Baltimore Ravens 24 – New York Giants 23
by David B.
Overview: This loss was a heartbreaker. One that we should have had. This is an example of a game where the optimists and pessimists will be clearly divided as to what to take from this game. What else is new. Since everyone knows my biases, I will try to put this loss into context. This was a day where the Giants did many things right, but the few things they did wrong cost them the game.Successful teams make the plays the Giants didn’t make. To take it to the next level, the Giants must make those plays and find ways to win rather than ways to lose. However, this was the most complete game the Giants have played under Fassel. But for two missed FGs and a blocked extra point, the mistakes the Giants made would not have cost them the game. On the whole, there was real progress on offense and a lot of spirited play from the defense. If they can begin playing this way consistently, they will start to turn things around. In this game, the Giants controlled the clock for 35:51. They ran the ball much better and sustained drives. The OL was reasonable. The WCO spread the ball all over the field and used 9 different receivers. Brown had a good day. We gained 390 total yards and 29 first downs. The came back from behind. Continued success in the redzone. But we lost, so it means nothing, right? Well . . . if last week’s loss was a step backwards, if you consider the big picture this was a step forward regardless of the loss. Y’all remember the big picture, don’t you: In our best-case scenarios, there were going to be seven losses, and most of which would probably come early. Fassel has stated publicly that wherever he’s been, it has taken at least five or six weeks for things to start clicking consistently. Playoffs were a longshot. Make no mistake, this loss hurts like hell, but if you keep it in perspective, the team is progressing on schedule.
Quarterbacks: Anyone want to blame Brown for this one? For the most part, and especially as the game wore on, he had adequate time to throw. He made the most of it. Dave had one of his best days at QB going 28-46 and 269 yards. 1 TD, no INTs. He also ran the 2 minute drill very well. He hit 9 different receivers and looked very comfortable and confident running the offense. There were a few errant throws–the kind you never talk about when discussing other QBs, but he made the plays he needed to make.
Running Back: The Giants ran the ball pretty well. Barber got 91 yards and a TD, and Wheatley got 49 yds and a TD. The problem? For all his excitement, Tiki Barber is an adventure every time he gets the ball. He is quite capable of fumbling away the game at any point in time. On one play, after a long run, the Baltimore Defense had stopped him and were pushing him backwards. He coughed up the ball and a defender scooped it up and was on his way to an easy TD. The only thing that saved the play was the officials had ruled “forward progress.” There will be time the officials won’t bail Tiki out. On another occasion, he fumbled the ball, but it went out of bounds. Barber MUST learn to put the ball away. Other backs his size can do it, why can’t he. The thing that will be remembered in this game is the 3rd-and-1 that the Giants didn’t make that set up the 41 yard FG that Daluiso missed. Barber was stuffed cold on this play, but I blame Fassel for this one. (See the section on Coaching) Another thing I’ve noticed about Barber is that even when he runs inside, which isn’t often, as soon as he’s through the first hole, he looks immediately to cut back outside, and at least twice, it looked as though there were more yards to be gained by staying inside. This bares watching. Wheatley got his first real action in this game and he ran pretty tough. He ran both inside and outside. On a play that pissed me off a lot (because of it’s selection), Fassel faced a 3rd-and-short and again went to that pitchout play to the HB. But this time it was Wheatley and it worked. TW made it around the corner and picked up some tough yards by out-muscling defenders. Wheatley was stuffed a few times, but eventually punched in a TD at the goal line. I’m not a big fan of backfield-by-committee, but Wheatley needs to get the ball more. Charles Way was not much of a factor as a ball carrier, but he caught a short TD pass from Brown.
Wide Receivers: A better performance from this group, and the ball was spread around a lot. The Baltimore secondary was getting banged up, and these guys took advantage of playing against the backups. I believe there were only two drops, which is far more acceptable than the 5-7 we usually average. Lewis made some nice catches and no real blunders. Toomer had a decent day — his best as a pro. They even threw a jump-ball fade to him in the corner of the endzone (finally) which he caught, but couldn’t keep his feet in. I believe Calloway had one drop but was effective otherwise. Kevin Alexander made one great catch at a key moment.
Tight Ends: One catch for Pierce — remember him? One for Cross where he made some nice YAC, which prompted the announcers to comment “he looked like Mark Bavaro on that one.” Uh, no. Let’s not even mention those two guys in the same breath. It was one catch in one game.
Offensive Line: They struggled a bit early, but for the most part they protected Brown and gave him adequate time to throw the ball. Brown still had to rush several of his throws, but he wasn’t running for his life. The run blocking was probably better, but unreliable, and they still don’t seem to be trying to run behind Stone and Gragg — the supposed strength of the line. Individually, I don’t remember hearing Oben’s name called, which is what you want. Bishop had a rough day. Zatechka replaced him in short yardage situations.
Defensive Line: This was supposed to be the big key to the game. Our DL against a huge Baltimore OL. The Giants DL played very well. They harassed Testaverde all day and sacked him once. Strahan was terrific getting several key plays. I believe Hamilton has grown up. He’s battling every down and is making a difference. Harris and Bratzke were solid, but not as flashy as Strahan and Hammer. Jones didn’t play because of his injury.
Linebackers: The Giants played a lot of nickel, but Armstead was his usual active self and made some big plays. They sent Markus Buckley in on a dog, but he’ was unable to get there in time. A quiet day for Widmer, and I never even noticed Miller. Pete Monty made a nice stuff at the goal line, but Baltimore punched it in on the next play.
Secondary: Boy it’s nice to have Sparks and Hamilton back. Baltimore has the 3rd best offense in the league and Jackson and Derek why-can’t-we-draft-guys-like-that Alexander, are excellent WRs. Our DBs had trouble containing these guys. Sehorn completely blew his coverage on Alexander on Baltimore’s first TD. Alexander was absolutely alone in the endzone. Baltimore picked on Randolph all day and at 6’4,” Jackson ate his lunch. I thought the idea was to have Sehorn on the big guys. Alexander did well on Randolph too. Randolph did however break up a play on a lesser WR (don’t remember the name) later in the game. Sparks played well. They stayed away from him for the most part, but he was involved in a few big-play saving tackles. Garnes was in for a while, but seemed invisible. Wooten had a crap pass interference called on him that eventually cost the Giants a TD, but the refs were calling non-flagrant PI all day on both teams and it evened out. Ellsworth had a nice pick on a play where the Baltimore WR didn’t fight for the ball.
Special Teams: We’ve had strong days from special teams in the past, but this day it cost us the game. The morning press has the team NOT blaming Brad Daluiso for the loss. The team MUST take that attitude for team unity, but we don’t. BRAD DALUISO COST US THE GAME. Sure, the Giants defense could of held Baltimore on the last drive, but that’s simply unrealistic. Missing that FG deflated the whole team. Further, had Daluiso not missed the other FG, or had the extra point blocked (which was not his fault) the Giants win the game. Of note, Daluiso missed both FGs from the same hash mark. Further, Brad Maynard was the holder on the FGs. I don’t know if this spooked Daluiso or not, but Kanell had been his holder until this game. Personally, I’ve never been sold on Daluiso. His outstanding numbers last year were largely due to an offense that couldn’t get TDs in the redzone, hence he had a lot of chip shot FGs. He’s terrible outside the 40 in regular season play, but he’s all-world in preseason when the games don’t count. Frankly, with all the league kicking changes in the offseason, I was surprised that Daluiso survived our coaching change. There’s a rookie in Miami kicking really well and he kicked Nedney out of Miami. His name is Olindo Mare. Why can’t we get guys like that? (Note from Eric: Mare was actually on our practice squad last year — looks like we kept the wrong guy.) Brad Maynard was bothered by a mild hip flexor but punted pretty well. The blocking broke down on the PAT attempt which allowed the PAT to get blocked. In 2 point conversions, the Giants missed one and made one.
Coaching: A mixed bag. JF showed us the WCO and we finally got a glimpse of how effective the offense can be when it works, and it will only get better. Our production in the redzone reads like a misprint. However there are a few things Fassel needs to get through his head. Most important is this: Tiki Barber is NOT a short-yardage back. Sending Tiki into an 8 man front on 3rd and 1 cost the Giants the game just as much as Daluiso’s miss. You can say that Daluiso should have made the kick, but with Way available, why send Barber into the pile without a FB on 3rd and 1? In this situation, sending Way alone, Barber behind Way, even the QB sneak are ALL better options than the play that JF called. It will be interesting to see how Hampton fits into this mix when he returns. he’s perfect for short yardage situations. JF is overly enamoured with Barber, but Barber is an all-or-nothing back. He’ll break the game or break your heart. Fassel MUST learn when NOT to use Barber. On the plus side, his game plan controlled the clock, got us 29 first downs, and was effective in the 2 minute drill. He also got the team to come from behind after a slow start. During the week, JF made it know to the team that “people quit on him in the JAX game” and if they did it again, they be playing elsewhere the following week. Fassel is a rookie HC too, and he too will improve.