Gamegirl found some good things to say.
"LeShon Johnson had some nice exciting runs, and so did Tiki.
Everyone around me thought the Giants were going to keep it close and pull it out today. The crowd was really into the game, and after the first half ended with the score at 7-6, it looked like the Giants could use the defense to hold the Colts down until the Giants offense turned it on.

In the third quarter, the offense started moving the ball, and after getting two penalties that moved them back to around the 30 yard line, Kent Graham threw one to I think, Jurevicius in the end zone, but it hit off him and the Colts got the ball to kill the drive. We could have used that score.
Later in the 3rd quarter, the seats around me started to thin out after the Colts punt return made the score 24-6. The fans who left missed seeing the Giants finally put one together in the fourth quarter for a nice long drive that ended with a TD."

They went 80 yards, and Graham hit Amani Toomer a 33 yard score.
"Right, and then Kent did it again! This time Pete Mitchell got the TD pass. There was almost 7 minutes left, and the group of fans around me who were left, shared my hopes, even though the Giants needed 8 points to tie.
I don't know why they went for the 2 points earlier. I guess that was some kind of mistake, because it would have been just a 7 point gap.
Anyway even though they didn't come back and win this game, the fourth quarter was worth staying for.

OK Mikefan, what do you say?
"What do I say? I say shake this loss to the Colts off fast. It's in the history books, and get ready for the Redskins. The Giants had their hands full trying to stop the Colts with Manning, Harrison and James, and their former teammates on defense, Chad Bratzke, Tito Wooten, and Thomas Randolph, all guys with a mission, and it was a hard fought game.
I saw some good things out there today that I haven't seen before.
I know it's hard to remember the good things once the bad ones overshadow them, but they were there.
I saw LeShon Johnson blasting through the holes for some good runs.
He's finally healthy, and he's learned from the last game not to run all over everyone. He used this game to find the holes first, and then run.
Next game he learns to hang onto the ball and then he can do it all.

I saw the offense come out of their collective shell to open the game up like they haven't done before. Even with all the sloppy play and penalties, the Giants moved the ball and were a threat for the entire game. I see good things coming up, because this is a team that's getting better and doesn't let down."

You really think they have a shot?
"Welcome to the NFC East, and enjoy your stay. The Giants are still tied for first in this division, and can catch the Redskins on the decline.
The Cowboys are tied for first place as well, and they face Arizona next week. The Cards just broke Detroit's 4 game winning streak, so who knows? Maybe they take out the Cowboys next week.
By the way, there was another game where the team decided to go for the 2 points early on, and ended up with a 4 point gap, losing 23-19.
Once again I offer my services to all teams as a combination "2 Point - Time Out Coach" for a triple digit salary that could turn maybe two losses to wins a year. They can easily save some of that cash with my simple advice. Don't go for the 2 until you really need it near the end of the game."

Anything else?
"Yes, when they asked Fassel about the four turnovers, he said,
"You think I play it close-to-the-vest for stupid reasons? No. You open it up and we fumble the football. You can't do that. I don't care how many yards we gain, you can't turn the ball over."
I disagree here. It's called football. There's a lot of guys running all over the place, hitting each other, blocking, tackling, throwing the ball around, and you're going to have fumbles and turnovers and penalties.
You can't have the players worrying about playing the "Perfect Game".
This isn't Chess, and it's not like the team that plays the "Perfect Game" gets awarded the win in football from a panel of judges.

We have young talented players on this team. Let them go out and play and learn to use their talents, and also let them learn from their mistakes. You think Pete Mitchell and LeShon Johnson are going to forget their fumbles from this game?
They have a whole week to think about it. You can practice someone to death and tell them over and over to hold onto the ball in certain situations, but when they screw up in front of everyone, they never forget, and I'm sure it will be 'lesson learned'.

Despite their obvious talents, Ike Hilliard and Joe Jurevicius have both been a little sloppy catching the ball this season. Maybe their chances have been so few and far between that they can't contain their excitement when they actually get the ball.
They have to become accustomed to it and play like professionals, and yes, learn from making these mistakes.
Look how effective Tiki is now that he has his act together.
He's always been the same guy you weren't crazy about, but now Tiki holds onto the ball.

Jim Fassel doesn't realize it, but he let the team go out and play real football yesterday, and even in losing it was a good thing for them.
It's a shame that this team's offense has been held back in the kindergarten stage, protected and constantly watched over, while other teams have been allowed to grow up and have moved onto high school, ready to graduate to the playoffs."

Game Notes
Graham somehow ended up 27 of 50 for 253 yards after that bad first half, going 20 of 32 for 215 yards after halftime.

Passing
Giants, Kent Graham 27-50 for 253 yards, 2 INT, 2 TD.
Colts, Peyton Manning 20-35 for 237 yards, 1 INT, 2 TD.

Rushing
Giants, Tiki Barber 9-57, Leshon Johnson 5-36, Kent Graham 3-30, Charles Way 5-23, Sean Bennet 1-3, Ike Hilliard 1-minus 2.
Colts, Edgerrin James 16-108, Peyton Manning 3-minus 3.

Receiving
Giants, Pete Mitchell 9-62, Ike Hilliard 6-78, Amani Toomer 5-71, Tiki Barber 4-15, Leshon Johnson 2-9, Joe Jurevicius 1-18.
Colts, Marvin Harrison 6-109, Edgerrin James 5-72, Ken Dilger 3-26, Marcus Pollard 3-17, Jerome Pathon 2-10, Terrence Wilkins 1-3.

Interceptions
NY Giants, Sam Garnes 1 for 4 yards.
Indianapolis, Thomas Randolph 1 for 0 yards, Tito Wooten 1 for 4 yards.

Fumbles lost
NY Giants, Leshon Johnson, Pete Mitchell.

Next Week
Giants at Washington at 4 PM.

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