Week 5: Giants vs Browns

This is Admiral Ackbar in case you didn't know.

Honestly, I was worried about the game. It had all the makings of a Giants upset. It was a home game, it was an early game, it was between two big games, and it was against a winless opponent. To quote Admiral Ackbar, "It's a trap!" (It's a Star Wars reference, look it up). I became even more worried after Bradshaw's fumble on the first offensive play, followed by a Trent Richardson touchdown run, then a sixty yard Brandon Weeden touchdown pass shortly thereafter. "This is going to be a long day."

After that Weeden pass, the Giants regrouped and drove from their five yard line for a touchdown thirteen plays later. After two field goals were exchanged, the Browns had the ball and old man Weeden was intercepted by backup safety, Stevie Brown. That lead to an Ahmad Bradshaw touchdown.

During the ensuing kickoff, Joshua Cribbs on the Browns fumbles and the ball is recovered by Stevie Brown. After that fumble, the Giants scored a quick touchdown. It was the Giants' game from that point on. 

The Giants' offense was a powerhouse, especially once they got their momentum going. Eli Manning completed twenty-five of his thirty-seven passes for two hundred fifty-six yards and three touchdowns. His only interception was off of a pass that was broken up by a Browns cornerback.

Eli's revolving doors of big game receivers kept on turning on Sunday with Rueben Randle, who led the Giants with six receptions for eighty-two yards. Victor Cruz had a career-high, three touchdown catches during this game as well.

What's a berserker? THAT'S a berserker!

Ahmad Bradshaw. What can I say about his career best performance? After his And 1 behind-the-back fumble, he proceeded to run as angrily and as intensely as possible. He wasn't Ahmad Bradshaw, he was A Mad Bradshaw. He unleashed the inner berserker as he stormed for two hundred rushing yards. David Wilson showed his offensive ability with a late forty yard touchdown run. He was completely untouched by the Browns on that run. It turns out that you can't fumble if you don't get touched. Maybe he should just do that every play.

The defense played well aside from those two touchdowns in the first quarter. I already mentioned Stevie Brown's pick and fumble recovery earlier. Also, Chase Blackburn picked off Weeden in the endzone after Weeden was penalized for his "catch and release" play ala Dave Brown. What was a big surprise was the zero sacks that the Giants put up this game. Osi came close to his patented QB strip, but he got there just a bit too late.

Remember when Giants' fans were frustrated with Eli's early playing?

So what have I learned?

The Giants showed a lot of heart during this game. After giving up fourteen fast points, the Giants didn't get frustrated, or despondent (SAT word bonus). They stuck with the game plan and showed the Browns who the defending Superbowl champions are. Even if they don't play their best game, they won't give up.

What a weirdo.

Players like Chris Snee, and Martellus Bennett got hurt during the game, but stayed in to help the Giants win. Snee was suffering from a partially torn hip muscle, and the Black Unicorn hyper-extended his knee during the first quarter, which apparently hurt him a lot by the looks of his tweet.  Unfortunately, Andre "The Browntown Express" Brown got a concussion early in the game and didn't return.  

Now that Andre Brown has a concussion, David Wilson will be Bradshaw's backup. Let's see if he can handle the role, and handle the ball as well.

"The Giants can't penetrate the line." That's what she said.

I feel like I've brought this up for most of the games, but the Giants' defensive line hasn't been the powerhouse it should be. It used to be something I looked forward to watching it every week, but now I just watch it out of habit until something comes on that I want to watch. It's not what it used to be. Kinda like The Office.

This is not your dad's Giants. It is more of an offensive driven team that doesn't use the smash mouth running game, but instead airs the ball out and dances when they score.

Giants cannot afford to start slow in these upcoming games. They can get away with starting slow against Cleveland, but that won't work against San Fransisco or any of the other tough opponents they still have to face this year.