NEW YORK – The Giants faced the Rams last night on Monday Night Football. The game was pretty ugly as many expected but the Giants played a much better game then they did against the Redskins last week. It was still a sloppy mess of a game that leaves plenty of room for improvement. Coach Tom Coughlin could be seen pacing the sidelines in a rage on more then one occasion last night. Still, a win is a win and this was a win the Giants really needed. They improve to 1-1 on the year and will play the Eagles this upcoming weekend.
At one point in the game, I was wondering out loud how the Giants could possibly have the lead because they were playing so bad. The firs half seemed to go by in slow motion with one mistake after another. If not for the awesome play of the Giants defense, the results would have been much different. The Giants went into the locker room at halftime with a 21-6 lead. The Rams were much more competitive the second half and really exposed the Giants weak secondary. CB Aaron Ross was benched for a while in favor of CB Michael Coe, because he was giving up big plays. The Giants offensive line is giving up a lot more sacks then fans are use to seeing. They gave up another 3 sacks last night and will need to work on that or risk getting the franchise QB seriously injured.
The Giants defense was stout inside the red zone but were having major issues in the open field against the pass. The Giants dominated the time of possession by nearly 10 minutes and still had trouble getting first downs. It is tough to watch those “three and outs” happening so frequently. The G-men had way too many penalties again this week with 5 for 55 yards. The G-Men will need to correct a lot of their issues before facing the Eagles this weekend.
Let’s take a look at some of my notes from the game.
QB Eli Manning – Manning had another mediocre game but it was better then last week. He finished with 200 yards 2 TD’s and 1 INT.
RB Ahmad Bradshaw – Bradshaw had a great game and finished with 59 yards on the ground and 45 yards receiving.
WR Hakeem Nicks – Nicks had a relatively quiet night but still finished with 15 yards and 1 TD. Remember, he was playing banged up.
DE Justin Tuck – Tuck had an awesome game and was all over the field last night. He finished with 1.5 sacks.
LB Michael Boley – Boley had a great game and made a heads up play in the 2nd quarter for a 65 yard TD on a fumble recovery.
DE Jason Pierre-Paul – JPP is a force to be reckoned with. He had a great game and finished with half a sack that he shared with Tuck.
RB Brandon Jacobs – Jacobs had a little spark in his step last night and finished with 50 yards on the ground and 17 yards receiving. He also scored 1 TD.
S Antrel Rolle – Rolle led all tacklers on defense and had 1 forced fumble. He is becoming a beast out there.
WR Mario Manningham – Super Mario led all WR’s with 56 yards but also went down with a concussion late in the game. Get well soon Mario!
LB Jacquian Williams – Williams was second on the team in tackles and had a very nice game for a rookie.
TE Jake Ballard – Ballard had a quiet night but still caught one pass for 13 yards.
LB Greg Jones – The rookie Jones was out there making plays but is still clearly raw and in need of more experience.
CB Corey Webster – Webster had a good game and continues to quietly do his job for Big Blue.
WR Domenik Hixon – Hixon had a nice game and finished with 29 yards and 1 TD. He also got hurt late in the game but was able to return.
RB Danny Ware – DJ came in and contributed late in the game with 22 yards on 3 carries.
LB Mathias Kiwanuka – Kiwi had a few nice plays and is laying out anyone who comes into his area.
WR Brandon Stokley – Stokley saw very limited action in his first game as a Giant.
K Lawrence Tynes – Tynes made all four of his extra point attempts and had no FG attempts.
P Steve Weatherford – The Weatherman had a nice game and I feel much more comfortable with him punting.
WR Devin Thomas – Thomas has been doing a pretty nice job with returning kicks and plays with a real fire.
Coach Tom Coughlin – Coach was visibly upset on the sidelines for most of the game but will put it behind him and focus on the Eagles this weekend.
Coach Perry Fewell – Coach Fewell is making lemonade out of lemons. His squad was hit the hardest with injuries and he is getting the most out of the players.
Coach Kevin Gilbride – Gilbride is calling plays too conservatively but it was better then last weekend.
Giants Defense – The bright spot for the team finished with 2 sacks, 0 INT’s and 2 forced fumbles.
Giants Offense – This group played much better but still needs some work.
Giants Special Teams – ST played better this week too but it still needs a complete overhaul in my opinion. From top to bottom.
What did you think about the Giants performance against the Rams? Feel free to leave comments below.
RD – nygreporter.com
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i hear ya buddy,i kept watching in disbelief how the rams shredded the g-mens defense with long passes all night.i thought that if steven jackson played,we were in big trouble.the giants defense bent but didnt break in the 1st half,but the secondary was torched all night.i couldnt help but think about those high octane offenses the giants will face coming up in the schedule.but im glad for the win no matter how ugly.but we need to get healthy real quick,or the rams game might be the g-mens only bright spot for a while.
The secondary is the achilles heel no doubt.
i know you have an article coming up on the hixon injury.but it just has gotten to the point of ridiculousness.its almost like an april fools joke week after week with these injuries,especially with the giants finally showing some life on the offensive side of the ball.which is why that rams game was an absolute win.here we go limping into the eagles game on a wing and a prayer.have you ever remembered a giants team this banged up so early in the year.i know we usually lose key players down the stretch.hopefully we could squeak some games out and get the key players they need back for the stretch.you just know the desean jackson game last season will have the g-men sparked up,lets hope its enough to get by,looks like vick will play. and thats cool,i want them at there best,if the g-men could come away with a win,it will make it that much sweeter.
Good morning Bobby, I just wrote a new article this morning. I completely agree with you and have no answer for all of these injuries. When I heard about Hixon my jaw dropped open and lets not forget Manningham is still being evaluated for his concussion. It is only week three so I haven’t lost faith yet but it is getting hard to stay positive with all of these rookies and second stringers starting on Sundays. My new article discusses what i think about the Eagles game coming up this weekend.