Peter King's MMQB: Some Highlights

Eli Manning and the Giants rocked it on Thursday night in Carolina. Here's some highlights from Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback column, a must read for any respectable football fan.

Why the Giants win ... at least one big reason.

Patience wins in the NFL. Impetuousness rarely does, and when it does, it doesn't last. The 2009 NFL draft illustrates that well. That spring, the Giants picked Connecticut tackle Will Beatty 60th overall, Cal Poly wide receiver Ramses Barden 85th overall and North Carolina State running back Andre Brown 129th. Until Thursday night, Beatty had been an oft-injured disappointment, Barden got passed -- and lapped several times -- in wideout impact by Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks and Brown had been cut by half the free world. On Thursday, they were three of the 10 most important Giants in a 36-7 rout of Carolina on the road.

That's the strength of Jerry Reese as a general manager. He's not a knee-jerk guy. Last April, I wrote a story on Reese (and, in particular, how well he works with Tom Coughlin), and I sat in his office for a while talking about roster-building. The subject of the abuse he took from the talk-show set and fans came up for letting Steve Smith and Kevin Boss go in the 2011 offseason. He got a smile on his face and played me a couple of, shall we say, interesting, voice mails from critical fans after those players went to Philadelphia and Kansas City by way of Oakland, respectively. He asked me not to report what was said in the voicemails, but let's just say you need to have some blisters on your hide to be a general manager for a New York sports team.

"We don't have a template for how we build here,'' says Reese, and the Giants don't. But the one thing they have no problem doing is saying goodbye. They loved Boss -- loved him. But he wasn't worth a $6 million signing bonus to them. Gone. "Around here, when the money gets above X, we say goodbye,'' John Mara told me in the spring. They figured Barden could slide into Manningham's role and so they let Manningham walk to San Francisco. Brandon Jacobs had worn out his welcome; Brown and rookie David Wilson will have a shot to replace him -- and that looks good so far.
Charting players who have been good Reese picks in his first six drafts with the Giants:

2012: CB Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech (Round 3, 94 overall)
Precocious and instinctive from day one of camp, Hosley's one of the best rookie DBs in the league. He intercepted a Cam Newton pass Thursday.

2011: LB Jacquian Williams, South Florida (R6, 202)
A top special-teamer from day one, Williams stripped Kyle Williams in overtime of last season's NFC title game, setting up the Giants win.

2010: DE Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida (R1, 15)
Think the Eagles (Brandon Graham at 13) or Raiders (Rolando McClain at 8) would like to have a draft-day do-over?

2009: RB Andre Brown, North Carolina State (R4, 129)
Tore his Achilles as a rookie, and has been cut eight times since, but Reese brought him back, and Brown finally paid off with his big night against Carolina.

2008: WR Mario Manningham, Michigan (R3, 95)
Made the second-greatest catch in modern Giants history, but the Giants let him walk in free agency. "I don't agonize over anyone,'' Reese says.

2007: RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Marshall (R7, 250)
Troubled in college, he was worth a seventh-round risk, to put it mildly. What I love about the Giants 2007 draft: All eight rookies on this Super Bowl roster not only made the team, but also were active for at least one of the Giants' four playoff wins that year.

The Fine 15:

5. New York Giants (2-1). Sitting in a good position after three weeks. They're the hottest offense in football -- Giants 61, Foes 14 over the last five quarters -- and they now sit back on their mini-bye, three days away from football, while the Eagles wake up after a long trip home from Arizona and a very short night. The Giants will be well-rested when they arrive at the Linc next Sunday night.

Dr. Z Unsung Man in the Trenches of the Week

The award for the offensive lineman who was the biggest factor for his team in the weekend's games, named for my friend Paul Zimmerman, the longtime SI football writer struggling in New Jersey to recover from three strokes suffered in November 2008. Zim, a former collegiate offensive lineman himself, loved watching offensive line play.

Will Beatty, T, New York Giants. Except for two late pressures allowed, Beatty, in his first start of the season, provided a safety net for Eli Manning and paved the way for Andre Brown, in his first start in the NFL, to run for 113 yards. More lithe and agile than he seemed as a rookie out of UConn, Beatty's going to be a vital part of the New York offense. He showed against Carolina he's ready.

Coaches of the Week

Pat Flaherty, offensive line coach, New York Giants.

Preparing on a short week, going on the road ... those are problems enough for a team playing on a Thursday night, and playing a team that just beat up the New Orleans Saints. But add this: Flaherty had to prepare an offensive line that would be starting in tandem for the first time ever -- and with a right tackle, Sean Lockler, starting his first game at right tackle for the Giants, and with Will Beatty starting for the first time this season at left tackle.

Flaherty's the unsung hero on the Giants' coaching staff, and he proved it again Thursday night. Eli Manning was sacked once in 51 minutes of play time, and rarely under duress. A first-time starting back, Andre Brown, rushed for 113 yards, and the Giants held the ball for 36 minutes. It shouldn't be this easy, but Flaherty's line made it look that way.

Ten Things I Think I Think

s. Good instincts and intelligence, Jayron Hosley, the Giants rookie cornerback. Hosley, on a blitz of Cam Newton Thursday, wasn't faked out by the nimble Newton. Then, when he contacted Newton as he released the ball, Hosley had the presence of mind to not drive him into the ground, but to slide off him and avoid a possible roughing penalty. That was a five-year-vet play by a third-round rookie.

7. I think, in case you didn't catch my drift about Cam Newton, I objected to three things he did Thursday night, aside from playing his worst all-around game as an NFL player. One: Scoring in the third quarter to make it 23-7, and then pulling the Superman act in the end zone; bush league. Two: Setting himself apart on the bench late in the game when things were going bad, causing Steve Smith to read him the riot act for being a baby. Three: Talking postgame about the loss like his dog just died.

Bernie Kosar once had a great line about a quarterback's job once the game ends. He said the postgame interview scrum is like the fifth quarter, where you help set the agenda for your teammates and, in part, your organization, for the next week. When you do that, you can't be an all-is-lost guy, which is what Newton looked like after the Giants beat Carolina.

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. The Triple Crown is a pretty big deal. The last time it was won, 1967, I was sitting on the couch in my living room in Enfield, Conn., nerdily keeping score of the final Red Sox game of the Impossible Dream season. That's the weekend my hero, Carl Yastrzemski, went 7 for 8 as the Sox swept the Twins in a two-game series to win the pennant, and it's the weekend Yaz won the Triple Crown. (Yaz homered in the seventh Saturday, his 44th, and Harmon Killebrew followed two innings later with his 44th.) Yaz won the Crown, tying Killebrew in homers and winning the Batting and RBI titles outright. It hasn't been done in the 45 years since.

If the season ended Sunday, Miguel Cabrera would do the exact same thing -- win the batting and RBI titles, and tie Josh Hamilton for the homer run title with 42. I admire the ridiculous season of Mike Trout, but if the season were over and I had a vote, Cabrera would be my MVP.

c. Happy 63rd birthday (Sunday), Bruce Springsteen.

MMQB Extension: The Full Scouting Report

In addition to MMQB this morning, this was Ernie's full Eli scouting report from the 2003 college football season:

"WEARS LEFT KNEE BRACE... DURING PREGAME WARMUP, DIDN'T LOOK LIKE HE HAD A ROCKET ARM... AS GAME PROGRESSED, I SAW EXCELLENT ARM STRENGTH UNDER PRESSURE AND THE ABILITY TO GET VELOCITY ON THE BALL ON MOST THROWS. GOOD DEEP BALL RANGE. GOOD TOUCH. GOOD VISION AND POISE. SEES THE FIELD... IN A SHOTGUN ON MOST PLAYS AND HIS ONLY RUNNING OPTION IS A DRAW... HIS OFFENSIVE LINE IS POOR. RED-SHIRT FRESHMAN LEFT TACKLE. ELI DOESN'T TRUST HIS PROTECTION. CAN'T.

NO WAY CAN HE TAKE ANY FORM OF DEEP DROP AND LOOK DOWNFIELD. WITH NO RUNNING GAME (10 YARDS RUSHING THE FIRST HALF0 AND NO REAL TOP RECEIVERS, HE'S STUCK WITH THREE-STEP DROPS AND WAITING TIL THE LAST SECOND TO SEE IF A RECEIVER CAN GET FREE. NO TIGHT END EITHER. NO FLAIRING BACK. SO HE'S TAKING SOME BIG HITS. TAKING THEM WELL. CARRIED AN OVERMATCHED TEAM ENTIRELY ON HIS SHOULDERS. I IMAGINE, EXCEPT FOR VANDERBILT, HIS TEAM IS OVERMATCHED IN EVERY SEC [SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE] GAME... HE'S BIG, NEVER GETS RATTLED. RALLIED HIS TEAM FROM A 14-3 HALF-TIME DEFICIT BASICALLY ALL BY HIMSELF. LED THEM ON TWO SUCCESSIVE THIRD QUARTER DRIVES TO GO AHEAD, 17-16. THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN, ON A 40-YARD STREAK DOWN THE LEFT SIDELINE, HE DROPPED THE BALL OVER THE RECEIVER'S RIGHT SHOULDER. CALLED THE NEXT TOUCHDOWN PASS HIMSELF, CHECKING OFF TO A 12-YARD SLANT... MAKES A LOT OF DECISIONS ON PLAY CALLS AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, BUT THEY ASK TOO MUCH OF HIM. THEY DON'T LET HIM JUST PLAY. THIS IS A GUY YOU SHOULD JUST LET PLAY... WHEN HE'S INACCURATE, HE'S USUALLY HIGH, BUT RARELY OFF TARGET TO EITHER SIDE... PLAYS SMART AND WITH COMPLETE CONFIDENCE. DOESN'T SCOLD HIS TEAMMATES, BUT LETS THEM KNOW WHEN THEY LINE UP WRONG OR RUN THE WRONG PATTERN... THREW THREE INTERCEPTIONS. TWO WERE HIS FAULT. TRYING TO FORCE SOMETHING BOTH TIMES. HE COULD HAVE RUN ON ONE OF THEM, A FOURTH DOWN PLAY. HE HAS A LOT TO LEARN.

SUMMARY: I THINK HE'S THE COMPLETE PACKAGE. HE'S NOT GOING TO BE A FAST RUNNER, BUT A LITTLE LIKE JOE MONTANA, HE HAS ENOUGH ATHLETIC ABILITY TO GET OUT OF TROUBLE. REMEMBER HOW ARCHIE RAN? IN THAT DEPARTMENT, ELI DOESN'T HAVE THE BEST GENES, ALTHOUGH I NEVER TIMED MOM OLIVIA IN THE 40. BUT HE HAS A FEEL FOR THE POCKET. FEELS THE RUSH THROWS THE BALL, TAKES THE HIT, GETS RIGHT BACK UP... HAS COURAGE AND POISE. IN MY OPINION, MOST OF ALL, HE HAS THAT QUALITY THAT YOU CAN'T DEFINE. CALL IT MAGIC. AS [FORMER BALTIMORE COLTS DEFENSIVE BACK] BOBBY BOYD TOLD ME ONCE ABOUT UNITAS, "TWO THINGS SET HIM APART: HIS LEFT TESTICLE AND HIS RIGHT TESTICLE"... PEYTON HAD MUCH BETTER TALENT AROUND HIM AT TENNESSEE. BUT I HONESTLY GIVE THIS GUY A CHANCE TO BE BETTER THAN HIS BROTHER. ELI DOESNT GET MUCH HELP FROM THE COACHING STAFF. IF HE COMES OUT EARLY, WE SHOULD MOVE UP TO TAKE HIM. THESE GUYS ARE RARE, YOU KNOW."

Eli Manning... New York Legend.

Peter King's MMQB: Some More Eli

Some more Manning and post-Super Bowl thoughts:

Eli Manning needed to sleep. After three days of revelry, parades, ring-sizing and backslapping, he'd had enough. "We've got to get out of here,'' he told his wife, Abby, and so they left their Hoboken, N.J., nest Thursday and went somewhere. Where, I don't know. But he was good enough to call me Friday and explain two things: how he survived 2004, and how he won the fourth quarter in last week's Super Bowl.

Remember what happened in 2004. The Giants could have stayed where they were on draft day, at number four in the first round, and taken Miami of Ohio's Ben Roethlisberger. But Accorsi traded a bushel full of picks to San Diego to get Manning.

In training camp, Kurt Warner won the starting job. He got off to a 5-2 start, but then lost to Chicago and Arizona, and rookie coach Tom Coughlin went to Accorsi and said he wanted to make a change at quarterback. He wanted Manning to play. He knew Manning was the future, and even though Warner likely would have given them a better chance to beat the defensively strong upcoming foes, Coughlin thought he was going to Manning at some point, and he knew the kid's confidence wouldn't get strafed if he played. That's what Coughlin thought, anyway. "I do recall how desperately Eli wanted to be in there,'' Gilbride said last week. "He was dying to play.''

"I redshirted my freshman year at Ole Miss,'' Manning told me, "and when I was put in there, I was ready to play. My rookie year here, at first, it was an opportunity to watch an MVP play. Kurt was great to me. I would ask him tips about picking up the blitz. And when coach Coughlin went to me, I knew it hurt Kurt. I felt for him. But he was still a professional, helping me. He could have been a lot of things, but I can tell you he was a help to me.''

Warner likes Manning, and vice versa. This was a tough situation, because Warner thought the Giants were throwing away the season -- maybe to justify the trade and the selection of Manning. And Warner looked right for the first month. Manning put up only 23 points in losses to Arizona, Philly and Washington, and then there was the 37-14 debacle at Baltimore, the day Warner had to come in to rescue Manning in relief. "He was overwhelmed by the situation,'' Warner told me on my podcast last week. "It was some of the worst quarterbacking I'd seen at the NFL level.''

The Ravens, Gilbride said, "did everything they could to humiliate Eli.''

Manning didn't fold. He had a huge week coming up, and a short week. The Giants took the train back to New Jersey after the Sunday game in Baltimore. Coming the following Saturday: a nationally televised game against Pittsburgh, at home, with Roethlisberger, who looked like a big star in the making for the Steelers, coming to the Meadowlands to show everyone in football that Accorsi and the Giants made a big mistake in picking Manning and not him.

On the two-hour ride to Newark, Manning spoke with Gilbride and then-offensive coordinator John Hufnagel. Rather than sulk about the disastrous game he'd played, he told them his eight favorite plays. He told them, "If you could put these in the game plan next week, it'd give me eight plays I'd be comfortable with -- rhythm plays, plays I know I'd have an open receiver even if it was just a short gain.''

Notable that Manning could think about the next game 90 minutes after the most embarrassing game of his life. "I was down, really down,'' he said. "But I knew if we could put some plays in the plan for the next week that I liked, I'd feel better about it -- and the offense would see in practice we'd be able to move the ball.''

That week, he met with Coughlin. "I'm better than this coach,'' Manning told him. And Coughlin said he knew that, and don't look over your shoulder; just play. But around the team, this was a big week, and a tense week. Roethlisberger and the Steelers were 11-0. In the New York Daily News, Gary Myers wrote, "So far, it's shocking how inept Manning has looked. The field looks 200 yards long.'' Accorsi told Myers that week: "I don't want to talk about Roethlisberger. This thing will be written over a long time, not, in Eli's case, four weeks."

Now, Manning says: "I didn't read the paper in high school, and I never got the paper in college. I could kind of tell what was being said about me by the questions the reporters would ask. So I didn't read about me. Same thing when I got to the Giants. But I could tell that week was a big week. The media was like a bunch of hungry dogs. They were coming for me. And I hadn't played well, so that's the way it goes.''

Strange game. Willie Ponder of the Giants returned the opening kick 91 yards for a touchdown. Roethlisberger threw a pick on his first drive. The Steelers scored on an Antwaan Randle El shovel pass. Manning followed with a 55-yard touchdown drive ending in a two-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey. The crowd was getting into it.

Back and forth they went, the Giants taking a 24-23 lead at the end of the third quarter on Manning's second touchdown pass of the day, the Steelers coming back to take the lead on a Jeff Reed field goal, Manning driving the Giants 52 yards for another TD (a Tiki Barber TD run) to put the Giants up 30-26 midway through the fourth quarter, and Jerome Bettis burrowing behind right tackle with five minutes left to make it 33-30, Steelers.

Driving to tie or win it, Manning threw a pick at the Steelers 18 with three minutes to play. Ballgame. "You don't like to say losing a game was a big mental boost for us,'' Manning said, "but it was. That was the day I thought I showed our team I could play at a high level.''

Manning that day: 16-of-23 (.696), 182 yards, two TDs, one interception, 103.9 rating.

Roethlisberger: 18-of-28 (.643), 316, one TD, two interceptions, 84.8 rating.

That's the day Manning took the heat off himself. He's never really felt it since.

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A bit more on "The throw":

Now to the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl last week. Much has been said and written about the fateful final drive, and the throw to Manningham in particular, when Nicks and Victor Cruz were lined up to the right and Manningham to the left.

The Giants took over at their 12 with 3:46 to go. Gilbride wanted to take a shot on first down.

"I thought 'Rio' [Mario Manningham] could run by the one corner on the left,'' Gilbride said. "I didn't know if Eli would choose that side, but I thought the play might be there. The thing is, I knew Eli wouldn't make a bad decision there. He's rooted solidly in this offense, and he has a strong belief what's there and what isn't there.''

In a story about this play for Sports Illustrated this week, I wrote that Manningham had gone to Gilbride on Thursday and was blunt about the Giants' playcaller not forgetting him -- or the receivers as a group -- in the game against the Patriots. "We feel we can win this game,'' Manningham said. "You have to understand --we're not nervous. We're excited. The stage is definitely not too big for us.''

On Friday, Manning told me Manningham came to him, too. There wasn't much three-wide stuff in the game plan, Manningham said, so when he's in there, he was going to get open and take advantage of his opportunities. The strong inference: Don't forget me. I'm going to help us win.

During the week, Manning had written notes in his game plan about this play. He wrote about how the New England safeties don't get very wide when they're taking a half of the field apiece. Manning thought, watching tape of the Patriots, "There'll be opportunities to make plays downfield on them.'' But still he didn't think this play was a lock to go right, as he had --according to backup quarterback David Carr -- every time he'd ever seen this play run in practice or a game.

When the ball was snapped, Manning was still thinking Cruz or Nicks first, and that made Chung, the safety who would have responsibility over the top on Manningham, creep over to his left, to provide help if Manning went to that side. "I wasn't looking [Chung] off,'' Manning told me. "I was truly throwing to the right. But the cornerback looked like he was in good position on Victor. I thought the nickel was too close to Hakeem. I didn't like what I saw.''

In his split-second look to the left, Manning saw Manningham with a step or step-and-a-half on corner Sterling Moore, with Chung, hips open to the left and inside the numbers, with very far to turn and run to break up the play if Manning threw left to Manningham.

"It's one of those plays,' Manning said, "where I can't throw it inside, toward the field, or the safety could knock it away. And I can't underthrow it. Those are the two no-nos. If I throw it too far, nothing's lost. It's second down, and we'll be OK.''

The throw traveled 42 yards in the air. As it dropped into Manningham's hands at the Giant 47, Moore's right forearm clubbed Manningham's right shoulder, trying to dislodge the ball; Chung arrived a split-second later and mugged Manningham over the boundary into the Patriots' bench area. Every Patriot but Bill Belichick signaled the play was no good because Manningham surely was out of bounds. But he wasn't. Manningham got both feet in the field of play before the mugging.

Later, Gilbride asked Manning why he'd made that decision. "The other guys got jammed,'' Manning told him. "And I threw it where no one else could get it.''

Eli Manning might play 10 more years and never make a throw better than that one. Sheer perfection ... and thrown to a receiver determined to make a big play in the biggest game of his life.

The audible to the slant to Nicks "was easy,'' Manning said. "I could see the two safeties crowding the line, so it was the only call to make.''

After the completion to Nicks gave the Giants first-and-10 at the two-minute warning at the Patriot 18, Manning looked across the line. "We hit 'em in the mouth,'' he said. "I think they were getting worried then.''

Funny thing about the touchdown, the six-yard score by Ahmad Bradshaw three plays later. Manning thought to tell Bradshaw not to score when he got to the line. However, Gilbride and Coughlin never thought to tell the Giants to beware of the Patriots handing them the touchdown.

Manning saw the Pats being a little lax when he got to the line, and when the snap came, he saw a defensive lineman stand up -- as though he wasn't going to try to make a tackle or rush the passer. So when Manning handed the ball to Bradshaw, he said, "Don't score!'' But Bradshaw couldn't process it in time, and by the time he got to the two-yard line and tried to stop, his momentum carried him into the end zone.

Two takeaways: The fact that Gilbride and Manning have been together for eight years is a huge factor in Gilbride knowing what Manning will execute well in a certain situation. "He completes my sentences,'' Gilbride said. And Manning told me this about Gilbride: "He is what I know about NFL offenses. I can't tell you how huge an advantage it is to be with the same coordinator for so long.''

And Manning's approach to football is a factor in him being so good, late, in such big games. He's been down to the Patriots in the final two minutes the last three times he's played them. And he's driven the Giants 83, 80 and 88 yards in those three games, scoring each time in the final minute to win. How does a person not allow the moment to overwhelm him? Or at least to affect his play? Manning looks like he'd rather play in the fourth quarter, with 116 million people watching.

"I think it comes from the fact I can only do so much,'' Manning said. "And I want to give our team every chance to win, and I want to give myself every chance to compete and to win. I control half the game, and even then I can't control one of our guys fumbling. So I have always had the attitude that if I do everything in my power to prepare, and then I have confidence that we've got a good plan and I know it's good enough to win, then I just go play and whatever happens happens.

"If we lose, will I be mad or upset? Yes. For a few days. But I think after some time, a few days, I'm not going to let it ruin my life for the next two months. I've got a wife and a daughter, and it's not fair to them to ruin the offseason because we lost a football game. I need to be there for them.''

One last thing from that Accorsi scouting report. Something about guts. Manning may not look the part, but someone who plays the way he does late in games has something that Accorsi saw that day in Mississippi, something he'd also seen in his Colts days with Johnny Unitas, something Colts teammate Bobby Boyd saw too. Wrote Accorsi: "BOYD TOLD ME ONCE ABOUT UNITAS, 'TWO THINGS SET HIM APART: HIS LEFT TESTICLE AND HIS RIGHT TESTICLE.' ''

Lots of lessons here. A good organization, with a strong GM, should be trusted above all. Young, Accorsi and Reese have served the Giants extraordinarily well in the last 33 years. Good coaching, with a staff that mostly stays in place, is most often the hallmark of a winning organization. And a good quarterback, with guts, well, that doesn't hurt either.

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Eli Manning: The Kid Could Always Sling It

The story of Ernie Accorsi, Eli Manning, the draft, the trade and the New York Giants has been well documented already, but there's some great stuff from Peter King in his latest MMQB column on where it all began.

From Peter King:

Scene 1: Nov. 2, 2002, Oxford, Miss. The general manager of the New York Giants, Ernie Accorsi, is sitting outside, in the row of seats in front of the Mississippi press box, scouting the quarterback of Ole Miss, Eli Manning, against heavily favored Auburn. It's bitterly cold. Taking notes that afternoon for his scouting report (which six years later would be an important element of Tom Callahan's insightful book, The GM, on Accorsi's last year with the Giants), Accorsi is watching two future first-round picks at quarterback -- Manning and Auburn's Jason Campbell -- and seems riveted by Manning.

A couple of days later, Accorsi types his report in all capital letters to be submitted as part of the team's scouting report on Manning. In a section of the report covering the second half, he writes: "NEVER GETS RATTLED. RALLIED HIS TEAM FROM A 14-3 HALFTIME DEFICIT BASICALLY ALL BY HIMSELF. LED THEM ON TWO SUCCESSIVE THIRD QUARTER DRIVES TO GO AHEAD, 17-16. THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN, ON A 40-YARD STREAK DOWN THE LEFT SIDELINE, HE DROPPED THE BALL OVER THE RECEIVER'S RIGHT SHOULDER. CALLED THE NEXT TOUCHDOWN PASS HIMSELF, CHECKING OFF TO A 12-YARD SLANT. MAKES A LOT OF DECISIONS ON PLAY CALLS AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE.''

Scene 2: Dec. 12, 2004, Baltimore. The one thing Eli Manning always has had is poise. That's what makes this horror show at the Ravens so weird, and so troubling.

When quarterbacks go to the line of scrimmage, they most often point to the foe they're using as the middle linebacker, in order for the offensive line to know which man they're going to block. The first man to the right of the "mike'' linebacker, for instance, will be blocked by the right guard, etc. And so when Manning would see Ray Lewis, number 52 on the Ravens, across the line and bark out, "52's the mike,'' Lewis would scurry to the outside of the formation and yell, "I'm the mike!'' And Ed Reed or another defender would slip into Lewis' spot and yell, "I'm the mike!'' They were taunting Manning, and it shook him up.

Says Manning now: "A nightmare. A disaster. They saw me sweating it, and they took advantage of me, to say the least.''

In the fourth start of his Giants' career, Manning was the definition of pathetic, four of 18 for 27 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions ... for a 0.0 passer rating. In the press box, one veteran Giants scribe took to calling Eli "Billy Ripken'' over and over again. As in, "The brother of a great player who'll just never make it.''

Scene 3: Feb. 5, 2012, Indianapolis. Manning was down by 11 that cold day in Oxford. He was down eight here in Super Bowl XLVI. But he led the Giants to two field goals in the third quarter, and when he took over at the New York 12 with 3:46 to go, the Accorsi scouting report comes to life. On the first snap (ON A 40-YARD STREAK DOWN THE LEFT SIDELINE, HE DROPPED THE BALL OVER THE RECEIVER'S RIGHT SHOULDER), Manning, on a 38-yard streak by Mario Manningham down the left sideline, dropped the ball over the receiver's right shoulder, and Manningham made a perfect catch and got both feet down and the Giants were in business at midfield. The Patriots were stunned.

Four plays later, on second-and-eight from the Patriots' 32, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride thinks the Pats may blitz. He gives Manning a running play to use if they don't, and tells him to check to a quick slant if they do blitz. "Alert, alert!'' Manning says, walking up and down the line when he sees safety Patrick Chung and linebacker Brandon Spikes getting ready to blitz. The run is off. The pass is on. (Remember Auburn-Ole Miss, and Accorsi. CHECKING OFF TO A 12-YARD SLANT.)

Manning takes the shotgun snap. Three Patriot blitzers are erased by Kareem McKenzie, Ahmad Bradshaw and Kevin Boothe. Textbook blitz pickup orchestrated by veteran line coach Pat Flaherty and running backs coach Jerald Ingram; both men came to the Giants with Coughlin in 2004. Hakeem Nicks runs a quick slant inside cornerback Antwaan Molden, and Manning throws a strike. Gain of 14.

The other day I asked Gilbride to pick the plays on that drive he thought were the crucial ones. He picked two. "The one to Manningham, of course,'' he said, "and a quick slant to Nicks. We were not settling for the field goal. No way. Not unless we had to. We were attacking.''

Two vital passes against Auburn, a streak down the left side and, on a Manning audible, a quick slant: Gain of 52.

Two vital passes against the Patriots, a streak down the left side and, on a Manning audible, a quick slant: Gain of 52.

Accorsi, who lives in Manhattan, watched the game in the solitude of his home in his hometown of Hershey, Pa. "On that last drive,'' Accorsi said, "I said, 'He's gonna do it.' I've seen it before.''

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G-MEN baby. Eli.

Eli Manning: The Champ is Here

Says it all right there.
Super Bowl champ.
Super Bowl MVP.
SI cover boy.
New York legend.
One name status.
Eli.
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NFL Films is the best at what they do and this time around is no different. Some sound bytes from the game and some stuff from the NY Times on the footage. Giants fans will relish in this for years to come:

-Belichick on the receivers and the last drive:

"Crouched on the sideline in front of the players, Belichick emphasized that they had to focus on Giants receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.

“This is still a Cruz and Nicks game,” he said. “I mean I know we’re right on them, it’s tight. But those are still the guys. Make them go to Manningham, make them go to Pascoe, all right. But let’s make sure we get Cruz and Nicks.”

-On Welker's drop. Even the ref's knew:

"When Patriots receiver Wes Welker failed to hang on to a pass from Brady on second-and-11 from the Giants’ 44 with about four minutes remaining, at least one of the game officials appreciated the significance. The ball fell from Welker’s hands at the Giants’ 20, with the Patriots leading, 17-15. After the drop, the referee John Parry turned to a fellow official and said, “Whoa, that was the game.”

There are great links to video and sound from the game in the article as well.

Super Bowl XLVI: Giants Beat the Pats Again

GIANTS WIN THE SUPER BOWL!

-From friend of the Breeze and game attendee Gary Hartman:

"I honestly don't know where to begin. I guess with the one word that continued to define this team. Resiliency. It is truly astounding. Always overcoming. We were 7-7 before that Jets game. 7-7! What an unbelievable, amazing run. Jets or go home. Cowboys or go home for the division. Shutout Atlanta. Knock off the PREVIOUS Super Bowl Champions in Lambeau. Go face the possibly best defense in the league on the road for a chance to play today and take care of business. Then de ja blue. Wa La. SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS. SUPERBOWL 46 CHAMPIONS. ONE MORE TIME. SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS. I am so thrilled. Actually the best night of my life. Never have experienced anything like this before. I wasn't joking before when I said I can now die happy. In person, I saw my New York Football Giants win the Superbowl. Obviously no questions about Eli anymore. Hall of Famer. Same goes for Coach. Tom Coughlin is a god as far as I'm concerned. Pass Rush was shit for 3 quarters, but defense came up big when it needed to in the 3rd quarter. Manningham- amazing. Nicks-amazing. Bradshaw coming up big when need be and this whole team was, well, resilient. I'm sitting in my hotel room in Indianpolis with a huge smile on my face. Beyond happy. This is so surreal. We are Super Bowl Champions. Can't say it enough. Now need to get back to College Park tomorrow night, get my car and off to The canyon of Heroes for Tuesday. Can't Wait. WE DID IT. WE WANTED IT MORE. WE OVERCAME EVERYTHING AND ARE NOW WORLD CHAMPIONS. NYG FOOTBALL."

-On Manningham's catch from the NY Times:

"Quarterback Eli Manning took the snap on first down from the shotgun. Manningham was not the first option on the play, but Manning seemed to know where he planned to throw the ball the entire time. Manningham said the Patriot who defended him gave him a cushion of 5 or 6 yards, that he started inside and worked outside, streaking up the left sideline.

The ball arched high, went long and arrived over Manningham’s shoulder, in the only place Manning could have thrown it with success. Manningham told himself to “freeze your feet,” and he stomped them at the turf, conscious of the out-of-bounds line and his position relative to it. “That was clutch,” Nicks said. “We had to get the ball downfield. Someone had to make a play.”

-From SI.com:

"I thought I heard Eli yelling at me to fall down ... I tried," Bradshaw would say, but not unhappily. People can argue about the right and wrong thing to do there. If he had stopped and not scored the touchdown, and the field goal was somehow missed, that would be the worst decision in the history of the NFL. Of course, if he had scored and Tom Brady then drove the Patriots for the win, people would second-guess that too."

From Don Banks on SI.com:

"It's a pretty select club Eli Manning joined here Sunday night. You could almost call it an "elite'' membership to belong to.

Quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl wins have a cache all their own in NFL history, and we had best start wrapping our minds around the reality that Peyton Manning's little brother is in the fraternity, and the Colts' long-time great isn't. That last shall be first stuff really does come to pass sometimes."

-From Peter King's MMQB on SI.com:

"I've noticed this about the guy. Football's his job, and he likes it a lot. But let's say God tapped him on the shoulder tomorrow and said, "I've got different plans for you. You're going to be an architect.'' Manning would handle that pretty well. He is a sick competitor, but he'd figure a way to satisfy that part of his life. Golf with the other architects, Friday night poker, trying to be a better architect than anyone else out there.

"He just doesn't care,'' Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck said by his locker 90 minutes after the Super Bowl. "He doesn't. If we lose the game today, life goes on. He's fine. He'll just start getting ready for next year. That's who he is.''

Fine Fifteen:

It's a wrap. 1. New York Giants (13-7).

The other day, Tom Coughlin said to me, "Don Shula's amazing. Amazing! Look at how many games he's won!'' Shula's won 347. Coughlin won his 154th last night and would be lucky, obviously, to get to 200 one day. But I do think Coughlin's amazing himself, to have withstood the stress of this job with an expansion team for half his career and one of the modern powerhouses for the other half ... and to have won an average of 9.6 games a year."

The Award Section

Offensive Player of the Week

Giants QB Eli Manning. I've come to the conclusion that his laissez-faire attitude is one of the things that makes him a great player. He doesn't sweat the small stuff. How else do you explain the great play late in so many big games? In his two Super Bowl victories, Manning is a 66 percent passer with 551 passing yards and one turnover. And his throw to Manningham with the season on the line ... priceless.

Defensive Player of the Week

Giants DL Justin Tuck. Give credit to the Patriots for sealing off the holes they couldn't seal four years ago. The Giants weren't as successful rushing the passer as they were in the previous Super Bowl against New England, but Tuck did get two sacks, the second of which left Brady with a left shoulder injury that will be painful this morning. While the Patriots shut down the rush of Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul with strong play on the left side of their line, Tuck got the best penetration of the night.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Giants P Steve Weatherford. Other than one sloppy touchback, his day was stellar. His four punts left the Patriots to start from their 6-, 20-, 4- and 8-yard lines.

Coach of the Week

Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. Sometimes you have to take what the defense gives you. Sometimes you have to attack the defense when it's not giving you much, in hopes that your key guys can make a play or two that logic says isn't coming. I thought Gilbride had a great feel for this game. It's not always total rushing yards; number of rushes is just as important when you want to keep the ball away from the other quarterback. The Giants' 28 rushes (4.1 per rush) helped them to 37 minutes of possession time. Gilbride had to figure out what the Patriots were doing on defense, which took a while (like, about 55 minutes). "It was a tough game to call,'' Gilbride said, "because they're a tough team to go against. They don't let you figure out what they're doing very easily.''

--------------------------------

Giants all the way baby. From 7-7 to World Champs. LOVE IT.

OMFG The Giants Are In The Super Bowl: Party Like It's '07

Emotions running crazy, never giving up. The Giants are back in the Super Bowl for the second time in five years behind the brilliant play this season of our boy Eli Manning. Hard to explain, no need to explain.

From Don Banks on SI.com:

"Here's my favorite summation of this plucky Giants team, all wrapped up in one mind-boggling statistic: There have now been 92 Super Bowl teams in NFL history, and New York is the first one to have been outscored in the regular season (400 to 394). But somehow, I don't think the Giants care. Their story was never about how they started, it was about how they finished. And New York knows how to finish. Just ask the Jets, Cowboys, Falcons, Packers and 49ers, their past five opponents/victims."

"Manning's toughness and determination was on full display all night. San Francisco's tenacious defense sacked him six times, hit him some 20 times according to the FOX telecast, and limited him to just 5.4 yards per pass attempt. But they didn't beat him, and now he gets a rematch with New England's Tom Brady, meaning the Super Bowl will have a Manning in it for the fourth time in six years."

From ESPN New York:

"Eli Manning began the season telling everyone that he's an elite signal caller who should be considered on the same level as Tom Brady. Manning should add toughness to that list. Once again, the Giants' franchise quarterback proved not only how good he is, but how he may be the toughest player on Tom Coughlin's team. And now the best season of his life will end in the Super Bowl against Brady' Patriots."

From Peter King's MMQB on SI.com:

"How about this incredible Xerox of fate for the Giants.

In 2007, the Giants started the playoffs by beating an NFC South team. Then they beat the No. 1 seed on the road. Then they beat the No. 2 seed in the conference title game when the foe turned it over in overtime and gave the Giants a short field and the Giants won on a Lawrence Tynes overtime field goal. Then they moved on to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl."

In 2011, let's see ... NFC South team, No. 1 seed, No. 2 seed, overtime, turnover, Tynes, Patriots. Check.

One more thing:
2007: Giants lose to Washington 22-10 in Week 15.
2011: Giants lose to Washington 23-10 in Week 15.

--YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP

More from Peter:

The Fine Fifteen:

1. New York Giants (12-7). There's something about getting hot at the right time. The Giants have played five straight elimination games and won them all, which sounds a lot like the last time they played the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Defensive Players of the Week:

New York DL Justin Tuck. As usual, you could name two or three guys from the Giants' defensive front to this august honor. Tuck's 1.5 sacks and three pressures helped keep the Niners out of scoring position for 11 of their last 13 drives.

Special Teams Player of the Week:

New York LB Jacquian Williams. In overtime of the NFC title game, Williams stripped punt returner Kyle Williams at the Niners' 24-yard line. Devin Thomas recovered, and the Giants kicked the winning field goal five plays later.

Coach of the Week:

New York head coach Tom Coughlin. For a guy who's been fired at least 65 times in the last five years, Coughlin sure can organize, plan, motivate and game-day-coach exceedingly well. That showed with a poised team that understood the basics of how to win this game: Don't turn it over ... punting is fine ... you'll be in position to win at the end. And the Giants were.

Eli vs Brady rematch in the house that Peyton built. Let's do it boys.

NFL Playoffs: Attack the Pack

Giants take down the mighty Pack and set up a huge NFC Championship matchup with a team they may have been able to beat earlier in the year, the San Francisco 49ers.

From friend of the Breeze and all around g money all star Gary Hartman:

"I said after the last GB game that they were very beatable, just needed the right test and that I'd love to see them again. This being said, GIANTS FOOTBALL BABY. What a game! We dominated in every facet. Yeah they dropped passes but doesn't change the fact that we simply out played them. Playing unbelievably right now.Eli and Nicks truly are Gods. Defense is playing at a different level and everyone from coaching down is stepping up huge. PLAYING FOR THE SUPERBOWL BABY!!!! Bring on San Fran!!!"

From Peter King at SI.com:

Quote of the Week II:

"How the hell is that not a fumble?''
-- Giants play-by-play man Bob Papa, on the Giants Radio Network, after ref Bill Leavy did not overturn a first-quarter non-fumble call against the Packers. (SERIOUSLY..how???)

One of the Offensive Players of the Week: "New York Giants WR Hakeem Nicks. His second straight strong playoff game -- seven catches for 165 yards, with two touchdowns -- is reason enough to honor him. But the dagger he plunged into the Packers just before halftime was the play of the game. "Those Hail Marys work about twice a year,'' said Tom Coughlin. Nicks, with the help of a Packer defense that was far too passive near the goal line, caught the 37-yard fly ball from Manning cleanly, and the Giants went into halftime up by 10, not three. Huge factor.

One of the Defensive Players of the Week: "New York Giants DE Osi Umenyiora. After Umenyiora batted the ball out of Rodgers' right hand, FOX showed clearly how incredibly open Greg Jennings was down the left sideline. Umenyiora saved a touchdown, clearly. For the day, he had two sacks for 12 yards, and the forced fumble."

One of the Special Teams Players of the Week: "New York Giants S Derrick Martin. It's one thing to tell your front players on the kick-return team to stay alert for an onside kick. It's another thing for every guy on the line to wait until the ball is kicked. Martin and his mates did wait for Mason Crosby to kick it deep in the first half -- and when Crosby pooched an onside kick, it went right into the arms of the waiting Martin, who is a former Packer, by the way. Smart, smart play by Martin."

More King:

"I must be the only guy in America who didn't think his non-reversal on the Greg Jennings fumble or non-fumble was horrible. But his blow-to-Rodgers'-head call, extending a desperation fourth-quarter drive, was a fictitious call if I ever saw one. I wouldn't expect to see Leavy doing any games until next September."

Some stats and interesting nuggets:

-The Giants are Giant killers in the postseason. In terms of difference of wins during the regular season, the Giants have authored the 3 biggest wins in NFL postseason history. The Giants have defeated three teams that had won at least 5 more games than they did during the regular season. In fact, they own the two 6-win differential games with Sunday and back in Super Bowl XLII when they knocked off the unbeaten Patriots.

-Hakeem Nicks had 165 yards receiving in Saturday night's upset victory. That total is the second-most in a playoff game in Giants history.

-Eli Manning threw for 330 yards, the 3rd-most in a single postseason game in Giants history.

-Hakeem Nicks has two TD receptions of 66 or more yards this postseason. He's the 2nd player in NFL history with 2 TD receptions that long in a single postseason, joining Isaac Bruce of the 1999 Rams.

Let's go G-Men.

NFL Week 14: They Did What?!?!?

An astute analysis of the Week 14 thrillll-fest between the Giants and Cowboys from friend of the Breeze Gary Hartman:

"NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL. NEVER GIVE UP. ALWAYS RESILIENT. In a five minute period we go from season being over to being a first place team. Now, I will be the first person to tell you that our defense sucks. Plain and simple play calling is awful and execution is even worse. 10 out of 11 players on the defensive end were playing with their heads up their asses the whole game. That needs to be fixed.

Jason Pierre-Paul is a freak of nature. Blocking that kick was simply unreal. He would be by far our MVP so far this season if it weren't for that one guy. Eli Manning is absolutely, unbelievable, undoubtedly simply amazing. ELI-te for sure. Best fourth quarter QB in the league and it is not even close. He never gives up, never stops fighting ( through dropped passes, constant blitzes, tipped balls) and it paid off today. Look at this offense when it has a run game! Put up 37 and that is with settling for 2 FGs and the unlucky turnover. Brandon Jacobs deserves a huge shout out.

Great game for Nicks too. O-Line was great in the run game not as good as it looked in the pass game, that is again credited to Eli. Blitzes in his face and he makes perfect throws, he is again unreal. Defense has to get its shit together. We control our own destiny. Fuck the Cowgirls. New York Giants Football. First place. Washington next week, Fewell get it together and let's run the table like we are capable of doing with Eli at the helm. GMEN."

Here we go boys. On to the next one.

NFL Week 12: Another One Bites the Dust

An astute analysis of the Giants latest from friend of the Breeze and certified G Money All Star, Gary Hartman:

"Everyone not named Eli Manning, coaches included (actually coaches especially) associated with the New York Football Giants should be extremely embarrassed. This has been the most pathetic display of Giants football that I've seen in a real long time. I'm not a big fan of jumping to people losing their jobs but Fewell needs to go right now. I understand that coaches don't play but it is their job to put players in position to be the most successful and the defenisve performance from play calling down has been absolutely pitiful tonight. Just gross. We are pounded with injuries, have no run game, no offensive line, receivers who drop balls, a defense who plays with no heart and seemingly no talent whose captain even gives up on plays. (That was very upsetting to see and tells me all I need to know about this team). This being said, again everyone not named Eli Manning should be ashamed. From Coughlin down, this team needs to get its shit together. I am very upset with this performance. I hope something changes for Green Bay next week, right now I don't even want to go home for the game. Ugh, embarrassed to be 'Giants status guy' right now."

Not another collapse! Come on guys, get it together. See you next week Packers....Shit.

Third Time's A Charm?

By Matt Jussim

Third time’s a charm? That is what the Giants are hoping as they prepare to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at the Meadowlands. The division rivals know each other all too well, and have split the two games they have played this season.

Each time, the road team was victorious. The Giants visited Philly on November 9th and defeated the Eagles 36-31. Eli Manning threw two touchdowns, while Brandon Jacobs rushed for two as well. The second time the teams faced off the Eagles prevailed 20-14 at the Giants Stadium. Brian Westbrook dominated the defense in that game, almost out gaining the entire Giants team amassing 211 total yards.

If the Giants hope to advance in the playoffs, the defense will have to find an answer for Westbrook. Justin Tuck didn’t practice on Wednesday, but Coach Tom Coughlin expects him to work out Thursday and play on Sunday. The Giants will need a supreme effort from Tuck, who has to return to his early season form. He has had only one sack in the past four games.

The Eagles were the only team to beat the Giants at the Meadowlands this season, but that does not guarantee success on Sunday. “We haven’t forgotten that game,” said defensive tackle Barry Cofield. “It wasn’t very long ago. They came in here and beat us up. So we owe them something.”

The Giants didn’t play particularly well in that game, and they wish to erase that memory with a win over their division rivals. “In that game we didn’t rush the ball, we didn’t pass the ball, we didn’t have many snaps,” Coach Tom Coughlin said. “They had the ball, they had time of possession. So it was disappointing from that standpoint. We had a drive at the end of the game that put us a little bit closer, but it didn’t say much about that game.”

Many voices in the sports community have been hailing the Eagles as the second coming of the 2007 Giants, which the team takes a bit personally. “There’s a strong dislike for one another,” said guard Chris Snee. “Anytime you get a chance to knock out a divisional opponent, one that you don’t like, you get geeked up for these challenges. I think both sides would agree that to knock the other one out would make the other one happy.”

Talk that the Giants may falter I think will just motivate the team even more to win the game on Sunday. Every time the media or anyone counts the Giants out, they find a way to win. They did it in the Super Bowl last year, and they did it against Carolina in Week 16 when everyone counted them out.

I predict a close, high-emotion game, but the Giants take this one, and advance to the NFC Championship game.

Giants Fall But Are Primed For Playoff Run

By Matt Jussim

With home field advantage and a first round bye already clinched, the Giants had little to gain by winning on Sunday. The Minnesota Vikings on the other hand could secure the #3 seed and the NFC North division crown by beating the defending Super Bowl champions.

Minnesota came from behind and won the game 20-19 on Ryan Longwell’s 50-yard field goal as time expired. The win gave the Vikings their first division title since 2000, and set themselves for a home playoff game versus the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday.

Even with the loss, the Giants third in four games, the team was fairly optimistic. The Vikings were the tenth straight team the Giants faced with a winning record, and Eli Manning only played the first half of the game. New York was also without cornerback Aaron Ross, tight end Kevin Boss, and defensive tackle Barry Cofield.

Derrick Ward earned a significant achievement in the game by rushing for 77 yards on 15 carries, finishing the regular season with 1,025 yards. He joined his teammate Brandon Jacobs, who rushed for 1,089 yards, as only the fourth pair of running backs to both total 1,000 rushing yards on the season.

Jacobs sat out the game due to a knee injury. This past season the Giants had the league’s best rushing attack, and the fact that both Ward and Jacobs each eclipsed 1,000 yards is a huge accomplishment for the team as well as both players. “This is a dream come true,” Ward said.

The Giants will have to wait and see who their opponent will be in two weeks. Even though the game came down to just one play, not everyone on the losing side was so optimistic. “You think we are happy because we lost?” linebacker Antonio Pierce said. “No. We are not. But that’s over with. The regular season is over. It doesn’t matter. It’s like talking about last year’s Super Bowl. It’s irrelevant.”

Along with that, the Giants suffered two more injuries. Free safety Michael Johnson left the game with a thigh bruise, but the more serious was to veteran cornerback Sam Madison. He left the Metrodome on crutches after breaking his right ankle. “The doctors told me, ‘Don’t move it, just stabilize it,’ ” Madison said.

John Carney, who was selected to the Pro Bowl this season, hit four field goals of 51, 30, 42 and 20 yards. But Carney neglected an opportunity to put the Giants up by 5 after he missed a 48-yard field goal with a little more than three minutes left in the game. Amazingly that was Carney’s first outright miss of the season. He had two kicks blocked previously, but other than that had connected on all his attempts this year, finishing 35 of 38 on the season.

The Giants trailed by 10-0 early in the second quarter, but three field goals by Carney cut the deficit to 10-9 at halftime. They got their first touchdown and first lead when David Carr replaced Eli Manning at quarterback for the second half and connected with Domenik Hixon on a 23-yard scoring play to give the Giants a 16-10 lead with 9:29 left in the third quarter.

After Carney’s fourth field goal, Minnesota cut the Giants’ lead to 19-17 with 9:26 left in the fourth quarter on a 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tarvaris Jackson to Bernard Berrian, who got behind the rookie cornerback Terrell Thomas when Thomas fell down.

That touchdown was among several worrisome plays for the Giants, but the team did not harp on the negative aspects of the game too much. “It would have been nice to win this game, but it is not the end of the world,” Manning said

Coach Tom Coughlin set the teams sights on the future once the game was over. “We are 12 and 4,” he said. “The regular season is over, and we do have the week off. We will use it wisely.”

Game Notes: With the success Derrick Ward has had this season; chances are the Giants will not be able to retain him after the season. Both Ward and starting running back Brandon Jacobs will be free agents at year’s end. It is unclear if the Giants will be able to keep both players. Much like Ladanian Tomlinson’s former backup Michael Turner, who rushed for 1,669 yards with the Falcons this year, Ward could find himself as a starting running back next season. While Ward is a fine player, I think he is best suited as the secondary back, as he has been this year with the Giants. Ward, along with Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are known as “Earth, Wind and Fire.” I think it would be smart of the Giants to try and keep Ward, due to the success they have had this season. But the demand for a hard nose, strong effort guy like Ward will be high this off-season, and he may leave the G-men for “greener” pastures.

Coughlin Will Play It Smart Against the Vikings

By Matt Jussim

Will they or won’t they?

That is the question heading into this weekends Giants game. Will Tom Coughlin rest his starters? The coach said that he would do what is in the best interest of the Giants, but did not say if or how much his starters would play in the season finale on Sunday.

"My answer to all of your questions will be that in conjunction with the medical people and with the idea of improving our game, having individuals perform at a higher level than we did in the last game, which is always our theme, we will do the best thing for our football team," Coughlin said.

The Giants have already clinched a first round bye and home field advantage through the playoffs, so they don’t really have anything to play for on Sunday. But try getting that past Coach Coughlin. "The week off comes after the last game," the coach said yesterday.

Last year the Giants had everything to gain, and barley anything to lose when they faced the undefeated Patriots to finish the regular season. Everyone knew Tom Coughlin would have his team play hard. He has an immense respect for the game and I think everyone realized that he wouldn’t allow an undefeated season to occur against the Giants practice squad.

New York wasn’t expected to win that game by any stretch, but if they could somehow pull it out, or at least keep the game close, it would have given the team some confidence going into the playoffs. We all know how that ended up.

This time around though, the Giants will be facing a team that hasn’t even clinched a playoff spot. And if Minnesota ends up winning the game and making the postseason, they will be the team with some confidence, and set themselves up for a possible a playoff rematch with New York.

As of right now, the Giants are unsure who will venture to the Meadowlands for the NFC divisional playoff game that will take place two weeks from now. There is a possibility that the team could be the Vikings.

That could complicate things for the Giants. Not only must they decide if the should rest some of their players, they also need to think about what schemes they will and will not show to a team they could possibly play again in the future.

Some players will definitely be resting this weekend. According to the Associated Press cornerback Aaron Ross will miss Sunday’s game due to a concussion, and at least four other starters are listed as questionable for the season finale.

Tight end Kevin Boss (concussion/ankle) was listed as doubtful on the injury report this week, and Brandon Jacobs (knee), defensive tackle Barry Cofield (knee), and offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie (back) were questionable.

Ross suffered his concussion in last Sunday’s game against the Panthers. "My head is still hurting sometimes, but as far as every thing else, I don't know nothing," the cornerback said. "I haven't had a chance to do anything, so I don't know how far along I am. I have to listen to them. I have to get out of here, my head is still hurting." Kevin Dockery will join Corey Webster as the starting cornerbacks for this Sunday’s game.

Tight end Boss was injured twice in the Panthers game. He suffered a concussion, and then later on rolled his ankle while making a catch later in the game.

Jacobs practiced earlier in the week, but he did not participate on Friday. He might be the one starter who needs some rest more than anyone. He has been hurting recently, and due to his powerful running style, he is more inclined to be injured than some of the Giants other players.

If Jacobs does not play, it would also give Derrick Ward a better chance gain the 52 yards he needs to reach 1,000 yards on the season. If he does it would make the Giants the fourth team in NFL history to have two running back rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.

"We prepare like there is only one objective in mind and that is to win," Coughlin said. Whether the Giants win or lose on Sunday, their number one goal will to remain healthy and well rested for their NFC divisional playoff game in two weeks.

Giants Lock Down Home Field Advantage in Overtime

By Matt Jussim

The New York Giants reestablished themselves as the best team in the NFC last night. They finally emerged from a two game sleepwalk and secured the top seed in the postseason by coming from behind and beating the Carolina Panthers 34-28 in overtime.

The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC will now go through the Meadowlands as the Giants improved to 12-3 on the season.

Determined not to lose, the Giants running attack of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, and Ahmad Bradshaw, known as “Earth, Wind and Fire” were poised to run over the Panthers. But with Brandon Jacobs still slowed by a knee injury, and Ahmad Bradshaw returning kick offs and punts Sunday night, Ward took his nickname “Wind” to heart.

Fighting the frigid, swirling wind in the Meadowlands, Ward rushed for a career high 215 yards on only 15 carries. He averaged 14.3 yards per rush, and was dominant on the winning drive in overtime by rushing for 82 yards on three carries. Bruising running back Jacobs bullied his way into the end zone for the winning 2-yard score in overtime, his third of the game.

Fans who were crazy enough to stand the punishing, frozen wind threw snoballs that rained down like confetti as Jacobs scored to win the game.

Ward has had a respectable season so far, but he always took second billing to starting running back Brandon Jacobs. But with Jacobs still not fully healed from a knee injury, Ward took advantage of his opportunity and had the best game of his career.

“My teammates looked at me and said they wanted me to get it done,” Ward said. “I looked in every one of my offensive linemen’s eyes and they had my back. We played smashmouth football.”

Offensive tackle David Diehl, also helped spring Ward for some of his best runs. “This game was a true sign of us,” Diehl said. “Things aren’t going to be perfect. But none of us pressed. We talked all week about how this would be a test of will. This is what the in December is all about.”

The Giants forced overtime when Jacobs scored his second touchdown of the game, and Eli Manning hit Domenik Hixon for the two point conversion which tied the game with 3:21 seconds to play.

The loss spoiled a record-tying, four-touchdown performance by Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams, who gave Carolina a 28-20 lead with a 30-yard TD run 2 minutes into the final quarter. He also scored on runs of 13, 5 and 1 yards.

The Panthers had a chance to win the game in regulation but the wind at Giants Stadium pushed John Kasey's 50-yard field-goal attempt wide left, leaving some hope for fans that the Giants could still pull this game out.

The Giants won the coin toss in the overtime but couldn't generate anything, and the Panthers followed suit on their possession. The game nearly took a terrible turn for the Giants when R.W. McQuarters muffed a punt at the Giants 13. He emerged from a pile with the ball and then Ward took over.

On first-and-10 from the 13, Ward went 51 yards to Carolina 36. Three plays later on third-and-7, he went 14 yards to the 19 and followed that with a 17-yarder to the 2. Jacobs scored on the next play, capping a night New York rushed for a season-high 301 yards.

Until late in the game, it looked like the Panthers and Williams had overcome the elements, and were ready to hand the Giants their third straight loss. Carolina scored touchdowns the first three times they had the ball. The last touchdown came a play after a Tom Coughlin challenge left Steve Smith a half-yard shy on a play that originally was ruled a TD.

Carolina had eight plays of 10 yards or more on the drives of 77, 66 and 65 yards. The biggest play was a 60-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad on a pass that went right through the hands of Giants cornerback Aaron Ross..

John Carney got New York to with 21-13 with a 35-yard field goal late in the half, and then the Giants defense started to play as they had the first half of the season, limiting Carolina to seven second-half points.

Justin Tuck, the defensive end headed for the Pro Bowl, was weak with flu-like symptoms and had to be helped off the field twice. “I’m gong to go back home and get into bed,” he said. “This win was huge. The atmosphere in the stadium was tremendous.”

New York closed the gap to 21-20 when Manning found a wide-open Kevin Boss for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 59 seconds to go in third quarter. It capped a 12-play, 84-yard marched that took more than eight minutes.

Carolina came roaring back, and restored their eight-point lead when Williams, who gained 108 yards on 24 carries, broke a tackle by Antonio Pierce and ran 30 yards for a touchdown.

The Giants' tying touchdown was set up by a spectacular coffin-corner punt by Jeff Feagles, a 12-yard pass from Manning to Boss and a pass-interference call in the end zone against Ken Lucas, one play later.

The Giants needed this win to prove that they were still the class of the NFC. As important as the win was, there still are questions the Giants will have to answer if they hope to make it to the Super Bowl.

Will Brandon Jacobs be able to stay healthy? With Jacobs back in the lineup, the Giants rushing game was fierce, and Derrick Ward performs much better when he isn’t the feature back. Jacobs gave the Giants the physical running presence that they lacked the past two weeks, especially in the loss to Dallas.

Although the defense played extremely well in the second half, DeAngelo Williams was able to run free in the first half, scoring three of his four touchdowns. The Giants have been a top ten defense all season, but with Williams running wild, its been a theme for the defense the past few weeks. Philadelpha’s Brian Westbrook, and Dallas’ Tashard Choice totaled 131 and 143 yards respectively against the Giants, both losses.

Just when everyone counts out the Giants, as they did the past two weeks when they averaged just 11 points per game, and 80 yards rushing, the team comes together, and wins games as they did last night.

Heading into next week’s game against Minnesota, the Giants don’t have much to play for considering they now have secured home field advantage through the playoffs. The team will be well rested by the playoffs, with Tom Coughlin most likely resting some of his starters next week, something he did not do last year in Week 17 when the Giants took on the 16-0 Patriots.

Game Notes: It’s amazing what a little confidence can do for a player. A year and a half ago, cornerback Corey Webster was seen as a draft bust, playing on special teams, and barely being able to crack the starting lineup. But with some stellar play during the playoffs, due in part to an injury to Sam Madison, Webster transformed himself from a possible bust to a possible superstar. Webster has played well this season, but last night he stepped up big, breaking up two huge third down passes forcing the Panthers to punt back to the Giants. A little more than a week ago he signed a 5 year $43.5 million dollar deal with the team. It’s amazing what a few interceptions can do for a players confidence.