Imperfect Giants Slay Perfect Pats

Otis Livingston, Sports Anchor

New England’s quest for perfection came up short, their date with destiny thwarted by the Giants defense. Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Antonio Pierce got after the golden boy Tom Brady. When they weren’t sacking him, they were getting extreme pressure on him. They hit him about 18 times Sunday night, far more than he’s been hit in any one game this season.

The atmosphere inside the University of Phoenix Stadium was off the charts. Every time the Giants made a play it appeared the roof would come off. With each passing moment, The Patriot fans worried more and more. You could see their confident swagger begin to leave the building.

That’s when I knew we had a great ballgame on our hands. Brady looked concerned and yelled at his receivers. It gave you a gut feeling the Pats would have a long day. The usually calm, cool, collected Brady was rattled. I guess getting smashed into the University of Phoenix turf over and over again will do that to an MVP.

I still can’t believe the Giants pulled off one of the largest upsets in Super Bowl history. It’s 2:30 a.m. back in New York. I’m about to hit the sack for about an hour before the morning show and I’m numb. I’m not willing to believe there will be a parade down the “Canyon of Heroes” in two days!

These guys are really heroes. They did the unthinkable. Against all hope they slayed the New England dragon. On a selfish note, my 1972 Miami Dolphins are still the only team to go undefeated through an entire season. Thanks Giants!

Giants Fan Blog: How ‘Bout Them G-Men?!

By Ryan G. Murphy, WNBC.com

I fell asleep last night with an ear-to-ear smile on my face. I woke up in the exact same position.

Fellow Giants fans, it doesn’t get any bigger or better than this.

Big Blue is in the NFC title game. Read that again. Take yourself back to week two of this season and read that again. Wow.

Late in the fourth quarter Sunday the script was written for another Dallas victory. We’ve seen it happen too many times – standing toe to toe with the Cowboys for 55 minutes, only to have the rug pulled out from under us.

It hurts. It stings. It makes you want to fly to Dallas and personally wipe the grinch-like smile off Jerry Jones’ face.

And Sunday, it never happened…The Jerry Jones smile that is.

We went into Dallas, after losing to the Cowboys twice during the regular season, and usurped the ‘Boys position as NFC heavyweight. After 13 regular-season wins and a one and done in the playoffs, I wouldn’t want to be waking up in Dallas this morning…even if it was next to Jessica Simpson.

Eli Manning scripted his name into Giants history Sunday and made clear that he’s the man in New York. At times it’s been easy to doubt him, but in the Giants three biggest games (Patriots, Bucs, Cowboys) he’s been the go-to guy. Perhaps this is his coming of age. Eli’s not Peyton, he’s Eli.

The Packers are going to be a tough test next week, but, really, why not us? Few expected us to win against Tampa. None expected us to win in Dallas. And not too many will forecast us in the Super Bowl. And that’s just the way we want it.

Enjoy this victory Giants fans, it’s one of the biggest we’ve ever had.

Gameday Blog: Are You Ready For Some Football, New York Style?

It’s a beautiful October day for football in New York, and don’t let the players fool you, this one means a lot to both teams.

Some of the Giants are currently going through their pregame warm ups on the field. Eli Manning and Amani Toomer are getting in some work around the 40-yard line. Jared Lorenzen is tossing with Sinorice Moss and Jeremy Shockey – both have yet to catch a touchdown this season

On my way into the stadium today, the parking lot was packed with Giants blue with some Jets green mixed in. We’ll see how much home field advantage the Giants have come kickoff.

NOTES:

The Giants and Jets have shared Giants Stadium for 25 years. They’ve played 10 times during the regular season and the Giants lead the series 6-4. The Jets lead the preseason series 20-18-1.

The last Giants/Jets meeting was in 2003, a thrilling OT victory for the Giants on Brett Conway’s 29-yard field goal. Will Allen blocked a 51-yard field goal attempt from the Jets’ Doug Brien.

Sacktastic!

On the same day that Michael Strahan broke Lawrence Taylor’s franchise record for career sacks, it was another defensive end, Osi Umenyiora who stole the show for Big Blue Sunday, leading the Giants to a 12-sack, 16-3 victory over the Eagles.

From a fan’s perspective, this was one of the better games I’ve ever attended. Nothing gets a stadium more jacked up than a sack in a big spot. The Giants had 12 of them on Sunday. Twelve! Add to that a defensive touchdown and two punts downed inside the five and you’ve got a formula for success. The offense stalled a bit (see interception inside the red zone, missed 34 yard field goal, missed extra point), but if we’ve learned anything as Giants fans, solid defense wins games. Period.

Is this the same Giants D that gave up 80 points in the first two weeks?

Granted the Eagles looked like a high school team without Brian Westbrook and a slew of pro-bowlers – so I’m not entirely sold on the Giants D just yet – but they sure have looked impressive over the last two weeks. Our attacking defense has arrived…maybe.

And here’s another thing – is Plaxico Burress playing like a man possessed or what? This guy has come down with a big TD catch for the Giants every week, despite ailing from ankle and thumb injuries. We’ll see if he can keep this up. I’d also like to see Eli getting the ball to Shockey in rollout situations a little more.

What do we think about a possible return of “thunder and lightning,” with Brandon Jacobs coming back from injury and Derrick Ward flashing some Tiki-like moves over the last few weeks?

Starting this Sunday we’ll be starting something new on WNBC.com. I’ll be covering the Giants-Jets game from inside the press box, so make sure to check in for some in-game blogs and a game story following this Sunday’s “Metro Bowl.”

Report: Eli Manning Out At Least A Month With Separated Shoulder

ESPN is reporting that Eli Manning is going to be out at least a month with a separated throwing shoulder.

I’ll keep you updated on this news as it’s updated.

A severely separated shoulder will put Manning out for more than 4 weeks. That’s just a personal opinion; I hope it’s not right.

Early speculation is swirling that the Giants could pick up Byron Leftwich to step into the gaping hole that is now left by Manning’s injury.

–Ryan

Not Exactly The Week 1 We Hoped For…

Sorry for not writing until Monday afternoon but I’ve spent the last few hours trying to cover Jason Whitten over the middle. Somebody’s got to do it.

Ok, so we learned three things on Sunday:

1)I can’t pick against the spread: 6-8 on Sunday. If I win both Monday night games I’ll be 8-8. Does that clinch me a playoff spot in the NFC?

2)The Giants defense is atrocious. Tony Romo is good – but not “I won my fantasy week because of him” good. I am not even remotely confident in the Giants’ secondary and Mathias Kiwanuka looked as comfortable at linebacker as the class nerd playing dodge ball in gym class. Also, I saw John Madden get less winded running sprints before the game than the Giants D-line.

3)The Giants are the exact same team as last year minus Tiki Barber. Just when you think the game is lost, they come back to give you hope, only to say 10 plays later, “you silly, silly man, did you think we were ACTUALLY going to pull it out?” Last year’s team did just enough to lose the big games. Last night wasn’t any different.

Plain and simple, the defense let us down Sunday night. Injuries aside, you can’t get torched for 45 points and 336 passing yards. Defense gets an F for Sunday’s loss. I’m more worried about the secondary than the injuries.

Let’s look at the bright side of things, now.

Ok…done.

Just kidding. In reality, we’re 0-1 after an injury-plagued game, on the road. If we take care of Dallas at Giants’ Stadium later in the year, we can call it a wash. Last night would have been a HUGE win, but it’s not the end of the world.

Manning looked better than I’ve ever seen him. Assuming his injury isn’t long term – the passing game looks promising, and who needs Brandon Jacobs when you’ve got Derrick Ward, right? There were glints of Tiki Barber last night from Ward, but I wouldn’t christen him the savior running back just yet.

At the very least we saw that Ward can be an extremely effective third-down-type back. Paging David Meggett…

No, seriously, we need David Meggett and any other football player that’s played running back before. Send resumes to: OnTheHotSeat@coughlin.com

Bottom line, it could be worse – we could be the Jets.

–Ryan

Strahan Ends Holdout… "He Went With His Heart"

Giants DE Michael Strahan ended his holdout Friday night and will return to practice on Monday with the team.

Does this surprise too many people out there? I’m really not too shocked about this one, but it is good news if you are a Giants fan.

On a different front, is anyone interested in trading for Byron Leftwich? The Jags said Friday they were interested in trading him. With the way our backups looked this preseason, he might not be a bad pickup…Just a thought…

Here’s the AP story on Strahan:

Seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan has decided to end his holdout and return for a 15th NFL season with the New York Giants.

“He went with his heart instead of his head,” Tony Agnone, his agent, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Friday evening. “He felt at this point he was part of the team, and he was going to go to battle with them.”

The decision came a day before the Giants had to cut their roster to the 53-man limit and a little more than a week before the season opener at Dallas.

“He knows he’ll be ready to go,” Agnone said of playing in the season opener. “He’s been working out like crazy.”

Strahan left the West Coast on Friday and planned to be at Giants Stadium on Monday when the team begins preparing for the Cowboys. He will have four practices before the game.

And Strahan might play more than the 2007 season.

“This does not mean at the end of the year that he is going to retire,” Agnone said. “He is going to sit down again in March like he always does, and he said: ‘I won’t be doing this next year.”

Agnone said Strahan informed Giants general manager Jerry Reese of his decision to play around 5 p.m. EDT. Agnone would not say when Strahan made up his mind, but he added the NFL’s single-season sack leader did not want to keep the team hanging.

The 35-year-old Strahan missed 36 days of training camp and amassed a $514,368 fine.

Agnone said the Giants agreed to reduce the fine total, but Strahan still will pay a “significant amount of money.”

Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon said the team had no immediate comment, and Reese did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

The announcement of Strahan’s decision came just hours after a frustrated coach Tom Coughlin said he was taking the approach that Strahan would not play this season.

Coughlin seemed upset that Strahan still was mulling whether he would play more than five weeks after training camp opened. He also was annoyed that Strahan’s absence made it tough to make final roster decisions and to pick a practice squad.

Third-year-man Justin Tuck has started at left end in the preseason, and he has played well.

Strahan, who is to make $4 million this season, had mulled retirement while considering a career in television, insisting the decision had nothing to do with money.

In a letter to Giants fans last month, Strahan said the holdout had nothing to do with his recent divorce, in which a judge awarded his former wife $15.3 million. Strahan has paid half that amount, and an appellate court granted him a temporary stay while it considers whether the award was too much.

Thoughts On Giants – Pats

Granted it was against the Patriots’ second-team defense, but the Giants offense looked very efficient on Thursday night’s first drive of the game.

Manning found the open guys – unfortunately 2 balls were dropped. Shockey finished the drive with four catches for 47 yards. Stay healthy this year Shock!

Mixed reviews on the first drive for Anthony Mix. He’s got to hold on to that ball when he knows he’s going to get hit. The way I see it, you’re going to get hit anyway, might as well have the first down with the pain. Easier said than done, I know, but I don’t get paid to hold on to those balls.

Jacobs looked strong again – glad he got in for the touchdown. I’m a little bothered that it took 5 plays for the Giants to get in on first and goal. That’s been their problem for a while – red zone efficiency.

I like the Giants out of a three tight-end set – a lot of things can come from it – run, pass, play action….

…Alright I’m going to say it – for being billed a disciplinarian, Tom Coughlin seemingly does very little to enforce punishment for personal foul penalties. I’ve been watching on and off for the last 25 minutes as I am covering news for WNBC.com, and that’s the third personal foul penalty called on the Giants. You’ve got to be kidding me. If I’m a head coach, I don’t care who you are – if you commit a stupid personal foul (i.e. – hitting a guy after the play is dead) you’re coming out of the game and you’re getting a fine. Too many times in 2006 the Giants shot themselves in the foot with stupid, stupid penalties like this. It’s got to stop…

…On a lighter note, nice to see Vinny Testaverde in a jersey for another year. Think he’s got a shot at starting for the Jets this year? Ouch. Yes, Jim Scott, I went there…

…I absolutely love what I just saw from Jared Lorenzen…Reuben Droughns just broke free on a handoff and Jared Lorenzen ran out ahead of him and threw a lead block…stupid, but I love the intensity…Glad to know that if Manning goes down, we’ve got a guy who really wants to kick some butt!…

Couglin On The Hot Seat

Despite making the playoffs the past two seasons, expectations for the New York Giants aren’t that high.

Tiki Barber, the Giants’ all-time leading rusher and offensive catalyst, retired for a television career. The wait for Eli Manning to live up to expectations continues. And who knows what to expect from seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan, if anything.

Then there’s the Tom Coughlin factor. The no-nonsense coach is on the hot seat after failing to get past the first round of the playoffs two straight years amid all kinds of turmoil.

If the path gets bumpy again, things could get ugly fast.

That’s the Giants, though. They were the defending NFC East champs and considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender a year ago. They got big heads, suffered a couple of injuries, pointed fingers and went 8-8 to barely squeeze into the playoffs.

“One of the things we are striving for this year is playing together as a team,” center Shaun O’Hara said. “I think last year we had a lot of individual talent, but I don’t know if we played well as a team every Sunday. That’s our overall goal as a team, to complement each other in every phase and make it a collective effort.”

Whether the Giants can get back to being a title contender depends on three key issues:
— Can Manning have a consistent season and avoid the big mistakes?
— Can big, bruising Brandon Jacobs do as well as Barber, and stay healthy?
— Will Strahan end a holdout and play a 15th season, and can the defense survive without him?

The Strahan question was the most unexpected. Hours before training camp opened, the NFL’s active sacks leader announced he was holding out while he mulled retirement. Five weeks later, and just a little more than a week before the opener at Dallas, he was still mulling his options.

On the field, the offense has shown the potential to carry the Giants, especially if Manning can avoid a third straight second-half slump. Having former quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride as the offensive coordinator should help Manning, who is also being tutored by Chris Palmer, another longtime quarterbacks guru.

One thing that has changed is Manning has emerged as one of the leaders of the Giants, thanks in part to Barber.

Barber criticized the quarterback’s leadership a few weeks ago during halftime on Sunday night football and Manning fired right back at his former teammate.

Not only did the retort prop him up in the eyes of his teammates, but Manning followed that with good stints against Baltimore and the Jets.

Manning should have plenty of help this season.

David Diehl’s ability to move from left guard to left tackle has strengthened the offensive line. It also should help Jacobs use his 6-foot-4, 260-pound frame to run over defenses.

The receiving corps is deep with Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, rookie Steve Smith and Sinorice Moss on the field along with Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey. The concern is Burress, who missed much of training camp with ankle and back problems.

“This team came a long way,” said Toomer, who has returned from major knee surgery. “There were times early in camp where it was touch and go, but the young guys stepped up and our defense played real well.”

After a dismal performance in the preseason opener, the defense improved under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, allowing one touchdown in the next two games.

Justin Tuck, who like Strahan missed a good part of last season with a serious foot injury, has been outstanding filling in at left end. Osi Umenyiora has been a force on the other side.

Mathias Kiwanuka has been adequate making the transition from defensive end to strongside linebacker, and free agent Kawika Mitchell has looked good as weakside linebacker. With Pro Bowler Antonio Pierce in the middle, the linebackers are solid.

The weakness is the secondary, especially with veteran Sam Madison battling a hamstring injury. Rookie cornerback Aaron Ross should provide help at some point.

“This is going to be a team you can be proud of,” Pierce said. “I know one thing you love in New York is defense. When I came here from that other team (Washington) I saw the (tradition) at linebacker: Carl Banks, Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson. But this group is going to work hard and play some ball.”

One area not settled is the kicking job. Neither veteran Lawrence Tynes nor free agent Josh Huston has won it, although Huston has kicked better lately.

(AP)

David Tyree Out With Broken Wrist

Giants WR #85 is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after breaking his wrist.

Tom Coughlin discusses Tyree’s injury and other injuries here on Giants.com.

It’s no secret, but the Giants definitely have some issues at WR with a bunch of injuries. Most notably is Plaxico Burress who has missed some practice with an injured back.

In a New York Post article Tom Coughlin says the team has no intentions of trying out kickers outside the organization. Against the Jets on Saturday, both Giants kickers, vet Lawrence Tynes and novice Josh Huston, missed makeable kicks. Tynes missed from 40 and 43 before hitting a 40 yarder and Huston missed a 42 yarder. That’s 9 points! Yikes!

Gary Myers of the NY Daily News reports that Michael Strahan continues to mull retirement. Strahan missed all of Giants training camp this year.

“It’s no distraction, no distraction at all,” defensive end Osi Umenyiora insisted Monday, according to the Daily News. “We’re all pretty much focused on what we need to do. We still have another preseason game. We’ve got Dallas in two weeks.”

An article in the Newark Star Ledger reports that Eli Manning’s 111.3 quarterback rating is ninth-best in league and his completion percentage is 10th, HOWEVER, there are concerns over the Giants’ offensive line’s depth. Because we needed more questions with the Giants offense? According to the Ledger, the Giants offense is “walking the line.” Reporting by Johnny Cash. And that, my friends, is what we call a joke. Try the veal, I’ll be here all week.

On Monday, the Giants announced several roster cuts. The Giants have until 4 p.m. Tuesday to get down to 75 players.

Enjoy the U.S. Open everyone and get pumped for Dallas,

Ryan