Arizona Cardinals 14 – New York Giants 3
Overview: How many times does one have to get smacked in the face in order to recognize the obvious? The Giants are bad team. Bad talent, poor coaching, no direction from above. No hope for the future. If this terrible affliction, this terrible disease of having Blue blood in your veins has not affected you yet, get out now. Don’t watch. Don’t go to the stadium; don’t watch them on television. Stay away. Pick up a book; watch a movie; do something outside with friends, loved ones, and family. Why subject yourself to unentertaining, painful folly?
Coaching/Management/Ownership: It starts at the top. Head Coach Jim Fassel is not going to get the job done. In three years, he has not been able to impose his will or his vision on this team. This team is bland and its personality reflects the coach’s personality. What is need is a coach who through his sheer force of will can lead this team out of the abyss. Three years is enough time to figure out what you have and what you need. Three years is enough time to show improvement. But the Giants are not showing improvement. They are getting worse. “Good Bye Jimmie. Good Bye Jimmie. Good Bye Jimme, we’re glad to see you go.”
General Manager Ernie Accorsi is not getting the job done either. The Giants are getting little production out of his drafts. Many of the free agents he chose to re-sign to significant contracts, he later was forced to cut or are not playing well. Ernie has ignored upgrading problem areas via free agency such as the offensive line.
Nothing will change with this team until there is new owernship or existing owernship is forced to change. Ever since Robert Tisch arrived on the scene in 1991, very little has gone right. Tisch remains a quiet character behind the scenes; someone who demonstrates no real interest in the fortures of his team. Wellington Mara needs to step aside and let his son, John, get more involved. Mara has never really been a positive influence on this team. General Manager George Young (who hired Bill Parcells) was forced upon him by the league. Mara is a nice guy, but his loyalty to old friends and lack of vision mires his team in mediocrity. Until he steps aside or fans stop showing up at games in droves, little will change. Honestly and sadly, the best thing right now for the long-term benefit of the franchise is if fans do stop going to the games. 30,000 no shows might start to shake this organization’s world a bit.
Quarterback: Kerry Collins had little help, but he did not play well either. The Giants’ offense was only able to “generate” three points and the continued inability to score is a joke. The Giants are a laughing stock on offense…as bad as the Eagles. What defense would not want to play these guys in order to pad their statistics? Christ, even bad teams sometimes accidentally make big plays on offense. But not the Giants. The Giants are just not bad on offense, they are boring. What a wonderful combination!!!
And Jim Fassel admits publicly that he does not have a clue as to how to fix the problem. The offense lacks talent, leadership, and cohesion. The play-calling is questionable. Adjustments are rarely made. Defenses never seem surprised to see what is coming. There is no “bread-and-butter” or base offense – a small group of plays that the Giants run well that they can fall back upon in tough times. The Giants lack direction on offense. They don’t seem to have an identity or over-arching philosophy on how they will attack opposing defenses. That is Fassel’s doing.
Collins had a rocky first half. The Giants moved the ball on their first drive alright, but their next four drives resulted in a 3-and-out, fumble by Collins, interception by Collins, and another 3-and out. The two turnovers from Collins were simply bad plays on his part. Kerry has got to learn to either throw the ball away or protect it better. Most of the times when he is hit, you have to hold your breath as the ball has a good chance of coming out. On his interception, he either tried to unwisely force the ball or he didn’t seen the defender playing zone as the ball hit S Pat Tillman right in the bread basket. To be fair, Collins didn’t have much help. It seemed as if every time he threw, there was a defender in his face. Much of this pressure forced Collins to adjust his delivery in order to avoid the onrushing defender. Some of his passes were tipped. But still, his accuracy was far from good. Kerry played better in the second half and seemed more comfortable in a hurry up setting. But Collins had problems getting the play off in time and he and his receivers were not on the same page on the critical 4th-and-goal (from the eight) in the 4th quarter. Collins finished the day going 24-of-38 for 202 yards, one interception, and no touchdowns. He did make some sharp throws in the fourth quarter to Ike Hilliard, including one on a real tough 4th-and-22 situation. Collins also looked more to the tight ends than Kent Graham has.
Offensive Line: Terrible. Really, the story of the game was the dominance of the Arizona front seven over the Giants’ offensive line. This unit had problems with the run and the pass. LT Roman Oben was abused by DE Simeon Rice and his back-up (a rookie no less). Oben gave up two sacks and one critical holding penalty. And time after time, his man was in Collins’ face. Oben was not able to generate any movement either on left-side runs – including two critical 3rd-and-short situations that were stuffed. I saw some good things from Luke Petitgout. As I mentioned last week, Luke looks most comfortable when blocking on the move, whether it be a pull or trap or screen. OC Derek Engler did not hurt the team, but the entire line was not able to get a push on inside runs and Engler shares much of the blame here. RT Scott Gragg had his problems with Andre Wadsworth at times; at others, he held him at bay. Right-side runs were more productive than the ones to the left and I found it strange that the Giants did not run more in that direction.
Running Backs HB Gary Brown (18 carries for 67 yards, 1 catch for 1 yard) was not much of a factor, especially after the Giants fell behind 14-0. Much of the problem was the shoddy run blocking; at least part of the problem was the questionable play-calling. I am convinced that Fassel has no feel for the running game. Too many times, he calls for slow-developing outside runs with slow backs in critical short yardage situations. I’ve never liked these kind of plays as it gives defenders, who are bunched up at the line anyway, too much of an opportunity to make penetration and disrupt the play from the start. Both Brown and FB Charles Way (5 carries for 10 yards, 3 catches for 17 yards) looked slow and sluggish. Way did make a nice play on his screen where he showed some moves and power. Tiki Barber had a chance to make a big play on his screen, but was brought down too easily. HB Joe Montgomery was activated, but did not see any time from scrimmage (he did play on special teams).
Tight Ends: The tight ends were more involved in the passing game this week. Pete Mitchell caught four passes for 30 yards and Howard Cross caught one pass for nine yards. What continues to befuddle me is that lack of use of Mitchell in the redzone. Poor coaching.
Wide Receivers: Ike Hilliard (5 catches for 78 yards) was invisible until mid-way through the 4th quarter. WR Amani Toomer (5 catches for 34 yards) was simply invisible. I don’t know if it was their inability to get open, poor pass blocking that didn’t enable Collins to give them a good look, or poor quarterbacking, but these two had to make more plays for the Giants to win. With Hilliard, it was a case of too little too late as he did make some real impressive plays in the 4th quarter. He got open and made a huge catch on 4th-and-22 and he also held onto the ball despite a punishing hit over the middle. Toomer had a chance to make a big play deep, but dropped the ball. David Patten only caught one pass for 10 yards and Joe Jurevicius was invisible again. Geez, the Giants are getting a lot of productivity out of him and Brian Alford. Let’s see, that’s our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th picks from the 1998 draft. Throw in S Shaun Williams (first round from that year) and you have some wonderful talent evaluation/development.
Defensive Line: The Giants’ defensive line played very well. DT Keith Hamilton (9 tackles, « sack) was a disruptive force both against the pass and the run. DE Cedric Jones (5 tackles, 1 sack) continues to improve. DE Michael Strahan (5 tackles, 1 sack) made plays despite being double-teamed on many plays. Throw in the solid work from Robert Harris (3 tackles), George Williams (2 tackles), and Bernard Holsey (1 tackle) and the Giants held the Cards to only 31 yards rushing and an average of 1.1 yards-per-rush. That is outstanding. The Giants also got a lot of pressure on both Jake Plummer and Dave Brown.
Linebackers: WLB Jessie Armstead (12 tackles, 1« sacks) played yet another fabulous game. He was all over the field – playing the run, rushing the passer, and in coverage. What makes Jessie so valuable is that versatility. Fans should learn to appreciate his pass coverage (where he normally blankets his man) as much as his big plays against the ball carrier. MLB Corey Widmer (5 tackles) played a solid, but unspectacular game. He also deserves much of the credit for the great run defense. SLB Ryan Phillips (2 tackles) was badly exposed in coverage twice – once by the tight end and once by the 3rd down back – for big plays. He continues to be a liability in that phase of the game. On the pass rush, he lacks explosiveness and shiftiness.
Defensive Backs: Given the quality pass rush, this unit didn’t play very well – especially the cornerbacks. The Giants need their defensive backs to start making more plays and causing more turnovers. CB Phillippi Sparks was abused all first half by Jake Plummer. Time after time, Sparks’ man (mainly WR David Boston) caught the ball right in front of him. Phillippi played too soft and didn’t react well when the ball was in the air. He also got out-muscled in the endzone for a touchdown by Boston. CB Jason Sehorn was beaten badly by Boston for a long gain to the one-yard line that set up the other touchdown. The safeties were far too quiet. Sam Garnes had one tackle. Percy Ellsworth and Shaun Williams had none. They didn’t make any plays against the pass either.
Special Teams: Generally solid, but there were a few breakdowns. Most disturbing is that Brad Dalusio missed yet another field goal between 40 and 50 yards (42 yards). The Giants are spending far too much money on an unreliable kicker. P Brad Maynard had an outstanding day except for one poor punt. If Maynard wants to become a very good player, he has to cut out these poor efforts that seem to occur at least once every game. The Giants also gave up a 51-yard kick return to start the second half. On the positive side is that Tiki Barber looked real sharp on a 36-yard punt return and seems to be getting a better feel for when and when not to field a punt. Punt coverage was generally solid, though the gunners need to break down better and make the tackle. Kick returns were quite average. DT Christian Peter kept the Giants in the game by blocking a field goal.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER:
NONE.
2ND QUARTER:
ARI – TD, JAKE PLUMMER 1 YD RUN (CHRIS JACKE KICK), 0:02. Drive: 4 plays, 30 yards in 1:25. Key plays: Lassiter recovery of K Collins fumble at New York 30; Plummer 37-yard pass to Boston to New York 1. ARIZONA 7-0
ARI – TD, DAVID BOSTON 11 YD PASS FROM JAKE PLUMMER (CHRIS JACKE KICK), 14:27. Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards in 3:49. Key plays: Plummer 12-yard pass to Sanders to New York 32; Plummer 21-yard pass to Pittman to New York 11. ARIZONA 14-0
3RD QUARTER:
NONE.
4TH QUARTER:
NYG – FG, BRAD DALUISO 31 YD, 4:47. Drive: 11 plays, 43 yards in 4:26. Key plays: Barber 36-yard punt return to New York 43; K Collins 7-yard pass to Mitchell on 3rd-and-3 to Arizona 43; K Collins 9-yard pass to Cross to Arizona 24. ARIZONA 14-3
TEAM STATISTICS
NYG ARI
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FIRST DOWNS 15 13
Rushing 5 2
Passing 10 11
Penalty 0 0
3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY 5-17 2-13
4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-3 0-0
TOTAL NET YARDS 285 206
Total plays 69 58
Average gain 4.1 3.6
NET YARDS RUSHING 107 31
Rushes 28 27
Average per rush 3.8 1.1
NET YARDS PASSING 178 175
Completed-attempted 24-38 17-27
Yards per pass 4.3 5.6
Sacked-yards lost 3-24 4-22
Had intercepted 1 0
PUNTS-AVERAGE 6-47.3 9-46.6
RETURN YARDAGE 151 104
Punts-returns 7-86 4-52
Kickoffs-returns 3-65 1-51
Interceptions-returns 0-0 1-1
PENALTIES-YARDS 8-52 3-14
FUMBLES-LOST 2-1 1-0
TIME OF POSSESSION 31:51 28:09
PLAYER STATISTICS
Missed field goals: NY Giants (Brad Daluiso 42); Arizona (Chris Jacke 53, 34).
NY Giants rushing: Gary Brown 18-67, Kerry Collins 4-23, Charles Way 5-10, Tiki Barber 1-7.
Arizona rushing: Michael Pittman 8-20, Adrian Murrell 14-8, Jake Plummer 3-3, Joel Makovicka 1-0, Mario Bates 1-0.
NY Giants passing: Kerry Collins 24-38 for 202 yards, 1 INT, 0 TD.
Arizona passing: Jake Plummer 13-19 for 156 yards, 0 INT, 1 TD, Dave Brown 4-8 for 41 yards, 0 INT, 0 TD.
NY Giants receiving: Ike Hilliard 5-78, Amani Toomer 5-34, Pete Mitchell 4-30, Tiki Barber 4-23, Charles Way 3-17, David Patten 1-10, Howard Cross 1-9, Gary Brown 1-1.
Arizona receiving: David Boston 8-101, Frank Sanders 5-37, Terry Hardy 2-31, Michael Pittman 1-21, Adrian Murrell 1-7.
NY Giants tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial): Jessie Armstead 8-4-1.5, Phillippi Sparks 9-0-0, Keith Hamilton 5-4-0.5, Jason Sehorn 6-0-0, Cedric Jones 5-0-1, Corey Widmer 5-0-0, Michael Strahan 2-3-1, Robert Harris 2-1-0, Ryan Phillips 1-1-0, George Williams 0-2-0, Sam Garnes 1-0-0, Marcus Buckley 0-1-0, Bernard Holsey 0-1-0.
Arizona tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial): Rob Fredrickson 13-2-0, Tommy Bennett 6-3-0, Tom Knight 6-1-0, Ronald Mckinnon 4-3-0, Kwamie Lassiter 5-1-0, Simeon Rice 4-1-2, Rashod Swinger 2-3-0, Andre Wadsworth 4-0-0, Jerry Drake 2-2-0, Zack Walz 1-1-0, Aeneas Williams 1-1-0, Thomas Burke 1-0-1, Corey Chavous 1-0-0, Mark Maddox 1-0-0, J.j. Mccleskey 1-0-0, Brad Ottis 0-1-0.
Interceptions: Arizona (Pat Tillman 1 for 1 yards).
Fumbles lost: NY Giants (Kerry Collins).
Opponent’s fumbles recovered: Arizona (Kwamie Lassiter).
Officials: Referee-Tom White, Umpire-Jim Quirk, Head Linesman-Paul Widner, Line Judge-Ron Marinucci, Back Judge-Bob Waggoner, Side Judge-Gary Lane, Field Judge-Keven Mack.
A: 49,015; T: 3:05.