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 28th 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.
