What a game! You can watch the highlights here. Granted, it was against the Redskins, who aren’t exactly the greatest team around, but for a team like the Giants who have been struggling so mightily, a tremendous performance can do amazing things for confidence, to say nothing of giving us fans a huge smash-mouth game to go nuts over. Worth mentioning is the fact that both teams are suffering pretty badly from injuries.
This win will not mean much if they don’t win the last two games also. Hopefully that will be enough to get us into the playoffs.
SO many positives to enjoy here. You’ll get em as I think of em.
New York Giants LB Jonathan Goff
1. Jonathan Goff looked really comfortable calling the plays at Middle Linebacker. As a second-year 5th round pick, he’s taking advantage of the injury to Antonio Pierce and filling the role quite nicely. He also celebrated his first sack last night. Keep an eye on him.
New York Giants OL William Beatty
2. William Beatty looked really solid last night at Right Tackle filling in for injured Kareem McKenzie. As a rookie 2nd round pick, the Giants may need to rely on him going forward to fill in on the Offensive Line for now. If Beatty continues to play well, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him stick around on the Giants for a very long time.
New York Giants WR Derek Hagan Touchdown
3. You didn’t see gaudy numbers out of Eli Manning or any of his receivers, but Eli spread the ball around tremendously, throwing to ten different players. Could not have been fun for the Redskins knowing the ball could go anywhere. You even got to see some of the lesser-used receivers like Derek Hagan get in on the action, catching a 23-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
New York Giants QB Eli Manning
4. Speaking of Eli, you really got to see him out there looking completely in control, looking like the Manning he is. That’s General Manning to you. It seems like he’s always calm and collected no matter how much pressure is headed his way. To see what helped this tremendously see note 6. Oh, and by the way, he’s now thrown for a career high 26 touchdowns, so far.
New York Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw
5. Ahmad Bradshaw, playing despite two ankle/foot injuries, risking further damage, played spectacularly, rushing 9 times for 61 yards and two touchdowns. This guy is crazy fast and finds holes so well. Again, see note 6 for more details.
New York Giants Offensive Line
6. The offensive line of the New York Giants played tremendously. The ability of these five guys to both block for Eli and open huge holes for the running backs was just so fun to watch. The Giants love pulling their linemen for run plays, and last night it worked to perfection. As mentioned, William Beatty performed really well in Kareem McKenzie‘s absence, and Kevin Boothe filled in nicely for Rich Seubert when Seubert got hurt. When your o-line is playing like the Giants’ did last night, it makes the job of your QB and RB much easier.
New York Giants CB Terrell Thomas
New York Giants DT Barry Cofield
7. 5 sacks, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble. The Giants defense had played rather poorly over the past few weeks. They hadn’t been putting much pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback, and the injury-depleted defensive backs have been giving up big plays over and over. This week that changed. Redskins QB Jason Campbell seemed to get hit every time he dropped back to pass, and when your quarterback is your leading rusher, you didn’t have a great day. Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan may be fighting for his job, and this game sure helps.
New York Giants TE Kevin Boss
8. Let the league take note – TE Kevin Boss is a monster. He’s actually excelled both as receiver and blocker, much like maligned former Giants TE Jeremy Shockey. The way Boss seems to catch just about everything nearby, and then run fearlessly into whomever is unwise enough to get in the way, makes him really fun to watch. He won’t always have a huge statistical day (3 catches for 57 yards), but his presence will continue to be felt going forward.
New York Giants WR Hakeem Nicks
9. Some injury chat here for a minute. CB Aaron Ross, who has missed ten games of this season with hamstring issues, isn’t looking too hot. He’s getting another MRI done today. Can’t be good. WR Hakeem Nicks, who is emerging as a star at wide receiver, said that said his hamstring is fine and that there was no pull. G Rich Seubert said he’s OK after having to leave in the middle of the game. Hopefully they’ll all be ready for next week, including McKenzie.
New York Giants RB Brandon Jacobs
10. Last but not least. Brandon Jacobs acted really stupid by throwing punches at the end of a blowout victory. If I was Coach Coughlin, I would have told him to sit down for the rest of the game. Maybe even wear a dunce cap. Even more stupid was that he was aiming for DT Albert Haynesworth, who is a small mountain. I imagine a fine is coming Jacobs’ way. I would love to see the two of them square off and see who ends up on top.
Avi's Cogitations 