The New York Giants did a lot of things wrong Sunday, and it all was accentuated by the power outage during the third quarter. Of course, I thought that with 20 minutes to reflect, the Giants would have realized the dire situation of the game and stepped up. (Note to "Step Up and Make Big Plays"....I screamed at my TV on a Giants' possession late in the game, "Somebody step up and make a play!"). They didn't, and here we are.
When I'm commiserating after a Giants' loss, I like to read what the newspaper columnists are saying, rather than the beat writers who are just recapping the misery. So, here are some tidbits of New York area columns, as well as some feedback from Dallas and Philly.
But first, here are some areas of interest from SB Nation New York:
On the power outage: Power Outage Caused By Blown Transformer
And on Bryan McCann's pick six: McCann's Pick Six Was Game's Key Play
Ed makes an excellent point -- that the pick six by Manning would not even have occurred had Will Beatty not been called for a false start that negated a touchdown right before that. In fact, it was one of two times during the game that penalties took six off the board for the Giants.
And now for some more media feedback:
Giants' switch went to off against Cowboys long before New Meadowlands Stadium lights went out
...when you consider what's happened to the Giants in the Tom Coughlin era, when fast starts have been followed by disappointing finishes except, of course, in 2007, there has to be some concern that the 0-1 start to the second half of the season, after they were 6-2 in the first half, could be the start of something bad. Remember, just a year ago, they started 5-0 and won only three of their final 11 games. The Giants were the best team in the NFC the first half of this season, but now they are in an uncomfortable position. If the Eagles beat the Redskins in Washington Monday night, they will be tied with the Giants at 6-3 for first place in the NFC East.
I realize that this team isn't last year's team, and I even thought even with five minutes left Sunday game that the Giants could still find a way to win. But losing makes next week's showdown in Philly that much more crucial.
D'Alessandro: 'One of those days' brings Giants back to reality | NJ.com
After five straight victories by gaudy margins (average: 32-16), the Giants played with the kind of doubt that comes with spending too much time wondering whether 6-2 is real, or just a reminder that you have to go 6-2 again before you can be impressed with yourself. Oh, and if a hangover could play football — we mean the head-banging, jaw-aching, ear-splitting kind of hangover — it would look just like the Giants defense.
I have to admit, it did cross my mind last week when everyone was anointing the Giants as Super Bowl-bound, that they have reached 6-2 by beating some mediocre opponents. I surely thought they would beat Dallas again, and so did everyone else, but if I was looking ahead to next Sunday's Eagles showdown ... then maybe the Giants were looking ahead as well.
Kitna Finds Cowboys Receivers Streaking Through Giants Defense - NYTimes.com
The lasting image of the Giants’ victory over Dallas three weeks ago was that of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo sprawled on the turf. For the teams’ meeting Sunday, the lingering memories will be of the Cowboys’ receivers streaking down the field. Time after time, the Giants failed to slow Dallas’s passing attack at New Meadowlands Stadium. The holes in the secondary were enormous, and the pass rush did little to get after quarterback Jon Kitna, all of it contributing to the Giants’ 33-20 loss.
Yeah, this loss was about the defense not getting off the field. Well, not until the Cowboys had scored six points time after time.
And now from our friends in Dallas and Philly ...
Cowlishaw: A few more big wins will make Jason Garrett 'the guy' | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News
Garrett received a game ball following the Cowboys' 33-20 destruction of the division-leading Giants. It was a game in which Dez Bryant and Felix Jones continued to carve out their roles in the team's present and future. It was a game in which the New Meadowlands Stadium crowd of 80,851 was far more upset about the outcome than the blackout that created an eight-minute delay in the third quarter. The electrical problem got fixed. The Giants never got a handle on the Cowboys, a team they beat in Arlington just three weeks ago during a five-game winning stretch that, in many minds, established them as the NFC's team to beat.
Which brings me to something I uttered last Monday. "Why couldn't they wait one more week to fire Wade?" Sure, the Giants basically beat themselves Sunday, but you have to wonder if the outcome would have been different with ol' Wade on the Dallas sidelines.
Giants' loss opens door for Eagles | Philly | 11/14/2010
New York travels to the Linc next Sunday night with a 6-3 record. What stood out to me today was the way Dallas routinely completed big plays in the air against the Giants' defense. By my count, New York allowed four plays of 40-plus yards in the pass game and six plays of 25-plus yards. That's a good sign for the Eagles' offense, which is one of the best in the league when it comes to hitting big plays downfield. Exactly. They need to straighten some things out and fast.
Yeah, just like last year when the Eagles rolled to a 40-17 victory and had guys like Leonard Weaver running over the Giants like they were paper bags in the street. But seriously, we all know the defense is more than capable of playing better than last night, and let's let the Eagles, their media and fans think they can make big plays against us.
And hey, the Eagles could very well lose tonight. Let's hope for that, at least.
Try to enjoy your day, folks. I know I'm trying.