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.