The New York Giants conquered their personal house of horrors Sunday, finding little resistance en route to slaying the Seattle Seahawks, 41-7, in Seattle. Let's get right to the 'Kudos & Wet Willies,' where, to be honest, it wasn't easy to stop handing out 'Kudos' or find anyone to give a 'Wet Willie.'
Kudos to ...
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Eli Manning: Eli made it look easy Sunday. He went 21-of-32 for 290 yards and three touchdowns, a quarterback rating of 125.8. Beyond that, Manning was in total control. We talked about the importance of offensive pace, and it was excellent. The Giants got in and out of the huddle briskly, got the ball snapped with plenty of time spare all day and had no trouble communicating. One more note: There were no silly, forced throws as the Giants built the lead -- the type of plays that could have allowed Seattle to get back into the game.
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Hakeem Nicks: Six catches for 128 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown, and the sensational second-year man got out of dodge without serious injury after catching a pass late in the third quarter.
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The Offensive Line: A surprising alignment with Rich Seubert at center, David Diehl at left guard and Shawn Andrews at left tackle, aimed at getting the most experienced line possible in the game without Shaun O'Hara. Seubert was flawless at center, Andrews impressive at tackle and Diehl did fine at guard. Shoot, give Adam Koets 'kudos,' too, for filling in at the blocking tight end, playing a little center and doing a good job until tweaking a knee.
- Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs: Jacobs had 11 carries for a punishing 78 yards, including a 38-yard jaunt against a beaten Seattle defense in the second half. Bradshaw had just 57 yards, but carried 19 times, scored two touchdowns and caught four passes. After Eli, he is easily the Giants most important offensive player.
- Steve Smith and Mario Manningham: Manningham (four catches, 56 yards) and Smith (four catches, 46 yards, one touchown) helped Nicks and Manning abuse the Seattle secondary.
- The 13-minute fourth-quarter drive: Led by D.J. Ware's 13 carries for 66 yards, this was a mesmerizing, absolutely fun thing to watch in a blowout game. Nineteen straight running plays took exactly 13 minutes off the clock as the beaten, helpless Seahawks watched the Giants just run them over.
- Mitch Petrus: A 'Kudos' for Mitch, just because I can. Not sure I have ever seen anyone sprint so hard to get into the huddle when he replaced Adam Koets in the fourth quarter. Love this guy, for his attitude alone. Besides which, he threw a couple of good blocks on that 13-minute drive.
- Lawrence Tynes: I have hated those 'pooch' kickoffs in the past, but Tynes did a phenomenal job placing his kickoffs pretty much exactly where he wanted them all day to help the Giants negate the league's best kickoff returner, Leon Washington.
- Kickoff coverage team: I have to give it up for a unit a have criticized again and again the past couple of seasons. Washington had one 57-yard return, but even on that I have to give Duke Calhoun credit for never quitting on the play, running Washington down and preventing a touchdown. Otherwise, a great job of controlling Washington, even creating a turnover that Jonathan Goff nearly scored on.
- Terrell Thomas: Set the tone early, jumping a couple of short routes and helping to prevent Charlie Whitehurst from establishing any sort of comfort level. Finished with an interception, a pass defensed and a pair of tackles.
- Corey Webster: An interception and five tackles. The Webster-Thomas duo might not be as good as the Jets Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, but they are pretty darn good.
- Defensive line: Forget the zero sacks. They dominated the line of scrimmage, allowed one decent Seattle run all day and did what they had to do.
- Jonathan Goff: Four tackles and a fumble recovery.
I could probably give more, but I don't want this to get ridiculous.
Wet Willies to ...
- Kareem McKenzie's right shoe: Wilddre22 suggested this one in the comments Sunday night, and I thought it was hilarious. So, a 'Wet Willie' to that blown-out shoe it is.
- Kevin Boss: Maybe this should be a 'kwillie' since Boss did catch a touchdown pass, but Boss's first-quarter fumble was really about the only bad thing the Giants did all day. Somebody's got to get a real 'Wet Willie,' and, sadly, the Bossman gets the dishonor.
- Charlie Whitehurst: So, maybe there is a reason Charlie had not played a meaningful snap in 41/2 seasons prior to Sunday. Granted, the Seahawks did not help him at all with penalties, no running game and Mike Williams turning a touchdown pass into an interception, but Whitehurst's line was awful. He finished 12-of-23 for 113 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a quarterback rating of an abysmal 44.3.