Giants Get Half the Story Right
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

In recent games, the Giants had us asking “How can they be so good and lose?” After yesterday’s 17-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the question is, “How can they be so bad and win?”
Once again, the Giants substantially out gained their opponents, but repeatedly found ways to keep us in suspense. In crucial situations near the end of the game, they drew the infamous false start flag, dropped two key passes, and missed yet another field goal try, this one a 32-yard chip shot by Jay Feely that would have put the game away with three minutes to go. The 2005 Giants are finding an endless number of ways not to make the big play.
More important, though, the Giants’ win over Dallas has created a false impression about the team’s real strengths. The fans, the writers, the players, and even their coach seem to think that the defense is capable of carrying them into and even through the playoffs. It looked that way yesterday as the Giants held the Cowboys to just 206 yards, sacked Dallas quarterback Drew Bledsoe four times (with Michael Strahan getting two of them),made two interceptions, and forced two fumbles – one of which, recovered by linebacker Antonio Pierce and returned 12 yards for a touchdown, came early in the third quarter and proved to be the winning margin.
But playing at home on a slippery field and against an offense that is essentially built around retreads – which is what Bledsoe and possession receiver Keyshawn Johnson, both 33, are – a good defense should yield only about 200 yards. The Giants’ run defense is sound, but stopping the run is the less important of the two things a defense needs to do, and the Giants’ pass defense remains unproven. For three consecutive weeks, beginning with San Francisco on November 6 and stretching to the win over Philadelphia November 20, the Giants faced only backup quarterbacks, and against Seattle they lined up against Matt Hasselbeck, who after seven years in the NFL is just a shade above mediocre. The truth is that the Giants have faced only two first-rate passing attacks all year, those of San Diego and Denver, and gave up 68 points to them.
It’s a good defense. The players know their assignments and seldom blow a coverage or fail to string out an opposing back on a wide run. But it’s not an attacking defense, one that forces turnovers and creates scoring opportunities, despite Pierce’s fine play yesterday. The Giants aren’t good enough to win the conference just on defense.
The Giants are good enough to win the conference on offense, but don’t play as if they know it. Amazingly, considering their play-to-play inconsistency, they are still leading the NFC in points, but with very new game, win or lose, they create another new reason for doubting that they can make it through the first round of the playoffs. One week it’s false starts, another week it’s missed field goals, then another week it’s false starts and missed field goals.
This week it was false starts, missed field goals, and dropped passes. Eli Manning’s numbers were awful, and at times he looked awful. The Giants’ radio crew – and they’re the ones you have to listen to get a realistic assessment, not the TV announcers – laid on the line: “There were nine passes,” said Dick Lynch, “that could have been caught. And at least six of them should have been.”
The principal offender was fourth year wideout Tim Carter, who caught a 35-yarder but dropped two sure passes, one of which he could have taken in stride for a 52-yard touchdown. He wasn’t the only one. Amani Toomer, who is having trouble getting downfield in recent games – his 11.1 yards per catch average on the season is lower than the average tight end’s – dropped two more, and even Plaxico Burress, who usually looks as if he can catch a snowflake in a wind tunnel, dropped one in the fourth quarter on the Dallas 40 that would have put the Giants in position to run out the clock.
Manning was a dreadful 12 of 31 on the day for just 152 yards with two interceptions. To be fair, conditions were not the best. Bledsoe was even worse, 15-of-19 for 146 yards and also two interceptions. But Bledsoe wasn’t throwing balls that should have been caught. I’ve pointed this out before, but if Giants receivers held on to just half the balls that should have been caught, Manning’s numbers would instantly go from bad to great. Yesterday, if the receivers had held on to just five of the best-thrown balls they dropped, including Carter’s big miss, Manning’s numbers would have been 17-of-31 for 260 yards, which is a pretty good day.
The Giants are woefully out of sync on offense at a point in the season when you would expect them to be coming together. This doesn’t portend well for the future, even on days when they win.
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In the last two minutes of the Jet’s dismal 16-3 loss to the New England Patriots, the CBS color man got in a good quip. “The Patriots are still fighting for a playoff spot, while the Jets are fighting for … Reggie Bush.” I have a sinking feeling that the press and fans are going to put such overwhelming pressure on the Jets that they will take USC’s star tailback in next year’s draft. And when Bush lines up in the Jets’ backfield next, he’ll find things are a little different with the New York Jets offensive line blocking for him than with Southern Cal’s. He ought to ring up Curtis Martin, who could tell him that he was hit in the backfield on 11 of his 15 carries against New England.
With all due respect to Bush, the real strength of the Trojans is their offensive line. I just watched Bush’s highlight tape, and on half those sensational runs, not a tackler laid a hand on him until he was at least five yards into the opposing team’s secondary. If I was on the Jets’ brain trust, I’d urge the drafting of USC’s offensive linemen, any and all of them I could get – and take my chances at running back.
Mr. Barra is the author of “The Last Coach: A Life of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant.”