JINTS JOLTED BY BOLTS

For the first two weeks of the season the Giants scored a lot of points, in Sunday’s 45-23 road loss to San Diego, the Giants gave them back. For a team that showed balance in just about every area against the Cardinals and Saints, it appeared that only the Giants’ offense made the cross-country flight while the defense remained stuck in Newark.

Eli Manning heard it loud and often in a raucous Qualcomm Stadium, a venue not really known for its “hostility” unless they’re feeling the pain of a jilted lover. Manning, as it was incessantly publicized in the previous week, spurned the Chargers after being taken by them in the first round of the 2004 draft. Now he was going to hear about it, and did. Of course that was the “official” story anyway. Somehow it was forgotten that San Diego’s front office bled the Giants for a king’s ransom in order to put Manning in the Meadowlands. The Chargers drafted Manning for his leverage, not his arm, yet somehow this was spun wholly as the kid’s decision. Kudos goes to the Chargers’ PR department with assisting in this win.

In the opening drive, Manning remained unfazed as the boos and jeers rained down from the crowd. The Giants moved the ball with precision in an 11-play drive for 75 yards before getting thwarted near the Chargers’ goal line. On second and goal, Tiki Barber was stopped for no gain. The first crack of the game was about to show as Brandon Jacobs, we all thought, was surely going to convert a third-and-one if not score a touchdown on the next play. He didn’t, thus unleashing the ghosts of short-yardage past that were all too reminiscent of another running back who also wore number 27. Rather than go for it on fourth and inches, the Giants went for the easy field goal, resorting back to Fasselism with just three deflating points. “We’d all like to get a touchdown, but on the road you have to take the points when you have an opportunity,” Coach Tom Coughlin said. “I’ll stand by the call.”

As the first half progressed, the Giants got their offensive rhythm going, with Manning not only showing poise and patience but some mobility too. Known, albeit sometimes euphemistically, for his “pocket presence”, Manning demonstrated his ability to see the open field beyond the lanes of his offensive line. In some ways he had no choice, the Giants running game was stalled throughout the game, but it spoke volumes of Manning’s comfort and maturity; going from last week’s budding stem to this week’s burgeoning blossom.

In what’s likely a vignette for years to come, Eli Manning showed the fire that his trademark nonchalantness often keeps hidden, as the Giants showed the comeback moxie of a bygone era. At one time down 21-3, the Giants had closed the gap to 21-17 with one final possession to close the opening half. With time ticking the Giants had gotten into field goal range with 15 seconds remaining. Plenty of time for at least one shot in the end zone, maybe even two, but again they opted to kick the field goal on first down. Word was the Giants were having difficulty sending in plays. So rather squander the opportunity to score, the Giants took the easy three trailing only 21-20 at the half. An admirable comeback no doubt, but alas, the Giants were moving the ball with touchdown in their eyes. It again seemed that settling for the field goal had a deflating effect, even to the extent of feeling undermined by Coach Coughlin’s prudence. Ironically, it was the defense that proved this true.

When not discussing Eli Manning’s place of employ, the other back-story regarding the San Diego game was stopping LaDainian Tomlinson. Hardly a back-story, it was rather a full frontal assault steeped with shoddy tackling as if Giant defenders were afraid of conducting a skin rash from Tomlinson’s uniform. Tomlinson rushed for 192 of San Diego’s 485 yards of total offense. It was the most yardage given up by the Giants since November 13th, 1988. Unlike the previous two games, the Giants were unable to control the line of scrimmage, failing to ever get quickly to Drew Brees and having no sacks. Pass defense still remains an alarming concern. The Giants are simply not getting to the ball; holding their arms up like a prop in a carnival game while their footwork looked worse than a tango mixer in Fort Lee. “I was disappointed with everything defensively,” said coach Tom Coughlin. “We didn’t stop them. We didn’t stop anything. They ran the ball when they wanted to and they passed the ball when they wanted to.”

Next week the Giants host the erratic St. Louis Rams; a team that has historically given the Giants trouble dating back to when they played in Los Angeles. Again, it will be against a team with a high powered passing threat that will undoubtedly look to exploit the Giants inept secondary.

The Giants fought as much as they wilted. This wasn’t a gracious loss, but there was at least some gold found in the offensive pan. It was balance that won their first two games. Hopefully the long flight back from San Diego will help regain their equilibrium.

GIANTS PLAY THEIR CARDS RIGHT

You’d have to go a long, long way to recall the Giants showcasing their arsenal with such completeness as they did Sunday at the Meadowlands against Arizona. While it’s a far cry from a perfect game, Big Blue finally looked like a dam that can both hold water and generate some electricity. Time will tell if this new trend of scoring points, converting short yardage situations and fewer penalties is here to stay. But if Sunday’s 42-19 drubbing is any indication of things to come, then much of the sports punditry should get ready to eat crow (or Cardinal).

Let’s get the quarterback business out of the way. No, Eli Manning (10/23, 2 TD, 2 INT, 175 yards) didn’t have a Hall of Frame performance, but nor did play poorly. Just think of him as that humble bus driver who got you across town safely and without incident. Sometimes a workmanlike performance is all that’s necessary; especially when your surrounding cast is playing, and even more importantly, believing in what the team is doing. “That performance is not OK by me…I got to play better,” Manning said. Easy kid, you’re still green.

At first, the opening half looked like a microcosm of the 2004 season, if not much of the Jim Fassel era. The Giants took command of the opening drive. Running here, running there, a pass, a zig, a zag and poof…Manning to Shockey for a clean touchdown strike. But as the half progressed, the ghosts of yesteryear swirled within the balmy winds of the Meadowlands. Manning threw two picks, of which one was returned for a touchdown by Karlos Dansby, and, as we’ve seen so many times before, when the game throws out a sneeze, the Giants catch a cold; going into halftime trailing 13-7. Excerpts from Chicken Soup for the Soul were likely not incorporated into Coach Coughlin’s halftime speech.

The second half however, thankfully, did not look like a microcosm of last season. And with not one, but two touchdowns coming off of special teams, it was anything but a reminder of the misbegotten Jim Fassel era.

There’s so much to like about this game, but there’s always a player or two that falls under the radar. Besides Eli Manning, one of the greatest beneficiaries of the signing of Kareem McKenzie is Dave Diehl. If there was any adhesive on the Band-Aid that held the Giants’ offensive line together in 2004, it was Dave Diehl. A left guard by nature, Diehl stepped up last season by playing right tackle; receiving quiet recognition as the one bright spot in the Giants porous line play. This year he’s back in his is sweet spot, leading the freight train with aggressive downfield blocking as well as making quick, agile pulls to the opposite side. Just watch the number of running plays shooting through Diehl’s gaps. Luke Petitigout looked good too.

The Giants’ pursuit on the defensive side of the ball looked crisp and mean, with standout penetration from William Joseph chasing Kurt Warner like a famished grizzly after Timothy Treadwell. They didn’t just hit, but they hit and wrapped; finishing the tackle and doing it often with a swarm of blue jerseys. A team’s heart and discipline can be measured in how they tackle. Antonio Pierce can sum up the Giant’s inspired play when he said, “Today was probably the best team effort you are going to get for opening day.”

For Big Blue, the key is playing every game like it’s opening day.