New York Giants Notes: Exorcising the Demons Edition

Well, I had lots of witty banter and comments about how I exorcised the demons Sunday, but as I was choosing a photo I accidentally hit the back browser and lost my entire post. So here are some quotes and clippings minus most of my comments. I really am enjoying the victory, though!

I laughed out loud when Tom Coughlin was talking about the Kevin Boss touchdown and used the words "twinkle toes."

Sight adjust. Yeah. Twinkle toes. Sight adjust. He did a nice job, he caught the ball, he saw it, Eli got the ball out of his hand quickly - it was third and ten and he avoided a tackler and was able to not only make a first down, but score.

And here are his comments about the first-drive challenge that ultimately led tothree points

Well, we communicated. They had a TV timeout and we were able to talk about it. To be honest with you, it wasn't absolutely clear and we didn't get an awful lot of looks at it, but finally I made the decision to go ahead and challenge and it worked out for us. We would have liked to have seven, though. That's what the idea was. We put the ball inside the five with that play.

And here is what Justin Tuck had to say about his inspirational words at halftime:

Basically, I just talked about how you allow somebody to come into your house and take over. At that point, they were doing whatever they wanted to do on offense. We just talked about doing our thing. Regardless of what they called, regardless of what defense we were on, we couldn't allow ourselves to be not on the same page, communication breakdowns, you know guys doing their own things, and I just challenged each of them. I told them that I was playing like crap, I told them that we were playing like crap and that in the second half we need to pick it up. Just try to create a spark and it worked.

Justin Tuck's fiery speech and inspired play propel Giants to 24-20 victory over Jacksonville | NJ.com
After David Garrard somehow slipped out of the grasp of both Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora on his way into the end zone, Tuck returned to the Giants sideline and channeled his inner Brandon Jacobs. He took his helmet in his left hand and fired it into the metal bench. At that point, a defense that talked about winning this game against the Jaguars for the banged-up offense was actually doing the opposite. So the normally mild-mannered Tuck lost it. And that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Osi and Perry Fewell also talked and it seemed to have gotten the players fired up

Manning shows why he's the Giants' franchise QB - NYPOST.com
A week earlier, an avalanche of angst overcame the hand-wringers and the head-shakers and the shoulder-shruggers, all who specialize in lamenting Eli Manning's flaws, in underlining all the things he can't do. One heavy-footed lumber to daylight, one clumsy dive, one ill-timed fumble; it had cost the Giants dearly against the Eagles. You may have heard about it. This, then, was the flip side. This was a masterwork, a reminder of the other, thicker, deeper portfolio, the one containing all the testimony necessary why Manning really is the franchise quarterback some franchises search decades for. You don't find these salvations in statistics, though Manning's were terrific, 226 yards passing and two touchdowns and a rating of 117.7.

Rapid Reaction: Giants 24, Jaguars 20 - Giants Blog - ESPN New York
The New York Giants sleepwalked through the first half as the defense struggled badly early on. The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t a sexy team but they are sound and solid and the Giants looked like they'd rather be back at the dinner table for Thanksgiving than trying to bring down Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard. They did wake up at halftime and came back at the end to pull out a much-needed 24-20 win after trailing 17-9 to start the fourth. Kevin Boss was the hero with numerous big catches and a monster 32-yard catch and run for a touchdown and the defense got one last stop to keep the Giants’ playoff hopes alive. But if the Giants want to be true contenders, they are going to have to play better. Bottom line, the Giants got the job done and it wasn't pretty but they stopped a two-game losing streak.

New York Giants QB Eli Manning shows poise, pedigree in win over Jacksonville Jaguars - ESPN New York
Eli Manning looked across the line and saw it, smelled it, tasted it, felt it in every ligament, muscle and bone. He was raised a quarterback in America's first quarterbacking family, meaning the defense never has to post a neon sign to advertise an all-out blitz. Manning knew it was coming the way a bird knows a nor'easter is coming. It's part of his genetic coding, a valuable asset buried somewhere deep in the Manning DNA.

A Giant one gets away as Jaguars lose to New York | jacksonville.com
The Jaguars still can't stand prosperity. Coming off a three-game winning streak, the Jaguars seemed to be gaining momentum when they dominated the New York Giants in the first half. And then it all unraveled as it so often does for the Jaguars on the road late in the season. They were held to a field goal in the second half, gave up 15 points in the fourth quarter and lost 24-20. So instead of 7-4 with a four-game winning streak, they're 6-5 with eight consecutive road losses after Thanksgiving.

And here is a nice morning-after read from Philly after the Bears beat the Eagles Sunday. Enjoy the day, folks ... before we start talking about facing Donovan McNabb on Sunday.