GIANT NOTES
TEMPE – So just how did the Giants compensate for the absence of Michael Strahan yesterday as they faced the Cardinals at Sun Devil Stadium?
Not easily.
Lance Legree started at left defensive end in place of Strahan, who is out for the year and was not on the field for the first time in 137 consecutive games because of a torn pectoral muscle. Osi Umenyiora started at right end in place of Keith Washington, who also is gone for the season with a knee injury. There was plenty of mixing and matching as the Giants tried to rotate their linemen and find a combination that worked.
Frequently, the Giants put rookie linebacker Reggie Torbor at end, often moved Legree inside to tackle and at one time had Lorenzo Bromell, William Joseph, Legree and Torbor on the field at the same time. In the fourth quarter, newly-signed Chuck Wiley got in at right end.
Umenyiora came up with a sack of Josh McCown in the first quarter while also forcing a fumble that the Cardinals recovered.
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It was not a misprint that WR Willie Ponder headed into this weekend leading the league in kickoff returns at 27.8 yards. It was also not a misprint that Ponder was not activated. The Giants’ other kick returner, RB Mike Cloud, also was not in uniform because of a back injury. That left rookie RB Derrick Ward to handle kickoffs for the first time and left Ron Dayne as the primary backup to Tiki Barber. Dayne has not been a real part of the rushing attack since he got nine carries against the Packers back in Week 4 . . . Arizona RB Emmitt Smith, in the second quarter, became the first player in NFL history to go over 18,000 rushing yards with a four-yard run.
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After signing and joining the Giants on Tuesday, Wiley, cut by the Vikings two weeks ago, engaged in a crash course to learn the new defense. He made his Giants debut yesterday.
“It’s not going to be complicated, the only thing is complicated is the names and the terminology, basically it’s the same thing,” Wiley said of his rushed learning process.
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Attendance was 42,297, which means as usual, the game was blacked out locally on television . . . Heading into this game, rookie WR sensation Larry Fitzgerald had nine catches of at least 20 yards for the Cardinals. Opponents are finding it folly to defend against him with a smaller cornerback. “I’m 230 pounds,” Fitzgerald said. “I like it when a 180-pound guy tries to get in my face.”