Giants can't slip against Cleveland

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Justin Tuck has seen it happen too many times.

The New York Giants play a 1 p.m. game against a struggling opponent they should have their way with. And yet the Giants come out in lackluster fashion and sleepwalk through the first half before fighting for their lives in the second.

It happened last year when the Giants lost at home to the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins and struggled to beat then-winless Miami Dolphins. And in 2010, the Giants needed Tuck to deliver an impassioned plea at halftime to wake them up against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"We've had a tendency to come out [in a] lull," Tuck said when asked why the Giants' early struggles against inferior opponents. "I don't know. We are kind of guarding against that this week."


Mitch Stringer/US PRESSWIREThe Giants can't let Trent Richardson & Co. hang around for long on Sunday.

Actually, Tuck said the "guys are on alert" because the Giants face the winless Cleveland Browns (0-4) on Sunday.

The Giants cannot afford to take any team lightly, let alone start off slow and find themselves in a dogfight with the Browns. At 2-2 and already 0-2 in the NFC East, the Giants have to win every game they can with the heart of league's toughest schedule remaining.

Losing to Cleveland would be devastating since the Giants have to travel to San Francisco next week for an NFC Championship rematch. That starts an 11-game stretch in which the Giants play either a playoff team from last season or a division foe.

So even though Cleveland has been competitive against the likes of Baltimore and Philadelphia this season, the Giants simply must take care of business at home.

"This is a must-win for us," wide receiver Victor Cruz said.

Coach Tom Coughlin opened the week by reminding his team what happened the last time the Giants faced the Browns as defending champions. Back in 2008, Cleveland spoiled the Giants' 4-0 start and handed them a 35-14 loss -- the Giants' lone defeat in their first 12 games that season.

"I remember," Coughlin said of that loss in Cleveland. "There are a lot of them in the room who don't remember, they don't have any recall of that. I mention it to those that were here. Along with the fact that at one point, we were 11-1 and we only had the one blemish."

The Giants' defense needs to be the tone setter on Sunday afternoon. Perry Fewell's squad has to suffocate a Browns' offense that is spearheaded by a 28-year-old rookie quarterback (Brandon Weeden) and a rookie running back (Trent Richardson).

After allowing LeSean McCoy to run for 123 yards on Sunday night, the Giants must plug their leaky run defense and jump-start their pass rush.

By stopping Richardson, the Giants can get after Weeden, who has been sacked nine times and thrown seven interceptions. It might be the perfect remedy for the frustrated trio of Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora. The Giants' star rushers have a combined 3.5 sacks through four games.

Pierre-Paul admitted that he isn't having fun this season and needs to get back to having fun like he did last year when he terrorized quarterbacks for 16.5 sacks.

"I am not having that much fun either," said Tuck, who is still searching for his first sack of the campaign.

"Yeah, I suck," Tuck later added.

This is a game in which the Giants can't afford to come out slow and suck the life out of MetLife Stadium. Coughlin's team has to play like the defending world champions and excel at home, where the Giants have lost to Dallas and needed a huge fourth-quarter comeback to beat Tampa Bay.

In both games, the Giants found themselves trailing by double digits early in the third quarter. Dallas led 14-3 and Tampa held a 27-13 lead over the Giants not long after halftime.

Tuck knows the home crowd will grow restless if they let the Browns hang around on Sunday. But he and the Giants repeatedly cautioned that the Browns are much better than their record indicates.

"We are going to have to play our best game," Tuck said. "This is a talented football team. They had Philly beat, they had Baltimore beat. They had three or four good teams beat if you take one or two plays away in those games. I fully expect this to be a dogfight."

Of course, the Giants should be used to that happening in these sleepy 1 p.m. games at home against an opponent with a mediocre record or worse.

Tuck has seemingly tried everything he can to prevent the lackluster starts in these type of games.

He's open to suggestions.

"You know us," Tuck said practically shaking his head. "We like putting ourselves in nail-biters."

Eagles shake Giants as Lawrence Tynes' late field goal falls short

PHILADELPHIA -- Lawrence Tynes' kick sailed wide left and a sellout crowd broke into a wild celebration that quickly halted when they realized it didn't count.

Lucky for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans, Tynes missed again.

Tynes was short on a 54-yard field goal attempt with 15 seconds left and Philadelphia held on for a 19-17 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night.

"When you're surrounding by 66,000 people that probably wanna rip your head off, yeah," Eagles coach Andy Reid said when asked if he regretted calling a timeout to ice Tynes on his first try.

With LeSean McCoy leading the way on the ground, Michael Vick guided Philadelphia (3-1) to their third comeback win.

The Eagles became the first team in NFL history to have each of their first three wins by two points or less according to information provided to the Eagles by the Elias Sports Bureau.

Alex Henery kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:49 left and the Eagles overcame two pass interference penalties on New York's final drive.

The defending Super Bowl champion Giants (2-2) have struggled against Philadelphia, losing eight of the last nine meetings.

"We knew it was going to be a game that was going to come down to the fourth quarter," Eli Manning said. "We knew we were going to have to earn every yard. They're a good defense, they're a good team. We had opportunities, we were close."

McCoy had 121 of his 123 yards rushing in the second half. The All-Pro had six carries for 2 yards at halftime.

"It's just the Giants and Eagles, this is what it comes down to," McCoy said. "Eventually our running game would crack it and that's what we did."

Vick threw TD passes in the final two minutes in consecutive 1-point wins over Cleveland and Baltimore the first two weeks before a 26-7 loss at Arizona.

After Manning tossed a go-ahead 6-yard TD pass to Bear Pascoe, Vick drove the Eagles to the Giants 2 before Osi Umenyiora sacked him for a 6-yard loss on third down. Henery then hit his fourth field goal to put Philadelphia ahead to stay.

Henery also connected from 48, 35 and 20 yards.

A pass interference penalty on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie kept the Giants' last drive alive and put the ball at the Eagles 35 after Manning threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-1. Another pass interference call on Nnamdi Asomugha on third-and-10 moved it to the Eagles 27.

Then Ramses Barden got called for offensive pass interference to move it back to the 36.

"I thought it was on him," Barden said of Asomugha. "But I know he's a competitor, and he came to play tonight. We were both fighting for position and it's just one of those things."

After an incomplete pass, the Giants sent out Tynes to try for the winning kick on third-and-18 because they didn't have any timeouts remaining.

"I don't believe in icing the kicker," Vick said. "You let him kick it and if it's in, it's in. You can't play games. I don't know where that started. We got to end that tradition."

Vick was 19 of 30 for 241 yards and the turnover-prone Eagles protected the ball. The Eagles led the NFL with 12 turnovers through three games, but didn't commit any.

Manning completed 24 of 42 passes for 309 yards, two TDs and one crucial interception.

He threw a pick in the end zone after a 30-yard pass to Victor Cruz on fourth-and-1 got the Giants to Philadelphia's 10 on the final play of the third quarter.

Rodgers-Cromartie intercepted Manning's underthrown pass into triple-coverage and returned it 14 yards to the Eagles 9. The Eagles slowly moved the ball on the ground to set up Henery's 35-yarder that made it 16-10.

Manning redeemed himself on New York's next possession. He completed passes of 31 yards to Barden and 41 yards to Domenik Hixon. He then found Pascoe wide open over the middle for a 17-16 lead with 6:45 left.

McCoy finally broke loose by running for 56 yards on consecutive carries in the third. He was stopped at the 1 on a 22-yard gain, and then couldn't get in on three straight carries. The Eagles settled for a 20-yard field goal by Henery that made it 10-3.

"The O-line found themselves as the game wore on," Reid said. "They were able to block well enough to where McCoy had big yards."

The Giants answered after David Wilson ran the kickoff back 45 yards to the 43.

Mixing run and pass effectively, the Giants moved to the 14. On third-and-3, Manning threw a TD pass to Cruz, who celebrated with his trademark salsa dance in the stadium where it all started. Cruz burst on the scene with a breakout performance in a 29-16 win at Philadelphia last September.

Vick threw a 27-yard pass to Brent Celek and then scrambled 18 yards to set up Henery's 48-yard field goal late in the third that made it 13-10.

Hoping to establish the run early, the Eagles had no success giving the ball to McCoy in the first half.

But Philadelphia used a no-huddle offense to drive 70 yards on 11 plays for the only TD. The Eagles converted three third downs on the series, including Vick's 19-yard TD pass to DeSean Jackson on third-and-9.

Before the game, the Eagles retired the No. 20 worn by Brian Dawkins for 13 seasons from 1996-2008. The hard-hitting safety went to eight Pro Bowls and was a four-time All-Pro in 16 years with Philadelphia and Denver.

Dawkins, one of the most revered athletes to play in this sports-crazed city, sent the sellout crowd at the Linc into a frenzy when he ran out of the tunnel during pregame introductions. Wearing his green No. 20 Eagles jersey, Dawkins did his unique, crawling, gyrating entrance. He then joined the captains at midfield for the coin toss. Dawkins changed back into his navy blue pinstriped suit and led the crowd in signing "Fly! Eagles! Fly!" at halftime.

Game notes
The officials got a standing ovation when they walked onto the field an hour before kickoff. ... McCoy has four 100-yard games vs. the Giants. ... Manning wasn't sacked.

NY Giants defense out to show depth against Michael Vick and Philadelphia Eagles

NY Giants defense out to show depth against Michael Vick and Philadelphia Eagles


Keith Rivers is out. Jayron Hosley is out, too. Corey Webster is choosing a cast for his right hand, and Antrel Rolle, the leader of the secondary, has a nasty cut on his knee.

Such is the state of a banged-up Giants defense as it prepares to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles, meanwhile, will return a key piece of their big-play air attack: wideout

Jeremy Maclin is fully over the hip injury that sidelined him last week and all but certain to play.

Add in dangerous rusher LeSean McCoy, and the Eagles have the arsenal to attack the Big Blue “D.” But the Giants are hardly worried.

After all, said Webster, they have been here before.

“We’ve been doing this for the last couple years, actually,” Webster said Friday. “We’ve been kind of filling in and preparing like starters for a long time right now.”

Added safety Kenny Phillips: “We’ve been banged up for like two, three years.”

Dealing with all those injuries — along with defensive coordinator Perry Fewell’s coaching philosophy — has resulted in a balanced unit that is “deep at every position,” as linebacker Chase Blackburn put it.

Nearly every key defensive player on the roster has in-game experience or heavy practice experience. Blackburn said Fewell treats Giants defenders like “interchangeable parts,” routinely shifting them in practice and prepping the team.

“It’s like TC (Tom Coughlin) always says,” linebacker Michael Boley said. “Next man up.”

Rivers, perhaps the Giants’ most athletic linebacker, will sit out with a hamstring injury, but second-year linebacker Jacquian Williams played plenty of snaps last season. Rookie corner and nickelback Hosley’s out, too? Last year’s first-round pick, Prince Amukamara, made his NFL debut against the Eagles in Week 11 of last season, intercepting a pass on his first defensive snap, and veteran Michael Coe, an option at nickel back, started at corner in the 2012 season opener against the Cowboys.

The Giants’ battered secondary is so certain that its understudies can deliver that Webster worries most about himself. He is playing with a broken bone in his right hand, and he will wear a protective cast on Sunday.

Webster said that he used his left hand to make a pick in practice Friday.

“I’m expecting to have a few more balls coming to me,” Webster said. “It’s a great opportunity, and hopefully I can make the best of my opportunities.”

NY Giants visit Philadelphia with eyes on punishing Eagles quarterback Michael Vick

PHILADELPHIA — The first time Eli Manning played in an NFL game he took a hit that he recently remembered as “the biggest one that I’ve taken in my career.” It came on the road against the Eagles in 2004 when he was hammered by Philly defensive end Jerome McDougle. He was hit so hard, his father Archie later said “I thought he was dead.”

That was one hit in one game eight years ago and Manning still remembers the feeling.

So imagine how Michael Vick must feel after the dozens of hard hits he’s taken this year.

Don’t think the Giants (2-1) haven’t taken notice as they head down the New Jersey Turnpike for their Sunday night showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles (2-1). Vick, the Eagles’ battered quarterback, has taken a beating behind his struggling offensive line this season. Vick has always taken hits, because he loves to move out of the pocket.

But it sure looks like he’s taken much more punishment through the first three games this season than he’s ever taken before.

“Honestly, yes, it does,” said Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. “I don’t know what the cause for that is. I think more teams are just attacking him or just blitzing, blitzing, blitzing and just trying to get to him as often as possible. That seems to be the game plan. And people are getting to him.”

The rate defenses are getting to Vick is alarming – at least to the Eagles. He’s been sacked nine times and, according to the stat sheets, absorbed a league-high 28 hits. Add in the tackles at the end of most of his 21 rushes and other bumps and hits the stat crew may have missed and some people believe he’s been hit more than 60 times in three games.

And even though Justin Tuck believes Vick is “still one of the most dangerous people on the football field,” the licking Vick’s taking may still be having an effect on his play.

“I don’t know, I saw some plays in that game where he still looked the same and he got out of the pocket and started running,” Tuck said. “But it’s tough. He’s getting some clean shots on him and obviously that’s going to take a toll on any player.”

Want proof? Vick is completing just 55.9% of his passes (69 of 125) after completing 61.3% over the last two seasons. He’s got just three touchdown passes and six interceptions. Add in his three lost fumbles (five fumbles overall) and he’s responsible for nine of the Eagles’ 12 turnovers so far.

He really was showing the signs of a battered quarterback last Sunday in Arizona, when he was sacked five times, hit 13 times on pass plays alone, gained just 15 yards on his four runs and completed only 45.9% of his passes (17 for 37). The Eagles were embarrassed by the Cardinals 26-7.

So sure, the Giants’ defense is licking its chops – especially the defensive ends who have accounted for only 2 1/2 sacks (one for Osi Umenyiora and 1 1/2 for Jason Pierre-Paul) and three quarterback hits this season. But as Tom Coughlin pointed out, even with all their problems in pass protection they still have big-play capabilities. “Something,” he said, “is happening there.”

And when he’s not laying flat on his back, that something is usually because of Vick.

“(He’s) courageous,” Coughlin said. “He steps up, he takes a hit and gets right back up. The next play he throws the ball 60 yards in the air to some of the speediest players in the league. He’s a tough, tough guy. You know when he pulls it down and runs, you’re holding your breath.

“There are a few guys in this league that are exceptional at extending plays. He’s one of them.”

In other words, the Giants are looking at Vick in two ways Sunday night. They see a quarterback who may be vulnerable that they need to knock down. It’s the perfect time to finally get their struggling pass rush going.

But if they miss, Vick is like a ticking time bomb. He’s got dangerous weapons and an offense that might just be ready to explode.

“Well, if it does,” Coughlin said, “not (Sunday night), I hope.”

Twitter.com/RVacchianoNYDN

Author:
RALPH VACCHIANO