Giants 27 – Jaguars 5
You want offense? You want to see more than the slop that impersonated a scoring attack in last week’s pointless preseason-opening loss? You want something rare with these Giants, an actual preseason win?
You got it all last night.
Making good on their promise to move the ball and inject some life into their attack, the Giants were sparked early by Kerry Collins, Ron Dayne and Joe Jurevicius. The stale product they put on the field in a 14-0 drubbing by the Patriots was purged from their system as they did pretty much what they pleased in a 27-5 whipping of the Jaguars at half-full Giants Stadium.
“After that goose egg last week it was nice to come out with such life and emotion,” fullback Greg Comella said.
This was a feel-good performance all around. Even two seemingly ominous first-quarter injuries, to Amani Toomer and Howard Cross, were not deemed serious. Toomer sprained his right ankle but says he should be fine, while Cross sprained cartilage in his left knee and will likely be out for two weeks.
The starting offense was much better this time around. Collins (8 of 11, 89 yards, 1 TD) even found a new favorite receiver, his Penn State buddy Jurevicius. On back-to-back plays, Collins hit Jurevicius for 10 and 24 yards, setting up a Collins to Comella 6-yard scoring pass, finalized when Comella bulled past linebacker Kevin Hardy.
“Last week we came out a little flat,” Collins said. “This game we wanted to be sharp and play with some emotion and excitement, and I thought the first unit came out and really showed that. I saw the field a heck of a lot better than the first game, and that’s what preseason is for.”
Dayne showed the few fans present that his slimmed-down physique is not merely a cosmetic improvement. He took a pitchout on his first play and scooted seven yards with a burst he rarely showed as a rookie. Later, Dayne shot up the middle for 15 yards. He ended up with 12 rushing attempts and 43 yards.
“I felt more comfortable and relaxed this week,” Dayne said. “Last week I was a little uptight. We wanted to improve from last week and I think I did that.”
With Tiki Barber out for the preseason with a broken left hand, it is imperative that Dayne show he can handle a full load. With Ike Hilliard (toe surgery) also out, Jurevicius must do the same as a starting receiver.
The towering target has been quiet in training camp and missed some time this week with back spasms, but in the first half alone, he caught seven passes for 68 yards. On the last play of the first half, he split defensive backs Fernando Bryant and Donovin Darius and hauled in a 4-yard TD pass from Jason Garrett. The play happened only because Fassel did not elect to kick a short field goal – he certainly would have in a regular-season game – to give Garrett a shot into the end zone.
Getting a rare chance to work with the first team, Garrett (5 of 10, 38 yards, 1 TD) directed a crisp two-minute drill as the starters amassed 191 total yards. The entire team labored for 92 yards in the loss to the Patriots.
Two rookies even got into the act, as Jesse Palmer (8 of 12, 98 yards, 1 TD) hit Jonathan Carter on a 44-yard TD in the fourth quarter. As for the kicking game, Jaret Holmes got the call ahead of rookie John Markham and was impressive, nailing two field goals and sending his kickoffs in or near the vicinity of the end zone.
It was business as usual for the Giants defense. Mark Brunell (2 of 7, 16 yards) did nothing at all and Mike Barrow (1.5 sacks) and Brandon Short (one sack) harassed both Brunell and his replacement, Jamie Martin. The starting Giants defense did not allow a point.
“We didn’t wait for them to make the first move,” Barrow said. “We came out and attacked.”
The same could be said for the Giants offense this time around.