Die Hard Sports Fan

The Detroit Lions beat the New York Giants by a score of 13-10.

1st Quarter

The Lions won the toss and elected to receive on the opening possession. The Lions were able to get to a manageable 3rd and 3. Kitna rolled right avoiding two sacks to hit Johnson along the right sideline for 44 yards. The Lions ran a few quick plays to pick up a first down and a few yards. On 2nd and 8, Jon Kitna connected with Roy Williams over the middle. Williams avoided a tackle by Johnson for a 20-yard Touch Down to give the Lions a quick 7-0 lead.

The Giants first possession resulted in a Punt.

The Lions second possession resulted in a Punt.

2nd Quarter

The Giants second possession resulted in a 44-yard missed Field Goal Attempt by Tynes.

The Lions third possession resulted in a Punt.

With 7:02 remaining, Wright from shotgun launched the ball to Moss for a 46-yard gain on the right side. On 1st and 10, Wright handed it off to Bradshaw who ran it up the gut for a gain of 3 yards. On 2nd and 7, Wright fired it to Hixon over the middle for a 12-yard gain. On 1st and 10, Wright threw an incomplete sidearm pass to Matthews near the right hashmarks. On 2nd and 10, Wright dropped back a lobbed the ball to the right side of the end zone, and Hixon made the catch but came down with only one foot in bounds. On 3rd and 10, Wright from shotgun threw the pass through the hands of Bradshaw in the middle of the field. On 4th and 10, Lawrence Tynes made a 33-yard Field Goal Attempt making the score Lions 7 - Giants 3.

With 4:50 remaining, Orlovsky on the rollout connected with Bellamy for gain of 5 on the right side. On 2nd and 5, Orlovsky dropped back and made a 10-yard pass to Gaines along the left sideline. On 1st and 10, Orlovsky from shotgun fired it to Bellamy on a slant for 8 yards. On 2nd and 2, Orlovsky handed it off to Smith who ran up the middle for a gain of 4 yards. On 1st and 10, Orlovsky handed it off to Smith who broke right for a 3-yard gain. 2:00 Warning. On 2nd and 7, Orlovsky from shotgun connected with Standeford on the right side for a pickup of 10 yards. On 1st and 10, Orlovsky from shotgun threw it out of bounds. On 2nd and 10, Orlovsky from shotgun fired it to Standeford on the right side for a 9-yard gain. The Lions called a Time Out. On 3rd and 1, Orlovsky handed it off to Smith who ran up the gut for no gain. The Giants called a Time Out. On 4th and 1, Jason Hanson made a 50-yard Field Goal Attempt making the score Lions 10 - Giants 3.

The Giants fourth possession came to an end as Reuben Droughns fumbled the football at the Lions’ 44 yardline and it was recovered by LaMarcus Hicks.

The Lions took a knee to conclude the first half.

Halftime

3rd Quarter

The Giants turned the ball over on downs on their fifth possession at the Lions’ 47 yardline.

The Lions sixth possession resulted in a 37-yard missed Field Goal Attempt by Johnson.

The Giants sixth possession resulted in a Punt.

The Lions seventh possession resulted in a Punt.

The Giants seventh possession resulted in a Punt.

The Lions eighth possession resulted in a Punt.

With 1:27 remaining, Carr handed it off to Ware who ran to the left for a gain of 5. On 2nd and 5, Carr from shotgun fired it to Jennings along the left sideline for a 13-yard gain. On 1st and 10, Carr dropped back and connected with London along the right sideline for a gain of 5.

4th Quarter

On 2nd and 5, Carr handed it off to Ware who ran to the left for a 3-yard gain. On 3rd and 2, Carr fired it to London over the middle who broke tackles and picked up 29 yards. On 1st and 10, Carr handed it off to Ware who broke to the left for a gain of 2. On 2nd and 8, Carr from shotgun handed it off to Ware who got the end zone, but Collins was called for an Illegal Block in the Back penalty to bring it back. On 2nd and 15, Carr from shotgun dumped it to Ware in the middle of the field for a 3-yard gain. On 3rd and 12, David Carr from shotgun drilled it to Craphonso Thorpe at the goalline who broke the plane for a13-yard Touch Down tying the game at 7-7.

The Lions ninth possession resulted in a Punt.

The Giants ninth possession resulted in a Punt.

With 7:49, Stanton ran it himself towards the right side and picked up 7 yards. On 2nd and 3, Stanton handed it off to Pinner who ran to the right for 4 yards. On 1st and 10, Stanton handed it off to Pinner who ran to the left for a gain of 3 yards. On 2nd and 7, Stanton ran it himself and out of bounds after picking up 4 yards. On 3rd and 3, Stanton dropped back and connected with Pinner in the flat who picked up 7 yards. On 1st and 10, Stanton handed it off to Pinner who ran it up the gut for no gain, and Phillips forced a fumble that Blackburn recovered. There was a Coach’s Challenge which overturned the ruling on the field. On 2nd and 10, Stanton from shotgun ran it himself and out of bounds picking up 15 yards. On 1st and 10, Stanton handed it off to Pinner who ran it to the right for a gain of 4. On 2nd and 6, the Lions were called for a False Start penalty which backed them up 5 yards. On 2nd and 11, Stanton handed it off to Pinner who ran it to the right for a 2-yard gain. The Giants called a Time Out. On 3rd and 9, Stanton from shotgun hit Calhoun in the flat for no gain. The Giants called a Time Out. On 4th and 9, Eddie Johnson made a 41-yard Field Goal Attempt giving the Lions a 13-10 lead.

The Giants turned the ball over on downs at the 50 yardline on their tenth possession.

The Lions took a few knees on their eleventh possession to end the game.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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The Detroit Lions will be hosting the New York Giants at 7:00 p.m. at Ford Field. The game will be aired on WNBC.

It’s game day folks. Preseason anyway. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Big Blue win Super Bowl XLII. Preseason means absolutely nothing except for the fact that we get to check out the backups and the rookies. It has been amusing watching J-Load run the offense the past few Preseasons, but he has been released. This year, we’ll have to see how Carr, Wright, and Woodson play. Tons of rookies exceeded their expectations in 2007 so we’ll have to see if they can improve upon the success they had last season. Or will they fall into the Sophomore Slump? Plus, there are new rookies to watch like Phillips, Thomas, Manningham, Woodson, etc.

Nobody cares about Detroit. They were hot (6-2) when the Giants played them last year in the Regular Season. The Giants won, and the Lions fell into a tail spin which ultimately made them miss the Playoffs.

PS - Remember this…they went 0-4 when they went to the Super Bowl in 2000, and they were 1-3 in 2007 when they won the Super Bowl. However, the Giants went 4-0 in 2006. Then Giants finished ‘06 with an 8-8 record, and lost to the Eagles in the Wild Card Round.

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NFL.com made a list of the “Top 10 weather games in NFL history”.  The Giants are fortunate to have been involved in so many great moments in NFL history.  Time after time, they appear on these ‘top 10′ lists.  The article contains video clips and photos for each of the games listed below if you would like to check them out.

1. Ice Bowl - “The 1967 NFL Championship Game turned into an epic and icy showdown between Vince Lombardi’s Packers and Tom Landry’s Cowboys.”
2. Tuck Rule - “The 2001 Divisional Playoff Game between the Raiders and Patriots turned out to be one of the most exciting, controversial playoff games.”
3. Fog Bowl - “The 1988 NFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Bears and Eagles turned surreal when a heavy fog engulfed Chicago’s Soldier Field.”
4. 1981 AFC Championship Game - “The Bengals overcame the potent “Air Coryell” Chargers, as well as a wind chill at 59 degrees below zero, to advance to their first the Super Bowl.”
5. 1975 AFC Championship Game - “Astroturf turned to ice when the Raiders and Steelers met at frozen Three Rivers Stadium with a berth in Super Bowl X at stake.”
6. 1948 NFL Championship Game - “A blizzard couldn’t keep the Eagles, led by future Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren, from winning their first NFL title.”
7. Snow Plow Game - “John Smith’s field goal provided the only score in the Patriots’ victory over the Dolphins in a 1982 AFC East showdown in Foxboro.”
8. Sneakers Game - “The Giants’ choice of footwear in the 1934 NFL Championship Game helped make this one of the more memorable games ever played.”
9. 1979 Buccaneers vs. Chiefs Monsoon - “Torrential rain nearly prevented the upstart Buccaneers from one of the most amazing turnarounds in NFL history.”
10. Red Right 88 - “This 1980 AFC Divisional Playoff Game at cold Cleveland Municipal Stadium had a memorable, yet painful, finish for Browns fans.”

Unfortunately, I only got to see the Tuck Rule game and the Fog Bowl game because the rest of these are before my time.  The two I saw were great games, and everybody seems to agree on that because of where they are on the list.  I still put an asterisk next to that Patriots Super Bowl victory because they should’ve never even have been in it to win it.  Personally, I don’t count it.  It’s funny because I always root for the AFC team to win the Super Bowl when the Giants aren’t representing the NFC.  That was the only year that I rooted for the NFC team to win, and not because I wanted them to but because it was right.

I’ve heard about a few of the others like the Ice Bowl and the Sneakers Game.  Below is the description of the Sneakers Game provided by Wikipedia…

The 1934 National Football League Championship Game, also known as The Sneakers Game, was played at the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 9, 1934. The final score was New York Giants 30, Chicago Bears 13. It was the 2nd annual NFL championship game.

A freezing rain the night before the game froze the Polo Grounds’s field, much like the Ice Bowl years later. After one of the players made a remark suggesting that sneakers would provide better footing on the frozen playing surface, Giants’ head coach Steve Owen sent equipment manager Abe Cohen to purchase sneakers. Cohen was unable to find an open sports equipment store and arrived at half time with 8 pairs of sneakers borrowed from Manhattan College’s basketball team

The Giants started the game wearing their regular cleats, but trailed 10-3 midway through the third quarter. So it was decided to switch out of the cleats for the sneakers. Then after the Bears increased their lead to 13-3, Giants quarterback Ed Danowski threw a touchdown pass to Ike Frankian to make the score 13-10. On the Giants next drive, running back Ken Strong scored on a 42-yard touchdown run. Later an 11-yard run by Strong was turned into another touchdown for the Giants. Finally the Giants closed it out with Danowski’s 9-yard touchdown run. The game ended with the Giants ahead: 30-13.

That sounds like a pretty cool story.  It’s probably worth checking out some old film on it.  If anybody of you have been around when that game took place and would like to chime in on that, feel free to do so.

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According to Ryan Kibbe of KSTP.com, some dude named Ray Edwards who is a Defensive End on the Vikings said, “This year I definitely plan on going out here and breaking Strahan’s record of 22 and 1/2 sacks this year.”  Who the hell is Ray Edwards?  If you want to check out his NFL.com Player Profile, click here.  I know that Strahan is going to have something to say about that.

Giants.com:

Fans Take - A Giants fan expresses his thoughts on Big Blue’s improbable 2007 season.

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Chris Mortenson of ESPN.com pointed out that the Redskins made an offer for Chad Johnson, but the Bengals rejected it.  We don’t need more whining premadonna Wide Receivers in the NFC East.  T.O. is more than enough for me to stomach over the course of a season.  Who wants to watch a guy running around yelling “Ocho Cinco” with Hogettes in the background?

NFL.com reported that Shaun Alexander was released by the Seahawks.  The Seahawks will be coming to Giants Stadium in Week 5, and I’d rather they came with Alexander then without him.  What happened to Alexander?  This guy was an MVP a couple of years ago.  Then he had two horrific years.  It looks like he lost his love for the game or something.  Now Big Blue will have to face a real back in Week 5.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com reported that the Vikings gave up three 2008 draft picks to the Chiefs for one of the best DE’s in the NFL, Jared Allen.  On top of the draft picks, the Vikings had to give Allen a six-year contract worh $74 million, with $31 million in guaranteed money.  This makes the Vikings ‘D’ more nasty then they already were.  The Giants will close out the 2008 season against the Vikes, and we don’t need any more reasons for Eli to throw 4 INTs.

Newsday:

Giants should trade unhappy Shockey - Arthur Staple tries to convince us why the G-MEN should trade Jeremy Shockey.  This article was really good so I’m not even going to summarize it.  Just go check it out.

Tyree gets knee scoped - Tom Rock also reported that David Tyree had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week and will be sidelined until at least the start of training camp in July.  The New York Daily News reported this yesterday.

New York Daily News:

Seattle pursuing Jeremy Shockey - Ralph Vacchiano found out that the Seattle Seahawks are also interested in Shockey.  Vacchiano didn’t include any specifics about a trade.  Ralph just wrote that Mike Holmgren is looking to upgrade the Tight End position.

New York Post:

GIANTS PICKING TE WOULD BE A REAL SHOCK - Paul Schwartz believes that if the Jints select a TE in the Draft then Jeremy will be traded.

The Star-Ledger:

Tyree forced to have knee surgery - Mike Garafolo got David Tyree’s thoughts on having surgery, “I’m not a big fan of surgery; I’m a big fan of hopefully God healing me. But God chose not to heal me this time. He said the Super Bowl was enough.”

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The offseason is so much better when the media refers to Big Blue as World Champions or Champs or something similar.  If this was a Jets blog then we could just go on-and-on about all of the problems they had in ‘07 and offer suggestions about how they need to fix it during the offseason.  We would be able to break down every free agent they added to try to fix their situation as fast as possible.  As World Champions, we don’t have to do that.  We need to talk about being on Cloud 9 until Week 1 of the 2008 Season, and about repeating.

New York Daily News:

Four NFL coaches look back on flops against Giants in playoffs - Gary Meyers wrote a great article today.  Meyers pointed out who the four coaches that lost to the Giants in the 2007 Playoffs were: Jon Gruden, Wade Phillips, Mike McCarthy, and Bill Belichick.  Meyers reminds us of what was going on at the time prior to the game as well as what happened during the game.  Then, Meyers asked each of these four coaches what they thought about losing to the Road Warriors.  This is the first time that I got to hear the thoughts of the opposing teams a while after the Giants won Super Bowl XLII.

New York Post:

CHAMPION SPARKPLUG - Paul Schwartz points out that Eli Manning is all fired up about 2008.  Eli believes that the Giants have a lot to improve on, and he is working hard at that.

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So Brian Kelly signed with the Lions and Trent Green is expected to sign with the Rams today.  So the Giants are still searching for another cornerback and a backup quarterback.  You would think that the it would be easier for the Super Bowl champs to fill their needs than teams like the Lions and the Rams.  Both of them are dome teams which I don’t like anyway.  Green already played for the Rams so he might feel comfortable there, but they were 5-11 in 2007.  Both of these teams must be opening their checkbooks for these guys because it makes no sense for a player to choose the Lions or the Rams over the Giants…

New York Daily News:

Tom Coughlin ecstatic about new deal - Ralph Vacchiano got some quotes from Tom Coughlin regarding his new contract.

I was thrilled to become the head coach of the New York Giants in 2004. It would be difficult for me to capture the emotions for the opportunity I was given back in 1988 to be an assistant coach with the Giants. And then to have the opportunity to be the head coach was the fulfillment of a dream of a lifetime.

And now to be able to continue in that capacity - with this organization, with this leadership, with this football team and with my coaching staff in place - is something my family and I are extremely excited about.

At the end of the article, Vacchiano reported that Brian Kelly agreed to terms with the Detroit Lions yesterday.  Trent Green may sign with the St. Louis Rams today.  The Giants were interested in both Kelly and Green, so they can be scratched off the list of available free agents as well.

New York Post:

TWIN PEAKS - Paul Schwartz interviewed David Tyree regarding his twin baby girls, Sophia and Hannah.

KUDOS TO TOM - Paul Schwartz also captured Tom Coughlin’s emotions over the new contract.

The Star-Ledger:

Coughlin contract finally a done deal

Kelly won’t be a Giant

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The Giants were supposed to announce Tom Coughlin’s contract extension today, but I haven’t heard about it yet.  William Joseph is supposed to meet with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.  Joseph was a first round pick in ‘03, and never lived up to his potential.

Giants.com:

Giants react to Favre decision

An inside look - John Schmeelk created a bio about safety Sammy Knight.

Family Bond - Michael Eisen wrote a piece about Kevin Gilbride who had kidney disease infiltrate his family about 50 years ago.

New York Post:

FAVRE’S FINALE A GIANT FIT - Paul Schwartz covered Brett Favre’s final game.

OFFICER HAS LAST PASS - According to Tom Canavan, the interception that Brett Favre threw to Corey Webster is now in the hands of Lt. Col. Greg Gadson.

New York Times:

Packers’ Quarterback Favre to Retire From N.F.L.

Last Pass by Favre: A Special Gift

The Star-Ledger:

Favre, the ultimate gunslinger, retires

Giant thoughts on Favre

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