Giant Football Blog

That's Mara football

WHEN the Redskins' only real chance to avoid an embarrassing shutout ended with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter, Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi thought about how much his late owner would have loved that goal-line stand. "That was Wellington's [kind of] football," Accorsi said. "Defense and running the football. That's what he loved."

It seems so fitting now. So perfectly appropriate that in the first game since the death of Wellington T. Mara last Tuesday and his burial on Friday, his Giants delivered a splendid display of everything their 89-year-old owner believed in. Continue

Tiki in rush to hand off tribute

At the end of Tiki Barber's 59-yard run in the second quarter, he was pulled down just a few feet from the end zone - the second time he had fallen just short when he looked well on his way to a touchdown run. "On the second one I kidded him when he got tackled on the 1-yard line," said Tim McDonnell, one of Wellington Mara's 40 grandchildren. "I said, 'Are you going to try to score today, or what?' He said, 'Yeah, I'll get you one, don't worry.' "Sure enough, he did." Continue

Giant day for 'D' and 'Duke'

It was like something out of the glory days of New York Giants football. A powerful, unstoppable running game. An unbreakable, near-perfect defense. It was exactly the type of football that Wellington Mara loved. "I just wish he could've been there to see it," said Wellington's son John. "I think he would've been pretty pleased."

Just two days after the Giants said an emotional farewell to their patriarch at St. Patrick's Cathedral, they returned to Wellington's cathedral yesterday and paid him a perfect tribute - a 36-0 pounding of the Washington Redskins at Giants Stadium that left Mara's team alone in first place in the NFC East. They rode a career-high 206 yards from Tiki Barber and a defense that GM Ernie Accorsi said "played possessed." Continue

Giants going back to Well

Every game Jessie Armstead can ever remember playing for the Giants ended exactly the same way - with a walk to the locker room where he'd see Wellington Mara waiting, often with a handshake and almost always with a smile. The bigger the game, the firmer the handshake. And the smile would be huge if his beloved Giants won. "It was just that smile on his face when we walked into the locker room," Armstead recalled outside St. Patrick's Cathedral on Friday morning. "He didn't say much, but we just knew." Continue

With heavy hearts

Two words passed through the lips of almost everyone associated with the Giants as they endured a most difficult week: Carry on. It is what we must do, they said. It is what Wellington Mara would have wanted. Carry on. It is what the Giants do today, when they face the Redskins in an NFC East showdown played at Giants Stadium, surrounded by flags lowered to half-staff, where the team Mara weaned and loved for his 89 years will go out and play football.

The Giants will wear their co-owner's initials, W.T.M., on an oval patch placed on their left shoulders, fittingly near their hearts. No one knows what it will be like to have a kickoff and a tackle and touchdowns and penalties and a win or a loss without Mara for the first time since his intimate involvement with the team began 81 years ago. Continue

Farewell to a gentle Giant

Wellington Mara lived a perfect life. Yesterday, he received the perfect farewell. It was a crisp autumn morning made for the game he loved at a magnificent cathedral for the faith to which he adhered. His casket was surrounded by the family and friends he cherished and the team he built. Finally, his oldest son delivered a powerful, emotion-filled eulogy that captured the man at his essence.

"I could not help but think when I sat down to try and prepare this how fortunate I am and all my brothers and sisters are to have Wellington Mara as our father," said John Mara, who takes over as the Giants' chief decision-maker. "He was the finest man that we have ever known or hope to know, and he was our dad." Continue

Giants wait on Plax

Plaxico Burress practiced yesterday for the first time this week, renewing the Giants' optimism that he'll be able to play tomorrow against the Washington Redskins. Burress had been sidelined for most of the week with a sore shoulder, though on Thursday he said a series of tests had not determined what was wrong. It was not clear if the pain was related to the back spasms that kept him out of practice eight days ago and bothered him during Sunday's game.

Whatever it was, the Giants obviously need him available and healthy against a Redskins defense ranked fourth in the NFL overall and fourth against the pass. Burress is the Giants' leading receiver, by far, with 36 catches, 535 yards and five touchdowns through six games. Continue

Giants hoping to win this one for Wellington

A BIG Blue seven-bus caravan of grief leaves Giants Stadium today at 8 a.m. for St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Wellington Mara. The Giant family, young and old, will pay their final respects to a great Giant, a great New Yorker, a great American, and listen as Frank Gifford and John Mara, the oldest son, give heartfelt eulogies to NFL royalty.

It will be a solemn ride, hulking young men in the prime of their lives, Wellington Mara's pride and joy, getting ready to be confronted by a sorrowful reminder that mortality comes even to immortals. You bet they want to win this first-place NFC East slugfest Sunday against the rival Redskins for him, as well as for themselves, and Giants Stadium will be a cauldron of tears and cheers trying to help them. I asked Tiki Barber how badly the Giants want to win this game for Wellington Mara. Continue

Plaxico sits out practice

Wide receiver Plaxico Burress, Eli Manning's No.1 target, sat out another practice yesterday. Burress injured his shoulder in the Giants' win over the Broncos and is resting it as a precaution. He is still listed as questionable on the injury report. "I'm just going to try to get a little more soreness out," he explained. "I'm getting better. I'm just taking it day by day." Burress said that an MRI on the shoulder was negative and that the back spasms that kept him out of last Friday's practice no longer were a factor. Also missing practice was LB Carlos Emmons (pectoral). He, too, remained questionable. Michael Strahan returned to practice after a day off due to illness. Continue

Coughlin: Best tribute is to play Well vs. Skins

The Giants have a big game on Sunday, and Wellington Mara would've loved it. What could be better than the Giants and Redskins fighting for first place in the NFC East inside a sold-out Giants Stadium on a brisk and sunny day? What he'd want most, the Giants know, is for them to put their grief aside and focus on winning.

And they will. Eventually. But yesterday morning, football did not come first. "We gathered as a team this morning, we stood and we devoted a moment of silence to our beloved owner, Wellington Mara," Tom Coughlin said. "We asked God to accept his soul. We talked about honoring Mr. Mara in death and celebrating his life. Continue

Mara loss has Shockey Blue

Jeremy Shockey, redneck in blue jersey, stood by his locker yesterday at Giants Stadium and spoke at uncharacteristic length about a man who wasn't there any longer to offer a tap on the shoulder and a few cautionary words. Wellington Mara, 89, died on Tuesday. So the craggy face of New York football wasn't under the digital clock in the dressing room, wasn't in its spot, wasn't speaking to Shockey with a simple, benevolent smile.

It never made much sense, this touchy-feely relationship between wild child and stalwart wise man. Maybe because they were so very different, not everyone really knew or understood the depth of their connection these past four seasons. Continue

Green done for season

The Giants yesterday finally ended the speculation concerning linebacker Barrett Green's health when they placed him on season-ending injured reserve. Thus ends another highly disappointing year for Green, who was a touted 2004 free-agent signing who never was healthy enough to make an impact.

Green appeared in only one game this season, used merely on special teams against the Rams. He could not recover from offseason knee and ankle surgeries, continually experiencing setbacks in his rehabilitation. Green expressed optimism earlier this season that he was getting closer to full strength but a recent setback with his ankle caused the Giants to make the move. Continue

Greatest Giant of them all

Games will go on but the Giants will never be the same. Not after the passing of Wellington Mara, who cared for his team the way a parent nurtures a child. Beloved and respected, Mara was so much more than the co-owner and patriarch of the Giants. He was their guardian, their caretaker, at times their taskmaster and always their friend. A wonderful, humble life of faith, family and football ended yesterday after 89 years, when Mara died in his Rye home after a battle with cancer. Continue

Funeral, donation details

Here are the wake and funeral Mass arrangements for Wellington Mara: The family will receive friends today from 6-9 p.m. and tomorrow from 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at the Frank Campbell Funeral Home in Manhattan (Madison Avenue at 81st Street). The public is invited tomorrow from 5-7 p.m. The funeral Mass will be Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue at 51st Street in Manhattan. In lieu of flowers, the Mara family has asked that donations be made in Wellington Mara's memory to one of the following organizations:

* Boys Hope Girls Hope, a non-profit organization created to assist academically capable and motivated children in need. Boys Hope Girls Hope is at 12120 Bridgeton Square Drive, Bridgeton, MO, 63044-2607. Or at: www.boyshopegirlshope.org * Life Athletes, a non-profit organization set up by professional and Olympic athletes who are committed to living lives of virtue, abstinence and respect for life. Continue

FuneralL, donation details

Here are the wake and funeral Mass arrangements for Wellington Mara: The family will receive friends today from 6-9 p.m. and tomorrow from 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at the Frank Campbell Funeral Home in Manhattan (Madison Avenue at 81st Street). The public is invited tomorrow from 5-7 p.m. The funeral Mass will be Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue at 51st Street in Manhattan. In lieu of flowers, the Mara family has asked that donations be made in Wellington Mara's memory to one of the following organizations:

* Boys Hope Girls Hope, a non-profit organization created to assist academically capable and motivated children in need. Boys Hope Girls Hope is at 12120 Bridgeton Square Drive, Bridgeton, MO, 63044-2607. Or at: www.boyshopegirlshope.org * Life Athletes, a non-profit organization set up by professional and Olympic athletes who are committed to living lives of virtue, abstinence and respect for life. Continue

Giants owner Wellington Mara dies

Wellington Timothy Mara, patriarch of New York's first family of pro football and a pillar of the area's sports community for well over half a century, died today at his home in Rye, N.Y. He was 89. During an association with the New York Football Giants that began when he was 9 years old -- when the National Football League still played in places such as Pottsville, Akron and Duluth -- Mara became one of the most respected figures in sports as its modern form evolved through the late 20th century.

"Wellington Mara is the face of not only the New York Giants but the NFL," Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey told the Associated Press. "He's a pioneer and the guy that everybody looks up to." Continue

The Mann is now the franchise

Archie Manning stood in the tunnel near the Giants' locker room following games last year after his son Eli had just been humbled trying to play franchise savior as a rookie. All Archie Manning could say was just give it time, things would get better. He was back in the same spot after Sunday's game, but the perspective was much different. He had just watched his son lead the Giants on a 83-yard drive, racing the clock to beat the Broncos with five seconds left. Archie Manning was right. Things have gotten better. A lot better. The Giants have their first franchise quarterback since Phil Simms.

"I'm really proud of him," Archie Manning was saying. "When you are a young player and you get one like this under your belt, it's good. You remember these. It's going to come up a lot. So, it gives you a good feeling to know you can always do it." Continue

Eli has Blue believing

In the swirl of a hot and heavy comeback, with time ticking away, hearts pounding and pressure mounting, the huddle can be a place of desperation. Yet down the stretch of a game that once appeared lost but then suddenly was found, the Giants leaned on youthful Eli Manning to calm them.

With veterans filling their offensive line, a Pro Bowl running back in Tiki Barber flanking receiving stalwarts Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress and the matured Jeremy Shockey gathered around, the Giants on Sunday needed someone to take the rudder and point the attack in the right direction. A 24-year old making his 13th NFL start would seem to be the unlikely choice, but he was the one. Continue

Emmons' injury is big worry

The Giants' battered defense could lose another starter for a significant period. Linebacker Carlos Emmons underwent an MRI yesterday to determine if his right pectoral muscle is torn. If it is, his season is over. Emmons was injured in the third quarter Sunday while attempting to tackle Broncos running back Tatum Bell. Bell took a pitch from Jake Plummer and sped around the left side, breaking through Emmons' grasp for a 37-yard run.

"His arms were ripped through on the attempt to tackle," coach Tom Coughlin said. Emmons didn't return to the game and was replaced by Reggie Torbor. Michael Strahan had a torn pectoral muscle last season that required surgery and ended his season in the Giants' eighth game. Continue

Eli's drive gets Blue home

The game-winning touchdown was 83 yards away and there was only 3:29 remaining. In other words, Giants quarterback Eli Manning was exactly where he wanted to be. The Comeback Kid staged another dramatic, late-game rally yesterday, leading the Giants all the way down the field and throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to his forgotten receiver, Amani Toomer, with just five seconds left in the game. That capped a remarkable comeback that saw the Giants rally from 13 points down in the final 13 minutes to stun the Denver Broncos, 24-23. Continue

Giants deliver a get-Well message

It was a dramatic victory, but it meant so much more to the Giants than just pushing them back into a first-place tie in the NFC East. They know in their hearts they provided temporary relief to co-owners Wellington Mara and Robert Tisch.

Tom Coughlin made special mention to the players Friday morning and then after yesterday's game about Mara and Tisch, both of whom have been battling cancer and were at their homes watching the game on television after recent hospital stays. His message was that neither was doing well and to have them in their prayers. The Giants sent a compelling message to both men with the way they refused to give up on the field. Continue

Amani's the hero & goat

Amani Toomer has caught more passes for more yards than any player in Giant history. But while he'd earned the nickname GOAT (Greatest of all time) in Big Blue's locker room, he'd been MIA on the field, the forgotten man in an offense that features Plaxico Burress, Jeremy Shockey and Tiki Barber.

But Toomer turned back the clock yesterday, carrying the Giants with a vintage performance and lifting them to a come-from-behind 24-23 win over Denver with a 2-yard touchdown catch with five seconds on the clock and no timeouts. Continue

Barber cuts criticism

During a conversation with Amani Toomer last week, Tiki Barber told his longtime Giants teammate that he felt like the two of them were turning into the "forgotten people" of Big Blue's offense. Toomer obviously had become a fallback option for quarterback Eli Manning, who has showed a preference this season for throwing to Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey. And Barber had yet to show the form he showed last season.

In last week's overtime loss to Dallas, he had carried the ball just 14 times for 64 yards. Though he is still waiting for his first breakout game of the season, Barber finally got back into the flow of the offense in yesterday's 24-23 win over the Broncos. He also played a role in helping Toomer do the same. Continue

'D' gets tough, finally

The Giants' defense was more break than bend yesterday, but it stiffened at an opportune time late in the fourth quarter to give Eli Manning & Company a chance to work their magic. "At some point, you have to stand up and make plays," defensive end Michael Strahan said, and the Giants did just that after Manning threw an interception that gave the Broncos the ball with 4:46 remaining and a 23-17 lead. "There's no quit in us. To shut that offense down showed we really wanted to win."

Denver's vaunted and No.1-ranked running game produced 191 yards for the game, but it couldn't get 10 when it needed to in the final minutes. Mike Anderson (120 rushing yards) gained 3 and 2 on the first two carries of that drive, and Jake Plummer's third-down pass to Tatum Bell was knocked away by Will Allen, forcing a punt. Continue

Eli, Giants pull out win

Eli Manning hit Amani Toomer with a two-yard touchdown pass with five seconds remaining to give the Giants a 24-23 win over the Broncos at Giants Stadium. Manning finished 23-of-42 for 214 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for the Giants (4-2), who rallied from a 13-point deficit to remain a perfect 4-0 when playing at the Meadowlands this season.Toomer ended with eight catches for 62 yards with none bigger than his reception in the middle of the end zone in the final seconds.

After starting the drive at their own 17 yard line with 3 1/2 minutes left and down 23-17, the Giants marched the length of the field for the dramatic finish. On 3rd-and-goal with 10 seconds remaining, Manning took the snap, dropped back to give himself time, and slung a pass to Toomer, who found an opening in the middle of the Denver defense. Jay Feely then connected on the PAT to give New York the lead. Continue

Mister Softie?

In the moments after the Giants' heartbreaking loss last Sunday in Dallas, it sure seemed like Mt. Coughlin was all ready to blow. All those turnovers, the wasted opportunities, and even the performance in spots by his defense had to be gnawing at him the entire flight home. Yet on Monday morning there was no eruption. Terrible Tom had turned into Coughlin the Coddler. Instead of knocking his players when they were down, he patted them on the back.

"We have a lot of young guys in that locker room that need to have some kind of a pat on the rear end and (someone) saying, 'Hey it's a long season and there's a lot of tough football games ahead,'" Coughlin told the surprised media that same morning. "We may be suffering today, but tomorrow you have to come back and be ready to go." Continue

Air Jeremy

The secret to Jeremy Shockey's success this season sits in the basement of his New Jersey apartment. "It's about 12 feet long, it looks like a big time capsule," Shockey told The Post. "It fills up with about five pounds of pressure and you sit there for a couple of hours every day and ... seems to be working." It is called a hyperbaric chamber, and Shockey got the idea from his agent Drew Rosenhaus, who told him how much his controversial client Terrell Owens swore by it last year when he gutted his way back from a broken leg to play in Super Bowl XXIX. Continue

Productive Greisen earns third start in a row

For the past two games, Nick Greisen has started for the Giants at weak side linebacker and his play at that position has been more than solid. He'll start again today against the Broncos, hoping to further secure his spot in the lineup. Greisen had 10 tackles, returned a fumble 28 yards to set up a field goal and dropped running back Marion Barber for a six-yard loss in overtime of last week's 16-13 loss to the Cowboys. He began the season on the bench in his usual reserve role, but was inserted when the coaching staff decided to sit Reggie Torbor.

"He had the game of his life," GM Ernie Accorsi said of Greisen's performance last week. "He is playing now like he read in the draft room. Our coaches really liked him because he had instincts. That's a position where a lot of it is knowledge and he's getting to play, getting a chance to prove himself." Continue

Plaxico may be a no-go vs. Broncos

Eli Manning may be without one of his favorite targets when the Giants host the Broncos tomorrow. Plaxico Burress sat out practice yesterday with a back injury and was added to the injury report as questionable. The wide receiver battled injuries while in Pittsburgh but has remained healthy so far this season after signing with the Giants. The 6-5, 225-pounder has quickly developed a connection with Manning, although he struggled last week against the Cowboys, catching only five passes for 55 yards and losing a fumble in the overtime loss.

LB Barrett Green, who has played in only one game this season because of knee and ankle injuries, is scheduled to get another opinion on his injured ankle Tuesday. "The knee is fine, but I have to get the ankle checked out again," said Green, who expects to visit Dr. Robert Anderson, who performed surgery on him in the offseason. "We'll see what else we can do. I'm trying to remain optimistic." Continue

Big Blue plans on bucking Broncos

Lost in all the heat the Giants' pass defense has taken lately is the fact that their run defense, for the most part, has been outstanding. The only blemish came in San Diego, when the Chargers torched them for 268 rushing yards. The Giants said that was an aberration. They'll have a chance to prove that it was when they face the Denver Broncos tomorrow.

There aren't many teams with running games as dangerous as the one the Chargers have with LaDainian Tomlinson, but the Broncos (5-1), as always, have one. They have the NFL's third-best rushing offense - one place ahead of San Diego - averaging 153.3yards per game. And they have two running backs each on pace to approach 1,000 yards. Continue

Giants out to clog Plummer

The Broncos' running game has gotten plenty of attention this year, and for good reason. Behind a precision blocking scheme and two talented backs, Denver is third in the league in rushing at 153.3 yards per game. Nevertheless, the Giants' defense cannot afford to devote its entire focus to the run. Perhaps no one else in the league does a better job of setting up the passing game with their run than the Broncos. Quarterback Jake Plummer, who has been inconsistent his whole career, has turned into the model of efficiency in his third year in Denver because of an old Broncos principle that fits his style perfectly - the play-action bootleg pass. Continue

Eli expects better game

  It wasn't one of those make-you-cringe outings that prompt a rush to the record books to determine if it was the worst ever. Eli Manning wasn't that bad last week in Dallas. "I didn't feel I was throwing bad or I missed a lot of throws," the Giants quarterback said yesterday. Awful he was not. Effective wouldn't be an apt description, either. Manning was fairly pedestrian for the bulk of a 16-13 overtime loss to the Cowboys, perhaps less than that, before a late rally with two impressive drives allowed the Giants to pull even. Continue

Giants' defense has work 'Cut' out

Any game against the Broncos sends up a flare for opposing defenses, especially linemen and linebackers who must be wary of how Denver's offensive line cut-blocks as a way to trigger an explosive running game. The Giants know what's coming on Sunday and understand they must protect their lower legs when pursuing a ball-carrier. Denver's linemen traditionally are smaller and faster than most, and the team's outside running game, full of slashing sweeps, gets moving when the Broncos take out the legs of defenders. As long as an opponent is not engaged with another blocker and the cut block comes from the front and not the side, it is legal play. Not especially sporting, but legal.

"The cut block, that's tough when you play defense because you got to protect yourself," Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "Most of the time you're worried about guys hitting you in the mouth and now you're looking eye level and you got to see what's on the ground, all the little trash on the group. You got to play with discipline and keep your eyes on your work. You can't worry about being injured, getting cut, stuff like that; you play like that, you'll be tentative and they'll have about 400 yards on us." Continue

Coughlin: Run ball, not mouth

Tiki Barber wants the ball more and Tom Coughlin wants him to get it. He also wants all the second-guessing to stop. Questioned for the second time in three days about the team's lack of a running game in Dallas, Coughlin became animated when discussing the subject at the end of his press conference yesterday. He vowed "We have full intention of running the football with Tiki" Sunday against Denver.

Then he tried his best to get everyone off his back. "(Not running enough) is not the problem," Coughlin said. "The problem is: Make some first downs so we keep the ball and have an opportunity to be able to run the offense, to be able to rush the ball, to be able to create the balance. That is the way we have played throughout the year. It wasn't too bad until this past weekend, when everyone decided that for whatever reason it is not good enough." Continue

Defense perplexed by third-and-wrong

Of all the unpleasantly big numbers the Giants defense has allowed, the one that stands out and perplexes everyone from Tom Coughlin on down is 51.4. That's the percentage of third-down conversions Giants opponents have made this season, leaving them as the only team in the league allowing more than half of third downs to be converted.

"I can't put my hand on what the problem is. It's not rocket science," safety Gibril Wilson said. "You've either got to get the ball out or you've got to stop them. Guys are angry that we're not getting off the field."Not just the defensive players. Coughlin said third downs have been a problem all season for his defense, though the Giants' inefficiency came to a head on Sunday in Dallas, when they allowed the Cowboys to convert 9 of 16 third downs. The Giants have allowed 37 of 72 conversions; 13 of the 37 have come on third-and-7 or longer situations. Continue

Third watch

Whatever it takes, it seems, the Giants defense gives. Five yards? Done. Ten yards? Go right ahead. More than 10? Don't be greedy, but collect whatever you need. When it comes to making third down comfortable for an opponent, no one is as hospitable as the Giants. Wrapped within their 3-2 record is a defensive statistic that surely will compromise their chances of a winning season. The Giants are allowing opponents to convert 51.4 percent on third down, the highest figure in the league. The NFL average is 37.8 percent, putting the Giants well below average in a significant barometer of defensive efficiency. Continue

Giant softies

Tom Coughlin  stood in front of his players on Monday morning and listed all the good things they had done on Sunday in Dallas. He praised the team for its resiliency, the offense for the way it rallied, and said he was impressed with the play of the special teams. Then he asked, "What's missing from this presentation?" What he said was missing in Big D was the "D".

Blame the offense all you want for the Giants' 16-13 overtime loss to the Cowboys - certainly Eli Manning and Co. deserve it after all the opportunities they let slip away - but the defense does not deserve all the credit it has been getting. For the fourth time in five games the Giants were shredded by an opponent's passing attack. And they were completely unable to stop the Cowboys when it mattered most. Continue

Giants' future is 'O' so good

THOSE wondering about the wisdom of investing in an authentic Giants jersey should go right ahead and take the financial plunge. Don't fear that your favorite player will be shown the door and you'll be left wearing an outdated name and number. These Giants of today will be the Giants of many tomorrows to come. They are here. They will remain here. And, if the grand plan flourishes as expected, the Giants will have a dynamic offense for years to come.

Of their 11 offensive starters, 10 are signed through the 2008 season. Get used to seeing Eli Manning in the pocket, scanning the field for Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress or dropping the ball off to Tiki Barber, with a recognizable wall of offensive linemen carving out the necessary protection. Continue

Big Blue loses balance & way

The worst part about playing football for Tiki Barber always has been Monday mornings, when he slowly takes inventory of his body parts before gingerly getting out of bed. So it was strange when he gave this unexpected answer yesterday when asked how he was feeling. "I feel great today," he said. "I only had 14 carries."

That summed up the biggest problem the Giants had in their 16-13 overtime loss in Dallas on Sunday. Barber, arguably their most dangerous weapon, touched the ball just 15 times, including those 14 rushes for 64 yards. It was a tight game in which the Giants (3-2) never trailed by more than a touchdown. Yet somehow he only had six carries in the second half. Continue

Jacobs 'Needs work'

After his eye-opening training camp, enticing preseason and six-carry, 39-yard, one touchdown performance in his NFL debut, it appeared as if big things were brewing for Brandon Jacobs, the 266-pound rookie running back who captivated the imagination of Giants fans eager to purge the memory of Ron Dayne.

Lately, though, Jacobs has barely been seen, except for heavy-duty work on special teams. In the last three games he's got just three rushing attempts and on his lone carry in Sunday's 16-13 overtime loss in Dallas, Jacobs fumbled on the Cowboys' 1-yard line. Continue

Tiki: Let's balance it

Tiki Barber tweaked the coaches' play-calling two weeks ago, saying in his unfailingly polite way that he needed more touches. The result was his best game of the season, 24 carries for 128 yards in a 44-24 win over the Rams. Barber was more direct yesterday. Even as he protested that he was not slamming Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator John Hufnagel, the Giants' all-time leading rusher spoke up again about the lack of a sustained running game in Sunday's 16-13 overtime loss to the Cowboys.

"Everybody loves a great passing game, but it's not what wins football games," said Barber, who rushed 14 times for 64 yards Sunday. "You pass too much and get a few incompletions, you end up with 23 minutes of possession [the Giants had 23:01 of possession time to the Cowboys' 40:46]." Continue

Well runs dry for Big Blue 'O'

Somebody finally put the clamps on the highest-scoring offense in the league. Leave it to Bill Parcells and his staff to figure it out. By taking away Eli Manning's first option and matching up against Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey, the Cowboys' defense was able to overcome a bunch of offensive blunders and come out with a 16-13 win yesterday.

Parcells called it the defense's "best effort of the year" because it was the most timely. "We couldn't take care of the ball. We had a kick blocked. We had some penalties," Parcells said. "You don't get to win many of those, with those kinds of mistakes, so I would say we consider ourselves fortunate." Continue

Defense stumbles in extra session

All game, the Cowboys were completing passes in front of the Giants' coverage, accumulating yardage and first downs but not many points. At a key moment, though, the Giants defense caved in at the precise wrong time. The trap the Giants fell into yesterday was sprung barely a minute into overtime, when Drew Bledsoe lofted a pass to tight end Jason Witten that beat safety Brent Alexander.

The 26-yard pickup was all the Cowboys needed to get Jose Cortez into position for a game-winning 45-yard field goal in the Giants' 16-13 loss at Texas Stadium. "They set that up very well with shorter, underneath passes," Tom Coughlin said. "They got our safety up on that side covering the shorter route." Guilty as charged, Alexander said. He saw Keyshawn Johnson coming across on a shorter route as he had all day and paid too much attention to him, allowing Witten to roam free. Continue

Tom, rook off hook

Considering that the Giants came back - then lost - maybe the questions surrounding Brandon Jacobs' goal-line fumble yesterday were rendered moot. Nevertheless, Tom Coughlin's decision to use Jacobs at the most critical part of the game after he hadn't carried the ball all day came under scrutiny, with the coach defending himself. The Giants, down by seven, had driven from their 26 to a second-and-1 at the Dallas 3 with 1:26 left in the game.

Jacobs, the answer to the team's long-standing short-yardage woes, then was called on to perform his battering-ram act. But Jacobs was stood up near the goal line and Cowboys safety Roy Williams got his helmet on the ball. It popped loose and Williams fell on it. Had the Cowboys picked up one first down after the Giants' fourth turnover, the game would have been over and Jacobs (or Coughlin) would have been the goat. Continue

Cowboys pull through the muck to edge Giants

The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants wanted to find out Sunday which of them looked ready to challenge for supremacy in the NFC East.The Cowboys won, but the answer to the bigger question might be neither. Dallas committed four turnovers, missed two field-goal attempts and allowed a tying touchdown with 19 seconds left, yet overcame it all with a 45-yard field goal by Jose Cortez on the opening drive of overtime for a 16-13 victory over the equally inept Giants. "I feel pretty fortunate," Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said. Continue

Eli needs to bring

He's taken giant steps in his second season as a Giant. But Eli Manning can climb another big hill today in Big D - his first road win. Today's game with the Cowboys is more than just any old NFC East game. Both coaches have downplayed the significance of reviving a great old rivalry, but the Giants view it as a chance to make a statement to the division and the league."It's a monumental test for us," running back Tiki Barber said. "It'll tell a lot about our team, our offense in particular. This game will tell us how good we are."

Much of that falls on Manning, who provided some of the scant positives Tom Coughlin and the Giants took out of their last road game, the 45-23 pounding handed them by the Chargers. With an entire stadium trying to rattle him, Manning marched his team down the field on the opening drive and then rallied the team from a 21-3 deficit with 17 points in the final 4:25 of the first half. Continue

Mann on fire

There was always something in Eli Manning's performance, even during the darkest days of his rookie season. A throw here, an audible there. Sometimes it was a throw he didn't make, or the way he scrambled out of trouble. Every week, regardless of the numbers, Kevin Gilbride, the Giants quarterbacks coach, would see some little thing to make him think Manning was on the verge of greatness.

"I never had any doubt that he had the intangibles," Gilbride said. "I thought he had enough arm strength, I thought he had enough athleticism, I knew he was very, very bright and I knew that there's a calmness about him. So to be able to just see it happen little by little ..." Continue

Texas tangle

It is a way of life for the Giants, a routine followed by players and coaches and carried through into the highest reaches of the front office. There is a definite pattern to how they monitor the league on a weekly basis. "Every time you go home and watch SportsCenter or any TV show you watch, it's like you see how the Eagles did, see how the Cowboys did, see how the Redskins did," receiver Amani Toomer said, "and then you see maybe how the other teams did in the NFC."

Every step you take, I'll be watching you. Once the Giants tend to their own business, they're quick to take a gander at how their longtime NFC East rivals fared. After four games and one bye week, the Giants are riding high at 3-1 but in a quirk of the schedule have yet to play within the division. That trend comes to an end today against the Cowboys at Texas Stadium in a game that down the road could mean even more than it does right now. Continue

Ankle ailing Torbor

Linebacker Reggie Torbor twisted his ankle during yesterday's practice and is listed as questionable on the Giants' injury report. The injury, which occurred early in practice, is significant because Carlos Emmons, who plays ahead of Torbor, is trying to come back from an injured knee. Either would cover the Cowboys' outstanding tight end, Jason Witten. "Hopefully, that's not going to be an issue," Tom Coughlin said of Torbor's injury. "He jumped up to catch a ball, just came down wrong. It seems to be a lateral ankle, which would be encouraging that we would be able to get him right back." Continue

Plaxico demands respect

They've been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season with their 3-1 record, they're tied for first place in its most competitive division and they have the highest-scoring offense in the league. Yet the Giants still don't think anyone is taking them seriously. And as they head to Dallas on Sunday they can't help but wonder: What is it going to take to make people believe they're for real?

"I don't think people really believe that we can get the job done," receiver Plaxico Burress said yesterday. "There's still a lot of people thinking that we can't make the playoffs. We're a 3-1 football team and they still think we're the worst team in this division. That kind of motivates us a little bit to go out and show everybody what we're really capable of doing." Continue

Peterson gets tests on back

The Giants still have hope that cornerback Will Peterson will play for them again this season, but it will be another 4-6 weeks before they know for sure. Several tests on the "hot spots" on his injured back determined they were stress reactions - not yet stress fractures - according to several sources, leading the two spine specialists who examined Peterson to prescribe a wait-and-see approach. Peterson will rest for at least the next month before he is reevaluated by the doctors to see if the injury heals on its own.

If the "hot spots" do heal, Peterson could be back for the Giants' game against the Eagles on Nov. 20. If they don't, or if they develop into fractures that would require 6-12 weeks of recovery time, his season could be over. Continue

Real shock value

Jeremy Shockey had answered a few questions regarding his hefty new contract when he tried to deflect the talk away from the issue. "Let's talk about Dallas," Shockey said, referring to the Giants' game Sunday at Texas Stadium. He had a point. The rivals' first meeting of the year also marks the Giants' first game within the NFC East this season, and with a win they can assure themselves at least a share of first place with the Redskins.

  But there was no denying the importance of the five-year extension Shockey signed Wednesday that keeps him with the Giants through the 2011 season and makes him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL with a deal that could be worth over $30 million. Continue

Allen: Time for Giant 'D' to step up

Tim Lewis doesn't want his defense to be bothered by the fact that it has given up so many yards, as well as a significant amount of points, through the Giants' first four games.

Lewis, the team's defensive coordinator, said last week that the Giants' defense was playing better than people realized and that as long as it was winning, there was no cause for alarm. His words have been heeded by most, but Will Allen isn't completely convinced that all is well with the defensive unit.  "I'm a cornerback," Allen said. "I don't like teams to throw for a lot of yards on us, not when I'm out there. It's a reflection on us." Continue

Shockey signs 5-year extension

Jeremy Shockey, the Giants' flamboyant and sometimes spectacular tight end, signed a five-year, $31.2 million contract extension on Wednesday. Shockey's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said the deal makes him the NFL's highest-paid player at his position. It includes a $3 million signing bonus for Shockey, who had two years left on his contract. The tight end, New York's first-round pick in 2002, had a spectacular rookie year, catching 74 passes for 894 yards. He was voted both to the All-Pro team and the Pro Bowl.

He has been bothered by injuries the past two years, although he made the Pro Bowl again in 2003. Last year, he was the Giants' leading receiver with 61 catches, but complained at times about having too many blocking duties in a controlled offense designed to help rookie Eli Manning break in at quarterback. Continue

East's least now beasts

The Eagles are still the four-time reigning conference champions, but their crowns were knocked off in Dallas on Sunday. At the same time, the Washington Redskins went to Denver and came away a few points short of keeping first place all to themselves. All of a sudden, the NFC East, which for the last four years has been the Eagles and everybody else, looks like the deepest division in football. At the very least, it's the only division with four winning teams.

"I think the NFC East is the best conference in football right now," said Giants defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy. Added center Shaun O'Hara: "I would put our division up there with any division around." The apparent resurgence of this long dormant division certainly adds some excitement to the Giants' game at Dallas on Sunday. The Giants are 3-1, coming off their bye week, and the Cowboys are 3-2, coming off their 33-10 thrashing of the Eagles. This could be the first year since 1994 that both finish with winning records in the same season. Continue

Jints searchin' for corner unit

Corey Webster came to the Giants through the front door, welcomed in with open arms, presented with a cash prize for merely showing up. Curtis Deloatch barely caused a ripple when he arrived, slipping in, barely noticed, given nothing but a practice jersey.

A rookie, Webster is a second-round draft pick out of mighty LSU, a veteran of high-stakes games featured on national television. It's common knowledge that Webster was a first-round talent who slid a bit because of an injury-laden senior year. The entire 2004 NFL Draft came and went without Deloatch hearing his name called, and he latched on with the Giants out of North Carolina A&T, no one's idea of a football factory. Continue

Jints keep an eye on 'Boys

With a rare Sunday off, many of the Giants — remote controls in hand and large, digitally-enhanced images in front of them — took to their couches for some good old-fashioned weekend football watching. There on the big screen were the Cowboys and Eagles, two NFC East rivals, giving the Giants an opportunity for some casual scouting.

With the Giants returning to action on Sunday in Dallas, it was particularly noteworthy that the Cowboys rode a fast start to a dominating 33-10 victory that Bill Parcells grudgingly called his team's best performance in three years.  "I'm glad they're playing well, that's when you want to play people, when they're playing well," center Shaun O'Hara said. "We're playing well, too, so it will be great timing for us." Continue

Giants see Blue skies

The lessons of 2004 haven't been lost on the 2005 Giants, they've just chosen to push them aside for the moment. They're well aware that last year's 3-1 start eventually turned into a 6-10 finish. They're also convinced that won't happen again. "Let's just say we're more confident in ourselves," running back Tiki Barber said. "We're sure of our future." There are many reasons for that, but most have to do with an explosive offense and blossoming star at quarterback. A year ago, Kurt Warner was quarterbacking a flawed offense that was going backwards. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time until Eli Manning made his debut. Continue

Making a connection

There just happened to be an empty space next to Eli Manning, so Plaxico Burress moved into Ron Dayne's old locker, and the young quarterback and the free-agent wide receiver became neighbors from day one. The connection between Manning and Burress has grown since. In just four games, the new teammates have forged an on-field rhythm that has improved both. Off the field, they are remarkably similar in temperament and in their ability to handle the spotlight.

"Not much fazes either of them," said Tiki Barber, whose locker is a few yards away. "They both do a lot of their talking with their play." They may seem an odd couple: Manning, the youngest son of the NFL's first family of quarterbacks, and Burress, the oldest of three boys raised by a tireless mother in a lower-class part of Virginia Beach. Continue

Getting better all the time

Eli Manning spent part of the bye week studying everything he did during the first four games of the season, and even he found some of it hard to believe. It's not that he didn't believe he was capable of the offensive outburst he's helped produce during the last two games. It's just that it's such a dramatic improvement from what he did on opening day. "From the first game to the last game I've seen a big difference," he said. "I almost look like a different quarterback." Continue

Not playing percentages

Of all the gaudy numbers put up by Eli Manning that confirm his growth as a quarterback, the one area lagging behind is completion percentage. Alarming? No. Interesting? Yes.

Manning after four games and heading into the bye week is the fifth highest-ranked quarterback in the NFL, yet he's down near the bottom at 29th with a completion percentage of 53.7. And it's not as if his subpar first two games is dragging down his percentage. Even in his recent two-game breakout, he's been pro lific (six touchdowns, 648 yards) but not highly effi cient (43-of-76, 55 percent). Continue

Toomer catches praise

The day in March when the Giants signed Plaxico Burress wasn't one of the finest moments of Amani Toomer's NFL career. It meant that after a remarkable six-year run as the team's No. 1 receiver, he was being pushed aside. It meant the big passes that used to go to him would now be thrown to someone else.

Toomer could have complained about that. He could have demanded a trade or more money, or gone out of his way to make things difficult when Burress arrived. That would be consistent with the stereotype of today's NFL receivers. But that just wouldn't have been Toomer's style. Continue

Lewis defends shoddy numbers

Tim Lewis, the coordinator of a Giants defense that ranks a dismal 31st in the NFL, had no trouble picking out the thing he's been most pleased with during the first four games of this season. "The offense," he said, "is scoring a lot of points." He laughed, but he knows there's nothing funny about the way his defense has played through the first four games of this season. It is giving up 425.2 yards per game overall, 322 yards passing (31st), and an average of 24.5 points (26th).

Those are not numbers indicative of a team with a 3-1 record, but Lewis isn't worried. He said in order to evaluate his defense, you must also consider "how the numbers relate to the score." And aside from the blowout in San Diego - which he admitted was bad and hopes is an aberration - he said the Giants' defense has been hindered by playing mostly with big leads thanks to the highest-scoring offense in the NFL. Continue

Eli's maturation thrills veterans

The grimaces told the tale. Tiki Barber, Amani Toomer and Michael Strahan wondered if they'd ever again be part of anything meaningful with the Giants as Kerry Collins exited and Eli Manning arrived.

The newest Manning off the assembly line might eventually be great. But when? The football clocks were ticking for veterans uninterested in babysitting young Eli as he shed his training wheels. Skepticism was rampant. After one season, so were losses. Continue

Secondary's a primary problem

The numbers that matter most are three, as in victories for the Giants, and one, as in losses. But for the record to remain impressive, the Giants must stop allowing passing yards to accumulate at an alarming rate. Through four games, the defense has given up 1,288 net passing yards (opposing quarterbacks' passing yardage minus yards lost in sacks). If that pace continues, the Giants will allow 5,152 net passing yards this season. The highest total allowed in franchise history is 3,616 yards given up in 1997.

"Sure, you're concerned about the yardage," coach Tom Coughlin said yesterday. "You look at that average per game and you kind of shake your head." In beating the Rams 44-24, the Giants raced to a big lead (27-7) and then grew more conservative on defense, laying back in the secondary as Marc Bulger set records for completions (40) and passing attempts (62) against the Giants. The Giants' defense also forced five turnovers, including three interceptions. Continue

Masterful Eli comes to pass

There are still a few players left in the Giants' locker room who remember the bad old days when the defense hated the offense because the offense usually stunk. Points were hard to come by. Wins were even harder. Those days seem like they were a very long time ago.

Nowadays the Giants are the NFL's new Greatest Show on Turf - the highest-scoring team in football four games into the season. They lit up the old "Greatest Show" yesterday by pounding the St. Louis Rams, 44-24, at Giants Stadium. And they left the game feeling like they could have - should have - scored even more. Continue