Sweet Victory

Down 27-13 in the fourth quarter the Giants backs were against the wall. And any Giants fan can tell you that's when you get the Giants best game. When it's do or die.

After a painful first half of turnovers and redzone dysfunctionality, Eli Manning led the Giants offense to 28 points in the second half, 25 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Eli passed for 510 yards, a personal best for him. And more importantly he maintained the fourth quarter dominance that all Giants fans have come to love.

Lets be honest this game was a bit of a scare. The Giants were very close to starting 0-2. And there are some things on this Giants defense that are alarming. Particularly the Giants secondary. When the Giants get cornerbacks Terrel Thomas and Prince Amukumara back it will be a different story. But right now cornerbacks Justin Tryon, Michael Coe, and Jayron Hosley are going to have to step up. The opportunities there, and honestly they are good enough to perform. Plenty of times they are in the right position, they just aren't making the plays. Good grief Mike Williams caught a touchdown pass off of Justin Tryon's head. But perhaps patience is the key. The ability is there but the confidence not quite yet. All it takes is one big play to turn that around though.

Another thing is the pass rush. Yes this week was an improvement, especially from Jason Pierre-Paul. But it's time to question Osi Umenyiora, who's supposed to be a pass rushing specialist. He can be considered a one dimensional player, but if he still gets sacks, there will be room for him on this team. But right now Osi is getting pushed up field, creating gaps and pocket space that's advantageous to any offense. Osi needs to become a purer football player. That means bull rush, that means run stops, not just sacks. It's time Osi steps up for this dline. He's been here for six years, he should know what's expected of him. Hopefully he'll start turning it around in good time.

The Giants also suffered a few injuries in this game. Ahmad Bradshaw came out of the game with a neck injury after a big hit. Fortunately this allowed the emergence of Andre Brown. Brown was cut last year but this year he made it and he showed the Giants why yesterday. Brown was very smooth running the ball with 72 yards and a touchdown. But more importantly he opened up things for Eli in the passing game. Fortunately Bradshaws injury doesn't appear to be too significant, but if he needs to sit out Thursday, Andre Brown has proven he can get the job done. Wide receiver Domenik Hixon was also injured yesterday after a big helmet to helmet hit. Hixon came out of the game  and did not return as a precaution that he may have a concussion. Lastly tackle David Diehl suffered an MCL injury, and Tom Coughlin said to the media that he is not sure of the injuries severity. Diehl will remain the most questionable for the Giants game against the Panthers Thursday night.

There is still loads for the Giants to improve on as this season continues. But most importantly Giants fans learned that the Gmen still have that comeback swagger that they had all of last year. Nicks, Cruz, and Bennett all had very clutch catches in the fourth quater. Eli spread the ball to everyone beautifully, and when the Bucs tied the game with two minutes left there was no doubt in any Giants fans minds that Eli was going to simply march right down the field again.

Long story short, it was a bit of a scare, but the Giants held on and they're 1-1 and that's all that matters now. The Giants have a short week as they travel for their first road game against Carolina on Thursday night. The Panthers are 1-1 as well, and without a doubt the Giants focus will be how to contain the explosive quarterback Cam Newton. It's a good test for a Giants defense that could use a real statement game.

What better test for a defense then the Carolina Panthers offense? More on them later in the week. But for now, enjoy the Giants sweet victory.