Giants fall to Cardinals, 24-17

The New York Giants appear to be in a bit of a funk now after a 24-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

It is the second straight loss for the Giants, though last week’s road defeat was more acceptable than Sunday night’s disappointing performance.

It appears that quarterback Eli Manning is either still bothered by the foot injury or in one of his patented funks.

Against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, Manning was unable to take advantage of the opportunity.

He had little help from the running game, and the New York defense wasn’t as ferocious as usual.

Monday, October 26, 2009 at 5:37 pm by steve

Giants Suffer Shocking Loss to Cardinals

Losing to the New Orleans Saints and their offensive juggernaut? That’s one thing.

Losing to the Arizona Cardinals at home, 24-17, where the Cardinals are now 3-15 in their history? Not good.
But that’s just where the Giants find themselves, after a three-pick performance from QB Eli Manning left them on the wrong end of a Sunday night defensive showdown.

Manning sloughed through one of his worst games as a professional in the past few years, completing only 19 of 37 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions (to Antrel Rolle, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson).

While RB Brandon Jacobs appeared to get back on track, averaging nearly six yards/carry on a 13 carry, 76 yard night (with one touchdown), the rest of the Giants offense appeared befuddled by the Cardinals swarming defense.

“They are constantly moving around and flipping safeties and they did a good job with that,” center Shaun O’Hara said. “Sometimes we caught them and sometimes they caught us.”
Coach Tom Coughlin summed up the loss more concisely: “Anytime you turn the ball over four times, you don’t have much of a chance to win,” Coughlin said.

Fresh off two straight losses, the Giants look to rebound with a game against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, this upcoming Sunday. If the Eagles beat the Redskins tonight, the winner of the Eagles/Giants game would have sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

at 5:33 pm by bryan

Giants downed by Saints, 49-28

The New York Giants came out of Sunday’s showdown with the New Orleans Saints beaten down by Drew Brees in a 49-28 loss.

The game was really out of hand by the third quarter, which led the Giants to remove quarterback Eli Manning from the game.

Manning has been dealing with a foot injury and the team decided it was better off resting him than keeping him in the game in the hope of a comeback.

The Giants simply had no answer for the Saints’ passing game, which completely overwhelmed their secondary.

New York tried to run the ball to keep the Saints’ offense off of the field, but did not have much success.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:35 pm by steve

Giants look to rebound as long home stretch begins

By Bud L. Ellis

The bitter taste of a lost Sunday along the Gulf Coast now fading, the New York Giants turn their attention to sweeter days.

Back home Sunday night against defending NFC champion Arizona, the G-men look to shake off last week’s 48-27 loss at New Orleans — New York’s first loss of the season.

Sunday night, in a game that matches the past two NFC representatives in the Super Bowl, the Giants look to rebound after giving up 493 yards of total offense. Despite the yardage rolled up by the Saints in last week’s rout, New York remains on top of the NFL in defense.

The Giants will need that defense to diffuse the big-play potential of Arizona. It’s the type of game the Giants need to win, to wash away the feeling from last weekend.

Sunday kicks off a stretch where the Giants will be at home for most of the next month. With the exception of a road game in Philadelphia on Nov. 1 , the Giants won’t play on the road until a Thanksgiving night matchup at Denver in what could be a Super Bowl preview. During the next month, the Giants play host to Arizona, San Diego and Atlanta.

New York is off Nov. 15. After the trip to Denver, the Giants plays two more games in a row at home, against Dallas on Dec. 6 and against Philadelphia on Dec. 13. 

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 9:37 pm by bud

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, National Football League, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl

Giants Crushed by Brees, Saints

Drew Brees breezed over the Giants’ feared defense and led the Saints to a victory over the New York Giants on Sunday that cemented the Saints’ case for being the best in the NFL.

Brees threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns in the rout, which was more or less over by halftime, when the Saints took a 34-17 lead on a Reggie Bush 7-yard TD run with seven seconds left in the half.

“We wanted to really dictate the tempo of the game the whole way through,” Brees said. “Seven different guys scored touchdowns. That’s big. That’s the type of rhythm that, when you get in, you feel like you can call anything and it’s going to work.”

The Giants, who were giving up an average of 210.6 yards of total offense and 14.2 points, gave up 34 points and 315 yards by halftime. The Saints rolled up 493 total yards on offense – and it could have been worse, had backup Mark Brunell not come into the game in the fourth quarter to replace Brees.

For Manning, who was coming home to his native New Orleans to play in the Superdome for the first time in his career, the day took a wrong turn somewhere on the way to his 14 of 31, 178 yard, one touchdown and one interception day. The Giants finished with 84 rushing yards – total.

“It’s not the way I imagined it during the week, but you’re going to encounter all sorts of games and all sorts of situations,” Manning said. “I look at it as a loss. We need to go back to work this week, fix some things and try to improve.”

The Saints, sitting at 5-0, have reason to feel like the class of the NFC.

Monday, October 19, 2009 at 7:05 pm by bryan

Jacobs’ Frustrations Boiling Over

The Giants’ starting running back, Brandon Jacobs, is becoming noticeably unhappy with his lack of production this season, and his frustrations boiled over before the Giants’ game against the Saints on Sunday.

Before Sunday’s game against the Saints, Jacobs had accrued 100 carries and only gained 355 yards. That 3.55 YPA is 1.45 yards less than his production in 2008-2009, which has frustrated him given the success of RB platoon-mate Ahmad Bradshaw, who torched the Raiders for two TDs and over 100 yards rushing.

“A lot of the stuff suits [Bradshaw] perfectly,” Jacobs said. “If someone is running free, he is able to see him real quick, make him miss and do something. Me, I am 6-foot-4, 265 pounds. I am supposed to run into people. I am supposed to take somebody on. That’s me. If I don’t do that, I am terrible. So it is what it is.”

“Yes! I see myself as a tone-setter,” Jacobs said. “Yes, I do. I am going out and just running into people. I’m 6-4 and 265 pounds, doing what I am supposed to do, running into people to get a 2-yard loss. Happy?”

Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is certainly not quick to panic, given Jacobs’ storied history with the club in the past few years.

“I just think his stats are not as high as the success he has experienced in the past,” Gilbride said. “He wants to do more, which is good. Looking to do whatever he can do, he is looking to do it for the sake of the team. I think that is what he feels, he wants to be an effective runner because he knows our team needs that.”

at 7:02 pm by bryan

Giants crush Raiders, 44-7

The New York Giants took care of business in swift fashion in a 44-7 stomping of the Oakland Raiders.

The Giants jumped on the Raiders early and often, building a four-touchdown lead and never turning back.

The team actually was able to pull hobbled quarterback Eli Manning before the end of the first half because the game was becoming such a laugher.

Despite no Manning in the second half, the Giants continued to widen the gap behind backup quarterback David Carr.

Running back Ahman Bradshaw had a big day, running for over 100 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 8:32 am by steve

Something’s gotta give as Giants take on Saints in NFC showdown

By Bud L. Ellis

Mid October is early to be talking about conference showdown games.

But that’s exactly where the New York Giants find themselves Sunday. When the G-men travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints, it not only will be one of the marquee matchups in the NFL this weekend, it could provide a preview of January.

Both teams are undefeated — New York is 5-0; New Orleans is 4-0. Only the Vikings remain among the ranks of the NFC’s unblemished. The Giants are second in the conference in points scored. The Saints are third. Both teams are among the NFC’s most stingiest defenses, and both are in the top four in rushing offense.

So, what gives in this Battle on the Bayou?

It’ll come down to quarterback play. Eli Manning has been stellar for the Giants, despite battling a heel injury. Drew Brees has been solid for the Saints.

For Manning, there is the added incentive of playing close to home. His father, Archie, quarterbacked the Saints a generation ago and lives just a few minutes from the Superdome.

Somebody may get a leg up on Sunday, but it’s quite possible we’ll see these two meet again once the calendar flips from late 2009 to early 2010.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 9:42 pm by bud

Tags: Archie Manning, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Louisiana Superdome, National Football League, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants

Manning feeling fine, hopes to practice daily ahead of Saints showdown

Giants quarterback told the Associated Press that he hopes to practice every day this week, and that his heel is feeling no ill effects from yesterday’s game against the Oakland Raiders. Manning played a little less than a half in New York’s 44-7 drubbing of the woeful Raiders. He finished 8 of 10 for  173 yards and two touchdowns and was hardly touched.

New York will need Manning to not only be healthy, but be at his best, if it wants to win this Sunday. The Giants face their biggest test of the young season, visiting New Orleans to face the also-undefeated Saints in one of the most highly-anticipated games of the season to date. The Saints defense is much improved from a year ago, but it would come to the surprise of no one if the game turns into a shootout. And, simply put, the Giants cannot keep up with Drew Brees and Co. if Manning isn’t healthy and sharp.

In addition to two of the league’s five undefeated teams squaring off, there are a couple compelling story lines in this matchup:

- New Orleans tight end facing his former team, which traded him last offseason after his open pleading to be dealt

- Manning returning to the city where his father, Archie, starred for years

Monday, October 12, 2009 at 6:29 pm by Raj Sethi

Eli Plays, Giants Pound Raiders

It didn’t even take a full half for David Carr to enter the game for the Giants against the Raiders on Sunday.

Fortunately, Carr wasn’t replacing an injured QB Eli Manning - he was simply spelling him of his starting duties as the Giants built a massive lead en route to a 44-7 victory over the Raiders.

The Giants rode the legs of Ahmad Bradshaw in the first quarter, as he scored two quick TDs to give the Giants an early lead. Bradshaw finished with 165 total yards (110 rushing, 55 on one reception). They jumped out to a 28-0 lead before the Raiders could finally answer with a touchdown; the Giants finished the first half up 31-7 and with Eli Manning already done for the day.

For his part, Manning played a stellar game, going 8 for 10 for 173 yards and two TDs (which equated to a perfect passer rating of 158.3).

The Giants now start 5-0 with a game against the 4-0 New Orleans Saints coming up in Week 6, a game which could go a long way to determine the elite team in the NFC.

Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 7:02 pm by bryan