Archives for December 2003

‘Star of the game: Drew Bledsoe may have been woozy during the week, but he showed no effects of his concussion yesterday. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. He also survived a helmet-to-helmet hit from Giants DT Keith Hamilton in the third quarter and completed two more passes on that drive enroute to Buffalo’s final touchdown.’

‘Rushing Offense: F. Tiki Barber gained 20 yards on 12 carries, including an amazing one yard on three carries in the second half. The Bills have a good rushing defense, but they’re not the ’85 Bears. They were ranked 11th in the NFL and were giving up 104.1 rushing yards per game. It’s not all Barber’s fault – the offensive line was terrible – but he didn’t make many defenders miss.’

‘”We cannot block people. We don’t tackle people. We don’t cover people. We don’t catch the ball in critical situations. I have never seen it and never in my seven years here have we ever played football the way we are playing right now. Honestly, I am at a loss for words.”‘

‘Haven’t scored an offensive touchdown on the road since Sept. 14? Not to worry, Drew Bledsoe. The Giants’ defense is only too happy to let you have not one, not two, but three in one game.’

‘Three escalators leading to Gate D at Giants Stadium looked like the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel after a game: heavy traffic and packed with disgruntled Giants fans. What made this different from most Giants losses was the timing. More than 10 minutes remained in the fourth quarter. Ouch.’

‘The five guys up front didn’t get the job done. Collins barely had time to hand off the ball, much less throw it downfield. Twice Collins and center Chris Bober got their feet tangled. The second caused a fumble that led to Buffalo’s second touchdown and a 17-7 lead midway through the second quarter.’

‘OFFENSE Every offensive plan begins with protecting the quarterback. The Giants did not come close to doing that. Kerry Collins was sacked six times and the Giants had 10 first downs, their lowest total this season, and 222 yards, their second-worst total. They had 10 fewer yards against the Buccaneers last week. The Giants have scored 37 points during a four-game losing streak and seven came on a defensive TD. Oy! F.

‘Q: If the Giants couldn’t throw because of poor pass protection, why couldn’t they at least run better? A: “Once they realized they could get to Kerry in our passing game, it was eight guys in the box,” Tiki Barber said. “So there were no running lanes.”‘

‘Linebacker Dhani Jones tried to motivate the increasingly young, inexperienced Giants after Saturday’s walk-through. He had first-year players form a circle, surrounded by a circle of veterans. Jones then pushed over the younger players and the veterans caught them before they fell as a demonstration of the need for trust among teammates.’

‘That’s because Esiason started ripping Taylor, who is promoting a book about his drug and sexual escapades during his career, on CBS’ postgame show on Thanksgiving, saying LT deserved to be in the Hall of Shame rather than the Hall of Fame for his indiscretions. He continued sacking Taylor on WFAN’s “In the Huddle” Friday, and yesterday, on CBS, Esiason said Taylor’s antics were a disgrace and unworthy of a book or air time.’

‘The players had few answers, either. The defense allowed Buffalo to accumulate 403 yards, including 113 rushing yards on 26 carries by running back Travis Henry. The offense generated just 222 total yards and allowed six sacks of quarterback Kerry Collins, who somehow remained nearly bruise-free.’

‘One veteran, who requested anonymity, questioned how the Giants, despite injuries, could allow themselves to be this shallow at offensive line and forced to start four rookies. “Why are they in there? That’s the question somebody else has got to answer,” he said. “Every team gets injuries, but they don’t have to put four rookies in.”‘

‘”Disgusting,” one said as he left. “Horrible,” another said. “Oh, I’m coming back,” another said. You are? “I’m a Bills fan.”‘

‘Undrafted rookie Jeff Roehl replaced Petitgout and was matched up against Bills DE Aaron Schobel, who had a career-high three sacks — the most by a Giants opponent in six years — and recovered the Collins fumble. Roehl estimated that the Bills blitzed as many times yesterday as they did in their previous four games combined. “Just because they know we’re inexperienced and they know we haven’t picked them up as a unit together,” Roehl said. “There’s a big difference getting out there and doing it full-speed versus seeing it and knowing what to do. Because we all know what to do. We just didn’t do it.”‘

‘The most disturbing parts of the interview were the revelations of Taylor’s drug use. Wallace reported that in Taylor’s new book “LT: Over the Edge,” Taylor claims he first used cocaine at a party during his rookie season with the Giants, in 1981, and crack in 1983.’