The Giants’ Monday film session could have run as long as the movie Titanic and still wouldn’t have revealed how they could have defeated the Indianapolis Colts the prior night.
“Yeah, we got outplayed and that’s what it came down to in a lot of areas,” conceded Giants QB Eli Manning in explaining his team’s 38-14 whipping.
“We couldn’t get in a rhythm… and we couldn’t match them. When you get down versus a team like that {24-0 at halftime} it’s tough.”
The Colts (1-1) were simply better in nearly every facet of the game, at times making the Giants appear more like a mid-major college program than a team many prognosticators picked to be a Super Bowl contender.
The Giants’ loss, pushing them back to 1-1 and breaking a nine-game September winning streak, was more reflective of faults that can be corrected as the season moves forward than alarming issues that may manifest as common occurrences. Or so they hope.
In particular, their defense was unable to slow down QB Peyton Manning and the Colts’ passing attack nor their ground game no matter what schemes they employed, including using only one linebacker and two additional players in the secondary.
On the other side of the ball, the Giants’ veteran offensive line, long in the tooth by football measures, was no match for the Colts’ ferocious defensive end tandem of Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. The duo, arguably the best in football, toyed with the Giants protection packages and made life miserable for the younger Manning quarterback.
“A tandem on another team?” contemplated Giants tackle Kareem McKenzie when asked if he had ever faced a pair as relentless as Mathis and Freeney. On that type of surface? I don’t believe so.”
The good news for the Giants is that they play three of the next four games at home, including this Sunday’s get together with the 1-1 Tennessee Titans.
Conversely, they will do so with the disgruntled running back Brandon Jacobs, who displayed frustration with his decreased workload by unintentionally throwing his helmet into the crowd.
“His role has been defined,” asserted Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. “I’m not sure why that keeps coming up.”
And the helmet tossing? “It’s a senseless act,” Coughlin objected. “I don’t know what you’re going to accomplish by that.”