The Giants went down 14-0 before people got comfortable, but just as the rain let up at Met life Stadium, the Giants began pouring on the points as they ran away with the game in the second and third quarters.  Here is the box score, as the Giants improved to 3-2 setting up the week 6 rematch of the NFC Championship game against the 49ers.

Here are some of the storylines coming out of this game:

Story lines

1. Plug and Play.  No Hakeem Nicks for the third straight game.  No Ramses Barden thanks to a concussion.   Martellus Bennet went down with a leg injury (more on him.)  And yet, there was Ruben Randle getting more looks his way.  There was Victor Cruz doing the salsa three times.  There was the running game coming alive.  There was Domenik Hixon, the oft-injured and oft-forgotten member of this receiving unit making tough catches.  Its amazing what a good, sound offensive unit looks like without making excuses and just simply executing.  I know I’m beating a dead horse with it, but Eli Manning’s leadership can’t be under sold.  He makes the wheels turn here.  He and Kevin Gilbride have the kind of relationship where both know how to direct the offense and work in tandem to put the Giants in the best position possible.  Its almost redundant at this point to say it but the offense’s injury woes are nothing but a speed bump for this team.  They keep plugging new guys in and keep clicking.  Of course, that depth will be tested this Sunday against arguably the best team in football, the San Francisco 49ers.

2. The running game is making a comeback.  In 2008, after a Super Bowl campaign, the Giants were looked upon as lottery winners against a Patriot team that would’ve beat them 9 times out of 10.  A 10-6 team that made it to the playoffs on the next to last week of the regular season and rarely looked the part were under dogs in EVERY SINGLE playoff game including the final one where they overcame the largest set of odds EVER for a Super Bowl game.  Of course, that season, the Giants just continued their magical carpet ride and ran out to an 11-1 start and looked the part of defending Super Bowl champions that many suggested they were lucky to be.  We all know what happened next: Plax enters the club with gun.  Plax shoots himself with gun.  Giants wind up losing in teh first round of the playoffs thanks to the distraction.  What that season had was a lot of running and the Giants ran the ball because they COULD.  They were the best offensive line in football that nobody cared to discuss.  This season’s offensive line has also been markedly improved over previous units and yesterday Ahmad Bradshaw working primarily as the lead back thanks to Andre Brown’s injury, rushed for 200 yards on 30 carries.  Even David Wilson got into the act and ran for his first TD through huge gaping holes.  When the offensive line pushes around the D-line like that its a beautiful thing and it will be very important for them to do the same next week against the uber tough San Fran D line.

3. Speaking of the D-Line… Where is the feared, vaunted pass rush that every broadcaster likes to bring up whenever the Giants are being talked about?  Granted they went up against an offensive line that features two of the best linemen in all of football in Alex Mack, the Pro Bowl Center and Joe Thomas the Pro Bowl LT, but STILL.  I’m convinced JPP is injured and needs a week off, of course that’s not going to happen anytime before the bye week, but its emerged as the most unlikeliest of concerns.  Yesterday I saw them play a lot of contain which had to do with the threat of the running game.  Trent Richardson looked like the number 3 pick and never seemed to go down with the first hit.  Elusive guys like Trent Richardson and LeSean McCoy give any team fits but when they get on the edges against the Giants they wreak havoc because the backside just does a horrible job in tackling rushers.  Especially rushers who bring the specific dimensions that Trent Richardson and LeSean McCoy do.  Guys who can cut on a dime or guys who have that extra muscle to shake off that first arm tackler.  The Giants began to gang tackle more as the game progressed because it seemed like they underestimated T. Rich’s ability to shed the first tackle.  The Giants were fortunate in facing a QB as inexperienced as Brandon Weeden, as they tried to play more coverage while playing contain on the line to make sure that they stayed at home to try and stop Trent Richardson.  Getting to the edge became difficult but not an arduous task and you can expect that more teams will try to employ that same strategy against the Giants.  Running to the edges will be something that I’m sure Perry Fewell and the Giants defensive coaches stress during the coming week of practice as they head west to face off against Frank Gore and that amazing running game of 49ers who just rushed for their second consecutive 300 yard game collectively.  If the Giants don’t get any pressure on Alex Smith like they did during the NFC Championship game, the Giants will be in for a long day as the Niners have obviously improved their passing game with Randy Moss and Mario Manningham in the fold with Michael Crabtree and Ted Ginn while also having Vernon Davis.  That’s a lot more than they had during the NFC Championship game where receivers had a total of 1 reception for six yards.  An improved receiving corp though has helped out the running game because of the respect defenses must give to the passing game.  If the Giants get zero pressure schematically like they did in these last few games the Niners will have their way with the defense because the secondary can not be left on an island to be picked apart, even if its Alex Smith doing the picking apart.

4. Do the Giants have the deepest receiving corp in football?  I’m not willing to go that far yet but I know Giants fans are thinking that following another game in which another receiver broke out.  Ruben Randle was the Giants 2nd round pick from this year’s draft and they love his athleticism.  They always felt like his potential was limited thanks to the bad quarterbacking in LSU.  You forget about Domenik Hixon because he’s gone down with injuries the last two years.  Ramses Barden was a featured receiver these last two games before his concussion forced him out of Sunday’s game against the Browns.  There was a Jernel Jernigan sighting.  But the Giants real star has always been continuity.  Whether it be at the quarterbacking position OR the offensive philosophy, the Giants bring up their receivers in the same system and give them time to grasp it before throwing them out there.  Victor Cruz might have come out of nowhere but he was in the Giants camp the previous summer and had a whole year to grasp the complicated offensive system.  Ramses Barden has been under bubble wrap since being drafted in the 3rd round in 2009.  Hixon has had two ACL surgeries worth of years to sit and learn the system.  Jernigan is entering his 3rd season in the system.  These aren’t newbies walking on and making the team. These guys earn their stripes by sitting and learning.  They gradually get comfortable and that’s why the Giants always look so good when they plug in these guys.  Its because of the experience they have.  So when the argument starts up with do the Giants have the deepest receiving corps in football?  I’d answer not exactly but they are the most prepared to step in and step up thanks to the Giants extensive grooming process they have.

5. New Giants showing their toughness.  I’m giving away the game ball early here but Martellus Bennet showed me something Sunday by playing with what was being announced as a hyperextension of the knee.  That happened in the first quarter and yet there was Bennet, toughing it out and playing through the injury.  That may not sound like much but for a brand new teammate who still has to prove his worthiness, not only to his teammates but to his coach, he showed them that he’s willing to play through it.  That builds trust in you from your teammates and gives the coaches an understanding of what you are willing to do in order to help the team’s success.

Decisions worth a second look aka In Hindsight, get ya mind right.

Just as self serving as the title is, we look at decisions that affected the turn out of the game after they were made and tell you why they were stupid.

In this situation, the Giants have just scored and have cut the deficit to 17-10.  Its the second quarter and 4:30 remains in the first half.  Trent Richardson has rushed the Browns to a 3rd and 1 situation at the Giants 25 yard line.  This is basically a wet dream for offensive coordinators because they can virtually call any play they want to depending on how frisky they are feeling at the moment.  So now that your star rusher has just got you to that position, what do you do?  Do you

A. Go with a simple rushing play up the middle?

B. Go with a rushing play to the edges where its been working all day?

C. Go with a play action for the big play?

D. Take out Trent Richardson and roll out with Brandon Weeden?

Well, you won’t believe it, but the Browns picked D.  Its easy to say that Trent needed a rest.  Its also easy to say that the Giants needed a rest too.  Why take out your most effective offensive weapon on a play in which even using him as a decoy would’ve increased the chances of you getting that first down?  Unless you just feel that your offense is good enough to make plays regardless of who is out there both on offense OR defense.

Subsequently Weeden rolls out, double clutches the football and overthrows the receiver and into the waiting arms of replacement safety Stevie Brown and into another Giants scoring drive.  Yes, it turned out to be a terrible decision and yes, judging by how the rest of the afternoon went, even if they had punted the feeling was that the Giants still would’ve scored.  But by turning the ball over they gave the Giants an extra possession at the close of the half and let’s not even get started on why the Browns would ever draw a pass interference call with :04 left in the half and gifting the Giants 3 points by setting them up in field goal range when they were no where near close to it.  These are the plays that separate the good and bad teams and why the Browns are winless and why the Giants are 3-2.

For some reason, there were people who questioned Tom Coughlin’s decision to leave Ahmad Bradshaw in the game after the opening hand off resulted in a fumble.  Where does this come from?  Simple.  We’ve been talking non stop about the Giants ability to plug and play.  The next man up attitude has filtered into our genome and enabled us to believe that no matter who steps in for the G-men, they too will be successful.  Its been a luxury but as we can see, a curse as well.  It makes us say and think stupid thoughts like bench Bradshaw.

There are subtle moves to coaching and much of it has to do with gut instinct.  First you have to ask yourself who could Coughlin turn to?  Sure, you had Andre Brown (who later left with a concussion) and David Wilson.  Secondly you have to look at the actual play that resulted in the fumble.  If you did, you would see that Chris Snee actually ran into the arm of Bradshaw and caused it to drag Bradshaw’s arm and pop the ball loose.  It was a freak play.  Plain and simple.  But those decisions have to be taken within context and in the context of that particular play, I don’t see how Tom Coughlin could reach in and bench Bradshaw.  Its a good thing to.  30 Rushes and 200 yards later, Coughlin’s non move was the right one.

NOTES

– There were a few pass interference penalties not called on the Browns that I thought were egregious.  Buster Skrine on Ruben Randle in the third quarter where half his shoulder pad was out was one of those “how did he not see those” penalties where the evidence was right there.  Then there was the interception where Sheldon Brown (former Eagle- no wonder I hate him so) had his arm in Victor Cruz’ arms before the ball got there, enabling him to swat the ball to Usama Young who made the interception.  That should have been pass interference and the interception should’ve been wiped off.  It wasn’t called and it will stay as an interception even IF that shouldn’t be the case.  There hasn’t been a graphic released about how many fewer pass interference calls there are but its clear that the regular refs have allowed a ton of contact down the field.

The reason I suspect that’s the case is that the flow of the game would be ruined.  We all cried about how long the games had become under the supervision of the replacement refs who enjoyed drawing attention to themselves by throwing laundry on to the field, but its clear that for the benefit of keeping the game moving they swallow the whistle.  Especially considering that the game was firmly in the grip of the Giants, the refs made a gut decision to NOT call that.  Of course, had the game been tight I’m willing to believe that the refs would have blown the whistle there but I’m sure that will come to play too.

– Not to offer excuses for his play but could there be something ailing Jason Pierre Paul?  After notching 16 sacks last season he has 1.5 and sometimes that number goes dramatically down for an established player when he’s playing through injuries.  Some believe its the constant double teams he faces now that are affecting his sack totals, but his motor isn’t one to just slow down and its clear that he doesn’t have similar burst off the line like he did.  The great thing about JPP is that he understands pad levels and normally gets his meat hooks underneath the pads and has enough strength to bull rush right up and collapse the pocket and force the QB into a mistake which are his specialty.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we learn that JPP is actually battling a few injuries much like Justin Tuck was all last season.

Looking ahead:

– The Giants now have established Ruben Randle, Ramses Barden, Martellus Bennet, and Andre Brown, as offensive weapons that teams must worry about to add on to Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks the established head ache inducers.  The beauty of that is how it plays into game planning against the Giants especially, if as rumored, Hakeem Nicks comes back.  Much like the Super Bowl where the Patriots used the presence of Rob Gronkowski as a decoy, the Giants can widen the playbook and force the Niners to play one on one across the board when the Giants go 4 WR.  The good thing about the Niners is this: they have LB’s who can cover in space as well and they are across the board solid tacklers.  The issue for the Giants will be to force the Niners into match ups that they don’t like and go with whatever Eli picks.  Eli will have added pressure of releasing the ball quickly enough to make the Niner pass rush obsolete.  This means that the Giants may do some quick slants and WR screens.  Of course this means that their play makers have to do things in space that teams have not been able to do against this aggressive Niner defense.  What the Giants have to protect against is merely being satisfied with the underneath routes.  Having Barden or Nicks go deep on routes are great but if they aren’t catching them it won’t mean anything.

The biggest players on the field this Sunday may be Martellus Bennet and the offensive line.  Bennett will have a lot of underneath passes thrown his way early to set up the deep ball.  It will be the offensive line’s job to keep the Niner pass rush at bay which will NOT be an easy task given who the Niners line up.  As great as Justin Smith and Aldon Smith are, Ray McDonald is such an important presence inside because he’s able to push the pocket almost as effectively as Justin Smith does and when they line up McDonald and Smith inside, and rush Willis, Brooks or Bowman through that opening that almost always opens up, the QB has about five seconds to release that pass.  Its an amazing testament to how great those inside guys are.  Underrated member of that linebacking corp is Ahmad Brooks who has had a sack in each of his last three games.  Of course he’s a recipient of all the attention that Bowman and Willis get but he’s taking advantage and it seems at times that there aren’t any weaknesses on the linebacking unit.

– The Giants have a ton of injuries but I expect guys like Jayron Holsley, Keith Rivers and Hakeem Nicks to play Sunday because of how important it is to the Giants to have a good group out there to play a quality team.  Had the Niner game been last Sunday, I fully believe Nicks would’ve played.  The Giants do tend to err on the side of caution but make no mistake that this team understands the importance of a conference game in October especially after going 0 fer in the division.  The schedule offers no gimmies and does no favors for the boys in blue, but this is most certainly not a definite loss for the Giants.

– The one group we will find out about tonight more so than any other group on the Giants is the offensive line.  They have been pretty good leading up to this game and have rarely given Eli reason to push them around on the sideline like Jay Cutler, but this week they face a defensive front as talented as there is in this league I’m dying to see how they respond.  They have now been together for the better part of three years and most of them have played together during that stretch.  Offensive lines usually take a few seasons to really gel to the point where you feel good as a coach and the Giants may be nearing that point on the line.

The Giants face another great offensive line but nothing like the one in Cleveland.  Like I said earlier, the offensive line for Cleveland has two Pro Bowlers who are the best at their individual positions (Center Alex Mack and LT Joe Thomas), and so I give them somewhat of a pass.  But come away sack less against the Niner offensive line and the alarm bells will definitely be ringing.  Not just because of the donut they put up, but also because if the Giants defensive line doesn’t get pressure on Alex Smith the Giants are going to lose this game.

– One thing I’ve noticed about Smith is that he’s quicker making decisions.  That comes with having experience in Jim Harbaugh’s system.  Alex Smith is making the proper reads and couple that with his ability to throw the touch passes he becomes a real head ache.  What the Giants will see offensively from the Niners is what every team should always do.  Generally you should always draw up a play that the defense doesn’t see coming.  Now, there’s enough data compiled this season in which teams have a good sense of what personnel will appear for what packages.  You see Colin Kaepernick you know to expect Wildcat.  The Giants conversely run a traditional offense not predicated on trick plays.  They may run a reverse but that was run with Mario Manningham mostly and wouldn’t you know, that the Niners have run the Mario Manningham reverse play twice, both resulting in gains of over 20+ yards.

The 49ers, across the board, understand that winning with Alex Smith will take more than just running a conventional offense.  It will take a few creative plays, a bunch of different formations running the football and a atleast 7-10 looks to Vernon Davis in space.  Many times people last year wondered how in God’s name Vernon Davis ever got open if he were the only weapon in the Niner arsenal in terms of receivers.  But what the Niners did well was keep Vernon in to block as a means of play action.  Davis has the body to be an excellent down field blocker.  Imagine Joe Staley, Anthony Davis and Vernon Davis all pulling left, those plays will almost always net you a large chunk of yardage.  When they effectively run that play well, it means they are setting it up for play action where Davis chips an oncoming rusher OR gets a clean release from the line of scrimmage and he wanders into an open space in any zone and sits there for a big gain.  They also LOVE to line him up in the slot as a traditional receiver and he automatically becomes a match up nightmare because he’s too fast for linebackers and too big for corners.  If Chase Blackburn winds up covering Vernon Davis the Giants will have a long day.  Which is why it might behoove the G-Men to use Jacquian Williams or even Michael Boley as a spy to stay on Davis.  Jacquian can stay there to match him for speed and Boley can keep up with him and play physically with him.  He creates spacing for the other receivers as much as the running game does.

Dont forget, that Mario Manningham will be playing for revenge and so will the Niners who still are under the same mystic spell that the Packers are that the Giants STOLE their chance at winning a Super Bowl last year.  Oh and Randy Moss I’m sure doesn’t forget that 2008 undefeated, greatest team of all time label that the Giants robbed his Patriots of.  There’s plenty of motivation on the San Fran sideline and plus they are playing at home which is an added bonus.  We’ll see how it plays out this Sunday.

Enjoy the game everyone!