After watching this game for the first 10 or 11 minutes it appeared to be on its way to a full fledged laugher. The Giants were producing long, time consuming drives down the entire field, the defense was embarrassing Jim Zorn’s new offense. And after it was 16-0, it looked as though this game might end 59-0.
But all of a sudden the air came out of the Giants and they turned into what we saw the first two weeks from them a year ago. The offense was sloppy, but the defense was there. Eli Manning went from confident and composed to hurried and rusty. I guess you can blame it on only being Week 1 of the season and the players being a little sluggish since it was the first true 60 minutes of football they had played since the Super Bowl, but even so, a second half performance like that will get them destroyed by the elite teams of the league.
There are a lot of positives to take out of the game offensively, even if the G-Men looked off in the red zone. Plaxico Burress at 100% with a new $35 million deal looks pretty dangerous and could be one of the top three receivers in the league this season. Brandon Jacobs appears ready to emerge as a top RB in the league and Eli Manning looks more like a team leader and leader on the field especially at the line.
The defense and pass rush is still superb and is what will carry this team. The offense is no joke with the names that Giants put on the field, but the defense is what will get this team to the playoffs the same way it did in 2007.
Next week the Giants get their shot at St. Louis in what should get the Giants off to a 2-0 start on the season.