My Thoughts on Giants Victory Over Steelers
The Giants went into the Steel City and beat the Steelers at their own game…hard nosed, old school, smash mouthed football. The NFC East is historically known for that as well so it is no shock, but I loved every minute of it. All year, I’ve had to listen to the media say that the Giants haven’t beaten anyone yet. Now we did and came out with the same result. On top of that, we did it on the road in one of the most hostile stadiums in the country…again. The Giants completely lost momentum until John Carney kicked the field goal cutting the deficit to 14-12 with 8:18 remaining in the 4th Quarter. That’s when the Terrible Towels were being waved a little less. Then emergency long snapper James Harrison snapped the ball over the punter’s head which resulted in a safety tying the game at 14-14. The Terrible Towels were being waved even less. Then came the Giants only TD of the game when Eli found Boss in the back of the end zone with 3:07 remaining, and the Giants silenced the stadium. I absolutely loved this game, and I hope that Big Blue can continue to dominate the rest of their opponents in ‘08.
Offense
The Giants offense was average yesterday even though they only got into the end zone once. They came out strong in the 1st Quarter but could not regain momentum until the 4th Quarter. Eli Manning did not have a good night statistically. He went 19/32 which is a 59.38% completion percentage and threw for 199 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs. New York was able to move the chains, but Pittsburgh’s defense was able to stop the Giants from reaching the end zone. The Giants’ defense constantly gave the offense great field position, but the offense did not capitalize on as many possessions as they should have. The Jints offense only put up 7 points, but they were playing one of the best defenses in the NFL. Since the Giants were able to move the chains and get into the red zone, they did make 4 Field Goals. On one occasion, Coach Coughlin decided not to kick a field goal on 4th and Inches early in the 2nd Quarter which could have came back and bit them in the buttocks. RB Derrick Ward had 5 receptions for 43 yards while WR Steve Smith had 3 receptions for 45 yards. Plaxico Burress sat the 1st Quarter for missing treatments for his sore neck on Friday. Burress keeps on pissing me off with this crap, but I guess Coach Coughlin feels the same way. As I said last week, I wouldn’t care if this was a one-off incident, but his behavior is reverting. After getting his mega-contract, he has acted like a fool. Instead, he should be helping his teammates improve. The more Burress acts like T.O. or Chad Johnson, the faster the Giants will let him go like they did with his best friend Jeremy Shockey. Kevin Boss was the only Giant to find the end zone yesterday. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward only compiled 84 yards on 31 touches which is only 2.71 yards per carry, but that is a lot more than the Steelers defense gives up. The tandem was also able to wear down the Steelers’ defense in the 4th Quarter which led to the Giants winning this game. The Giants’ offense put up 7 of the 21 points.
Defense
The Giants defense put on a show for America yesterday. They were just nasty for all four quarters. Not only that, they got better as the game went on. The Steelers were able to score on their first drive when Roethlisberger handed the ball off to Mewelde Moore who ran it 32 yards to the house. The Giants missed a tackle which cost them 7 points. The Steelers opened up the 2nd Half by Ben Roethlisberger throwing a 65-yard bomb to Nate Washington for a TD. This was the only play were the Giants’ defense broke. Besides those two bad plays, the defense dominated the Steelers’ offense all day. The defense sacked Ben Roethlisberger 5 times. Mathias Kiwanuka got to him three times, and Justin Tuck and Dave Tollefson got to him once. Add 14 knock downs to that. Kenny Phillips, Corey Webster, James Butler, and Bryan Kehl each had 1 pick yesterday. Mathias Kiwanuka and Antonio Pierce each forced 1 fumble. These stats are similar to what to what they did last week against the 49ers. There’s a big difference between the talent level of these two teams. You cannot ask for better stat lines than this against one of the best teams in the NFL. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 21 points.
Special Teams
The bes play of the game took place on Special Teams when the Steelers snapped the ball to high giving the Giants a Safety. John Carney was 4/4 in Field Goal Attempts. The Special Teams unit needs to improve on returns and coverage. The Giants’ special teams put up 14 of the 21 points.
So the Giants won their sixth game which makes them 6-1. They now will face the Cowboys and the Eagles back-to-back which are huge games to set the tone. I’m can’t wait to watch these games. How will Big Blue fair in the next 9 games? I predicted them to be 6-1 after the first 7 games, and they are 6-1. I got 2 games wrong so far because I had the Giants beating the Browns but losing to the Steelers. I predicted the Giants to be 6-3 down the stretch giving them a 12-4 record. The Cowboys are next on the schedule.
