Week 4: Giants at Eagles

I didn't think Lawrence Tynes had enough leg to make a fifty-four yard field goal to defeat the Eagles on Sunday night. I was right. He is a kicker that can barely force a touchback on a kickoff. He kicks like Chad Pennington throws. If I know that, shouldn't the rest of the Giants know that? Maybe they thought he couldn't hit a thirty-five yarder and that's why Eli was airing the ball out like they were down by six. Maybe they were trying to set up Tynes for a nineteen yarder.

"Who here can hit a 54 yarder? Raise your hand. Get your hand down, Larry!"

I mean the Giants had just under two minutes left to get into field goal range and Eli was throwing bombs. We were only able to move the ball because of two pass interference penalties, and they were both arguable calls. It looked like the football gods were giving us the game. Then Ramses Barden roughed up Nnamdi Asomugha on a long pass down the sideline and was flagged for an offensive pass interference. This disaster happened on second and nine while the Giants were on the twenty-six yard line (a makeable field goal for Tynes).

Barden gets fifteen yards for a flying DDT.

Because of that play, the Giants were looking at a third and nineteen on the thirty-seven yard line. Coach Coughlin decided to kick the field goal being that there were only fifteen seconds left and the Giants had no timeouts. If a ball was caught and kept in bounds the clock would continue running and the field goal would most likely not even be attempted. It was a tough decision he had to make, but I don't think it was a bad choice. What was a bad choice was Andy Reid's attempt to freeze the kicker with a last second timeout. Reid, who actually sounds fatter than he looks, called a timeout just as Tynes shanked the kick. Luckily, it didn't count. Unfortunately for the Giants, Tynes second attempt at a fifty-four yard field goal only traveled fifty-two yards. And just like that, the Giants are 0-2 in the division.

There are a few positives to take from this game. The defense kept Vick, McCoy and the rest of the Eagles offense for the first half. But the second half was a different story as the Eagles moved the ball up and down the field on the Giants.

Vick, who is fully equipped in Batman "dog bite proof" armor, did not have a single turnover and Andy Reid decided it would be a good time to use his best offensive weapon, McCoy, more consistently. Thanks Andy "I Am The Walrus" Reid, for finally pulling your head out of your water tight ass just in time to play the Giants.

During the off-season he is a fan favorite at the aquarium.

Webster got fooled by DeSean Jackson for the first touchdown of the game, and the only Eagles touchdown. Osi had one sack, but he committed numerous mental errors throughout the game. It also hurts that strong safety Kenny Phillips got knocked out of the game early, but Stevie Brown filled in nicely with eight tackles, two of which were for losses.

Despite being a welcome mat for LeSean McCoy in the second half, the Giants displayed an impressive red-zone defense, only allowing one touchdown in four red-zone possessions. 

"Excuse me sir, what seems to be your boggle?"

The Giants offense in the first half couldn't get anything started mostly because of the lack of protection for Eli. This resulted in Steve Weatherford punting five times in the first half. He probably needed to cryogenically freeze his leg in order to recuperate.

David Wilson might not be all that effective in the running game or the receiving game, but it looks like he has found a new role with the Giants as a kickoff returner. He is a well-known open field runner and you can't get more open field than on kickoffs. He averaged thirty-six yards a return, with his longest being fifty-three yards. If Wilson doesn't fumble the ball and makes big plays on his returns, he's going to be better friends with Tom Coughlin than he is with Tom Hanks.
 

With his breakout speed, David Wilson will no longer be a cast away. See what I did there?

On offense, the Giants looked really sharp at times, but looked dreadful at others. There was no running game. Bradshaw, Brown, and Hynoski combined didn't even rush for half of what McCoy ran for. 

Eli threw for over three hundred yards and two touchdowns. However, he threw a classic Eli Manning pick in the red-zone, followed by the classic Eli face. His decisions during their last possession weren't the best as he unnecessarily forced passes downfield.

Cruz and Hixon had great games, with both of them getting over one hundred reception yards. Plus Cruz did his endzone salsa dance accompanied by some salsa music supplied by NBC.

So what have I learned?

I learned that the Giants should make a habit of putting games away early. The week three game against Carolina was so pleasant for the Giant's fans.

It looks like Nicks may be out for a while. It's good to see Domenik Hixon stepping up and making big time catches. We already know that Barden can do well when he isn't giving cornerbacks a full nelson.

Kenny Phillips will be week to week with a knee injury, but Tyler Sash comes back next week from a suspension and hopefully he can fill the void left by Phillips. If not, I am okay with Stevie Brown stepping into that roll.

The Giants need to get past this tough loss or even use it as motivation for a tough stretch in the schedule. They catch a break with playing Cleveland next, but this could be a bit of trap for the Giants. They cannot afford to look ahead to San Fransisco. 

Oh, also, I hate the Eagles. A lot. But you probably knew that.