The Giants before facing the Saints refused to characterize the game as a chance to see where they stand in the league or the conference.
The Giants sure hope this wasn’t any sort of statement game because the only statement they made in their 48-27 loss is that they couldn’t cut it.
A look back at the first loss of the season:
The first priority is the secondary: It was only a matter of time before all the absences and injuries in the defensive backfield caught up with the Giants. They are playing without dynamic young safety Kenny Phillips (gone for the season following knee surgery) and starting cornerback Aaron Ross (no games thus far because of a strained hamstring) and eventually someone was going to make them pay.
Consider this paid in full by the Saints. Coming off a bye week, the Saints studied hard and quickly noticed, as receiver Marques Colston said, that the Giants safeties were having trouble in coverage. The Saints exploited C.C. Brown, who moved in as a starter when Phillips went down. It wasn’t pretty as Brown – much better up in the box in run support – was run ragged. You can be sure Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin took notice and are licking their chops for this Sunday’s game.
Emotion becomes Eli: How about that on-field berating of Ahmad Bradshaw after Bradshaw blew an assignment and failed to pick up a blitz, allowing Saints safety Roman Harper a clean lane for a blind-side hit of Manning, causing Harper to hit Manning while throwing to create his only interception of the game.
Not only did Manning scold Bradshaw right there in full view, Eli pounded on Bradshaw’s back, grabbed Bradshaw by the shoulder, spun him around and got into his face. It was very un-Eli-like but also very leader-like. There’s no doubt Manning, returning home to New Orleans, wanted this one very badly.
Belting Brandon: Yes, Brandon Jacobs did look better running the ball but the Giants got behind so early that the ground game fairly quickly became an afterthought. Jacobs seemed to hit the hole more quickly and he even made a leaping touchdown catch in the end zone – certainly not his forte – but the score was wiped out on a bogus holding penalty on center Shaun O’Hara. Jacobs, though, is a bit on the edge. After one rushing attempt Jacobs got to his feet and mimicked a bare-knuckle boxing pose, squaring off with Saints defensive tackle Remi Ayodele.
It didn’t draw a flag for taunting but it could have and Jacobs still could be fined by the league after a review of the game. Was it a big deal? No. But it also wasn’t necessary and looked pretty silly.
Bum rush: Osi Umenyiora said beforehand this was not going to be a sack-filled game because Drew Brees gets rid of the ball so quickly.
Sure enough, Brees did just that but not always. There were plenty of long-developing plays, where Brees would use a play-fake to freeze the Giants pass rushers and then have all the time he needed to scan the field and deliver the ball.
This was inexcusable. Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka get paid to get the quarterback but they never got close. Defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan wants to get pressure with only his four linemen whenever possible but they didn’t generate the heat. Afterward, Umenyiora said it definitely wasn’t the New Orleans offensive line that presented all the problems, crediting Brees and his play-fakes. Whatever.
Line-up: It will take a medical miracle for the Giants defensive line to start its 39th consecutive game together. Right tackle Kareem McKenzie was forced out in the second quarter with a groin injury, forcing rookie Will Beatty to take over the rest of the way. As a second-round pick from UConn, Beatty is an intriguing athlete and prospect and likely will have to make his first start on Sunday against the Cardinals. He won’t be the run-blocker that McKenzie is but he has he feet and movement to be a very good pass-blocker.
The Boss: Best hustle play of the day goes to tight end Kevin Boss.
After An Eli Manning fumble was recovered by linebacker Scott Shanle, it looked as if Shanle would have clear sailing into the end zone for a touchdown. Boss raced back and not only caught Shanle, but he made a hard hit and tackle and actually caused a fumble that Boss then pounced on in the end zone. Shanle was ruled to be down before the ball came loose but that didn’t detract from Boss’ alert play.