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It's a Tough League for Quarterbacks, as the Giants Proved

Post by (Chanel Taschen) Oct 2010

On an overcast Monday afternoon, the mood inside the Giants' training facility was bright and mostly upbeat. Players, eager to enjoy a Monday and Tuesday off, quickly came and went. Some stayed for treatment.

Center Shaun O'Hara spoke about his ankle injury, and running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who ran well but continued to be plagued by the fumble bug Sunday, left without speaking to reporters.

What was there to say?

Stop fumbling.

Most of the talking was done by Justin Tuck, the defensive end who emerged Sunday as a much-needed team leader.

The Giants broke a two-game losing streak by beating the previously undefeated Chicago Bears, 17-3. They did it with a basic, old-school, old-fashioned formula: muscle and more muscle.

A week after turning in a flat, lackluster performance at home against the Tennessee Titans, the Giants, at least on defense, played with an unbridled passion their fans had not seen in nearly two seasons.

They played as if they cared. The Giants closed Chapter 4 of the N.F.L. season with a pulverizing victory. The Bears failed to convert a single third down.

The game and, who knows, maybe the Giants' season, might have turned on a defensive performance that seemed to come out of nowhere. Their defense had been embarrassed by the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago and then pushed around by Tennessee.

On Sunday, the defense looked like the suffocating unit of 2007 that carried these Giants to a Super Bowl victory over undefeated New England. It sacked Bears quarterback Jay Cutler nine times and knocked him out of the game with a concussion. The Giants knocked Cutler's replacement, Todd Collins, out of the game as well.

"Our rush hit a payday last night," Tuck said.

Perfect.

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Sunday was yet another brutal day for N.F.L. quarterbacks. In Philadelphia, the greatly anticipated showdown between the Eagles' Michael Vick and the former longtime Eagle Donovan McNabb, now with the Washington Redskins, never materialized. Vick was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the first quarter of a 17-12 Eagles loss.

The Bears lost two quarterbacks, and it seems as if every other week a quarterback is being knocked out. This is football.

Even as fans celebrate the hard hitting and the rough-and-tumble play, league officials wring their hands. The nature of professional football — the essence of the game, and the game at its core — is violent.

In the face of concern over concussions and larger questions about making football safe (by the way, you can't), the N.F.L. celebrates performances like that of the Giants' defense Sunday. At the same time, the N.F.L. endeavors to protect quarterbacks.

The Giants — with Tuck — unveiled the formula for beating the Patriots and Tom Brady after the 2007 season. The formula was to pummel Brady without mercy. It worked, and the Giants won a championship.

In 2009, the N.F.L. tightened penalties on what it considered late and unnecessary hits on quarterbacks. The increased enforcement was an attempt to protect quarterbacks against defenders who continue to get bigger, stronger, faster and quicker. The number of roughing-the-passer penalties called so far this season is higher than at this point last year.

Quarterbacks who are equally devastating in the pocket and on the run will be the wave of the future, although even Vick took a shot that could have him sidelined for weeks. And Vick was pressed into action because Kevin Kolb sustained a concussion in the season opener.

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If the game against Chicago was any indication, the Giants seem to have rediscovered the 2007 formula. Will officials allow the defense to continue to get the best of quarterbacks?

On Sunday, Tuck was concentrating on the here and now. The challenge is how to be consistent.

"I don't know," he said Monday. "We'll figure it out. Playing at home helps as well. There was so much electricity in the stadium last night that we fed off of that, and I think we were a step faster last night."

Sunday was a good day for the Giants, and Monday, for a change, was a great day to reflect on a winning performance. Wenn Sie an Chanel Taschen interessiert sind,bitte besuchen unsere Website:Chanel Taschen

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If the game against Chicago was any indication, the Giants seem to have rediscovered the 2007 formula. Will officials allow the defense to continue to get the best of quarterbacks?

On Sunday, Tuck was concentrating on the here and now. The challenge is how to be consistent.

"I don't know," he said Monday. "We'll figure it out. Playing at home helps as well. There was so much electricity in the stadium last night that we fed off of that, and I think we were a step faster last night."

Sunday was a good day for the Giants, and Monday, for a change, was a great day to reflect on a winning performance.

Do the Giants have to face the Eagles if the Giants makes the playoffs?

I know that the Eagles beat the Giants and are closer to the playoffs. But, If the Giants make it to the playoffs, do the Giants have to play the Eagles in the first round playoff match.

If the Giants make the playoff, they will most likely be the Wildcard and the Eagles the NCF East winners. They obviously won't meet in the Wildcard match-up. Beyond that, it's not a guarantee, but I'd say that it's pretty likely.

Week 15: Eagles vs. Giants highlights (Miracle at New Meadowlands)