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…)