Giants 28 – Rams 16: Hits, Misses, and Musings
By Alan R.
HITS
WR Hakeem Nicks: Some outstanding catches for the Giants only true downfield weapon. It is only time until he begins to see double and triple coverage but until then, he is a pleasure to watch.
LB Michael Boley: Played a solid game and had the good sense to pick up the ball when the Rams threw a backwards pass. Perhaps this is the season that the Giants see what attracted them when he played in Atlanta.
DT Chris Canty: – Besides DE Justin Tuck, Canty was the best defensive player on the field. He was strong against the run, got good push on passing plays and went from sideline to sideline on numerous plays. This was possibly his best game as a Giant and he made a significant contribution to shutting down both the Rams running and passing games.
DE Justin Tuck: Welcome back to the Giants best defensive player and one of the best in the league. He was a force from both DE and DT all night long and could not be blocked by the Rams questionable OL. Hopefully this was the first of many outstanding games for Tuck.
MISSES
S Deon Grant: For a longtime veteran, he needs to remember that when a receiver goes to the ground, you need to touch him. Last week it was S Antrel Rolle with a stupid spear; this week it was Grant forgetting to touch a receiver on the ground.
CB Aaron Ross: – For a first round pick, Ross has been a disappointment. Although he made some decent plays, it is clear that other NFL quarterbacks will attempt to exploit his poor coverage, as the Giants did not appear to have much of an answer.
Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell: There are those that may sing his praises but the Giants defensive plan today looked as bad as it did last week. The only difference was a few bad passes by Rams QB Sam Bradford and the play of Tuck, Canty and the defensive line. It is recognized that the Giants have limited talent in the back seven, but they need to come up with a better defensive plan or they will be sliced and diced by the better teams in the league. Time for Mr. Fewell to step up and demonstrate that he is worthy of all of those head coaching interviews.
QB Eli Manning: I am not sure when people will get tired of the lame duck throws down the field, the throws that force the receivers to go to the ground, or the throws that just don’t go anywhere, but tonight was the second game where Manning’s performance was less than exemplary. As was indicated last week, he has little to work with in the receiving corps but a good quarterback can make his receivers look better than they are, and Manning doesn’t. The Giants have no alternative but it is time that they start to develop one.
K Lawrence Tynes: Is there another kicker in the NFL that cannot get the ball into the back of the end zone with any consistency? Expect that his lack of a strong leg will come back to haunt the Giants down the road despite the better coverage team.
LB Mathias Kiwanuka: Was he on the field tonight?
MUSINGS
A bad win is always better than a good loss, but tonight made it clear that the Giants have a long way to go if they are to have an impact on the NFC east and eventually the playoffs. The injuries keep piling up and there is little depth. It will be interesting to see if they go up or down next week.
