A Quarter of the Way Through
By Superfan
The first quarter of the 2011 NFL season is behind us, and the New York Football Giants sit with the Washington Redskins atop the NFC East at 3-1, with Dallas at .500 and the Eagles kicking dirt at 1-3. Is this great or what? Sunday’s road matchup in Arizona had trap game written ALL OVER IT. But the Giants came out and showed what winners do in trying times - they claw, scrape, and continue fighting until the final whistle, and we escaped with what was overall a pretty ugly win against the Arizona Cardinals. Believe me, all wins don’t have to be pretty, and if the past is any indication, most of ours aren’t. Still, like I said earlier this season - you don’t get style points for a win. So let the rest of the NFL be put on notice - despite all our injuries, roster shuffling, and whatever other excuses people have made for why the Giants should stink this year, this Giants team is for real.
Before I get to the game, there’s something I want mention. Without Kevin Boss or Steve Smith on the roster this year, in the preseason most people simply wrote off our passing attack for 2011. I said at the time we would need guys to step up in their absence, and for Eli to be smart with the ball. Just because the rest of the country hasn’t heard of someone on a team’s roster doesn’t mean that someone won’t produce. Everyone is a no name at one point in his career. Be it early in college or early in the pros. That has been the case in the first quarter of the season for both Victor Cruz (we’ll get to the non-fumble play later on) and Jake Ballard. While those judgments were happening, people were also jumping all over Eli for having confidence and saying he was in the same elite class as Tom Brady. Which, by the way, every starting quarterback should say! I don’t want my starting quarterback to not have confidence in himself. Anyway, taking all that stupidity and cynicism into account, the Giants’ “non-existent” passing attack has Eli Manning currently sitting with the 3rd best QB rating in the NFL, behind Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Find something new to complain about, haters.
Familial Surroundings
For the first time in a while, the Giants game was not airing on cable out west. But, for the third straight week, no Troy Aikman or Joe Buck! Not really wanting to watch the game in JJ’s room again, we went to my cousin Larry’s to watch the game on NFL Sunday Ticket for the first time this season. Unfortunately his son Charlie (another one of the biggest Giants fans I know) was out and about, but several of his friends were there to keep us company.
The first half consisted of JJ and me watching the game downstairs, with Larry upstairs for most of it switching between the Giants and the Yankees, each party shouting updates to the other, respectively. It was near the end of the first half that his friends arrived, and we all watched together downstairs. Not to downplay the Yankees by any means, but this also meant switching between the two games on the downstairs TV. I’m sorry, but on average you can miss up to an entire drive in the course of a few pitches to one batter. And as the second half got underway, the atmosphere seemed off. The Cardinals drove down the field pretty easily, ending their drive with Webster getting trampled by Wells on a TD run. Just like that, Arizona was on top. We then got stopped on a 3rd and one, and despite the defense holding after we punted away, our first offensive play resulted in an ugly Eli sack-fumble that Arizona recovered. They scored on the next play.
Something had to change. JJ and I decided to move into the kitchen to watch the rest of the game and let them watch all of the playoff game they wanted. And the rest, as they say, is history. We had a wild fourth quarter comeback, and what kind of a Giants’ win would it be without some controversy accompanying it, anyway? All in all, it was a successful trip to Larry’s. Thanks for the hospitality, and the win. It also now evens the score between JJ and Vandy. Each has one victory with without the other’s company.
Raising (blood pressures in) Arizona
There must be something about playing at the University of Phoenix Stadium that makes Eli play so well in the fourth quarter. Not to put this most recent victory anywhere near the stratosphere of our 2008 Super Bowl victory, or the one from 2008, but still, Eli’s showed great composure every time he’s visited, including throwing at least one TD pass in the fourth quarter each time.
Like I stated before, this one had trap game written all over it. I expected this one to be ugly early, considering we were on the road across the country after a very emotionally draining road win last week in Philly. So the sloppy play early on was frustrating, but not too surprising. Fortunately Osi made his presence felt with that strip sack, and our defense held in the red zone yet again, keeping the Cards to only 6 first half points despite their getting the ball in great field position after the Bradshaw fumble and a successful fourth-down conversion in the second quarter. The offense woke up in the second quarter a little bit, with Eli leading us down the field nicely while taking a lot of time off the clock, finding Nicks and Cruz in the process, and letting Ahmad finish with a great long touchdown run. The o-line held strong when we go the ball back for what was basically the final drive of the first half, and we drove down the field and ended with a strange, but successful, field goal try.
The third quarter was a mess, but thankfully Eli held strong and led us on a clutch drive that spanned into the fourth quarter. Jake Ballard made a great play on what was initially ruled a touchdown reception, but when the TD was overturned Jacobs righted the ship by pushing it in from a yard out. The fourth quarter was great and shaky all at the same time. Rolle had a great pick once we narrowed the deficit to three points, but bad play-calling on the ensuing drive (including two failed screen passes in a row which led to an un-makeable third and forever) gave them great field position to go on and take a ten-point lead. A quick touchdown on the ensuing drive took only two minutes off the game clock, and brought the Gmen right back to within three.
Then, the turning point. Our defense was huge on their next drive, and though they helped by throwing the ball twice, we forced a three and out and gave our offense the ball back with only about twenty seconds having eclipsed on the game clock. We got the ball, started driving, and then the Victor Cruz play happened. According to the rules, a person doesn’t have to slide to give himself up. Personally I thought he should’ve played it safe and made absolutely sure someone touched him down before hopping back up, and I’m sure next time he won’t be so absent-minded, but I’m not going to believe that call by the refs gave us the game. Nope, we went out and got it ourselves on the next play, with Eli hitting Nicks on a beautiful touchdown pass to take the lead. Our defense held strong on the next drive, and thanks to a dumb challenge on Arizona’s part that left them down one timeout, they were forced to rush a fourth down attempt that Webster had covered beautifully, and we made out with a 31-27 victory. Now, for the game balls:
Offensive game ball - Eli Manning. The guy’s just clutch. It’s strange that our backs have to be against the wall for him to step up, but isn’t that exactly what you want out of your starting QB? Two straight weeks without an interception, giving him an 8:2 touchdown to interception ratio for the season. Without favored targets from previous years, including Hixon going out for the season and Manningham missing last week’s game, he’s played lights-out the first quarter of the season. No minicamps, no OTAs, no problem. He’s found a way to get on the same page early with guys like Jake Ballard and Victor Cruz, and is quietly looking very good in the process. His o-line’s meshing well, he’s getting time to throw, and he’s finding the open receivers. Gotta keep this up!
Defensive game ball - (tie) Osi Umenyiora and Antrel Rolle. For all the whining he did in the off-season, Osi’s play certainly spoke for itself on Sunday. First game back, two sacks and one forced fumble. And on his return to his former stomping grounds, Antrel Rolle was a force to be reckoned with. Despite what Beanie Wells did on the ground, he absolutely blanketed their receivers all game, finishing the day with one interception, six tackles, and two passes defended. Without those two on the field, I don’t believe the comeback would have been possible.
Non-Gmen Thoughts of the Week:
· JJ and I played each other this past week in fantasy football. He destroyed me. Of course I had to sit Beanie Wells since he was facing our Gmen, while JJ had three different Giants starting against me. I should’ve made him sit his stud as well, just to make things even.
· Tony Siragusa, no one cares what you think. Ever. Take note of this please.
· Tom Jackson, stop adding to unnecessary controversy. During Sunday NFL Countdown on BSPN, he said (I’m paraphrasing) that Vick will be singled out every Sunday because referees are also dog lovers. Really? Haven’t we moved past this? The “experts” prove year in and year out they don’t know what they’re talking about. And they get paid. A lot. So frustrating.
· As a Yankees fan, last week was one of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced, and never have I been so happy to see the Yankees lose to the Rays. Oh, Boston, your consistent floundering never ceases to bring a smile to my face.
· The same goes for Philadelphia. And Dallas. Minus the Yankees’ loss, yesterday was a great sports day.
Final Thoughts:
Gotta keep our momentum going. I’ll be home this weekend for the Yom Kippur holiday, and will therefore be at the game on Sunday when the Seahawks come to town. Time to roast some birds for the third straight week! To talk all things Giants you can, e-mail me at gmensuperfan@gmail.com or find me on Facebook under the name “Gmen Superfan.” Until next week, GO GMEN!!
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