I re-watched the game this morning on television, and was surprised at some of the things Fox missed.  This was a game of key turning points and great game planning on behalf of the Giants.  It was also a game where the aggressiveness of a coach may have cost his team a chance at a win.  Here are the keys as I saw them:

First Quarter:  The tone for this game was set immediately by the Giants defense. (11:43)  On the first possession by the Falcons Justin Tuck gets a big hit on Matt Ryan as he releases the ball.  Many Giants players feel that this early hit sped up the clock in Ryan’s head.

9:49 At this point the Falcons look to get Tony Gonzalez into the game.  The Giants defense however has the answer.  On successive plays both Tuck and JPP line up over Tony.  Ryan takes the snap and looks immediately to his side, except he is lying on the ground.  Tuck and JPP dominated Tony G. all day, pushing him back on running plays, and denying him from running his routes.

5:20 J.P.P. again dominates Tony G. and stops Michael Turner for a loss.

:44 Just before the end of the quarter Tuck again gets a nice hit on Ryan.  Then Snelling goes nowhere on 3rd and 1…and then the first mistake by the Falcons coaching staff.  You need to get points…be the first on the board…show something for your efforts.  Instead the Falcons try to draw the Giants offsides with multiple shifts and hard counts.  The idea is to get the Giants to relax and hang back, not wanting to jump offsides.  When Ryan snaps the ball, the Giants are ready and make the crucial stop.

The second quarter begins with the Giants corners being very physical with the wideouts of Atlanta.  Many times you can see Ryan take a quick step and then hold the ball.  The timing of the Falcons was completely thrown off by the Giants defensive plan.

9:00 The leader of the Giants all year has been Eli Manning, and again today it took a play by him to get things going.  The 14 yard run for a first down energized his team, and the stadium.

8:30 Brandon Jacobs runs over the Falcons safety and again gets the crowd and his teammates fired up.

6:30 Eli makes another heady play avoiding a sack by flipping the ball to Bradshaw.

5:56 A great moment for all Giants television watchers.  As Joe Buck extolls the virtues of the Falcons defensive front, and states: “for all the talk about the Giants defense, it’s been the Falcons front that has dominated so far” At this very moment Brandon Jacobs breaks one for 34 yards.  Timing is everything Joe!

5:10 Bradshaw appears stopped in the backfield, but breaks tackles and runs for 9 yards.

3:37 4th and one. As the ball is handed to Jacobs off tackle, the gentleman standing in front of me at the game says ” I hate this play” and with that Jacobs spins off the linebacker and falls forward for the first down.

2:47 All the running pays off as Eli play actions, and finds Nicks in the end zone for the TD. 6 runs and a play action pass.

Halftime:

I guess Mike Smith made two statements at halftime that were very telling.  He said they are blitzing more than normal, and that the crowd noise is affecting a man they call “Matty Ice” a nickname yet to be earned. (more…)

So, Here We Go!  The first playoff game in New Giants Stadium takes place this Sunday at 1:00 when the Atlanta Falcons face the New York Giants.  The Giants are healthy and on a roll.  They have ended the Eagles, Cowboys and Jets seasons in the past three weeks, and now look to put together a run in the playoffs.  Let’s take a look at some of the match-ups that will be key on Sunday.

Jacquian Williams and Michael Boley vs. Tony Gonzalez.  It’s going to take both of them and more to keep Tony Gonzalez under control.  Not getting beat deep, or for big plays will be a win for the Giants.  Controlling Tony is all you can ask for.  He is a big target for the Falcons in the red zone.

The Giants D-Line vs the Falcons running game.  The Giants have done better recently against the run.  Getting some negative plays to keep the Falcons off schedule will be another key to this game.  Forcing them into a few third and longs will allow them to rush Matt Ryan and put pressure on the young QB.  Keeping the running game under control on 1st and 2nd down will go a long way towards a good day for the defense.

The Giants receivers vs the Falcons secondary.  With Jake Ballard back, the Giants have plenty of weapons for Eli to utilize.  Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham, D.J. Ware, and others will force the porous Atlanta secondary to make tackles and cover for a long time.  The Falcon defensive line cannot rush Eli with any effectiveness, so they will need help from the linebackers and secondary.  When you blitz Eli, usually you pay the price.  Look for the Giants to get physical with the corners, one who is listed as questionable for the game, and the other who is very young.

The Falcons receivers vs. the Giants secondary:  Really this is not the match-up that will determine the outcome.  The D-line needs to get pressure on Matt Ryan, so the secondary won’t be exposed.  They can easily cover the short passes, and keep the plays in front of them.  Given time though, Matt Ryan will take some shots down field to the very talented Julio Jones and others.

I fully expect the Giants to play well in this game and keep their positive energy moving forward.

With the NFC Wildcard showdown between the Giants vs. Falcons prepared to kick-off in a little more then 48 hours, the Giants have to be a little worried about the status of their top cornerback, Corey Webster.

Webster was an addition to the practice report on Thursday in a limited fashion and if he is hampered on Sunday it could prove to be a huge blow to the Giants defensive corps.

Webster did not get a pro-bowl nod this year, but he has certainly put out a valiant effort to be considered a top cornerback in at least the NFC. He has done all the little things right, and the less you hear his name, the better.

Webster is scheduled to have the task of going up against Atlanta’s stud receiever Roddy White in what was sure to be a physical battle. If Webster is not up to the task then rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara will most likely take over the reigns leaving Aaron Ross to cover Julio Jones. Amukamara was originally slated to cover Harry Douglas, brother of Knicks point guard, Toney Douglas.

Prince celebrating his first career interception with Webster

Amukamara was a highly touted college prospect who was once considered a top 10 pick in the NFL draft. He eventually fell to the Giants at 19th, but that was more along the lines of teams filling needs.

If Prince does indeed get the start, it will end up being the biggest game of his short career. Strong play by Prince could be the X-factor into leading the Giants to another Super Bowl run.

For more news, updates, and analysis follow me on Twitter (@ERobertsNY):

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Here is the other half of the Q and A with Jamie from BloggingDirty.com

1. The Falcons made a bold move during the draft to move up and grab Julio Jones.  Has he been what you expected and how good can he be?

We here at Fansided.com are lucky enough to have access to bloggers and fans from all 32 teams.  Jamie Kelly from BloggingDirty.com joined us this week for a little Q and A.

1. It’s been a roller coaster season for the Giants, having some highs with wins over the Cowboys amongst others and some lows with losses such as Washington at home a few weeks ago. How good are the Giants? Do they have a shot in the playoffs?

The Giants are as good as their health will allow them to be.  The Giants, like all teams have had injuries, but the timing of those injuries has been the key.  They lost their starting cornerback Terrell Thomas in the last pre-season game. They lost their starting middle linebacker three days before the opener in Washington.  They lost Osi, Ahmad Bradshaw, Michael Boley, and 5 players in the secondary, including their #1 pick, at different times.  They have played without Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, TE Jake Ballard, starting center David Baas, and All Pro Guard Chris Snee during the season.  This is the first time everyone who is not on IR is back and playing their positions.  A healthy Giants team poses many problems to the opposition.  The Giants are fianlly as healthy as they can be.