Giants win over the Ravens 13-0.
Jesse Palmer was 15 for 22 for 172 yards.
Jason Garrett was 7-11 for 163 yards, and 1 TD.
Jonathan Carter had 4 receptions for 128 yards and 1 TD.
Free-agent cornerback David Mitchell had an interception.

The Ravens did not look all that spectacular.
"No, they looked all wet, which is what you would be if you were at that game. That's two Giants games in a row where it was no fun to be at the stadium. I'm sure you could see on TV that there was a lot of elbow room in the stands. I think I want a raise."

Let's just focus on the game.
"OK, the Ravens looked like they were playing in their first preseason game, all except for Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. He really brought it on to Jesse Palmer and Sean Bennett before they sat him down. The Ravens had a ton of penalties, and stopped themselves whenever they could from scoring. They even blew an easy field goal attempt, and should have scored two touchdowns in that game.
I'll take the win, but the Giants didn't have to do much to get it, although there were some great individual plays, like that touchdown pass from Jason Garrett to Jonathan Carter."

What does this all mean for the regular season?
"Look, this was a busy preseason for the Giants. They had to play 5 games in 24 days. They started off pretty good except for special teams and then got lots of injuries. They finished up mostly healthy, and hey, even Jason Sehorn, my personal favorite, saw some action. To answer your question, the preseason doesn't mean much, and I say, Let the games begin."

The Giants won 13-0.
"That was a big thing for them the way this preseason has been going. However, you realize that the Redskins score something like 6 points just stepping off the team bus. The Skins have been hot in their preseason games, winning the first four and averaging 37.5 points per game. Of course, every coach in this division plays his preseason in his own fashion. It's all just gearing up for the regular season, getting your players ready however you choose to do it, and in the end, that's what really counts.
By the way, Gamegirl should be happy to know that watching the game from my luxury box (that's the big screen 'box' in my living room), I see that Harry Carson thinks that all the Giants fans that went to the preseason game and sat out there in the rain are real troopers. That should make her feel better."

The Giants closed out the preseason with a 13-0 win.
"It was a night of firsts. DE Frank Ferrara got his first start. Jesse Palmer started in place of Kerry Collins. Jason Sehorn stepped onto the playing field for the first time this season. New punter Matt Allen made a go of it in his first start with the Giants. It was the first time the Giants finished with a winning preseason (3-2) since 1995.
Fassel didn't look too happy on the sidelines, but that was not a first for this preseason. It was funny watching Owen Pochman trying to explain away missing a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter to Fassel, and I'm sure the coach wasn't too happy when the 47-yarder in the second quarter was hit with a holding penalty against rookie Quincy Monk."

What's up for next week?
"It's Giants against the 49ers for real. All the starters should be healthy and playing except for center Dusty Zeigler who had off-season knee surgery like Sehorn did. We'll get to see some of the things they teased us with earlier in preseason. There will be things like Kerry Collins throwing to Jeremy Shockey, with Tiki Barber running the ball, and Ike Hilliard and Toomer going deep. Remember how good stuff like that was?
Don't forget that the NFL is kicking off early, with a Thursday night special that starts at 6:30 PM, according to ESPN."

New punter Matt Allen had 6 punts for a 38.2-yard average. The Ravens had 3 fair catches and totaled 7 yards on the two they returned. Fassel said four of the punts had at least 4.0 seconds of hang time.

It was the first time the Giants (3-2) have won three preseason games under Jim Fassel, although it took an extended preseason (5 games) to do it.

This game ended the Ravens four-game preseason winning streak against the Giants.

Baltimore's first-team offense did not score a touchdown in the entire preseason.

Eight starters did not play:
RB Tiki Barber (hamstring), LB Mike Barrow (knee), QB Kerry Collins (shoulder), TE Jeremy Shockey (ankle), LB Brandon Short (hip), S Shaun Williams (knee), C Dusty Zeigler (knee) and C/T Chris Bober, whose wife was expecting their first child.
Also out were RB Ron Dayne (neck), WR/PR Daryl Jones (knee), WR Tim Carter (ribs/back), DT Lance Legree (knee) and RB Damon Washington (knee).

Next Game
Thur, Sept. 5, San Francisco at Giants, 8:30 PM ET

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