They had been lost and could not be found. Fans had filed missing persons reports with police forces around the tri-state area. But finally on December 6th, eight weeks after they had gone AWOL, there was a Giants sighting at the Meadowlands. It is still unknown if the team has actually been found - the authorities say they will know after next Sunday night.

Witnesses claim to have seen a balanced offense (26 dropbacks to 23 rushes), a hard-noised runner (Brandon Jacobs 13 carries for 39 yards including a TD where he bounced off the initial contact that came behind the line), big plays (Hixon’s punt return, Jacobs’ 74-yard TD catch, and Bradshaw’s 29-yard solo reverse), and a hounding defense (2 sacks, 7 QB hits, 8 TFLs, and a fumble recovery). Also being reported, a rare good decision by defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, placing Mathias Kiwanuka, Chris Canty, and Jonathon Goff into the starting lineup. Unfortunately, Sheridan resorted to his passive and random playcalling tendencies, but did show several confusing looks with no defenders putting their hands down — if only he realized that confusing the quarterback is a good thing.

Still missing: a full 60 minute effort. The Giants took the first quarter off and allowed an easy touchdown on Dallas’s last possession. Newly lost: Eli Manning’s decision making. Forgetting that Plaxico is sitting in a 8′x8′ cell at Ulster Correctional Facility, Eli threw the ball up for grabs between Mike Jenkins and Mario Manningham - needless to say that My Main Man did not come down with it. Spottily seen: Steve Smith’s hands. Six catches for 110 yards seems like a good line until you see he dropped three balls including an easy touchdown. Also gone awry: Bruce Johnson’s coverage ability. Perhaps the league has caught up to the undrafted rookie, but he has been taken advantage of the last several weeks including by Dallas, specifically on long plays to Jason Witten and Roy Williams.

Fans were happy to spot their beloved Giants. Some (including this guy) have new false hope that a postseason berth may be in line. As the Five-Oh remarked, the fate of this Giants team will be better known after next Sunday night’s game against Philly. A win would land the Giants, at minimum, in second place in the NFC East and possessing tiebreakers over both Dallas and Philly - and might turn that false hope into the actual thing.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 11:12 am and is filed under Football, NFC, NFC East, New York Giants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.