Die Hard Sports Fan

My expectations of what the Giants would do to the 49ers in the week following the giant embarrassment on Monday Night Football were not fulfilled, but a win is a win is a win. This was also the last opponent on the Jints schedule that was considered relatively easy. The final 10 games on the schedule are much more difficult, and we will see just how good the G-MEN are once they start playing better competition. We’ll discuss the schedule later on in the week so let’s get back to yesterday’s game.

Offense

I was not impressed by the offense yesterday. Eli Manning did not have a good night statistically. He went 16/31 which is a 51.61% completion percentage and threw for 161 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs. 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 21 points on a not so good team which doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth as the G-MEN are about to face the Steelers, the Cowboys, and the Eagles. My confidence going into these games would have been much higher if Big Blue played a nice, crisp game on offense. Even Brandon Jacobs wasn’t thrilled with how the offense played yesterday because he said, “I felt like we bounced back well enough to win the game but as far as production with our offense, I think it could have been better.” The receiving corps was not very productive either. WR Steve Smith had 4 receptions for 39 yards while RB Derrick Ward had 3 receptions for 50 yards. It isn’t necessarily bad when a running back has more receiving yards than a receiver, but it is when the top receiver only has 39 yards. Plaxico Burress was the only receiver to catch a touch down, but he only had 3 receptions for 24 yards in the game. Also, Burress got heated after being called for a questionable offensive pass interference penalty. He began screaming at the Referee, and then received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the following play. As he walked off the field, he was caught shouting 4-letter words at Cough Coughlin. Coughlin responded, and then Eli Manning and Antonio Pierce tried to calm Burress down as he was sitting on the bench. Plax is really starting to get on my nerves again like he did prior to 2007. 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. Speaking of Shockey, he had a big fumble yesterday which wasn’t his fault. He blamed the coaching and the doctors for that one because nothing is his own fault. Pathetic. Earth, Wind, and Fire compiled 116 yards on 29 touches is only 4 yards per carry. Jacobs had 2 rushing TDs. That number isn’t bad, but it is low for this group who average more than 6.0 yards per carry. The Giants’ offense put up 21 of the 29 points.

Defense

The Giants defense was outstanding yesterday. They 49ers scored 17 total points, but they only scored 10 points on the Giants defense. The defense sacked J.T. O’Sullivan 6 times. Justin Tuck got to him twice, and Chase Blackburn, Dave Tollefson, Fred Robbins, and Barry Cofield got to him once. Michael Johnson had 2 picks yesterday, and one of the biggest plays of the game was when he intercepted the pass in the end zone right before Halftime which stopped the Niners chances of tying the game. Tuck also forced 2 fumbles, and Blackburn forced a fumble. The defense came back and played like they are capable of. The Giants also had a safety. We know that the Giants can rush the passer, but you know that they had a great day when they add 2 picks, 3 forced fumbles, and a safety to that. The Giants’ defense put up 2 of the 29 points.

Special Teams

The worst play of the game took place on Special Teams when the 49ers blocked the field goal and returned it for a touch down. John Carney was 2/3 in Field Goal Attempts. The blocked field goal gave Carney the first missed field goal attempt of the season. The Special Teams unit needs to improve on returns and coverage. The Giants’ special teams put up 6 of the 29 points.

So the Giants won their fifth game which makes them 5-1. They now head into the real season. I’m can’t wait to watch these games. How will Big Blue fair in these next 10 games? I predicted them to be 6-0 after the first 6 games, but they are 5-1. I predicted the Giants to be 6-4 down the stretch giving them a 12-4 record. The Steelers are next on the schedule.

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ESPN believes that the Giants defense came up huge in their win over the 49ers.

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The Giants beat the 49ers in a very ugly game giving them their fifth win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

Dave Tollefson sacked J.T. O’Sullivan for a loss of 7 yards during the 49ers opening drive which ultimately led to a punt.

With 10:10 remaining, Fred Robbins sacked J.T. O’Sullivan for a 4-yard loss during the Niners second possession which led to another punt.

Manning handed the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who ran down the right sideline for a 26-yard Touch Down run to cap off a 54-yard drive with 7:52 remaining.

The 49ers got stopped at the Giants’ 22 yardline so Joe Nedney connected on his 40-yard Field Goal Attempt with 4:23 remaining.

2nd Quarter

The Niners committed three straight defensive penalties putting the Giants at the 49ers’ 19 yardline, and the Giants capitalized on this when Brandon Jacobs ran 2-yards up the gut for his second Touch Down of the game with 14:55 remaining.

The 49ers immediately countered with a 74-yard scoring drive of their own as J.T. O’Sullivan hooked up with Josh Morgan in the end zone for a 30-yard Touch Down reception with 11:25 remaining.

With 3:11 remaining, J.T. O’Sullivan threw an interception directly to Michael Johnson who returned it 19 yards to the Niners’ 9 yardline.

The Giants were unable to get the ball into the end zone, but John Carney made a 21-yard Field Goal Attempt with 1:52 remaining.

In the 2:00 offense, the 49ers were marching down the field successfully until J.T. O’Sullivan threw another interception to Michael Johnson in the middle of the end zone with 0:15 remaining.

3rd Quarter

On 3rd and 2, O’Sullivan handed the ball off poorly to Frank Gore who fumbled the ball which was recovered by Mathias Kiwanuka at the 49ers’ 18 yardline with 11:07 remaining.

Once again, the Giants were able to capitalize on another turnover as Eli Manning drilled a 6-yard Touch Down pass to Plaxico Burress in the back of the end zone with 9:01 remaining.

On 1st and 10 of another unsuccessful drive by the Niners, J.T. O’Sullivan scrambled and got sacked by Barry Cofield for a loss of 1 yard with 8:44 remaining.

Manning along with some big runs out of Ward and Bradshaw went 63 yards before getting stopped, and Manny Lawson blocked the 35-yard Field Goal Attempt by Carney and Nate Clements returned it for a 74-yard Touch Down return with 1:50 remaining.

4th Quarter

The Giants marched to the 49ers’ 30 yardline, and John Carney his 48-yard Field Goal Attempt with 12:22 remaining.

The 49ers were at their own 20 yardline when Justin Tuck knocked the ball out of J.T. O’Sullivan’s hands. The ball headed towards the end zone, and Josh Morgan kicked the ball out of the end zone which resulted in a penalty which resulted in a Giants safety with 4:57 remaining.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 16/31 and threw for 161 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts and Rushing Yards with 17 and 69 respectively.

Steve Smith led in Receptions with 4 and Derrick Ward led in Receiving Yards with 50.

Brandon Jacobs had 2 Rushing TD, and Plaxico Burress had 1 Receiving TD.

John Carney went 2/3 in Field Goal Attempts.

Chase Blackburn led the team in Tackles with 8.

Justin Tuck had 2 Sacks while Chase Blackburn, Dave Tollefson, Fred Robbins, and Barry Cofield each had 1 Sack.

Michael Johnson had 2 INTs.

Justin Tuck had 2 Forced Fumbles, and Chase Blackburn had 1 Forced Fumble.

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

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The San Francisco 49ers will face the New York Giants at Giants Stadium.

TV Info:

Game: San Francisco 49ers (2-4) @ New York Giants (4-1)
TV: FOX (Dick Stockton, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver)
Radio: WFAN (Bob Papa, Carl Banks, Howard Cross)
Time: October 19, 2008; 1:00 p.m. ET

Game Notes:

• The Giants suffered their initial defeat of the season Monday night in Cleveland, 35-14.
• Last season, the Giants defeated the 49ers here, 33-15, to even the regular season series at 13-13.
• San Francisco leads the postseason series, 4-3.
• On Monday Night, Eli Manning went 18/28 and threw for 196 yards, 1 TD, and 3 INTs. Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts with 14, and Derrick Ward led in Rushing Yards with 101.
• J.T. O’Sullivan, who earned the starting quarterback job in training camp, has completed 58.2 percent of his passes and thrown for seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.
• The Giants defense walked out of Cleveland with no sacks.
• Running back Frank Gore is the heart and soul of the team and the key to the offense.
• San Francisco is ranked 26th in defense, allowing 350.5 yards a game.
• The Line: The Giants are favored by 10.5. Over/Under is 46.5.

Injury Report:

49ers - Out of Game: CB Shawntae Spencer (Knee), T Jonas Jennings (Shoulder). Probable: S Mark Roman (Knee), LB Manny Lawson (Hamstring), CB Donald Strickland (Hip).

Giants - Out of Game: LB Gerris Wilkinson (Knee). Questionable: LB Antonio Pierce (Quadricep). Probable: C Shaun O’Hara (Toe), DE Dave Tollefson (Knee).

Quote of the week:

“You are in the NFL. You have played five games. You have some guys nicked. Everybody in the league has some guys nicked. Now you really have to scheme and work at it in terms of who is not at capacity enough to be able to help you win and so on and so forth.”- Coach Tom Coughlin on dealing with injuries

Open Thread:

Please feel free to comment below or in the tag board in the sidebar to chat with Giants fans from around the world.

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I hate to use the cliché that Sunday is a must win game, but after losing last week at home to the Washington Redskins, falling 0-2 in our division, and 2-3 overall, it is.  The Philadelphia Eagles head into week 6 where they have a chance to even things up at 3-3 and head into their bye week to heal and to prepare for the final 10 games of the season.

On Sunday, The Eagles travel across the nation to San Francisco, to face the 49ers.  This could be a tricky game.  Is this a “trap game” for the Eagles?  Do the Eagles look past the 49ers towards their bye week?  The Eagles need to win this game for a ton of reasons and need to avoid falling into an abyss where they would enter the bye week at 2-4 and have 2 weeks to not be able to do anything about it.

The Eagles need to be 3-3 after this Sunday.  3-3 is the minimum this team needs to be.  The NFC East is loaded and every game means something.  When there are only 16 games, and 11 remaining, the Eagles can no longer afford losing games that they should win.  With the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys all looking like they will make the playoffs, this game is most critical for the Eagles to attempt to tread water and keep themselves in a position to make the playoffs. 

This Sunday against the 49ers is one of those games.  The 49ers are improved, but they are not yet a team that can be taken seriously each week.  Looking ahead at the schedule, the Eagles have a chance to start making a name for them selves again before facing the Giants week 10.  After the bye week next week, the Eagles get a break and face the Falcons at home and then the Seahawks in Seattle.  This is a huge test for Head Coach Andy Reid.  It could be used as a good barometer to further measure Reid’s ability to coach this team.  Lose this game and the doubt grows.  Lose this game and the calls for Reid to be let go will ever increase as he will have squandered yet another season and opportunity to bring us a championship.  Win this game and our season lives on to see another week.  Win this game and instill hope back into the hearts of Die Hard Eagles Fans everywhere.

With that said, “E-A-G-L-E-S!!  EAGLES!!”

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Mark Wahlstrom of The Cardinals Report provides an Arizona Cardinals perspective of the game and its results. Specifically, he questions whether or not the Cardinals were simply tough enough, especially on the defensive line, as well as the Cardinals coaching decision to punt the ball late in the game, which gave the ball back to the Redskins for the remainder of the game. Additionally, some Cardinal fans chime in with their own comments.

Mark WahIstrom says,

In what was inevitable, the Cardinals lack of power at nose tackle was utterly exposed today as the Washington Redskins picked apart the Arizona Cardinals defense. There was zero pass rush or push up the middle, Darnell Dockett was once again double teamed and held most of the day and Alan Branch and Bryan Robinson were non-factors on the D-line.

The time of possession favored the Redskins despite their total lack of a down field passing game, but with Cooley catching passes underneath and Portis running just well enough to keep the defense honest, the Cardinals couldn’t make a stop when they needed too.

Punting with 2:33 left on the clock at mid field was basically the worst coaching call I’ve seen Coach [Ken] Whisenhunt make since he got to the desert. I’m not sure what defense he was watching today but they had zero shot of stopping the Redskins from getting that first down and burning the clock which was exactly what they did.

Comments from Cardinal Fans

Damien says:
September 21st, 2008 at 7:37 pm

Oh I don’t know about the Cards being better than any team from the NFC East. They beat Miami and San Francisco. Last I checked those were garbage teams. The Redskins are better than most teams in the NFC…. they just play behind the 3 of the 5 best NFC teams.

Arizona can still win the division, but thats not saying much.

Steve says:
September 21st, 2008 at 9:40 pm

I’d have to disagree with Damien, I think the Cardinals are a better team than the Redskins. I think if they play 10 times the Cardinals beat them 6 out of 10. The Cardinals just gave the Redskins the game this week. I don’t know that Washington earned it.

Eli Wahlstrom says:
September 21st, 2008 at 11:13 pm

Maybe the Redskins are the better team maybe they aren’t. The point is the Cardinals didn’t play to their potential at all and they have plenty of room to improve.

Jay I’d say the team that wins that day is always the better team THAT DAY, But is not always the better team. The Patriots were better than the Giants last season. They just weren’t the better team that one day. Appalachian State wasn’t better than Michigan. Just that one day they were. So on any given Sunday some team can be the better team but not 100% of the time does the best team win. But that’s just my opinion. But yes Jay, it would be hard to prove that the Cardinals are better than the Redskins.

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Hello and welcome back to the site.  Like promised I am back to give you the rest of the NFL picks.  However, I am still a little bit under the weather (like yesterday, which is why I didn’t finish the picks in the first place) so the post today will just be the picks.  Sorry no insight for today.  Let’s get it started.  I’ll run down all of the pick (including yesterdays).  My picks are in bold.

Oakland Raiders (+9.5) @ Buffalo Bills

Arizona Cardinals (+3) @ Washington Redskins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) @ Chicago Bears

Kansas City Cheifs (+6.5) @ Atlanta Falcons

Houston Texans (+5) @ Tennesse Titans 

Cinininati Bengals (+13.5) @ New York Giants

Miami Dolphins (+13) @ New England Patriots

Carolina Panther (+3.5) @ Minnesota Vikings

 St. Louis Rams (+10) @ Seattle Seahawks

New Orleans Saints (+6) @ Denver Broncos

Detriot Lions (+4.5) @ San Francisco 49ers

Jacksonville Jaguars (+5) @ Indianapolis Colts

Pittsburgh Steelers (+3.5) @ Philadelphia Eagles

Cleveland Browns (+3) @ Baltimore Ravens

Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers (+3)

New York Jets (+8.5) @ San Diego Chargers

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This week, the Cardinals come to town. Today, they hail from Arizona instead of St. Louis. Today, they have an accomplished and seasoned QB in Kurt Warner, who has played in two super bowls, winning one. Today, they are coached in part by one of our favorite hogs: Russ Grimm. And, today, they bring two WR’s that make the entire league sit up and take notice.

Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald are big, strong, and very fast. Warner likes to throw. And given the Redskins ability to shut down the opposing team’s rushing attack, they will come to town looking to expose our cornerbacks and defensive backfield.

Moreover, unlike any Cardinals team since the year of 1991, this team comes to town undefeated after the first two games. They have confidence. Yet it is still measured. Darnell Docket, their defensive tackle, in speaking about their two wins against the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers, he said in a recent interview:

“Not to take anything away from them, they have great players, but we’re much more talented that both those teams. We won those games. We’re supposed to…We’re going to start playing against some real teams, especially on the road.”

They are coming to town with the expectation of winning. And, Warner intends to throw the ball and to throw it often.

I don’t believe that Warner ever lost his swagger. I realize that some think he lost confidence while bouncing around the league and playing the backup role since his days of glory with the St. Louis Rams. Rather, I believe he leaned on his faith, which has allowed him to remain the consummate professional. He is the right QB at the right time for the Cardinals.

We must respect his game, because he’s going to bring it!

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