Week 15: Giants at Falcons

I'll try to keep this brief:

What an awful game! A week removed from dominating the Saints, in the thick of a playoff push, and with only a one game lead over the Redskins and Cowboys, this was a much needed win for the Giants. Apparently, they didn't cover that in their team meetings.

I have to be honest with you, I gave up on watching this game. I had better things to do, like testing the durability of athletic cups against falling bricks and Louisville Sluggers. Okay, I didn't do that, but it was probably equally as painful. Here's my recap:

Still better than watching another failed fourth down conversion.

Blehh bleehh Eli interception.
Blahh blah Falcons' touchdown.
Blaaaahh Blah Noodle Leg misses a field goal.
Bleeehhhh Falcons' touchdown.
Giants fail to convert a fourth down because they don't trust Noodle Leg. BLAH BLAH
BLAAAHHHH BLAAAHHHH BLAAAHHH Falcons score again.
So on and so fourth until the clock, and the Giants' score,  hit all zeros.

"We gained a yard!" It's the moral victories.

Basically the Giants played like the Little Giants, but the first half Little Giants, the team before Ice Box dropped her pom poms and grabbed a helmet. And everyone wearing a Falcons' helmet seemed to be Spike. There was no "pitch it to Johnny," there was no intimidation with Alka Seltzer tabs, and there was no "Annexation of Puerto Rico." But most important, there were no points. None.

Eli started off with a bang when he threw one his famous "oopsie" throws;  he had a few of those. He over-threw a wide open Hakeem Nicks. He was out of synch the entire game.

Hixon really stepped up this game as he caught five balls for eighty yards. It was probably due to a lack of depth in Atlanta's secondary, but he was the most reliable target for Eli. 

David Wilson and Kregg Lumpkin were running well. Unfortunately, the Giants fell so far behind so quickly that they had to abandon the run. 

I knew the Giants defense would greatly suffer without Prince Amukamara being there. They've been able to get by without Kenny Phillips because Prince was all over receivers like the IRS on Nicolas Cage. Since Prince wasn't in Atlanta this past Sunday, the secondary was wide open for Matty Ice and company.

To continue paying off his debt, Nicolas Cage is now doing a movie about Nickleback.

The pass rush didn't do much to help out the secondary either. They had an overwhelming lack of a presence on Sunday. A painfully obvious lack of pressure. Ryan had all the time in the world to shred the depleted secondary. And that's what he did.

So what have I learned?

If you want to put a damper on the Giants offense, limit David Wilson's kick returns. He seems to ignite the offense when he explodes for a big return.

Prince needs to come back as soon as possible. He's been a very effective cornerback this year, and the team suffers without him. I don't want Jayron Hosley getting embarrassed becoming a routine occurrence.

This was a statement game for the Falcons. They needed to prove to everyone else in the league that they need to be viewed as one of the most dominant teams in the league. The Giants were over-matched in every aspect of the game. Let's hope the Giants make a statement against the Baltimore Ravens. The statement being never count the Giants out.
 
Besides the first week when they lost to Dallas, this is the first time the Giants are really underdogs. We all know the Giants have the reputation of playing their best when the going gets tough. Remember, the last two times they won Super Bowls, they got blown out in mid-December. Both times they didn't get hot until around Christmas. But are these the same guys from last year? How will they respond to this adversity? Will they be the Little Giants with Ice Box, or the Little Giants without Ice Box?

Since the NFC East playoff schedule is looking like a math problem that only Will Hunting could solve, I'm not going to try to figure it out. I only know that if the Giants win their remaining two games, they are in the dance.

This playoff picture is wicked hahd to solve!

Two must wins in late December to make the playoffs?  I like their chances.