All week, the Giants spoke of their desperation, of their tiny margin for error but also of the possibilities that awaited them if only they started playing like the team they believe themselves to be.
“We had that speech last week,” Jason Sehorn said, “and we went out and played like this, so who knows?”
Who knows about these Giants? Take all the words and speeches and boil them down into three dirty little words the Giants cannot escape: one-shot wonders.
At the moment, that’s what they are. Any semblance between this rag-tag outfit and the one that surged to last year’s Super Bowl exists merely in name and uniform. Performance is all that matters, and the Giants yesterday were exposed as pretenders.
The arrival of a team with legitimate title hopes brought the Giants to their knees. The Raiders quickly showed who was boss, making Giants Stadium their own watery playpen as they out-classed and humbled the battered Giants 28-10.
That splash on this rain-filled day was the Giants (5-6) falling into third place in the soft NFC East. They got a break when the suddenly-torrid Redskins (5-5) went into Philadelphia and beat the Eagles (6-4) 13-3 earlier in the day, leaving the top three teams within 11/2-game of each other. So, the Giants are not out of it, but they might as well be the way they are playing heading into their bye week. After all, they are only one-half game ahead of the fourth-place Cardinals (4-6).
“All I know is this, we haven’t played well enough to be deserving of anything,” Sehorn said, “so if we get there playing like this it will be a miracle from God.”
The Giants will use the next two weeks to try to cure their many ills, and then try to convince anyone still interested that their up-coming schedule (Cowboys, Cardinals and Seahawks) makes anything possible. They might also try to sell you on Jim Fassel’s December record of 13-2, the best in the league. The reality of the situation is that the Giants have not played with any consistency all season.
“We got one life line left,” Jessie Armstead said. “If you lose that life line, you’re in trouble. We’re in deep trouble.”
If any teams needs a break, it’s this one. Fassel after this thrashing did not show any anger; he looked and sounded bewildered. The Giants are shell-shocked, unable to make a key play at a big moment, getting worse instead of better. Their sagging defense, from the very first play, was slapped silly by the crisp Raiders (8-2). Rich Gannon tossed three touchdown passes, two to Tim Brown (6-117). On offense, the Giants defied logic by getting a breakout game from Tiki Barber (19-124), who at times resembled a one-man attack force. That usually is the needed spark, but Barber’s third-quarter touchdown was the only end-zone appearance by the Giants.
At least the Giants cannot lose next weekend. They don’t play.
“It will be good to clear out minds and clear out all the negativity that’s been floating around here,” Barber said. “It will be nice not to hear about us. The Jets will be front and center.”
And the Giants might soon be over and out.
Just as in Monday night’s loss in Minnesota, the Giants’ defense set the tone early, and it was a bad one. On the very first play, Mike Barrow and Armstead blitzed but the other linebacker, Brandon Short, did not protect the outside, allowing Charlie Garner to scamper 38 yards. It soon was 7-0 less than five minutes in. Next, the Giants were driving when Joe Jurevicius dropped what should have been a scoring pass.
“At some point, you’ve got to make a play out there,” Fassel said.
It was pretty much one meltdown after another the rest of the way. On a perfectly-executed screen, Garner raced untouched 21 yards for a second-quarter touchdown. To close out the dismal half, Brown abused rookie cornerback Will Allen, making a move to free himself for a 46-yard scoring strike to make it 21-3. Just like that, it started to rain, with the spirits of the Giants already dampened.
“We’ll find out what kind of guys we have,” Collins said. “I’m talking about who’s going to come back and fight, not give up, not throw down their sword.”