Dec 14, 8:30 pm (ESPN) - Giants at New Orleans
The Dream.
"In the NFL, quarterbacks have three to five seconds after the snap of the ball to find an open receiver before the pocket begins to collapse around
him. During those seconds, two, three and sometimes four receivers make their way from the line of scrimmage in pre-set routes -- all working to get open in the quarterback's field of vision
and get to the designated area as the pass is arriving."
In case you're wondering, we didn't get that paragraph from Jessie Palmer's contract agreement, and it's certainly not on the one Kerry Collins signed. Any quarterback would like to have a
copy of those words tucked away in his back pocket, and we almost hate to mention the source, but as you probably already guessed, it was on the upcoming Giants opponent's official website.
It must be what is expected as a matter of course for a quarterback on the New Orleans Saints. We'll gave the article a plug, so you can check it out yourself, it's at the link www.neworleanssaints.com.
The rest of the story.
The article contains more bad news for the Giants.
"For the Saints, the primary corps of Joe Horn, Jerome Pathon, Donte' Stallworth and Michael Lewis are some of the fastest receivers the club has ever sported on offense. Horn is on his
way to his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season as one of the most dangerous receivers in the game. Pathon is the prototypical possession receiver who makes the clutch catches when needed.
Stallworth is the young talent who has speed to burn and Lewis has worked hard to become a threat in multiple-receiver sets."
That's what the Giants and their depleted secondary will be up against this week.
Last week - Giants.
Kerry Collins was hurt in a losing effort against the Redskins. The Giants scored only 7 points to the Redskins 20 as they dropped to a 4-9 record and last place in the NFC East. Bruce Smith,
in a hurry to get his record, smashed into Kerry Collins on a play that should have been called dead. Kerry had to leave the game and Jesse Palmer came in for him, and Jesse goes down in history
as the quarterback who was sacked (for real this time) by Bruce Smith as he became the sack leader of the world, recording his 199th career sack
Jesse Palmer, subbing for Collins threw more passes in last week's game than he had previously in his three-year career with the Giants He was 7-for-11 for 83 yards, was sacked a total of
five times and fumbled, but none of that seemed to bother him. At least he was playing football for a change.
"I got to tell you, I had a ton of fun being out there with the guys, competing, fighting with the guys again, although the game didn't turn out the way we wanted it to. It was just good being
back out there and kind of playing football again."
Jesse Palmer.
Commenting on his performance, Jesse said, "I have to do a better job of getting rid of the ball. One thing I really need to work on is game speed again, game tempo. It's one thing to take
practice reps. When you go out and there are live balls, I need to do a better job getting rid of the ball, and when I have the ball, tuck it away and keeping it safe."
Head coach Jim Fassel told him, "You're not getting a lot of time and a lot of room to throw the ball. You can't hold the ball, and when you move, you got to keep it in two hands." So Jeese
pretty much knew what he had to work on this week.
Jesse's NFL career stats: 15 games, mostly as a holder. Has played QB in four games, completing 12 of 19 passes for 122 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions for a QB rating of 81.5. He's
also been sacked five times.
Jesse's college career stats: 27 games, 14 starts. Ranks eighth in Gators history with 3,755 passing yards and ninth with 31 TD passes. He's also fourth all-time in passing efficiency with
a rating of 133.14.
It was hard for Jesse to hide his enthusiasm even in the wake of Kerry Collins leaving the game last week, but you have to forgive him. You'd likely get a similar reaction from running back
Ron Dayne if his cleats had a chance to actually set down on some game-time turf this season.
Last week - Saints.
The Saints lost to the Buccaneers, 14-7. One interesting point is that Deuce McAllister was held to under 100 rushing yards for the first time in 10 games. In his last three he rushed for
165, 184 and 173 yards against Washington, Philadelphia and Atlanta, but came up short with 69-yards against the Bucs, and only three carries were longer than four yards. Saints center Jerry
Fontenot said. "They brought down a safety quite a bit and played eight and nine in the box. It seemed like their main purpose today was to stop Deuce and make us beat them with the pass."
Quarterback Aaron Brooks started off good completing his first nine passes for 123 yards and one touchdown, but ended up sacked six times and losing three of four fumbles, which gives him
a league-high 10 for the season. That's so many, that it's four more than Tiki Barber has lost. Unlike head coach Jim Fassel with Tiki Barber, Saints head coach Jim Haslett has threatened
to bench Brooks, but no matter both Barber and Brooks will be playing in this game
Against the Bucs, receiver Joe Horn extended his record to 67 catches for 801 yards and 6 touchdowns. He had a game high nine catches for 118 yards but dropped a sure 28 yard touchdown pass
with 1:49 remaining in the first half, with the Saints leading 7-0. Brooks had the ball slip out of his passing hand on the next play, and the Bucs recovered the fumble and scored a touchdown
two plays later. The Saints lost five yards on their next drive, and their punt was blocked and returned 20 yards to the 1. Then, as everyone has seen on the highlight reel, defensive tackle
Warren Sapp caught a 1-yard toss from Brad Johnson to put the Bucs up 14-7.
This week.
It seems the Saints take themselves out of games pretty much the same way the Giants do. The Giants could try what the Bucs did last week and shut down the the Saints running game. Even if
they can accomplish that, they have to be ready to handle things with an inexperienced secondary, exploited last week by Redskins QB Tim Hasselbec who threw two TD passes in his second NFL
start. The hope would be that Michael Strahan, leading the defense and playing at the top of his game, can keep the pressure on quarterback Aaron Brooks and force him into making costly mistakes.
Of course, Saints head coach Jim Haslett has said he'll pull Aaron Brooks if he plays poorly, and insert backup Todd Bouman. You also have to hope that Giants backup Jesse Palmer, playing
in his first NFL start, can be effective against the New Orleans 20th ranked defense. They are 26th against the run, but 11th against the pass, so you would expect to see a lot of Tiki Barber
(and maybe Dorsey Levens?) on the ground before Palmer gets the spotlight on his passing game.
Notes.
Kerry Collins was once the quarterback for the Saints.
The last time Kerry Collins did not start was Nov. 21, 1999.
Kent Graham started and the Giants lost to the Redskins, 23-13.
Receiver Tim Carter became the ninth Giant to be placed on injured reserve this season.
His roster spot was taken by Ataveus Cash, who has been on the practice squad since Sept. 9.
Only 4 offensive players have started every game for the Giants - RB Tiki Barber, WR Amani Toomer, C Chris Bober and RG David Diehl.
Jim Fassel has lost 5 consecutive games for the first time as the Giants coach.
Giants have given up six sacks in back-to-back games for the first time since 1983.
The no-show count for last Sunday's game was 45,000-46,000, meaning that at least 30,000 fans showed up.
Saints have lost a league-high 18 fumbles, and QB Aaron Brooks has lost a league-high 10.
Saints 8 interceptions tie them with Philadelphia for the second-fewest in the NFL.
Giants have lost 6 Monday night games in a row. Giants have a 3 game winning streak on Sunday nights.
Next Game
Giants at Dallas Dec 21, 1:00PM.
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