Just like coach Tom Coughlin, New York Giants fans are focused forward -- hoping the Giants will stomp the Washington Redskins Sunday and continue a march that will get them into the playoffs.
That said, I have to stop and look backward ever so briefly. The Pro Football Focus numbers on Sunday's victory over Jacksonville are finally out (some weeks PFF is quicker than others), and since you guys love to argue about these I figured I would go back long enough to share them.
We will get to the full numbers in a second -- but before we move to the jump just a glimpse. No surprise that the highest-rated offensive player would be Eli Manning, but maybe a huge surprise that Jason Pierre-Paul came out of the game with the best defensive score. As always, use the numbers as data and not as gospel.
Offense
Eli Manning came away with a +5.1 after a no-turnover game. Eli, incidentally is seventh among quarterbacks who have played at least 75 percent of their teams's snaps with a +32.4. No. 8? That would be Tom Brady, with a +29.7. Go ahead and argue about that one all you want.
Offensive lineman Rich Seubert (+3.8), Kareem McKenzie (+2.3) and Will Beatty (+1.3) all graded well. Chris Snee (-1.0) and Kevin Boothe (-2.2) weren't great according to PFF;s scores, but as a whole the line was outstanding.
Don't ask me how fullback Bear Pascoe (yes, that still sounds a little weird) came away with the worst rating of any offensive player, a -2.4. I didn't see anything wrong with the way he played.
Defense
We already knew Pierre-Paul had his best game as a pro, and the numbers confirm it. In 25 snaps he came away with two sacks, two quarterback hits, two pressures and three stops (plays that force offensive failures). He wound up with a +4.2 score. Impressive.
Osi Umenyiora (+3.2), Kenny Phillips (+2.9), Terrell Thomas (+2.6), Justin Tuck (+1.5) and Michael Boley (+1.2) had positive grades. Boley's was earned in pass coverage (+1.6), since his run defense stunk.
The worst defensive numbers were Corey Webster (-2.8), Aaron Ross (-2.1), Jonathan Goff (-2.1) and Keith Bulluck (-1.3). Can't argue with any of those. None of those guys distinguished themselves.