E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

AFTER SAN FRANCISCO: THE GOOD OFFENSE, THE (SLIGHTLY) BAD OFFENSE AND, WELL,
NOTHING UGLY IN THIRD STRAIGHT WIN

By Aaron Klein
One way to look at things: three straight wins and just a few plays away from being undefeated.

Another way to look at things: The offense is keeping the Giants in games, but the defense is a potential disaster.

Still, the Giants avoided the trap on Sunday night and beat the San Francisco 49ers in a thrilling manner that both exposed the defensive problems while highlighting the firepower of quarterback Eli Manning and his offense.

THE GOOD
Eli Manning: Superb. That's about the best word to describe Manning's performance Sunday night, even with that lone Red Zone interception to end the first half. Manning completed 41 passes (a franchise record) on 54 attempts (a career record) and 441 yards with three touchdowns and the pick. Behind the numbers, Manning had some spectacular throws, like the game winner to tight end Larry Donnell, escaped a sure sack and proved that when he's on he's among the most clutch quarterbacks in the league. Manning was good enough to garner NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his come-from-behind performance.

Shane Vereen: The electric Vereen was strategically installed into the game plan and had what you could call a breakout performance, even though most of already knew his abilities. As a runner, he was fair (though he can pass protect when he has to), but as a receiver, Vereen was a true force, with eight receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. His presence alone on the field gives the defense someone else to worry about, which helps the entire offense open up.

Odell Beckham Jr., Dwayne Harris and the entire receiving corps: OBJ nailed seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, we've already talked about Vereen, Harris had six for 72 yards, all helping Manning connect with eight different receivers, all with four or more receptions except for rookie Geremy Davis, who had just one. And they're still without Victor Cruz.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for his smoke-and-mirrors coaching: Without linebackers Devon Kennard, Jonathan Casillas and, three minutes into the game, Jon Beason, as well as defensive ends George Selvie and Robert Ayers Jr. and a three-quarter speed cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (let alone the ever-absent Jason Pierre-Paul), Spagnuolo has been keeping the defense afloat to a degree, ensuring that the unit hasn't become a disaster. However, the Giants are still struggling on that side of the ball and are suspect to a quality passer and, well, the clock.

As the game wore on Sunday night, the Niners got back into the game, so much so that they took the lead with just minutes left. The scary thing about the defense is that when they meet a high-powered passing attack, they could crumble. However, the players are playing hard and doing everything they can to force turnovers and, at least, stop the run. At times Sunday night, the unit locked the Niners down. At others, they let Kaepernick find open receivers, missed tackles and failed to set the edge, giving Kaepernick opportunities to take off running when he couldn't find an open target. But there is no quit in the defense - or even the offense - and that is a testament to what Spagnuolo has done.

Damontre Moore: While he only saw a limited number of snaps, Moore had a “boom” game instead of a “bust” performance, notching two sacks and forcing a fumble. Maybe he really can be a threat as a pass rushing specialist

. The offensive line: You all forgot how bad the line was last year and even this summer, didn't you? Well, the unit has truly come together. On passing downs, one could argue that the unit is among the better groups in the league. On running plays, the line has been at least better-than-average. Left tackle Ereck Flowers, left guard Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg have been great at times, while the right side has been fair to good. In five games, Manning has only been sacked four times, just once in the last three weeks.

Tight end Will Tye: For a guy just pulled up from the practice squad, Tye grabbed four passes for 48 yards, three of them for first downs. Tye's performance was much needed, especially in the face of being without Jerome Cunningham and losing Daniel Fells (foot infection) for the year, if not his career.

THE BAD
The still-absent pass rush: Even with Moore's performance, the absence of JPP is only part of the problem. The Giants also miss Ayers and Selvie and while Kerry Wynn has become an integral part of the defense, taking nearly every snap on Sunday night, and defensive end Cullen Jenkins. The Giants have had virtually no pass rush at all. Worse, the Giants have struggled to put healthy linebackers on the field, further stunting Spagnuolo's master plans of sending blitzers from all angles. They've gotten away with it the last few weeks and may yet again Monday night, but once a true passing team is lined up on the other side of the ball - like Dallas in two weeks if Tony Romo comes back, New England in November, even the Jets in December - the unit could surely struggle, unless all the banged up players get healthy in a hurry.

The defense overall: This is a mostly-young and somewhat inexperienced group of active, game and improving players, with a few key veterans mixed in, yet as a unit the Giants' defense isn't all that great; good, yes, but not great. Spagnuolo is leaning hard on rookie like Landon Collins and Uani Unga, inexperienced players like Kerry Wynn and Cooper Taylor and plenty of marginally good free agent veterans like Casillas, linebacker J.T. Thomas, defensive backs Brandon Merriweather and Jayron Hosley and more. Injuries have also wreaked havoc, losing safeties Nat Behre and Bennett Jackson, while Beason has constantly been nursing this injury or that and Selvie and Ayers have largely been absent. While Spagnuolo is making magic with only a decent set of tricks, the Giants will hang their hopes on the high-powered offense to keep the team alive, hoping that the defense can do just enough to make it close.

The mounting injuries on both sides of the ball: Beason went out with a concussion three minutes into the game and cornerback Prince Amukamara suffered a pectoral injury that could keep him in street clothes on Monday night. Beckham and Reuben Randle, too, are nursing dueling hamstring injuries (OBJ also has a nagging calf problem) and the former could be sidelined as well. Add that to DRC still not back at 100 percent, Casillas and Cunningham missing time and, well, the hits just keep on coming. While the NFC East is currently wide open - and every team has to deal with injuries at some point during any season - the Giants are teetering on the line between success and failure, their future hanging on every injury and recovery.

THE UGLY
Really, nothing about this game was ugly, as long as you try to put the looming defensive problems out of you mind.

Questions? Comments?
Send it over to aklein22@verizon.net
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