Tall Tales – Giants Packers After Action Review

Sorry this is getting up late, as the game has been re-hashed by many others, but here goes:

This one hurts alot. To come so close and come up short…Well, let’s take a look at the various components of the Giants’ effort last weekend. On offense, the G-Men did ok. Manning was able to hook up with his receivers and exploit the Packers pass defense. Other than the pick six that he threw, Manning had a good game. His receivers were open, and he hit them consistently. Travis Beckum showed up with a 67 yard TD reception and run that had me comtemplating the headline Bend It Like Beckum. Victor Cruz and Hakeen Nicks were open all day, and the patch work line kept Eli upright. The refs blew the TD call with Ballard, and the running game got untracked. Bradshaw’s return was a huge benefit.Defensively, the Giants rushing defense showed up, but the pass D took a breather. Chase Blackburn’s INT pretty much cancelled out Eli’s INT, but the defense should be able to find a way to stop their opponents and force OT with only 58 seconds on the clock.

Special teams played well, with Tynes hitting a 50 yarder and Weatherford’s punts not returned for huge yardage. The game plan was sound, and the G-Men nearly pulled it out. If you’re looking for a parallel, try the 2007 season, when the undefeated Pats beat the Giants in the season finale 38-35, spurring the G-Men to a 4 game winning streak. Let’s see how the G-Men do against their next four opponents, with Dallas up first, followed by three in the swamps. Get angry, guys. You can play with the best of them!