Giants Team Grades: Week 13 vs. Washington Redskins

Monday, December 3^rd, 2012

Final Score: New York Giants: 16 Washington Redskins: 17

Giants Team Grades

Monday night featured a hard fought game between two bitter rivals that don’t like each other in the Giants and Redskins.  The Redskins were able to pull off the victory, ending a number of losing streaks on Monday Night Football.  The grades for the Giants will reflect just how poorly they played.

Passing Offense Grade: C+

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Eli Manning put up good stats in the game, throwing for 280 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, but he was unable to get the job done when it counted.  Manning completed only six passes in the second half, only one of them being in the fourth quarter.

Manning was able to distribute the ball well to Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Martellus Bennett.  Each had five catches; with Bennett have the biggest impact going for 82 yards and a touchdown. 

Manning connected with Bennett on a third-and-ten on the last offensive drive of the fourth quarter, but it was nullified by a penalty, ending the Giants drive. 

Rushing Offense Grade: B+

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Ahmad Bradshaw had a strong game as the feature back with Andre Brown being out for the remainder of the season.  Bradshaw went over 100 yards for the third time this season, rushing for 103 yards on 24 carries.  Bradshaw was a workhorse for the Giants, as the Giants totaled 29 rushes as a team.

The success of the running game in the first half was one reason the Giants dominated the time of possession in the early going, as Bradshaw tallied up 77 yards by halftime.  Going eight of 10 in the first half on third downs also doesn’t hurt.

David Wilson received only four carries in the game as well, going for only nine yards after saying all week that his time to contribute had finally arrived.

Passing Defense Grade: B-

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The Giants pass defense looked good if you only look at a box score, as Robert Griffin III had only 163 yards passing; it was the timeliness of the passing that killed the Giants.  Pierre Garcon was on the receiving end of every debilitating throw.

Garcon caught the eight-yard touchdown pass that put the Redskins ahead for good early in the fourth quarter and also caught the 17-yard pass on second-and-eight with just over two minutes remaining to ice the game.

In total, Garcon torched the Giants secondary with eight catches for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Rushing Defense Grade: F

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The Giants run defense was abysmal and couldn’t slow the Redskins down all night.  The Redskins totaled 207 yards on 31 rushes as a team.

Alfred Morris tore through the Giants once again, going over 120 yards for the second time in as many chances against the Giants this season.  Monday night, he went for 124 yards on 22 carries. He did fumble once, ending a scoring opportunity for the Redskins or else the score would have been much more in their favor.

Griffin didn’t have many rushing attempts, but he made them count going for 72 yards on five attempts.

When the Giants needed stops the most they were unable to get them either, as they allowed the Redskins to convert two first downs on the ground on the last drive of the game to ice it.

Special Teams Grade: C-

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Lawrence Tynes was asked to put in a full night of work again, going three of four on his field goal attempts.  Every field goal attempt was shaky for the Giants Monday night, with one of them going wide left.

They did not allow the Redskins dynamic return man Brandon Banks to hurt them, as he managed only 21 yards on three punt returns; instead the Giants inflicted all their damage on special teams upon themselves.

Wilson made a big return to set the Giants up late in the fourth quarter, but it was called back after a penalty on Jim Cordle; the drive started inside the 10 yard line and the Giants went three and out.

Coaching Grade: C+

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The Giants executed their game plan well in the first half, as they had three long time consuming drives to keep the dynamic Redskins offense led by Griffin off the field.  But the Giants shot themselves in the foot one too many times to pull out the victory.

Self-inflicted wounds like penalties are always a killer and the Giants had too many untimely ones Monday night.  The execution led to field goal attempts instead of touchdowns, which ultimately led to their demise. 

Giants Team Grades: Week 12 vs. Green Bay Packers

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Final Score: Green Bay Packers: 10 New York Giants: 38

Giants Team Grades

The Giants headed into the bye week looking like a shell of themselves, losing two straight games and faced one of the hottest teams in the NFL in the Green Bay Packers coming out of it.  The result was expected, but the teams were in reversed roles.  The Giants looked like the defending Super Bowl Champions that they are and they hammered the Packers 38-10, ending their five game winning streak.

Passing Offense Grade: A

There might not have been another player on the Giants that needed the bye week more than Eli Manning.  Manning, who had not thrown a touchdown since October 28^th against the Washington Redskins, looked refreshed and on point against the Packers, completing every type of pass in the game and looked to have the regular zip Giants fans have become accustomed to seeing from him. 

Manning finished the game with 249 yards and three touchdowns on 16 of 30 passing.  He was only sacked once even though the Giants lost starting tackle David Diehl to a burner in the first half.

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Hakeem Nicks scored his first touchdown since week two against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hauling in five balls for 77 yards and the touchdown.  Nicks will be an integral part to the Giants offense down the stretch and the closer he gets to 100 percent healthy the better it will be for the team.

Rushing Offense Grade: A

The Giants rushing attack was dominant against the Packers no matter what defensive package they used against them.  As a team, the Giants ran for 147 yards on 31 carries, good for 4.7 yards per carry.

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Ahmad Bradshaw looked spry as well coming off the bye, as there had been concerns he had hurt his neck again.  Bradshaw finished the game with 58 yards rushing on 10 attempts scoring a touchdown.  He also added an impressive 59 yard reception on a screen pass to setup an Andre Brown touchdown.

Brown had a solid game as well, leading the Giants with 64 rushing yards on 13 carries.  Sadly, Brown will most likely be lost for the season after breaking his fibula.  He will be placed on the IR-Designated to Return List with hopes that he can return if the Giants make a deep playoff run.

Pass Defense Grade: A

The game got off to a rough start for the pass defense, as Corey Webster surrendered a 61-yard bomb on the Packers first drive of the game; that was all Aaron Rodgers and the Packers passing game would be allowed for the game. 

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Webster bounced back with an interception of Rodgers on the next Packers drive to get some redemption.  The Giants never allowed Rodgers to get into a rhythm, sacking him five times and hitting him seven, seemingly knowing what the Packers were running and being in the backfield all game. 

Kenny Phillips returned from injury and the Giants brought back their three safety look for parts of the game and it worked to perfection.  It is unknown if the Giants will be able to do that next week against Washington though, as Phillips re-aggravated his MCL injury.  Phillips said he could have returned to the game, but with the Giants handling their business they aired on the side of caution.

Rush Defense Grade: B+

The Giants rush defense wasn’t exactly suffocating, giving up 116 yards on 26 carries but they were able to limit the big plays from the rushing game; the Packers longest run of the night was a 12-yard scamper by Randall Cobb.  The running game seemed to be implemented so heavily by the Packers to keep Rodgers from getting hit so often.

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Rodgers is capable of killing opposing defenses with his mobility and it showed as Rodgers ran all over the field.  Thankfully for the Giants, most of the time it was trying to avoid the pass rush in the backfield and not for rushing yards, as Rodgers was held to 22 yards rushing.

Special Teams Grade: A

The Giants came into the game focusing on Cobb in all aspects of the game, as he is a multi-dimensional player for the Packers lining up at running back, wide receiver and wildcat quarterback on offense and being the return man for kickoffs and punts.

The preparation to slow Cobb worked, as he totaled only 20 yards on two punt returns and a modest average of 26 yards per return on six kickoffs. 

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Lawrence Tynes continued his career season knocking a 43-yard field goal through the uprights, with the only negative for the Giants being a muffed punt by Rueben Randle, who made up for it catching both balls thrown at him by Manning, one going for his first career touchdown.

Coaching Grade: A+

The Giants used the bye week to their advantage and executed everything flawlessly on the field Sunday night against a hot Packers team.  They looked for ways to spark their own team and dominated the Packers with unique personnel packages in all aspects of the game.

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It was a great start to a tough stretch to end the season, as the Giants got a little extra motivation from 15-year old Adam Merchant, who was given the opportunity to meet the Giants through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and delivered a spirited and heartfelt speech to the Giants at the end of practice Friday telling them to play like the defending world champions that they are.