NEW YORK – It doesn’t get much bigger then Monday Night Football, when it comes to a national stage. The Giants had this game marked on the calendar before the season started. The Giants have been running the table in the NFC East but lately the Cowboys have been working their way back into the mix. Beating the Saints would send a message to the league and get them closer to that ‘ten win’ mark we all think would solidify a playoff berth. But it wasn’t meant to be and the Giants lost 49-24 in a thorough beating by QB Drew Brees and the Saints. Fans were losing their minds in frustration at what was perceived to be a lack of effort. One thing is for sure, the Giants can’t blame the refs for this one. The G-Men (4 penalties) seemed to be getting every call going in their favor and the Saints finished with 11 penalties called against them.

The Saints were moving the ball at will against the Giants defense. The first half had me squirming in my seat as usual and the air of hope remained when the score was 7-3 in the 1st quarter, which quickly became 14-3 and then 21-3 at halftime before settling in at 21-10 early in the 3rd quarter. It was still a competitive game and the air of hope, still seemed possible. That is until the Saints scored 28 more points in the second half. The Giants offense did their job in my opinion with putting up 465 total yards of offense and 24 points. They should have scored at least one or two more TD’s though and made the Saints defense look good. My 10 year old nephew will no doubt tell me that the reason the Giants lost was because I fell asleep with a few minutes left in the game. He is convinced we control the fate of sports teams by watching the entire game on TV from beginning to end. Maybe he is right. But sometimes I’m right too, like my pre-game prediction via twitter saying DE Jason Pierre-Paul would have a great game. JPP led the entire defense in tackles. Nice job Jason! Have fun in Hawaii.

In my heart, I believe the Giants lost this game simply because statistically, the defense had one of their worst games of the year. The defensive stat line is empty. No INT’s, no sacks and no forced fumbles. The Giants defense did nothing to prevent Brees from exploding for 4 TD’s and the Saints from scoring 49 points. Our passing game was good, our running game was decent. I thought the G-Men would have put up more points on the Saints defense. A couple of turnovers in a shoot out makes all of the difference when the music stops. Besides the INT, the Giants had 4 fumbles of which they lost one. IDR. IDR is my new term for Injury Depleted Roster. The Giants have IDR and the only known cure for this pandemic, is to get healthy star players on the field. The Giants should have 9 wins right now in my opinion. Instead they fall to 6-5 and drop to second place in the NFC East, behind the Cowboys.

Let’s take a look at some of my notes from the game.

QB Eli Manning – Manning had another good game. He finished with 406 yards 2 TD’s and 1 INT. By the way, Manning just breached the 26,000 career passing yards mark and now has 26,004. Way to go!

RB Brandon Jacobs – Jacobs was running hard but hasn’t been as productive as Bradshaw yet. He finished with 46 yards and 1 TD.

WR Hakeem Nicks – Nicks manned up after getting hit hard in this game. He finished with 87 yards.

S Chad Jones – Jones was on the sidelines with his teammates and could not stop smiling. Chad was in an auto accident shortly after the draft and hasn’t played yet. We’ve got nothing but love for Chad!

DE Justin Tuck – Tuck was very active in this game but could not get to the quarterback. He finished third in tackles.

TE Jake Ballard – Ballard had another productive game and is playing on an elite level this year. He finished with 47 yards.

S Antrel Rolle – Rolle was making plays all over the field and finished second on the team in tackles.

CB Prince Amukamara – Prince is a good luck charm I think. He recovered a fumble early in the game making it back to back games with turnovers for the rookie CB.

DE Osi Umenyiora – Osi had a quiet night and hurt his ankle. He left the game and did not play in the second half. Get well soon Osi!

WR Mario Manningham – Super Mario missed this game due to a knee injury. Get well soon Mario!

DE Jason Pierre-Paul – JPP led the entire defense in tackles and was playing hard out there. I love this guy!

LB Greg Jones – Jones was in the mix out there and making plays. The ‘Fresh Three’ or Freshman three rookie LB’s are playing good football.

WR Victor Cruz – Cruz is an elite NFL WR. How do I know this? The numbers don’t lie. Cruz finished with 157 yards and 2 TD’s.

S Kenny Phillips – Phillips will no doubt get fined for a brutal hit he made on TE Jimmy Graham. That hurt just watching it.

LB Jacquian Williams – Williams had a good game and I have to remind myself that he is a rookie sometimes with the way he plays.

RB DJ Ware – Ware was out there blocking and contributing. He finished with 23 yards.

CB Aaron Ross – Ross had a good game but also missed some plays out there. He wasn’t alone in his sub par play however.

LB Mark Herzlich – This rookie LB plays like an African Lion on Animal Planet. I mentioned that on twitter last night. Fun to watch.

OT William Beatty – The Giants will be without the starting left tackle for up to a month or so. Get well soon William!

RB Da’Rel Scott – The rookie RB fumbled and turned the ball over. I love the guy and know he will be a huge asset for the Giants down the road.

CB Michael Coe – Coe was lost for the season and has been placed on the IR list. Get well soon Mike!

LB Michael Boley – Giants defensive leader Boley, will miss more time and is already sorely missed by the team. Get well soon Mike!

P Steve Weatherford – Say what you want, we lost by 25 points, I like that Weatherford has enough heart to run if his number is called on a fake punt. He also been solid with punting.

K Lawrence Tynes – Tynes went 1/2 on FG attempts for the night and made all 3 of his extra point attempts.

Giants Offense – I think the Giants offense did their job. Turnovers cost them points but they were moving the ball.

Giants Defense – This was probably the worst performance I’ve seen from this group all year in every aspect. I’m glad it is out of the way now. They finished with 0 sacks, 0 INT’s and 0 forced fumbles.

Giants Special Teams – Still, the achilles heel of the Giants and three headed monster of all NFL teams, Offense, Defense and Special teams.

What did you think of the Giants performance against the Saints on Monday Night Football?

RD – nygreporter.com

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