Mikefan
- Gamegirl Reviews
Preseason
Game 3 |
|
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
Jets |
6 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
Giants |
0 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
Gamegirl
seemed to be taking this loss pretty well.
"Come
on guys, it's preseason, and you're talking about losing to
Bill Parcells. To me, that's like losing a family card game
to your favorite uncle. Uncle Bill takes it all very seriously
and likes to go home with the family money jingling in his
pockets.
Seeing him on the sidelines pacing around, brings back too
many good memories of when he used to live in our house and
guide our Giants team. He's just a big lovable teddy bear!
You think
the players see it that way?
No, not at
all. It's different for the players and the fans. In fact,
the Giants Defense was so wired on that first series, they
played right into Uncle Bill's hands. They saw this untested
QB (Ray Lucas) on the other side of the ball and came with
everything they had. Meanwhile the Jets play calling was perfect
and took advantage of them for every play on that whole drive,
and it resulted in a TD for the Jets.
No, the players
on both sides were taking this preseason game seriously, and
you had only to wait until the Jets second possession when
Testaverde and Armstead got into it!"
That resulted
in a 15 yard penalty for the Giants.
"Yes, but it showed that the Giants weren't going to
get pushed around like they had been so far, and the stadium
went wild.
Suddenly there was a bit of Wrestlemania thrown in, and some
of the fans around me were wearing mixed Jets and Giants outfits,
and cheering for both sides. It was really something, and
a great game to be at.
The
Giants stopped that drive.
"Right, the Jets took it all the way to the 2 yard line,
but couldn't punch it in on three straight runs, and that's
what Uncle Bill was looking for to really set the tone for
the rest of the game, but the Giants defense wouldn't allow
it!
In fact, they shut the Jets down for the rest of the game
except for the 80 yard break-away run by Curtis Martin, but
like I said, it's still just preseason. The Giants are weak
at the corner with Sehorn and Hamilton out and that's a concern
getting closer to opening day.
You certainly
sound like you had a great time.
"The game
was intense, and for some Giants fans who are closet Jets
fans as well, it was exciting to see some of their players
in action, like Keyshawn Johnson, Wayne Chrebet, Vinny Testaverde,
Curtis Martin, Bryan Cox, and the whole thing with Ray Lucas,
a local Rutgers boy playing QB and special teams, it was great!
We
noticed that they left Bryan Cox in for the whole game.
I know what you're
trying to say, that the Jets stayed with their starters even
though it's a preseason game just to get the win over the
Giants.
You're trying to get me mad at Uncle Bill, but if you remember
what Mikefan said in his preview report on the game, Bryan
Cox hadn't done well the first two games, and he was putting
it all together last night, so why not leave him in for that
last quarter?"
Anything
else Gamegirl?
"Yes, say hello to Uncle Bill for me and remind him that
we'll be looking forward to seeing him again in December."
Gamegirl
pretty much covered the Giants on Defense.
"Yes she
did, and she was right about the way the overeager Giants
Defense played into the Jets hands in that opening drive.
Then the Giants
Offense had a tough act to follow for the crowd after what
the Jets did, and would have been three and out like in the
old days, but now we have a passing game and players like
Pete Mitchell.
Their first drive didn't produce any points, but at least
the Giants Defense had some time to regroup.
One other thing Gamegirl could have mentioned was the gameplay
of Phillippi Sparks. Jason Sehorn doesn't play, and gets all
the press, meanwhile Sparks is out there hustling. He killed
a Jets drive, and forced them to try a 48 yard field goal
which they missed, and there was that play where he almost
got to Curtis Martin, but Wayne Chrebet put a low block on
him. Sparks went at Chrebet for that."
Kent Graham
had a tough night.
"I will say that I was
a bit disappointed in the pass protection for Kent Graham.
He was under pressure all night, and was sacked three times.
The receivers took a long time to get open. Kent had to do
a lot on his own, but as usual, he showed that he was up to
it, and it's nice to know that when things aren't working,
Kent Graham can still somehow keep drives going and put points
up on the board."
The Giants
offense did not look sharp at all.
"Yes, and still, Graham refused to go three and out.
He really impressed me on that one big drive. Kent ran for
a first down on third and 17. Then he scrambled and hung in
there, checking off every receiver and finally hit Charles
Way for a 27 yarder. Then he found Joe Jurevicius for a 12
yard pass that made the score closer at 9 - 7.
Kent ended up 13 - 22 for 125 yards, one TD and one Int."
The Giants
running game wasn't that good either.
"OK, but wait a minute.
Gary Brown was in his first preseason game.
I have no doubt that Sean Bennett would have been more effective
for the Giants at the RB position last night, but lest we
forget, up to now the star of the Jets running game, Curtis
Martin, was just 17 for 43 in his last two preseason games.
Gary Brown is the real starter for the Giants, and he needs
his reps too. He got some this game, will get some against
the Ravens next week, and be ready for opening day against
the Bucs.
On the plus side, Tiki
Barber caught two passes for 19 yards and carried the ball
once for 10 yards, and made a crucial first down. He also
stopped Mickens on the 10 yard line after the interception
and did some great blocking for Charles Way.
Anything
else Mikefan?
"Yes, there was an interesting stat that Gamegirl didn't
get to see at the game, because it was on TV. It basically
said that when Parcells coaches the Giants or Jets, he wins
against the other team.
He's 7 - 1 against the Jets, and now 3 - 0 against the Giants.
So let's all watch out for 'lovable teddy bear Uncle Bill'
around here!"
Notes:
Center Brian
Williams injured his left knee in the second quarter and will
undergo an MRI. The Giants say that there was no major damage
and are hopeful the injury is not season-threatening.
If anyone is interested
in that 75th Anniversary Giants Football that Harry Carson
was hawking on TV, the phone number they put up was:
888 230-9379x1055, and the yearbook was 888 777-4759.
Next Week
Giants are at Baltimore on Friday at 12PM and rebroadcast
at 7 PM.
Jets will play at home against the Vikings on Friday at 7:30
PM
Preseason
Game 3 Review
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