GIANTS STILL HAVE MUCH TO PONDER ABOUT

In between promos for Mike Wallace’s interview with Ricky Williams, a football game was played Saturday at the Meadowlands between the Giants and Pittsburgh. Technically the Giants were the home team, though the legions of Terrible Towel twirlers often confused the game’s locale.

I don’t know how to feel about this game. Sometimes you watch a game and hanging tough against an overmatched opponent is enough to feel good. I got that warm fuzzy in Eli Manning’s debut against Atlanta. But dammit, I really wanted to see the Giants close the deal against Pittsburgh. I believe the Giants can build off this respectable 33-30 loss and wrap up the season on an optimistic note, but alas, an upset would have tasted so much better.

Lets start with Ron Dayne. Ron Dayne???? Yes, Ron Dayne. First of all, on a 2nd and 3 deep in Pittsburgh territory, he got 2 and ¾ yards. Not enough to convert, but heck, I was already screaming into the TV bracing for yet another short-yardage blunder by the Heisman Trophy bust. He didn’t convert, but he at least stemmed the anticipated cascade of boos if he blew it. Next play the Giants converted. Later in the third quarter, Dayne also made an outstanding block in the backfield which enabled Manning to connect with Shockey on a slant pattern. It was a nice play where we caught a glimpse of Shockey’s pent-up primal fury as he scratched, clawed and dug to get to the one-yard line. Man has that been missed. For God’s sake, please let that starving hyena from Oklahoma roam free on the gridiron.

Since we’re still discussing the positive, how about Willie Ponder on those kick returns? Whoa…last week I had just gotten out of the shower to thankfully miss the Giants muff the opening kickoff against Baltimore, glad I got my personal hygiene out of the way in time to see the Giants take a 7-0 lead in the first fifteen seconds of the game. Nice job Willie, particularly with stumbling past Troy Polamalu (and his mane) to get into the end zone. The show was hardly over after that 91-yard return, as Ponder’s quickness (8 for 259, 32.4 avg.) on subsequent returns gave the Giants excellent field position to convincingly launch Eli Manning’s best performance to date.

Manning found some mojo Saturday (16/23, 182 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), and even more importantly he found his wide receivers, hitting Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard on some modest, but vital drive sustaining completions. Most impressive was his 49-yard strike to David Tyree to punctuate their best offensive performance since the Halloween drubbing against Minnesota. After all, he could only get better, but beyond the stats Manning seems to have matured by light years since providing his critics with recent truckloads of fodder. It’s the small stuff that doesn’t necessarily fill the sports pages with ink, but speaks volumes in terms of decisiveness and poise; and there was one twelve yard (or so) scamper that Manning quickly made that moved the chains for another first down that said a lot. It was nothing sexy, it’s what quarterbacks are supposed to do when his receivers are covered, but it was one of the most defining moments in terms of Manning letting his instincts dictate his decisions instead of conditioned logic. Until then, most of his play in the past four games has been cramped and unsure; like a tennis player holding out for his opponent to make an unforced error instead of just smashing the ball away. He took some chances, and more often than not, he prevailed. He also played a whole lot smarter; showing some savvy in making good reads against Pittsburgh’s fearsome defense. That will only get better as he continues to play. Of course, some of his circumspect play still reared it’s ugly head; particularly when missing a wide open Jim Finn in the flat that would have easily converted a third down…but lets not harp on that. True it sure helps when the Giants are able to run the ball, which they did Saturday, however as the game progressed, just like the previous losses, Pittsburgh made the proper defensive adjustments to shut that down. Still though, what a difference it makes when Eli can take advantage of the play action; a luxury he’s hardly had to enjoy.

I’ve yet to really see it, but I think the Giants could really broaden their offensive palette if they experimented with Manning’s mobility. I’m guessing that because he’s still adjusting to the NFL, the offensive play selection is conservative and pocket-oriented, but I was begging for the Giants to call a rollout or bootleg. He’s got the arm strength to fire the ball downfield on the run, and with linebackers and defensive backs playing wary of a mobile quarterback, (think McNabb, Vick, Plummer) he’d have a lot more open receivers to connect with. On that note, I’m hardly thrilled with John Hufnagle’s offensive play calling. For weeks now the Giants’ predictability has been criticized and that again rang true. After Shockey’s aforementioned clawing to the one-yard line, the Giants called time out only to hand the ball off to Tiki Barber, which everyone in the stadium knew was coming. As a result, the Giants had to settle for a field goal. I mean, what’s up with calling time out if that’s all you’re going to do? Imagine what they’d do for Manning’s confidence if they called a naked bootleg to the outside? I doubt Pittsburgh prepared for that while watching game film last week. Poor, poor coaching.

Defensively the Giants were in and out. For the most part, the Giants’ decimated defensive line put on a decent rush on passing situations. Stopping the run was an entirely different story and is becoming a tired theme. Secondary play was erratic, with Frank Walker and Brent Alexander snatching two interceptions for the first time since turning the clocks back. Will Allen had a gimme INT deep in Giants territory go right through his hands while coverage was inconsistent at best. My defensive goat is no doubt, the former Steeler, Brent Alexander. Stupid undisciplined play sustained a Pittsburgh drive that would have otherwise resulted in a punt when he didn’t let up on a gang tackle sack of Ben Roethlisberger. Instead, a killer fifteen yard penalty ensued. There’s no excuse for that in any way, shape or form. When you look at the Giants’ downward spiral last season, the play that triggered it was when former Texas pawn broker turned place kicker, Matt Bryant, kicked the ball out of bounds on that Monday night game against Dallas…you know the rest. The play that triggered the Giants downward spiral of this season can be pinned on an Amani Toomer holding penalty that nullified a touchdown run which would have put the Giants up 21-0 against Chicago. Instead they lost that game 28-21 and haven’t won since. Well, if there’s a stupid play that may have changed the landscape of the Pittsburgh game, it was Alexander’s penalty. Even worse, three plays later, Alexander had the chance to redeem himself on a third and long situation where he missed an open field tackle that, again, would have resulted in a punt. Instead Pittsburgh got the first down and then capped the drive with an embarrassing touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle El. So Alexander got a second half interception. Thanks, but too little too late.

So what about next week? With Giants at 5-9, whatever mathematical chances they had to make the playoffs are now snuffed out. I’ve been easy on the Giants this year but hanging tough, even against the now 13-1 Steelers isn’t enough,…finish ‘em off! The difference in momentum going into next season with a victory versus a valiant loss is huge. Nevertheless, this was a benchmark game; the advancement of Eli Manning’s initiation into the NFL, and it’s still good. The Giants go to Cincinnati next week and then close out the season at home against Dallas. Two winnable games, but after losing to teams like Detroit, Chicago, Arizona and Washington, they shouldn’t worry about being embarrassed if they lose. Instead, they should go in with a pre-season mentality and just see what they can do. Let Eli play, let him move out of the pocket, play the deep ball, utilize the underrated Jim Finn, blitz…just figure out what works and refine it in the off-season. Forget the conservative vanilla game plan. If Manning is the future, then try some new looks and see if he can really fly.

The Giants officially started playing for next season a month ago. We got a good look at what’s in store in the years to come. Take it further Big Blue…don’t stop now.