NY Giants 37 Arizona Cardinals 29: "Special" Teams...NOT!
Apparently I'm not alone in suffering from a Giants hangover. Sadly I missed most of the second half dealing with a domestic crisis of sorts (burning towels and TiVo fubar) but once I realized the final result, I hadn't the stomach to figure out the final score. While I ponder the virtues of parent-hood, I'll throw out a few random thoughts on half of a game viewed and the other half implied from the boxscore.
Eli was amazing?! 26/33 for 240 yards and 3 TDs...wow. The Giants were held under a 100-yards rushing for only the second time this season but Eli had no problem slinging the ball around. No Jacobs? No Burress? No problem! I had thought the secondary for the Cardinals had done a decent job in the first half...then what happened?
Warner does it all: 351 of 371 yards belonged to Warner's arm. One dimensional game plans worked in the USFL and against the NFC West, but not against the Giants. Goose kept mentioning during the telecast that the Cards were telecasting run vs. pass in their formations and the Giants knew what was coming. Without a TiVo-copy and I cannot look at the "film". Has anyone else noticed this? The weakness we all knew about with Kurt surfaced with a fumble and interception that led to 10 points for the Giants. Win by the MVP, lose by the MVP, but MVP neverless.
Special Teams NOT special!!! Dominek Hixon owned the Cardinals on Special Teams (not to mention the six catches and rush he had on offense). We had an inkling that the Cardinals' special teams were in trouble with the Niners game. Hixon made it clear that the Cardinals' lack of a running game is not the only concern anymore. Coincidentally, it seems that the ST's have tanked their coverage when Highsmith went out with an injury and Hightower became the starter. Beisel and Morey need to step it up! Matt Ware needs to be taken off the ST...three costly penalties on ST, the only penalties the Cards had the entire game! Dirk Johnson had some good punts but his flubbed hold on a PAT in the first half in inexcusable, especially after Rackers' lobbied for Johnson because of his holding. Hmmm.
Huh?!/Wow moments Whisenhunt going for the free kick before the end of the first half was a great coaching move on his part. One of the most obscure scoring rules in the NFL, the circumstances were ideal to set it up. The Giants were pegged deep in Cardinals territory, the Cards had all their time-outs, and Feagles kicked to ball so Breaston could fair-catch it (most coaches tell the kicker to kick it out of bounds to avoid the possibility of a free kick). Coughlin didn't seem to have a clue what was going on and the Giants had to use a time-out to consult the refs and send out the correct personnel. Sadly, Rackers tried to put too much leg into the kick and shanked it....badly. I guess this was a microcosm of the whole game... Warner has had a TD pass in 19 consecutive games, tying a Cardinals record held by Neil Lomax. Larry Fitzgerald had his 400th career reception. Tim Hightower has tied the Cardinals' rookie RB TD record with his 8th and 9th TDs.
The moral? The Cardinals have to play turnover-free football to have a chance against the calibre of team they faced in the Giants. Kevin Spencer has his work cut out for him on Special Teams. Kurt Warner's arm is going to fall off at this rate...let's get a run game going Thursday!
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Thoughts, concerns, confessions? For professional help, seek out a trained therapist. Otherwise, your welcome to vent here so we can put this game in the books and focus on the McNabb-led Eagles Circus on Turkey Day.
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24 comments
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Positives
DRC is really gaining in confidence – he had a great game.
A-Dub, Dansby and Rolle played good on D.
Breaston and Urban had big games – this receiving core is getting some practice!!
Rackers kept his FG streak going.
We are gonna put a major whuppin on MacNabb and the Eagles Thursday!!!
I’ll ignore the negatives for now.
by CardsIrish on
Nov 24, 2008 5:31 PM MST
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Sadly, the missed free kick counts as a missed FG; but his streak is still going for "real" FGs!
Breaston and Urban did indeed have solid games. DRC was making lots of good plays in the first half, not sure about the rest of the game.
I thought the Cards finally showed they can play a pressure game with some smarts. Aside from Ware’s three ST flags, there wasn’t a single penalty. Amazing! I thought Whiz and Staff did a great job in the first half. Did their coaching hold up in the second half?
We all leave footprints in the sands of time, just watch out for the discarded fish hooks!
by Hawkwind on
Nov 24, 2008 7:02 PM MST
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Thats a good question Hawk
From my observations, it’s seems that any time we play a top ranking team they make the appropriate adjustments at half time and we fail to do so. In a game that’s determined by yards and inches It always seems to be the difference maker.
by badmatty53 on
Nov 25, 2008 8:57 AM MST
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Hard to tell
The coaching in the second half was hampered by the 2 turnovers and the onside kick which gave the Giants great field position on all but one of their scoring drives.
I was second guessing the onside kick but Ralph Brown waited on the kick instead of moving toward it and the Giants player seemed to get a hand to it.
At 34-26 I would have kicked away and given the D a chance to make a stop. Whis likes to roll the dice though and it should have worked.
by CardsIrish on
Nov 26, 2008 10:56 AM MST
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Don't forget JJ
Big game, he needs more play time.
by badmatty53 on
Nov 25, 2008 8:36 AM MST
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Breaston
Doing a great job, did see one missed block that made the difference on a big play.
by badmatty53 on
Nov 25, 2008 8:37 AM MST
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Seriously Brown's an a-hole
Easy catch, he blew the game changer.
by badmatty53 on
Nov 25, 2008 8:39 AM MST
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I was like wow they are going to recover the ball, then for a second I thought maybe he did it on purpose because thats somewhat how it looked. Then a realized he was an A-Hole. Just plain dropped it.
by Andrew602 on
Nov 25, 2008 11:36 AM MST
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Free kick
I don’t know about you guys but I think that was a bad choice. What would you do?
Option #1 – Let the kicker who despite recent success is known to crack under pressure kick off for a field goal.
Option #2 – Let Warner throw up a bomb as deep as he can to Fitz, Boldin, Breaston, Urban, JJ, and have them go fetch. Pretty sure the last time I saw that happen Fitz had a TD…just saying.
by badmatty53 on
Nov 25, 2008 8:45 AM MST
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Odds favoured the free kick
Hail Marys are fluky at best. Fitz’s TD against the Niners last year was sweet but the Niners have a long history of giving up Hail Mary passes at inopportune times.
Rackers has the leg for the distance it’s just his mental make-up that seems to over analyse the situation and screw up his mechanics. I think it was a great call on Whisenhunt’s part to try it and a nod to Rackers that he could do it. Knowing you have the confidence of the coach is going to help the mental hangups Rackers may have.
We all leave footprints in the sands of time, just watch out for the discarded fish hooks!
by Hawkwind on
Nov 25, 2008 10:25 AM MST
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I concur with the Free kick
Good move in my opinion. I must be a rookie because I wasn’t aware of that rule. So, I called up Donavon McNabb to ask him, but it turns out he didn’t know it was a rule either.
by AJ BirdWatcher on
Nov 25, 2008 10:43 AM MST
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Red Sea deserves credit too
There was a ton of blue in the stands, but the Red Sea rose to the occasion. It was incredibly loud in the stadium when the Cards were on D. Giants fans did not do the same. Most likely they were mostly bandwagon fans who did not know when or how to cheer. I think they rivaled Dallas fans in numbers from week 6, but were not near as loud.
Anybody else there agree that this game was the loudest this year to date?
by AJ BirdWatcher on
Nov 25, 2008 10:46 AM MST
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First half yes
Cardinals build a bad ass stadium, $455,000,000.00
Tickets to the Cardinals/Giants game, $240.00
32 beers and a hot dog, $928.00
Eli Manning calling a time out because it’s just to freakn’ loud, PRICELESS.
by badmatty53 on
Nov 25, 2008 11:04 AM MST
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I was at the game, in a piss poor section
I could feel the energy around me, and the stadium actually had a great “De-Fense” chant going but my section was full of a bunch of fans in spirit only who sat on their butts and only clapped when the offense did something.
But other than that, it was a great game, loud first half. But we could keep the momentum after the INT and starting losing the crowd.
by CardsFan08 on
Nov 25, 2008 8:03 PM MST
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Cards fans were very loud
I would say the crowd was about 30% Giants fans, which is about the same as the Sun Devil days, maybe a little less.
I have to take exception with your “bandwagon fans” statement sir. Especially considering how during the Sun Devil days, the average crowd was probably 55000 on a good day, and many of them were rooting for the opposition. Giant fans don’t go ballistic after every first down, but we do make ourselves heard.
Giants fan from the womb to the tomb
NY Ranger fans talk all things Blueshirts at
http://broadwayblueview.blogspot.com/
by Jim Schmiedeberg on
Nov 25, 2008 1:55 PM MST
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Each year any given championship team picks up bandwagon fans
I wish we had that problem.
Most of the Giants fans in my section were cheering loudly presnap when the Giants were on offense, not knowing that they should be making the most noise when their team was on defense. This is what I was referring to when I said they did not know when to cheer.
by AJ BirdWatcher on
Nov 25, 2008 3:43 PM MST
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The Good
DRC- Looked really good. Would have like an INT but still looked solid. He will be a shut-down corner.
Warner- Had a couple turnovers but still liked how he played against a REALLY good defense.
Urban-Surprisingly played well
Defensive Line- Holding the top ranked run defense to under 100 was nice
Rackers- Impressing me more and more each week.
by Andrew602 on
Nov 25, 2008 11:23 AM MST
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The Bad
Pass Defense- Couldnt get key stops when needed. Gave up way too may 1st Downs
Tight Ends(Again)-Where were they?
Dockett,Smith,Laboy,Okeafer-Only one sack by Berry.
Pass Protection-Wasnt horrible but the got to Warner a lot which did make a diff
by Andrew602 on
Nov 25, 2008 11:31 AM MST
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The Ugly
Matt Ware- Why was he still in the game after those horrible penalties?
Ralph Brown-Dropped a very important ball. Could have been the game changer
Special-Ed teams-Terrible
Eric Green-Demonstrated why he lost his starting spot
Running Game-Good defense but come on.Seriously?
by Andrew602 on
Nov 25, 2008 11:34 AM MST
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Special Ed Teams
LMAO! Still no one giving love for JJ, huh?
by badmatty53 on
Nov 25, 2008 11:46 AM MST
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Ok fine I’ve hated him for years but it seems like he’s finally coming together this year.
by Andrew602 on
Nov 25, 2008 11:55 AM MST
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