NYG vs NO Recap

The Dogs Came Out to Play

The Giants knew the pressure was on after hearing/seeing the Skins and Cowboys pulling out wins in the final seconds of their games. 

A couple days after the loss to the Redskins, Antrel Rolle came out saying the Giants defense needed to be "nasty" and "get a little bit more dog" in them. The secondary responded. 'Trel himself came out and forced a fumble while recovering another, also lined up over Graham in the slot and tipped the the pass intended for him creating one of Stevie's INTs. Stevie Brown ended up with 2 INTs, his 6th and 7th of the season  and his return yards put him at 259, a new franchise record. Previous record was 251, set in 1949 + 1961. My boy Will Hill came out to play as well! Kid forced a fumble with a big hit on Colston, was everywhere on kick coverage, and absolutely destroyed Elbert Mack on Jernigan's 60 yard kick return. Who's Elbert Mack? He plays the slot on defense, he was held out after the hit and was not on the field for Cruz's TD.

What I say about Jimmy Graham? You'd see a lot of Jacquain on him, maybe some Rolle in the slot, with Will Hill mixed in. We got all 3. Graham was held to just 2 catches for 9 yards in the first half. He finished 5 for 56 and 0 on 10 targets. Only catching half of the balls thrown his way is the result of the effort put forth by the defense. All 3 cover guys played him well, wherever he was lined up. Both of Stevie's INTs were on passes thrown to Graham.

Why is it so hard for the defensive line to play consistently? 1 sack by Osi is not going to be enough down the stretch and into the playoffs. Brees still torched the defense for 354 yards. If you do not get to the QB you will not win in this league. Lucky Eli & Co. helped out.

Now to the biggest story of the week. DAVID WILSON. It is ridiculous how I stated in the preview that maybe if I don't say he is going to break out, he finally will. Boy did he ever. I mentioned how Dominik Hixon put up the franchise record for total yards last year against the Saints, well Wilson did it this year. 327 all-purpose yards, 227 of them on kickoff returns and another 100 rushing. Not only did he show his speed, he showed some power as well with the goal line plunge, and taking Vilma out of the game on a separate run. As I also stated in the preview, a back with Wilson's speed can take advantage of the weak outside run defense, and his 52 yard TD on a sweep proved my point.

It is so nice to have a threat like Wilson on kick returns as well. Literally every time he catches the ball, he can go the distance. Finally got his first TD, a 97 yarder. That's the first kick return TD since Hixon ran one in from 74 yards away in 2007. Wanna pop up kick it? That's okay we have Jernigan there to take it 60 yards. It will be interesting to see how the Giants balance out the kick return duties for Wilson. If he is slated to get more carries on offense, will they start to pull the reigns a little on kick return? I think he will be fine doing both with Bradshaw still getting the lions share of the carries. Stat: Wilson and MJD the only guys since the merger with 2 rushing TDs and a KR TD in a game. Also, Wilson is the first player in NFL history with at least 200 kickoff return yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game

Overall great special teams day besides Tynes missing the FG. Franchise record for kick return yards at 287, previous was 274 put up against the skins in 1966. When Weatherford had to punt, they were all inside the 20. Sproles, usually a very dangerous return man was held to 5 PR yards on 2 tries. Hixon was put on PR duty like I said would happen. 

 Eli had two miserable INTs, one taken back to the house. However 259 and 4 is perfectly fine with me, as long as we win. Nicks looked good. Not great, but good. Cruz with 8 for 121 and 1 puts him over 1,000 yards in back to back seasons. People were calling him a one year wonder, but he continues to produce. No drops vs the Saints. Consistent play from him and the rest of the receiving corps will determine how far this team goes. 

Rueben Randle had 1 offensive play. Jernigan and Ramses Barden got in more than he did. Also taken off of punt return. Something to look into? Never can be sure with this coaching staff. 

After the game, Rolle tweeted, "Who let the dogs out??? Roof roof roof. NYGiants let the dogs out and they will be out until Feb." Lets hope its true, because the dogs made this game the most fun to watch all season.

EXTRA: Brandon Jacobs suspended from the 49ers for the last 3 games of the season. He has been very frustrated with his playing time in SanFran and was not released because it is so late in the season and they do not want to risk him going back to the Giants with their injuries at RB and hurting them in the playoffs. Also, Prince got banged up, hurt his hammy a little. Michael Coe who was released by the Giants, and signed by the Dolphins was just cut by Miami. A Coe reunion is possible.

UPDATE: Never mind, Giants were not allowed to put a claim on Coe because of IR rules. Picked up by Cowboys, interesting.