Mama said there’d be days like this!
But the Giants did not expect to be annihilated by the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in the raucous Louisiana Super Dome by 48-27. Saints slinger Dew Brees stood undisturbed in the pocket all afternoon and passed for 369 yards and four touchdowns, facilitating the one-sided outcome.Both teams entered the much-hyped contest undefeated. The Giants were 5-0 and the Saints 4-0. But the Saints’ offense was unmistakably the best unit in the building and unmasked several potential issues the Giants’ defense must address moving forward.The Giants won’t have to wait long to determine if their concerns are critical. They will be confronted by the Arizona Cardinals’ dynamic offense this Sunday night (8:20 P.M. kickoff) at the Meadowlands. The 3-2 Cardinals, the defending NFC champions, are tied for first place with the San Francisco 49ers in the West division and trampled the Seattle Seahawks 27-3 their previous game. Led by QB Kurt Warner and receiver Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals proficient passing game will present a quandary for the Giants defense similar to what they experienced against the Saints. Their linebackers struggle to stop pass catching tight ends as well as short routes. And members of the secondary, particularly C.C. Brown, have suspect cover skills. Brees and his offense illuminated these shortcomings.”Obviously, we could not stop them. We couldn’t get them out. There are no excuses,” said Giants coach Tom Coughlin. “We played poorly. We have to regroup.” Coughlin also concdeded that Brees operated with impunity. “I don’t know if we ever hit him. If you’re going to be able to defend the pass, let’s face it, at this level in this game, you’ve got to force the quarterback not to throw it on his time.”Although the Giants came into New Orleans with the league’s top ranked defense, from the outset they were decidedly overmatched.”{The Saints} pretty much were able to do what they wanted to do,” echoed defensive end Osi Umenyiora. “We have to look at the film and figure out why we did not get a good pass rush.” Inarguably, the absence of important contributors due to injuries, most notably corner back Aaron Ross (hamstring), tackle Chris Canty (calf), safety Kenny Phillips, a budding star who is out for the season (knee surgery), and linebacker Michael Boley (knee) is beginning to have a considerable impact.