexperienced LT might need help against Osi Umenyiora. But what about that 12-sack defense? Who hired this Steve Spagnuolo guy?

COUGHLIN'S SEAT: Touching it now only results in second-degree burns.

Game 5: Giants 35, Jets 24

Trailing at the half to the lowly Jets isn't good, but the Giants are rolling now and all of Coughlin's decisions work. Like benching rookie CB Aaron Ross in the first half? No biggie. He'll just get two interceptions in the second half.

COUGHLIN'S SEAT: Some kindling is still burning, but the fire is under control.

Game 6: Giants 31, Falcons 10

A strong second half, another great effort by the defense, another 180-plus yards by the RBs, and even a rare 300-yard game by Manning. Did somebody say Coughlin should be a candidate for Coach of the Year?

COUGHLIN'S SEAT: As Goldilocks said about the porridge, it's "just right."

Game 7: Giants 33, 49ers 15

The offense is still a little out of sync and Manning is struggling, but the way the D is playing, does it really matter? Coughlin is now a genius and his players are in love with him. Never mind that they're in one of the easiest stretches of schedule ever.

COUGHLIN'S SEAT: Charred cushions replaced with pillows.

Game 8: Giants 13, Dolphins 10

It's ugly and played in ridiculous conditions, but Coughlin escapes an international trap game very well. He's 6-2 at the half and riding high with six straight wins. Sure, they were 6-2 last year too, but no one's thinking about another second-half collapse.

COUGHLIN'S SEAT: It's no longer a seat. It's a throne.

 

 

 

* Read Ralph Vacchiano's The Blue Screen

* Click here to play GIANTS Pick'em

 

 

If there's anything a lifetime in football and 37 years in coaching have taught Tom Coughlin, it's that he is doing things the right way, and that the right way has worked. He has nearly 100 wins as an NFL head coach and six playoff appearances to prove it, no matter what the vultures in the media and some disgruntled players say.

 

He has never questioned those convictions, not during an apparent player revolt last season, not as the media gathered with pitchforks at his doorstep. Not during the three long days his bosses took to decide whether he should be brought back for 2007.

 

But when the dust settled on last year's disappointment, there was one thing Coughlin did question. He had never seen a locker room filled with so much controversy, so much venom, with so many players willing to publicly - mostly anonymously - question their coach. He knew that every rule he laid out and every decision he had made had been done to help them win - now he was wondering if the players knew that, too.

 

"I really wondered at the end of the year last year whether or not the players really understood what I do," Coughlin says, "and why I do it."

 

That realization was the genesis of the change in Coughlin that so many have credited for the Giants' surprising first half. In January, when he was very nearly fired, his team was a dysfunctional mess of unhappy, stressed-out players who had won just twice in the final two months of the season. They were led by a coach whose blinders were on so tight he had no idea how bad his image had become or how much his job really was on the line.

 

Ten months later, the Giants are the picture of happiness. They are 6-2, having rebounded nicely from a nearly disastrous 0-2 start. The players rave about the coach who gave them a five-day furlough as a present on their bye week, and glow about how it's the best locker room atmosphere they've had in their careers. For the first time in Coughlin's four years, his players really believe he listens to them.

 

In turn, they seem more willing than ever to listen to him.

 

"I think that we do know that now he's listening to what we said," says center Shaun O'Hara. "Ultimately, he holds the button and he's going to make the last call, but guys have seen that he genuinely cares about what we feel about certain things. Obviously, he has his thoughts about how things should be done, but as players, we appreciate the fact that he'd allow us to have a little bit of a stake in the team and the things that go on."

 

Coughlin's feeling the love, too.

 

"I think they know without a doubt that my No. 1 concern is about them and putting them in the best possible position they can be in to be the best player they can be," Coughlin says. "I don't think there's any of them down there that even question that. And that's a big hurdle in this business, because it is a fine line."

 

From the outside, it's been a stunning transformation for a 61-year-old man with a well-earned reputation as an inflexible disciplinarian. That image was an issue during his January meeting with co-owner John Mara and treasurer Jonathan Tisch. The unhappiness in the locker room - most notably voiced by now-retired running back Tiki Barber - was a big topic of their discussions, as was Coughlin's relationship with the media, which had grown increasingly tense. Ownership wanted to bring Coughlin back, but they insisted he had to change.

 

That could have been an insulting suggestion to an older man with a fairly impressive resume, especially after he had just brought the Giants to back-to-back playoff berths for the first time in 16 years. Coughlin, though, insists he wasn't insulted. "I've always been one that can take coaching," he says.

 

"Tom looked at himself and said, 'You know what? There are some things about me that I can change and get better at,'" says GM Jerry Reese, who got his job after the decision to retain Coughlin was made. "So he set the pace for being a team guy. All the players saw him being a team guy."

 

Just to make sure they did, and to repair the communication lines that broke down last season, Coughlin gathered 11 of his team's leaders in August and asked them to join his "leadership council." He invited Eli Manning, Jeremy Shockey, Amani Toomer, O'Hara, David Diehl, Chris Snee, Jeff Feagles, Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka and Antonio Pierce - a purposeful cross-section of positions, races, age groups, experience and backgrounds - to participate in the council.

 

Coughlin told them he would meet with them regularly to discuss everything from their practice schedule to disciplinary issues. It would be his chance to put out fires before they started. It would be the players' chance to take their issues to him, rather than to the press.

 

"The idea of the informal communication kind of took a step back," Coughlin says. "And the idea of let's formalize this, let's get ourselves a group of people that we really have great faith in and let's put them in a position where they know the things that I say to them are completely open and honest. And in return I expect the same from the player.

 

"What we've done is try to make a concerted effort that our players, our leadership, and then in turn our team, would know exactly what our thinking is in every situation and why we're doing things the way we're doing them."

 

The council meets whenever Coughlin feels there are issues to discuss. "It's kind of like the Batman thing," O'Hara says. "He just flashes the sign in the sky." They gathered several times to discuss the logistics of the Giants' recent trip to London, including why Coughlin wanted them to practice just a few hours after they got off the plane. That was a decision all his players didn't agree with, but at least they understood why it was made. (He hasn't publicly explained why).

 

It's also helped that he's shown a willingness to be flexible. For example, at the suggestion of the council, Coughlin has rarely ordered his team to practice in full pads on Wednesdays. "From a mental standpoint, that was a pretty big deal for the players," O'Hara says.

 

It's also a change they doubt he would have been willing to make last year.

 

"When Tom first got here it was 'Colonel Tom' and 'Tom Coughlin's boot camp,'" Reese says. "Really he got trapped into that role. I think it was over-exaggerated from the beginning. Now he's made a few changes to try to get away from that, so that the players are not brainwashed into the 'Colonel Tom' thing. It's all a testament to him because he's made the changes and he's done everything. He works his behind off down there."

 

Sitting behind his desk in his darkened office last week, still at work preparing for next Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys while his players are off on vacation, Coughlin says he believes there is "no doubt" the changes he made in himself are reflected in the Giants' 6-2 record.

 

That's not ego talking, either. It's the knowledge, he says, that "what we've done is tried to do the things that I thought would help our team be better. I no longer have this tunnel vision thing about just the Xs and Os. I've expanded it and broadened it a little more."

 

As a result, he believes, he has the Giants perfectly positioned to play in the postseason for the third straight year - something that has only happened twice in the franchise's 82-year history (1961-63 and 1984-86). And barring another late collapse (his second-half record with the Giants is 8-16) he's likely to be in line for a multi-year contract extension at the end of the season.

 

That's something his harshest critics - including those in his own locker room - never would have imagined. But if his success is gratifying to the new and improved Coughlin, he isn't saying. It wouldn't be in the best interests of the Giants for the coach to gloat.

 

"You know, I don't think that way. I really don't," Coughlin says of a contact extension. "All I'm thinking about is, 'OK, we're 6-2. What do we have to do in the second half of the season to be in the position that we all want to be in?'

"I wouldn't take any time to reflect on anything as selfish as that right now."

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Michael Strahan waffles about Tiki Barber

 

There is now evidence why Michael Strahan has a big future on one of those network NFL pregame shows.

 

Appearing in Fox's "NFL Sunday" studio, Mr. Strahan showed he knows the credo followed by many NFL studio analysts: When in doubt, weasel.

 

Either that, or Strahan is thinking of becoming a politician - or game show host - when his football career is over. On Sunday, during a session including Curt (Big House) Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson, Strahan was asked to provide reasons for the Giants' current success.

 

Strahan said one major factor is that, unlike last season, the team is "not fractured." Strahan did not offer any specifics. He tried skipping along to another topic. Fortunately, Menefee asked him to offer specifics.

 

Strahan, who not only has been outspoken his entire career - and has done his share of locker room lawyering (was his training camp holdout the act of an organization man?) - had nothing to say. Now, that's garbage TV.

 

Hey, did Strahan suddenly forget how to pronounce Tiki Barber?

 

Or is he shy about revealing his own propensity for running his mouth in the wrong direction?

 

Instead of offering any self-analysis, Strahan decided to deflect. He became the latest in a long line of mouths selling the notion that Tom Coughlin is a changed man. Strahan started talking about how "funny" the coach is and blah, blah, blah. He never bothered mentioning Coughlin likely would have no job if he hadn't agreed to modify his stale act.

 

Which is also an excellent way of describing Strahan's Sunday performance on Fox.

[jerseygiantfan]

Giants get ready for litmus test vs. Cowboys

 

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Tuesday, November 6th 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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The record says the Dallas Cowboys are the best team in the NFC East, and maybe in the entire NFC. The way they pummeled the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night suggests that's true, too.

 

But the Giants don't believe it ... at least not yet.

 

"We'll see," said guard Chris Snee.

 

Everyone will see for sure in five days when the Giants (6-2) take on the Cowboys (7-1) in a division and conference showdown at Giants Stadium. For the Cowboys, it's a chance to all but lock up the division and stake their claim as a favorite to reach the NFC Championship Game.

 

For the Giants - who returned to work yesterday after a bye week and a five-day vacation - it's not only a chance to stay in the division and conference races, it's also a chance to prove they belong.

 

"We all know that we had a good run of six games, but this is the real test for us," said receiver Amani Toomer. "They're one of the best teams in the division and in the league. If we want to be considered in that upper echelon in the league, this is the team we have to beat to show that."

 

Despite a six-game winning streak, the Giants know they haven't really shown anything yet. The truth is, they have had a remarkably easy schedule, especially over the last five games, which were against teams with a combined record of 8-33.

 

The Cowboys haven't had a very difficult schedule either, though they did beat the Giants, 45-35, on opening night. They also have the NFL's No. 2 offense and the eighth-ranked defense. They generally are viewed as a legitimate contender, something they proved Sunday night with a dominating 38-17 win over the Eagles.

 

On that national stage, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was in Pro Bowl form, completing 20 of 25 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Terrell Owens chipped in with 10 catches for 174 yards and a touchdown. It was similar to what Romo (15-for-24, 345 yards, four touchdowns) and tight end Jason Witten (six catches, 116 yards, one touchdown) did to the Giants two months ago, when they were nearly matched by Eli Manning (28-for-41, 312 yards, four touchdowns) and Plaxico Burress (8-144-3).

 

The Giants have been waiting for the rematch ever since.

 

"After the first game of the year we had a bad taste in our mouth," Toomer said. "We felt like we let one get away from us. I think our offense played pretty well and our defense was adjusting. Now that everything is coming together, we're in much better shape to compete and beat the Cowboys."

 

"We had a good game plan for them last time," Manning added. "We did some good stuff. So we just have to come out this week and do the same things."

 

If they do, and they win, it'll be a huge step for the Giants, who historically have had trouble after the bye week (4-14) and have struggled mightily in the second half of the season the last three years (8-16). And while a win would only give them a tie for the lead in the NFC East, it would let everyone else know they're as dangerous as the Cowboys.

 

Of course, that's something the Giants already believe.

 

"They definitely had a good run, I'm not taking anything away from them," Toomer said. "We played them, so we know exactly what they've got. They know exactly what we've got. We feel like we match up well against them. We're definitely looking forward to proving (that to) a lot of people - making a statement with this game."

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Giants, Cowboys are rolling without Tiki Barber, Bill Parcells

 

Thursday, November 8th 2007, 4:00 AM

 

 

 

 

Who needs Tiki and Tuna? The Giants and Cowboys don't think they do.

 

Tiki Barber and Bill Parcells are aware of the insulting shots fired from their old locker rooms since they retired. In a real sign of appreciation for their contributions, there are factions on the the Giants and Cowboys who believe they are better off without them.

 

The two were the faces of their franchises, but their teams were worn out by each's dominating presence. Nobody they left behind has been crying about their departures, not with the Cowboys in first place in the NFC East at 7-1 and the Giants right behind at 6-2 going into Sunday's showdown at Giants Stadium.

 

The Giants have made it clear, right from the start of training camp, that their locker room is a happier place without Barber around to rip Tom Coughlin or conduct a distracting season-long retirement party for himself. "It doesn't bother me," Barber told the Daily News at the Sirius NFL Radio studios as he finished his show. "It's not important to me. I'm on with my life and they are on with theirs."

 

The Cowboys, who returned to respectability but not the Super Bowl in four years under the hard-driving Parcells, are celebrating as if Dorothy tossed water on the Wicked Witch, with the easy-going Wade Phillips freeing them from the Parcells Penitentiary.

 

"I give the players and coaches credit for what they are doing now," Parcells told the Daily News. "I'm not sure I could have done as well."

 

A bit of humility from Parcells? "Just give them the credit," he said. "They deserve it. I don't want any credit for what is going on. I don't deserve it. I did what I could do. I'm glad things have worked out. If (Tony) Romo wasn't playing good, it wouldn't be working out."

 

Parcells signed Romo as a rookie free agent in 2003 and made him the starter seven games into last season. Is Parcells happy for the team he built? "Sure I am," he said. "Why wouldn't I be? I have a lot of blood there."

 

Barber knows he has been booed when his highlights have been shown on the Giants Stadium scoreboard this season. It's backlash from the fans following his criticisms of Coughlin and Eli Manning since he retired. Barber says he is not bothered by the booing or the idea he has burned all his bridges - and tunnels - to Giants Stadium. But he is surprised his former teammates are saying the locker-room atmosphere is better without him.

 

"I wasn't throwing darts at the coach. It's revisionist history," he said. "But if they believe that and it helps them, then fine. It's their belief. It's their mantra. Good for them. It doesn't bother me, honestly."

 

Barber, the Giants' all-time leading rusher, has distanced himself from the team. They have used three players to replace him: Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Reuben Droughns. Parcells is a Hall of Fame coach who was eventually viewed in Dallas as a carpetbagging Yankee. He was just 34-30 in Dallas and 0-2 in the playoffs. He took over a team that had lost its way. "I know what it was before I got there and I know what it was when I left," he said. "People down there know."

 

It's possible the Cowboys' success this year is a result of needing to hear a kinder, gentler voice that has them playing more relaxed. Parcells might have taken them as far as he could. "I don't know that," he said. "That is just conjecture. That just might be the natural course of events."

 

The Cowboys folded down the stretch last year, losing three of their last four and then were eliminated in the wild-card round. Parcells doesn't seem surprised that some of his former players have criticized him, but would not name names.

 

"That is nothing new," Parcells said. "I've heard that anywhere I've ever been. It's only two or three players. But the press gets a hold of it and makes it like it's 40. I know it's not the case. I know who they were. It's the same kind of guys saying it when I left the Giants, Patriots and Jets. It's the players who are always the victim. It's never them. It's the system that wouldn't allow them to flourish."

 

Not all players can handle the pressure Parcells puts on them. Those are not the players he wants. He has no regrets how he coached the Cowboys. "My answer to that is I'm the most selfish guy in the world," he said. "If a player can help me win, I'm going to try and put him in position to do that. Only a fool would assume I wouldn't do that."

 

Terrell Owens - forced on Parcells by Jerry Jones last year - Julius Jones and Marcus Spears have been quoted as either being critical of Parcells or complimentary of Phillips in thinly veiled criticisms of Parcells. As for what he got out of his one season with Parcells, Owens said: "Nothing, really."

 

Barber, meanwhile, denies there was tension in the Giants locker room last year, although that might be his own revisionist history. "Seriously, no. I don't think so. I didn't feel it," he said. "Coach would go out to practice 15 minutes early and we'd turn the music on. We had a good time. I don't see where this is coming from other than revisionist history.

 

But I'm not surprised. That is what happens in sports. The character of man does not surprise me."

 

"What about players saying they are better off without him? "Obviously they are," he said. "They're 6-2, right?"

 

But they were 6-2 last year and the year before, too. "It speaks for itself," Barber said, grinning.

[jerseygiantfan]

 

Giants' defense much improved since Dallas debacle

 

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Thursday, November 8th 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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The Giants left Dallas two months ago with the worst defense in the NFL, and one that was just beginning its short, downward spiral. When the Cowboys study film of that opening-night game, they will recall how easy it was to beat them.

 

But when they see the Giants again this Sunday, they may be in for quite a surprise.

 

"I think so," Giants safety Gibril Wilson said yesterday. "I think they're definitely going to know that we have gotten better."

 

Added defensive end Justin Tuck: "We're going to throw those first games out because that wasn't the defense that we are now."

 

That same Giants defense that the Cowboys torched for 45 points and 438 yards in a 45-35 loss on Sept.9 is ranked seventh in the NFL and second in the NFC. After giving up 345 passing yards to Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, the Giants have allowed fewer than 200 yards to five of the last six quarterbacks they have faced.

 

And perhaps most importantly as the Giants (6-2) head into their huge NFC East showdown with the Cowboys (7-1) at Giants Stadium, the pass rush that sacked Romo once on opening night has produced 28 sacks in the last six games.

 

"I'm sure everybody in this locker room will tell you we're a better defense than how we played in those first two games," Tuck said, referring to the Dallas game and the Giants' Week 2 defeat in which they allowed Brett Favre to pass for 286 yards and three touchdowns. "But it means nothing if we don't go out there and do it this Sunday. It's a tremendous opportunity for this defense to see exactly where we're at."

 

It is a tremendous challenge, too, because the Cowboys' offense appears to be just as good as it was two months ago. It is ranked second in the NFL, just behind the powerful New England Patriots. Romo is also the NFC's top-rated passer and the Cowboys are averaging 33.1 points per game.

 

Back on opening night, the Giants saw firsthand how good the Cowboys are. They barely got near Romo with their pass rush (Tuck had the lone sack) which gave his receivers time to run free against a battered Giants' secondary. Romo ended up throwing for those 345 yards and four touchdowns on just 15-of-24 passing - an astounding average of 23 yards per completed pass.

 

Of course, things were much different for the Giants that night. Michael Strahan was still shaking the sand out of his shoes from the 39 days he spent in California during his training-camp holdout. Osi Umenyiora went down in the first quarter with an injured left knee. Sam Madison was nursing a hamstring injury, and rookie Aaron Ross had yet to emerge, meaning R.W. McQuarters and Corey Webster were the Giants' starting cornerbacks. And Mathias Kiwanuka, in his first game as a linebacker, looked absolutely lost.

 

"We've got everybody back now," Tuck said. "Guys have been playing this defense for eight weeks, and even more than that practicing it."

 

"We're a lot better," added linebacker Kawika Mitchell. "We've made a lot of improvements, and we're still making them. We're comfortable with our package a little bit more, and when you're more comfortable you're more aggressive. Hopefully we can attack a little more."

 

That, the Giants believe, will be the key to their success. "You definitely have to have some pressure on the quarterback," Tom Coughlin said. "That's where it starts."

 

Of course, that's easier said than done against an offensive line that has given up only 11 sacks all year. But the Giants are more confident they will be able to do that this time around. Not only have they averaged 4.7 sacks per game during their six-game winning streak, but they have also given up an average of only 253.8 total yards. And since opening night, no opposing quarterback has even approached Romo's numbers against the Giants. In fact, the best performance of the last six weeks was by the since-benched Chad Pennington, and he only completed 21 of 36 passes for 229 yards.

 

"It took us a little bit, as everyone has stated, but we got to the point where we gained a little bit of confidence, we kind of settled in and we're playing a little bit better (on defense)," Coughlin said. "But obviously this will be a test

[jerseygiantfan]

Plaxico Burress returns to practice for Giants

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

 

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

 

Thursday, November 8th 2007, 4:00 AM

 

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The Giants got a big surprise when they began practice yesterday morning: Plaxico Burress was out there on the field, too. "It was so funny," Burress said. "The first ball I caught in practice all my teammates started clapping. I guess they got a big kick out of that."

 

They should have, since Burress had missed every practice for the past seven weeks thanks to a sprained ankle that has not gotten better. Even yesterday he said, "It didn't necessarily feel better. It felt about the same. But I just felt that (with) the layoff and not playing last week, (I should) just go out there, get some reps and move around a little bit."

 

That was even a surprise to Tom Coughlin, who had declared Burress to be out of practice at his morning press conference. But after the team's morning walk-through, Burress told Coughlin he wanted "to give it a go." The trainers cleared him to participate in individual drills with "some limitations, like no jumping," Coughlin said. But Burress felt so good after that, he ended up participating in about one-third of the team drills, too. Burress said he hopes to practice again today.

 

HELLO, T.O.: Rookie CB Aaron Ross didn't get much of a chance to cover Cowboys WR Terrell Owens in the season opener, since he was playing only in the Giants' nickel-defense package. He said he's "very excited" that he will see a lot more of Owens on Sunday - which is a lot different from the way he felt back in the opener. "In Week1, I was star-struck, that was the main thing," Ross said. "Now I feel like I have a couple of games under my belt. I feel like a professional now, instead of a collegiate player."

 

Owens caught three passes for 87yards and two touchdowns in Week1. R.W. McQuarters and Corey Webster started at corner for the Giants.

 

GROIN GETS TOUGH: RB Derrick Ward suffered what Coughlin called "a setback" last week when he injured his groin. Due to that and his still-injured ankle, he did not practice yesterday and may not be available on Sunday.

 

[jerseygiantfan]

Stats Pack: Will Romo Roll Over NY Again?

 

 

 

By Ed Thompson

NFL Writer, Scout.com

Posted Nov 8, 2007

 

 

Will Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo roll over the Giants defense this Sunday like he did during the season opener in Dallas? And will the Bears stop shooting themselves in the foot when they visit Oakland this weekend? Scout.com's Ed Thompson shares some key stats and insight on these two matchups.

 

During the Cowboys' season-opener back in September, quarterback Tony Romo scorched the Giants secondary, completing 62.5 percent of his passes for 345 yards while throwing for four touchdowns, including a pair to Terrell Owens. Romo completed five passes of 25-plus yards in the September 9 contest and was sacked just once.

 

But the Giants, winners of six straight games, appear to have gotten their act together since then, so Romo may not find this Sunday's game in New York to be quite so easy to dominate.

 

If the Giants want to slow Romo down a bit, they would be wise to give Dallas a defensive look that would encourage the Cowboys to run more on first down. Romo has been at his best going to the air on first down plays, completing 71.9 percent of his passes for 1,092 yards this season. That completion rate is second only to Tom Brady's 72.8 percent on first down among quarterbacks who have attempted at least 100 passes this year.

 

Just as worrisome is that Dallas' star quarterback has thrown nine of his 19 touchdown passes on first down. That's just one touchdown behind the league-leading pace by Brady and Cincinnati's Carson Palmer.

 

As the Giants defense watches film this week, they'll notice that Romo has been highly effective completing passes across the entire width of the field. His only subpar spot is to the left sideline where he still has a respectable 54.7 percent completion rate. But he's hitting the rest of the width of the field in the 63- to 67-percent range. During the first matchup, Romo hit tight end Jason Witten and Terrell Ownens in the middle of the field. His other two touchdown passes, to Owens and wide receiver Sam Hurd, were thrown to the right side of the Dallas offense.

 

So which of the New York defenders will Romo most likely target this weekend with his pass attempts? It should be linebacker Antonio Pierce whenever the Cowboys quarterback sees a favorable matchup. Pierce has allowed 24 catches by the receivers he's defended during 35 pass attempts for a team-worst 68.6 percent burned rate. And even though he's successfully defended six passes, he's currently in a tie for the most touchdown catches allowed on the team along with rookie cornerback Aaron Ross. Both players have allowed three scores through the air.

 

 

Ross should be another high priority for Romo as he's allowed 20 catches out of 31 attempts for a 64.5 percent burned-rate. That's the highest completion rate against any of the Giants starters in the secondary, but to his credit, Ross isn't giving up much yardage, allowing an average of just 9.9 yards per catch.

 

While veteran cornerback Sam Madison is 33-years old, he's still holding his own out there. Quarterbacks have been testing him this year, trying to get the ball to the receivers he's been defending 56 times, more than any other member of the Giants secondary. But Madison is allowing just 50 percent of those passes to be completed for an average gain of 13.5 yards. That completion rate against him puts the veteran in a tie for eighth-best in the league amongst cornerbacks who have been targeted at least 35 times this season. He's defended seven passes and hasn't been burned for a touchdown yet this season.

 

Keep an eye on not just who catches the ball for Dallas this week, but who was defending on the play to see if Romo goes after the New York secondary's weakest links to date this season.

[jerseygiantfan]

Article on Plax

[jerseygiantfan]

COWBOYS VS GIANTS MORE THAN A GAME

Nov 10, 2007 | 8:29AM | report this

 

When the Cowboys and the Giants square off in New Jersey this Sunday the Giants will be playing for a piece of the NFC East lead, the Cowboys will be playing for much more. Many analysts, including many in the Dallas area, have said due to the Giants week off, the emergence of their defensive line, and the overall health of the team, the Giants will beat the Cowboys.

 

But Dallas is a better team than New York because Dallas has better players. The overall record of the teams New York has beaten is 13 - 36 with their only victory over a club with a winning record being their win over Washington which was more lost by the Redskins than won by New York. The overall record of the teams Dallas has beaten is 19 - 37 with victories over the New York Giants and the 4 -4 Buffalo Bills. The winning percentage of the teams the Giants beat is 36% while the winning percentage of the Cowboys' losing opponents is 51%. Statistically a considerable difference.

 

While much has been made of the Giants sacking of McNabb in their victory over the Eagles and while the injuries on the Eagles offensive line have been the subject of many conversations everyone seems to forget that Brian Westbrook (who everyone agrees is the most important person in the Eagles offense) also did not play in the game against the Giants severely limiting the Eagles running and passing game and his absence was the main reason the Eagles offense gave up all the sacks. When Dallas played the Eagles they were healthy again.

 

The truth of the matter is it would be hard for any of the Giants players to start for Dallas. Plaxico is probably the only one but he would only play because of Glenn's injury, otherwise he couldn't make the first team for the Cowboys either. (Dallas plays a different defensive scheme than the Giants which makes a comparison extremely hard.) Given the Cowboys (statistically) have played a much harder schedule than the Giants it seems the Cowboys should leave New Jersey with an 8 - 1 record; but wait, as was reported at the start of this blog many sportscasters are prognosticating the Giants will win!

 

The NFL's pumping up of a team in the large New York market is understandable. And, the monetary persuasion sportscasters are subject to may indeed color their judgment. Together, they have given the Dallas Cowboys an out, they can lose to the Giants and just say "well, a lot of people expected it, no big deal". But that would be very wrong. For the Giants to lose would be "no big deal" for the Cowboys to lose would scream "THIS TEAM HAS NO HEART"! When the going gets tough, Dallas quits; because let's face it, while the Giants may not have the better team they will make it very tough!

 

Dallas is currently healthier today than they have been all year even though Glenn is still out, and a lot healthier than they were in their first meeting with the Giants earlier this year. And now they have Tank Johnson suited up to play! Much has been made of the Giants' injuries in their first game with the Cowboys but they played in that game and the Giants were losing when they got hurt! Dallas has played a tougher schedule and Dallas has better players so Dallas should win the game except if Dallas decides to take the easy way out provided by the NFL and the media.

 

Cowboy fans want another Super Bowl title and will not be satisfied with anything less; however, if Dallas loses this Sunday to New York you can write that off for any time in the foreseeable future. Because if Dallas loses to New York it will not be based upon the players ability but their willingness to take the easy way out, because there is no doubt the Giants are going to try to smack Dallas in the mouth. If Dallas loses they will prove they have the heart of a loser! Losing to New England was not nearly as big a deal as many have made out due to all the circumstances; however, if Dallas loses to New York on Sunday they may as well end their season then. A team without heart is not going to win a Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl is always the goal of Dallas' fans and they don't want to settle for anything less. Sunday we will find out if the players and coach have the same goal!