The Day After…
-
- December
- 30
We’re getting Coughlin this afternoon, but before that I’d like to challenge anybody who thinks the Giants got nothing out of last night’s game to come forward and be heard.
As Coughlin said, there were many, many positives to take from a game like that, even if the net result was a loss. They were beating the Patriots into the fourth quarter, which is plenty. But Eli Manning also had one of his best games of the season, reserve weakside linebacker Gerris Wilkinson showed up big, and the offensive line did a credible, though not perfect job, of handling the New England defense.
That should add up to momentum heading into the playoffs. But be aware, the Giants still showed some serious flaws that have made things tough on them all season.
Eli’s interception, for instance, couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Pats had just gone up 31-28 in the fourth quarter. Instead, Amani Toomer’s holding penalty puts them in second-and-14, and Manning looks straight at Plaxico Burress and gets picked by Ellis Hobbs. You could have shut things off right there, because Tom Brady and Laurence Maroney turned that into a touchdown and a 10-point lead.
Before that, the Giants were driving in the third after the Pats tightened things to 28-22. The Giants get down to the Pats 42, and then Adalius Thomas blows past David Diehl for a 14-yard sack, and out went that drive.
Defensively, the Giants couldn’t get off the field again. But hey, they were working against Brady and Randy Moss. Nobody gets off the field against them.
The injuries? Have to wait and see. Shaun O’Hara’s knee appears the worst, and he’s going for an MRI today. Kawika Mitchell has a knee, and Sam Madison has an abdominal strain he says isn’t bad. But they all say that.
All in all, though, this should turn into a huge confidence boost going into Tampa. That should always happen when you take on the league’s best and nearly beat them. The only thing better would have been a win. But if they play like that next week, they’ll be heading to Green Bay or Dallas the following week. Guarantee it.
Ciao for now.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, December 30th, 2007 at 10:04 am by Ernie Palladino.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Share and Enjoy: 
| 
Print
| 
Email
Ernie Palladino
The only thing I’ll say is what I have said all
week…the Giants needed to play this game hard,
and with their starters….and they did.
Hell of a game, even though we lost. They
can take a lot from this one as they prepare
for Tampa.
I’m not going to pick on Eli…who played
very well most of the game. He even looked
a bit like that other Giants QB who wore Number
10 years ago…Fran Tarkenton.
But I am going to blame the defense and some poor
officiating. Toomer also had a big drop.
If we only had Sinorce Moss and William Joseph,
right? LOL. But Boss looks like a very good
find…good, soft hands, too.
ur right ernie wilkenson played great i think we wouldnt lose a whole lot if mitchell cant go but the defense will be in bad shape if dockery and madison sit, on the offensive side i think rugeamer played well also the giants have depth everywhere but in the secondary and madison is playing well this year and so is dockery those wuld be to huge loses to play post season ball without them. i also think bradshaw culd do some damage againt buce team who lets day isnt the best at stopping the run. the giants need to run the ball very effectivaly because the bucs have one of the top pass defenses in the league. all in all i think the giants r really gonna shock the league with a huge win againt the bucs. GO BUG BLUE.
If the giants play like they played this week good chance we win next week easily our offence is great we should be much better than the bucs on that and our def. must improve playing hard against the pats was a must
I was very impressed with wilkinson last night and boss again ,