Giants were ahead 6-0 when Fassel pulled the starters.
Kerry Collins was 7-of-13 for 91 yards.
Ron Dayne rushed for 40 yards on 8 carries.
Morten Andersen kicked 3 field goals.
Jason Garrett was 8-of- 14 passes for 70 yards.

That was a tough one to watch Gamegirl.
"I'll say, and not only that, but the guy who joined the team, like 2 days ago did all the scoring for us."

Yes, Morten Andersen kicked 3 field goals for 9 points.
He probably would have kicked more, but the Giants never got close enough after that first half. Maybe we should look at those first quarter stats when the starters were playing. You sent me the halftime stats. The first string was pretty good. Even when Garrett took over in the second quarter, he got a lot out his guys playing against the Ravens best."

We know what you're getting at. Like you said, we have the stats.
"Here, let me point out some of them. The Giants had 15 total first downs, but 13 came in the first half. The Giants had almost 28 minutes of possession time, with 18 coming in the first half. They had 83 total yards rushing, with 58 coming in the first half. They were 4-9 on third downs with all 4 coming in the first half. On defense the Ravens had only 29 yards rushing in the first half and then they finished up the game with 162."

Yes, the second half was lousy. You do this so much better than us.
"That's not all. Special teams coverage was lousy too, and still needs lots of work before we play again in Denver. Anyway, our starters did just fine this game on offense, and the defense put great pressure on Elvis Grbac."

Any closing thoughts as this preseason comes to an end?
"Mikefan is right about one thing. Watching Giants football on TV can be better, but only during the preseason so you can flip channels when the scrubs come in."

What did you think of this one Mikefan?
"The good news is that the Giants had good drives, were able to move the ball against the Ravens, and were winning 6-0 at the end of the first quarter when Fassel pulled the starters."

Is that how you see this game?
"It's still a preseason game, and let's focus on what's important. Kerry Collins (7-13 for 91 yards) was able to move the ball against the Ravens this time out. Toomer looked good and ready to go for Denver. Ron Dayne looked great this game (8 for 40 yards), and was probably busy thinking - 'Hey you should have used me in that Super Bowl game.'
Morten Andersen was probably thinking - 'I should have asked for more money'". Jim Fassel is thinking - 'I'm glad Andersen didn't ask for more money or we couldn't afford him.' Damon Washington with 5 catches for 42 yards and 8 rushes for 20 yards was thinking 'Who needs Sean Bennett?'. Also, Rodney Williams was very consistent all game."

How about after the second half?
"Fassel was thinking - Gosh, how easy my cuts are going to be this year!"
Seriously it was a good workout for some of the secondary players who will be staying. Will Allen was in the game the whole way, getting used to NFL fast paced games. They really worked him, and he'll remember to field the ball better even when he gets tired. There's no sense dwelling on how the Ravens second and third squad players outplayed ours."

So, the outlook for the Giants this year is?
"They'll do just fine if the injuries don't get too bad."

Early Stats

Passing
Giants - Kerry Collins: 7-13 passes for 91 yards. Jason Garrett: 8-14 passes for 70 yards, with 1 INT. Jesse Palmer: 3-10 passes for 22 yards.
Ravens - Elvis Grbac: 4-9 passes for 86 yards. Chris Redman: 10-11 passes for 70 yards. Randall Cunningham: 4-8 passes for 33 yards.

Rushing
Giants - Ron Dayne: 8 rushes for 40 yards. Omar Bacon: 7 rushes for 23 yards. Damon Washington: 8 rushes for 20 yards.
Ravens - Jason Brookins: 10 rushes for 112 yards. Terry Allen: 12 rushes for 29 yards. Chris Barnes: 7 rushes for 12 yards. Aaron Kerneck: 2 rushes for 9 yards. Alan Ricard: 1 rushes for 2 yards. Chris Redman: 2 rushes for (-2) yards.

Receiving
Giants - Damon Washington: 5 receptions for 42 yards. Amani Toomer: 4 receptions for 70 yards. Thabiti Davis: 3 receptions for 27 yards. Quinton Spotwood: 2 receptions for 24 yards. Pat Woodcock: 1 receptions for 9 yards. Joe Jurevicius: 1 receptions for 6 yards. Adam Young: 1 receptions for 4 yards. Omar Bacon: 1 receptions for 1 yards.
Ravens - Patrick Johnson: 4 receptions for 34 yards. Jermaine Lewis: 4 receptions for 28 yards. Travis Taylor: 2 receptions for 30 yards. John Jones: 2 receptions for 14 yards. Jason Brookins: 2 receptions for 10 yards. Brandon Stokley: 1 receptions for 35 yards. Shannon Sharpe: 1 receptions for 21 yards. Qadry Ismail: 1 receptions for 12 yards. Todd Heap: 1 receptions for 5 yards.

Net yards rushing
Giants - 83
Ravens - 162

Net yards passing
Giants - 158
Ravens - 174

Time of Possession
Giants - 27:57
Ravens - 32:03

Missed Field Goals
Jags - Mike Hollis 48

Scoring:

1ST QUARTER:
NY - FG MORTEN ANDERSEN 27 YD 3:20 NY GIANTS 3-0.
NY- FG MORTEN ANDERSEN 33 YD 13:41 NY GIANTS 6-0.
2ND QUARTER:
BAL - TD TERRY ALLEN 1 YD RUN (MATT STOVER KICK) 4:57 BALTIMORE 7-6.
BAL - FG MATT STOVER 45 YD 12:41 BALTIMORE 10-6.
NY - FG MORTEN ANDERSEN 34 YD 15:00 BALTIMORE 10-9.
3RD QUARTER:
BAL - TD JASON BROOKINS 2 YD RUN (MATT STOVER KICK) 5:14 BALTIMORE 17-9. BAL - TD JERMAINE LEWIS 9 YD PASS FROM CHRIS REDMAN (MATT STOVER KICK) 12:09 BALTIMORE 24-9.
4TH QUARTER:
BAL - TD PATRICK JOHNSON 18 YD PASS FROM CHRIS REDMAN (MATT STOVER KICK) 4:05 BALTIMORE 31-9.
BAL - TD KELLY GREGG 19 YD FUMBLE RETURN (MATT STOVER KICK) 4:25 BALTIMORE 38-9.

Notes
The game was officiated by replacements, because the NFL has locked out its on-field officials in a labor dispute.

It was the 11th straight year that the Giants closed the preseason with a loss.

Although Punter Rodney Williams kicked off for the Giants today, Morten Andersen will kick off when the regular season begins.

Today is Jim Fassel's 52nd birthday.

Four years ago today he won his NFL debut as a head coach, a 31-17 victory over Philadelphia.

Next Game
Giants at Denver Sep 10 at 9:00 pm.

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