Tall Tales – After Action Review

Well, I said I would pick against the G-Men so that my superstition of being counter-intuitive would work. It did, and the Giants now sit at 6-2 alone atop the NFC East. The pertinent details follow.

Offense:

The running game showed up. It wasn’t powerful, just effective. Brandon Jacobs averaged 4 yards a carry, and ran with authority when he carried the ball. He also caught 4 passes, and it looked as if the passing game set up the running game. The passing game worked very well, as Eli Manning spread the ball around. Barden, Manningham, Cruz, and Ballard all came up huge. Ballard, in particular, looked great. Other than the poor decision on the interception and the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting, the offense didn’t seem to miss Bradshaw or Nicks. The shotgun snaps from center were a problem, as Boothe wasn’t used to the position. The Giants were lucky in this regard.

Defense:

Wow. Holding the Pats scoreless for the first half was an impressive feat. 4 takeaways were even better, and Brady looked as if he felt pressure when there was none. Yes, Welker got his catches and the tight ends gave the Giants some problems, but the defensive unit kept the Patriots off balance for most of the afternoon.Special Teams:

Other than the fumble by Aaron Ross, the special teams looked good, and were the unsung heroes of this game. They gave Brady a long field to work with, and kept the return yardage down.

Bottom Line:

The Coaching staff put in a good game plan and the players executed it to perfection. Coughlin has the players believing in themselves and each other, which is always a good thing. The team came out of the game with few additional injuries, and it looks as if Baas and Nicks will be back soon (we hope). Let’s enjoy this victory for a couple of days before another tough opponent steps up. As Coach Coughlin would say, next man up.