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All will not be lost for the Giants after they lose Sunday night in Philadelphia. Sure, they won’t be in first place anymore, but they will be only one game behind the awesome Eagles and heck, a wild card playoff berth still represents progress after last season’s meltdown.
Of course, the Giants hope they aren’t embarrassed like the Redskins were in the 59-28 annihilation Monday at FedEx Field. But if the Giants can at least compete with the Super Bowl-bound Eagles, hold the incomparable Michael Vick to mortal numbers — and not the six touchdowns, 332 passing yards and 80 rushing yards he amassed in eradicating the Skins — it will be something to build on for the remaining six games.
There’s no doubt coach Tom Coughlin knows this, understands that his team is depleted on offense with three key starters (center Shaun O’Hara, left tackle David Diehl and receiver Steve Smith) set to miss another game. Coughlin realizes the talent drain means the Giants cannot possibly ring up enough points to hang with the soaring Eagles, who on Monday night raced to the biggest first-quarter lead (28-0) of any NFL road team since at least 1950. As a result, expect Coughlin this week to lighten up and allow his players to come and go as they please, arriving five minutes late if need be.
Eli Manning is a competitive sort, but even he will admit that his abilities pale when compared with the wondrous Vick, who directed an attack that piled up a team-record 592 total yards. Vick has thrown 153 passes this season and none has been intercepted. He hasn’t lost a fumble all season. Manning has thrown 319 passes and 13 have been intercepted and he’s lost four fumbles. Don’t feel too sorry for Eli, even big brother Peyton can’t outdo Vick the great.
As far as Perry Fewell, it would be wise for Coughlin to give his defensive coordinator the week off. The Giants gave up seven pass plays of more than 24 yards to the Cowboys. Vick, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin might get that in a half. There’s no need to get all crazy implementing a brand-new scheme designed to keep Vick in the pocket, a brainstorm that undoubtedly will lead to sleepless nights. Fewell needs his rest to feel refreshed for the stretch run, and putting together a futile game plan is only going to waste everyone’s time.
Perhaps the Eagles, now tied with the Giants atop the NFC East with matching 6-3 records, are a bit fatigued by the track meet they held against the Redskins. That could help the Giants stay relatively close and would be quite a moral victory, which, contrary to popular belief, does exist in professional sports. Last week, there was talk that the Giants were the best team in the NFC after they lambasted the Seahawks, but then a 33-20 loss to the 1-7 Cowboys provided a slap of reality. This week it’s all Eagles as the supreme power in the NFC, and as we all know the NFL is not a week-to-week deal, and definitive statements can be made that unquestionably will ring true all season.
The Giants certainly will try to win this game and Coughlin will not tolerate any of his players surreptitiously sidling up to Vick for a quick autograph, although he probably won’t mind if Vick gives Justin Tuck or Osi Umenyiora a sweaty wristband, as long as they don’t brag about it to their teammates.
Garrett gets best of Coughlin
There’s no doubt the Giants weren’t only physically beaten on the field against the Cowboys. The Dallas staff, for the first time directed by interim head coach Jason Garrett, had a better night than Tom Coughlin and his staff.
Garrett changed things up. The Cowboys passed out of run formations. They kept “11 personnel” (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) in the huddle until the last possible moment, then subbed into “12 personnel” (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers), forcing the Giants’ defense into scramble-mode as players motioned and gestured to get their assignments down.
“They did a good job of getting us with that,” Justin Tuck said.
On the back-breaking screen pass to Felix Jones that busted loose for a 71-yard touchdown, the Giants had a blitz with Michael Boley called from their left side and their secondary was in man coverage, meaning the cornerbacks had their backs turned to the play. The screen went to the right side of the defense, no one was there to stop it.
“They caught us with the perfect call,” safety Deon Grant said. “They dialed up a great play at the right time.”
It happens. But it better not happen too often.
Giants’ new WR is Hagan in there
Asked on Monday if the Giants would look into signing Derek Hagan to fill a void at a depleted position, Tom Coughlin said, “If he’s healthy and he’s been working out.” Apparently, Hagan is healthy and he’s been working out. The Giants yesterday signed Hagan to a one-year contract to take the roster spot opened when Ramses Barden was put on injured reserve with ligament damage and a fracture in his left ankle.
Hagan, 26, immediately becomes the No. 4 receiver and in time might elevate to No. 3 ahead of undrafted rookie Duke Calhoun as long as Steve Smith remains sidelined with a partially torn pectoral muscle. Hagan spent all of last season with the Giants, catching eight passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. His main value came on special teams.