T-Rock's Take on the Giants

First, let me say thanks to Tony, a Seahawks fan who wants to talk football, not scream and shout... Appreciate your comments, and yes, there are plenty of Giants fans who act as boorishly and stupidly on other blogs as some Seahawks fans did here. WIsh it weren't so.

And thanks to everyone who sent in questions for the defensive coordinator. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to post his Q&A here, but I have it now, courtesy of the Giants' excellent PR staff:

Defensive Coordinator Tim Lewis

September 26, 2006

Q: Do you know why you’re not playing as well as you need to?

A: We’re studying that right now. That’s what we’re doing. When I’m not down here, I’m up in the room looking at every situation we’re not playing well in – obviously the red zone and third down. The run game, we’re playing fairly well. Unfortunately, the third down is just keeping us from doing anything that we really want to do – getting them off the field, giving the offense an opportunity. And the red zone is not very good.

Q: Your players are surprised by this whole thing, because there was talk in the preseason about being a top five defense and now you’re sitting near the bottom. How surprised are you?

A: I’ve been in the league now, this is however many years – nine years with the Steelers and this is my third year here. Nothing really surprises me very much. I remember we talked like that, too, when I was in Pittsburgh, fortunately. We were able to fight our way through some things and get into some playoffs, get into some championship games when it looked fairly bleak early. So I’m not surprised. I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed that we’re not better than we are at this point. We still have some guys who we’re working very hard with to get the communications (down), to get on the same page. It’s cliché, I know, and it’s coaching jargon, but at the same time, that’s what we have to do. We have to take all of those parts that are new to the system, that are fresh to it, teach them what to do and get them to perform.

Q: Do you think the problem is miscommunication right now, or are you looking at yourself thinking the game plan is designed incorrectly?

A: I will tell you this: I know from a responsibility standpoint, it’s my defense. When I got hired here to coordinate the defense, that’s exactly what I got hired to do – coordinate it and put it together. From a communication standpoint, if they’re not coordinated, if there are people running free – which you all, I’m sure, have noticed – it’s my responsibility to get it corrected. Not necessarily just to find the fault, but to get it corrected. I’m not so much interested in whether or not it’s this or that. Of course, you have to identify the problem in order to fix it, and that’s what we’re trying to do right now. Looking through all of our cutups and so forth – that’s what we do every day to try to figure out what the problem is and then get it fixed. It’s not necessarily a player. It’s not necessarily the scheme. It’s not necessarily individually any one thing, but just like any other problem, there’s always probably a combination of everything, and that’s what we’re trying to tell.

Q: I know you’re trying to get as much pressure as you can with four guys. Do you agree that that’s not working?

A: I’m not sure that I get the question. I think I see what you’re saying. Am I purposefully not calling blitzes to…

Q: Did you think that you had a good enough front four to get enough pressure with just those four guys?

A: I still believe that. I still believe that.

Q: And how often have you tried that in these first few weeks?

A: I don’t know. I know, in general, my history has been probably about a 32-33 percent blitzer in a game, and we’re a little bit higher than that right now.

Q: Are you less comfortable with that?

A: No. Not necessarily. I think it fits the situation. You have to do what you have to do to win each game. It’s going to change. It will be different every game, every opportunity.

Q: So you think you’re running about a 40 percent blitz, then?

A: No, just a little less than that.

Q: And how successful has your study been of getting where you need to go with the blitz?

A: Probably 50-50. It needs to be higher than that, obviously.

Q: LaVar Arrington is only blitzing about a quarter of the time. Is that because you’re still trying to figure out how to use him, or is that what you’re limited to by his physical skills at this point?

A: I would say this: if your perception of using him to blitz straight ahead and so forth was that he was going to do it 100 percent of the time he was in there, then you were misguided. We’re just playing football. We’re just playing defense. We’re operating the defense based on what the situation gives us and the opportunities that we have based on down, distance and personnel. If what they have in calls for him to rush, or Antonio (Pierce) to rush, or someone else to rush, we’re really just trying to play the game and not necessarily alter the entire game plan because he’s on the field. We’re trying to fit him in and manage him in with all of the things that we’re trying to get done.

Q: Is that not what he does best?

A: We’re still working on that. We’re still trying to find exactly what it is that he does best and what he does as it relates to this entire defense – how he fits in with everyone else – because when you bring him, obviously other people have to play certain positions. And maybe they’re not good for them as a match-up in the receiver corps. So it’s a much bigger picture than just one guy.

Q: Physically, can he do everything that you ask him to do?

A: Yes. I think so.

Q: Is it fair to say that the first couple of game he hasn’t blitzed as much because Peyton Manning knows how to find holes when guys are blitzing and the last two weeks, guys have been good at escaping?

A: The first game, I think he blitzed 11 times. That’s what you said. It was more. And only five times or something like that on passes, or whatever? He was in 41 plays, I think. When you rush him, you’re looking for that big impact. If we don’t get it but we expose someone else, then it’s not worth it, so you go to something else. So in the course of trying to call the game, you have to evaluate where you are, the down and distance, what’s the field position, who do they have on the field, who is the quarterback, are you up, are you down – There’s much more to it than just worrying about how many rushes ‘this’ guy gets. There’s a bigger picture. There’s a bigger game to it.

Q: Will you be blitzing more against other teams? Did you blitz the amount against these teams that you did because of who the quarterbacks are?

A: Not necessarily because of who the quarterbacks were, but because of the game in general. The big picture. It has nothing to do with any one person. We blitz according to the plan, according to when the plan tells us that we can. If it doesn’t match up very well, then we try not to.

Q: Are your pressures way down after three games from what you wanted?

A: No. You’re talking about the actual pressure on the quarterback?

Q: Yes.

A: Oh, yeah, that’s down. I thought you meant called pressure. They are. We’re not getting nearly as much pressure on the quarterback as we need to, but that’s what we’re working on. We sit in here every day trying to figure out the best way to do it. Is it by movement? Is it by straight rush? Is it by called blitz? Is it zero coverage blitz? Is it just all-out? We’re trying to evaluate those things right now, and we’ll continue to do that.

Q: Coach Coughlin said that of five touchdowns, on four of them there was no discernable coverage. That can’t all be pressure. That has to be big-time miscommunication.

A: Like I said before to Arthur’s question, it’s probably a little bit of both. I take full responsibility for it, no question about it. That’s my job. It’s my role. I understand that. I have to do a better job of getting all of that ironed out. Obviously there’s no defense to put in that says, ‘Let that guy go, we want to score a touchdown right here.’ We don’t do that. That in mind, obviously, either I didn’t explain something correctly during the course of the week, or the player didn’t understand it. Either way, it ends up in a touchdown. It doesn’t matter. Physically, we’re not handicapped with regard to athletes. We have talent and we’re going to get better.

Q: Coach Coughlin said yesterday that Arrington played better on Sunday. What does that mean?

A: He played better.

Q: What I’m saying is, the stat sheet was the same.

A: What stat sheet?

Q: The stat sheet as far as number of tackles and…He didn’t have any sacks, but Coach Coughlin said he played better and you’re agreeing.

A: When you watch the tape with a coach’s eye, you have the review. You’re not seeing errors. You’re not seeing mistakes.

Q: You mean out of position?

A: No, errors. Mistakes. You’re not saying, ‘Ok, that was a mistake. That was a mistake. That was an error. That wasn’t right.’ You’re just not seeing mistakes and errors.

Q: Mental errors?

A: Errors. Technique, mental, what other types of errors are there?

Q: Missed tackles.

A: No, a missed tackle is not an error. It’s just a missed tackle. It goes under that category. It’s either an error or a missed tackle.

Q: As you study yourself in the next couple of weeks, are you going to change a certain percentage of what you do to call the game?

A: I would suppose that that would have to happen. Obviously, I know Coach Cowher used to say, ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.’ We don’t want to get any more of this. We have to do something differently.

Q: Will it be more pressure, or different pressure…?

A: I don’t know. I would be able to tell you that after we get done with this thorough evaluation.

Q: Well, you’re already blitzing more often than is typical, so it doesn’t sound like you’re saying in order to get the pressure, you’ll bring more pressure. That’s too simple.

A: We’re going to find out. We have a tremendous wealth of experience on our coaching staff. We’re going to tap into it and we’re going to find a way to get the job done. That’s what we’re really here for. I don’t know if it’s zero coverage. I don’t know if it’s one coverage. Blitz zone, fire zone, two covers, three covers – I can go through the whole book, but we’re going to find a way to get it done.

Q: Is this as bad as you ever remember it being as a coach?

A: No.

Q: What was worse?

A: Other games. When you look at the stats, other games. It was a strange game. It was a strange game. To be 35-3 or whatever at halftime, that was interesting.

Q: What was disappointing or shocking about miscommunications in the back, because –

A: I would say disappointing. I wouldn’t say shocking. I’ve seen other teams and been a part of other teams where you’ve had new parts that have had some gaps, for one reason or another. At this stage, three games into a 13-game season, we have time. It’s a long football season. We have time. I don’t feel like the noose is there. If about Week 10 we’re still doing that, we’re in trouble. But now, I don’t feel that way. I feel like we can get what we need to get ironed out. I think we can get it done.

Q: When you look at this team right now, do you think physically you have any difference of opinion from what you thought a month ago?

A: I don’t. That’s what we’re continuing to work on, and that’s an excellent question. The fact of the matter is, you always are continually searching for whatever it is that your guys do well, what positions you can put them into. I still am convinced that we can rush the passer. I still think that we can cover people. What else is there? I still think that we can tackle, that we can do all of the things that we need to do defensively to win. I think that the guys on this team right now are capable of getting that done.

Q: With all the scheming you can do, at some point do you just have to rely on the fact that you have Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, and they should have more than one sack at this point?

A: I have to help them. Nothing in this business – and you know what I’m talking about, you guys have been covering it long enough – nothing is a shoe-in. Nothing is a gimme. We still have to work our butts off to get the job done. And I have to help them.

Q: Why do you think they only have one sack between them?

A: That’s a good question. The fact of the matter is, when you watch people the way they protect against us, it should make it easier for the secondary because a bunch of guys are staying in hitting people. But they get chipped quite a bit. Michael gets a lot of attention. We played two west coast teams that have quick-rhythm passing. Do you know about the west coast offense, with McNabb and Hasselbeck, it’s a lot of three-step drops. Quick rhythm and chips. And I haven’t done a good enough job of coaching.

Q: Moreso on the tiptoe than in the past?

A: Oh yes. I think they had 14 ½ and 11 between them of the 40 we had last year. They had most of them.

Q: Strahan always draws attention. Do you think it’s more on Umenyiora this year?

A: Well, that’s what’s supposed to happen when you’re good, and he’s getting it.

Q: What have offenses done on game day that has surprised you a little bit?

A: That’s a good one. You’ve been reading too many papers. No. That’s a good question, but nothing. Absolutely, not a – I did read Hasselbeck’s statement about the four wides. My brother is with the Seattle Seahawks and I told him the night before the game we were expecting four wides and three wides because of the tight end situation. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, now does it? Sometimes some people give statements where they just kind of talk. That was not even close to being accurate because we knew that Jerramy Stevens was out and we knew, because it’s a league-wide thing, they had to share that 88 wasn’t practicing. We knew that Heller was their starting tight end. It wasn’t rocket science. Obviously, you’re going to use something other than your base offense for two tights.

Q: Can you give one reason why there are so many receivers running clear?

A: Just one? Me. I haven’t done a good enough job. I have a new secondary coach, I have two new secondary coaches that I’m trying to teach every day. I’m trying to get the message from me to them to the players. If I said something to (someone in this group) and passed it around, it would probably come back to me differently. That’s what I have to get ironed out. I have to make sure that the way defense needs to be operated --the way I see it – is the way it gets done on the field. That’s what I’m talking about. Athletically, we’re talented. Physically, we can get the job done. We have to make sure that we’re playing the same defense at the same time and that we see the same routes so that everyone reacts to that stimulus, the route – boom -- the same way, and they get it done.

That's as unedited as you can have, so fire away with some more comments on what he said and we'll get a good dialogue going on what the defense needs to do.

My take is that Lewis tried to go with a straight-ahead, four-man rush, occasional blitzing from Arrington and ohers while letting the secondary do what it is supposed to do in that scheme: Cover the zones and prevent big plays. I think the DBs are so concerned with being beaten deep that they've forgotten what to do against a West Coast offense like the Eagles and Seahawks run, and the third-down conversions are off the charts.

Now, it is time for Lewis to adjust. Stunt his pass-rushers a little. Blitz more guys at once. Drop Osi into coverage and let a LB blitz. There is time to adjust that. And the players need to adjust too -- the secondary needs to get its act together and communicate better, and to me, that means Gibril Wilson has to step up and take charge. He's the senior guy back there and there's a lot on him, but he has to do it because no one else can, or will.

As for Shockey... My headline up there says it all. If Tom Coughlin wants to be the tough coach, he needs to sit Shockey -- not for a quarter, not for a half. For all of the Redskins game. Shockey has been ineffective thanks to his bum ankle, so it's even a chance to rest; if the Giants want to pound the ball with Tiki and Jacobs, then using Visanthe Shiancoe and Rich Seubert won't hurt them. Shiancoe can even catch a pass or two when needed.

I don't think Coughlin has lost the team. I don't think anyone will see Shockey rant and figure, "Oh, now I can shoot my mouth off too." So I don't see this benching as a deterrent to others on the team.

It would be Coughlin reminding Shockey and his players that just because they show up five minutes early to meetings or leave the white socks at home for road trips, they're not exempt from his wrath. And it sends the message that the team comes first and that you don't go outside the family to voice your complaints, even if they're warranted.

Shockey will never learn, it seems. After five seasons, he hasn't grown up. So treat him like a child and send him to his room for a week. Maybe he'll understand what it's about then.

Is now consoling the 13th Man, who was egregiously assaulted by a bunch of 12th-Fan jersey wearing Seahawks fans, who I would love to stick around and comment on the blog all season. Alas, i'm sure they will turn their venom elsewhere -- like a Bears blog next week.

Let me say a few words about y'all before we move on to the Big Blue Disaster:

1. Congrats. Your team played a great game, you cheered your lungs out and your city and stadium are a lot of fun to be in.

2. Zip it. The term, I believe, is "grave dancing," and you folks are engaged in a healthy dose of it right now. And lookie here -- all it took was one day for that to come back and bite you, with the news that Shaun Alexander is out with a broken foot. Hope it was worth it to come on here and show there's a few of you out there who can't win with dignity.

OK, on to the Giants!

Where to begin? Jeremy Shockey apologized today for his "outplayed and outcoached" outburst after the game. Eli Manning scolded his tight end and Tom Coughlin expressed disappointment that two of his marquee players have called him out publicly over the last four games; I bet Coughlin is more disappointed that his offensive and defensive schemes seem to be so transparent that now two teams have quickly sized up the Giants and run them over.

We'll be talking to the assistant coaches tomorrow, and there should be quite a crowd around Tim Lewis. Got any questions for him? Send 'em along.

That's my contribution to rabid fandom... A 13th Man to beat the snot out of all these Seahawks fans walking around wearing No. 12 jerseys with "Fan" on the back.

Perhaps it's my East Coast sensibility. Maybe I'm in need of some relaxation. I don't care. The idea of spending $75 or $100 on a jersey and putting "Fan" on the back? I'd disown my kid if he did that.

Inactives today are the expected: WR Sinorice Moss, DT Jonas Seawright, T Guy Whimper, OL Na'Shan Goddard, LB Brandon Short, S James Butler and RB Derrick Ward. Tim Hasselbeck is the third QB, so there'll be no Hasselbeck Bowl.

Only surprise among the Seattle inactives is WR D.J. Hackett, who burned the Giants last season. The Seahawks had to make room for Deion Branch.

And the fans booed Jay Feely when he came out to kick. Silly. They should've welcomed him with open arms.

Always liked the Anthrax/Public Enemy version of that track... Sadly, I'll only be hearing the noise, not Tha Noize, here in Seattle -- aside from Sir Mix-A-Lot, the Seattle hip-hop scene is lacking. Though if you ever make it out here, get to the Experience Music Project -- it's the best music museum I've been to. Good job by Paul Allen building that.

Moving on... Week 3 predictions:

1. Barber 'N' Brandon will run wild. The Seahawks have a strong pass rush and good interior line play, but Tiki ran for 151 yards here 10 months ago and even though Seattle added Julian Peterson at LB, I don't think the home side is prepared for the Giants rushing attack.

2. Shaun Alexander will run wild. On the flip side, the Giants haven't exactly faced a vaunted ground game yet and the Seahawks have been awful at opening up holes for the MVP. I bet they get it going tomorrow.

3. Antonio Pierce will run wild. If you saw the look on his face after the win in Philly, you'd know that he wasn't happy with himself or his teammates. Pierce barely emerged from the film room all week and seems determined to lead the defense to respectability. Tomorrow he'll be everywhere.

4. Flags will be thrown. Maybe not as many false starts, but it's an epidemic now. The NFL has become an over-officiated league, especially in the biggest games; this is a big game nationally, and I'm afraid it will get screwed up. I'll never understand how seven officials on the field could mean more blown calls than any other sport, but that aspect of the game is here to stay until the league figures out that changing rules every year and reminding officials to enforce the existing ones strictly only means dissatisfaction.

As one NFL exec said to me the other day, who remembers a bad non-call? It's only the bad calls that are memorable, and there's way too many of those.

5. Jay Feely will make two field goals. And he will miss one.

6. The Giants will win. Because their running game is better, their defense will play better and the Seahawks are not as good as everyone thinks they are. Giants, 27-17.

We were all huddled around Feely today, hearing him speak the same way he's spoken since a few minutes after that debacle in Seattle on Nov. 27 -- clearly, confidently and concisely. Few fans may care what a kicker has to say about his team in general, or life in general -- and if he misses three more potentail game-winning kicks on Sunday, the fans won't have to worry about him, because he'll be gone -- but Feely is an astute observer.

Outside the locker room, that means he's got an eye on trying to make people aware that life is a series of object lessons and how we handle them can help (or hurt) others. "You don't always get a chance to show people how you deal with failure," he said today, and I can follow that up by saying you don't always hear someone in a pro locker room quoting Hubert Humphrey ("Smooth water never made a great sailor.").

The most interesting thing Feely said was in private to me, after everyone had gone. He said that Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress had "a breakthrough" on the field in Philly, the sort of connection that could lead to a playing relationship that Eli's brother and Marvin Harrison have in Indy. That game-winning play was one where QB and WR looked at each other and that's all it took; Plax went from yelling at the O-line on the sidelines in the first half to heaving the ball into the stands after catching the winning TD.

If Feely's right, then it's a huge moment for the Giants. Burress walks that fine line between productive play-maker and independent malcontent, and he could have been lost had there been no comeback.

Jeremy Shockey (ankle) didn't practice today and it's doubtful he'll do much of anything before Sunday. When I'm sure he'll play.

It's really hard to believe that a bunch of Pacific Northwesterners can make so much noise, but Qwest Field was pretty sick last November. Leave it to a billionaire to figure out how to build an open-air stadium that's noisier than any indoor stadium, but it's going to be loud, for sure.

Tomorrow will be the only time media will crowd around Jay Feely and Luke Petitgout on the same day. Petitgout answered most of the questions about his 5-false start day from last season's game, and Feely will surely not duck answering questions about his three missed field goals from that day, so this story may not have legs. But the Giants do have something to prove back out in Seattle.

I expect Jeremy Shockey will try to play, because he's Jeremy Shockey. If he were missing a limb he'd beg in. It's what makes him so special as a player and makes every Giants fan hold his or her breath -- Shockey only knows one way to play, and that way ends up with him either limping off the field, or with a loose tooth and blood on his face or shivering from all the ice on his body after games.

If I were Tom Coughlin, I'd dress him but barely let him on the field. He needs two weeks for his ankle to at least get into some sort of playing shape, and it isn't worth losing him for the final month to try and wring something out of him this weekend.

Love the Eli debate, by the way... It won't be settled for quite some time, so keep it up, keep it clean and keep the comments coming.

Best Monday Night moments... The Who opened with "I Can't Explain" and "The Seeker," then went from "Baba O'Reilly" into "Eminence Front." Awesome... Even better that I didn't have to watch a second of a brutal MNF game.

To paraphrase the late, great Jack Buck, I still can't believe what I just saw. The craziest game I can remember -- that almost anyone in the Giants locker room could remember. Even Ernie Accorsi, who seemingly wants to go out of the game with some good memories, couldn't recall such a game.

But that's over with... What does it all mean?

1. Antonio Pierce is right. When he said the Giants defense is undisciplined, he didn't mean they were cheap-shotting guys all over the place, he meant that someone's not doing his job on almost every play -- Pierce included. L.J. Smith looked like he was running individual drills out there for the first two quarters; can you recall seeing someone so open without a defender falling down? The Giants certainly shored things up, but that was honestly a lot of the Eagles wimping out on offense.

2. Gibril Wilson is back. When he couldn't chase down the un-fleet Peyton Manning on a Colts TD play eight days ago, I wondered about him. When the Eagles were doing whatever they pleased in the first 45 minutes without having a big lick put on any of them, I still wondered. But Wilson played possessed when the Giants were rallying -- he stripped Brian Westbrook, he stuffed Westbrook on the 4th-and-1. This guy is good, and like Eli, Gibril gained a whole lot of confidence from that finish.

3. Eli is big time. I really think it's the laid-back demeanor, the little-kid voice, the aw-shucks, head-down posture that makes people think the youngest Manning won't be great. He will. He was great on Sunday, even when his O-line left him out to dry repeatedly. The pass to Tim Carter while going down to sustain the tying drive may stand out as the play that propelled the Giants to great things this season, not the TD to Burress in OT. If he takes the sack, they lose.

4. Trent Cole is a moron. Listen, we can break down holding calls, false starts, pass interference flags, all of those are up for interpretation. What Trent Cole did is inexcusable, worse than Zidane's head-butt in the World Cup final, worse than any other boneheaded play you can think of. There's no way Jay Feely hits a 50-yarder to tie the game. Love the guy, but no chance; Cole gave the Giants the game. Not even Bill Buckner can say his play cost the Red Sox the World Series cuz there was still another game to go.

Cole blew it, and did it after having the game of his life. Moron.

5. The pass rush is in need of a big day. Two sacks in two games, one by Fred Robbins... Ugh. Osi Umenyiora came on late against the Eagles and Strahan did some excellent work against the run, but they need some sacks. It was right around Week 3 when Osi took his game to Pro Bowl level last season, so maybe it's coming for him. He could have put "Property of O. Umenyiora" on Walter Jones' helmet after last year's Seahawks game, so that could inspire him.

As for No. 92, he'd take a 0-sack season for a Super Bowl ring. Let's give the man some time.

Sorry for ducking out Saturday... It was a beautiful day, sun was shining and I thought, "Blog? They know it all anyway."

I shot a very bad 93, so that's what I get for ignoring you all. Never happen again.

OK folks, I'm back on the blog... I've made empty promises about posting every day in the past, but I will try to adhere to that from now on. Saturdays may be iffy, though, unless I can blog from the golf course.

Let's break down the upcoming Eagles game:

When the Giants have the ball... As long as Eli Manning doesn't throw it away as he did often in the fourth quarter and OT when the Giants went down to Philly last season, I can't see the Eagles defense slowing the Giants down. The offensive line, even with Rich Seubert for a whole game, can protect Manning; if the Eagles want to blitz like crazy, the Giants should welcome it and hand the ball to Tiki Barber 35 times. Maybe 30, with a few for Brandon Jacobs, though I do worry about Jacobs getting overexcited in the hostile environment.

And, as I said in my Tuesday Chalk Talk on the print side, get the darn no-huddle in there! The Eagles are down a starting cornerback, so keep that secondary on the field as long as possible and wear them down if necessary.

When the Eagles have the ball... The Giants obviously need more pressure on the QB, because given a moderate amount of time, it seems the Giants secondary can be beaten on a steady basis. That means turning LaVar Arrington loose in the pass rush more and keeping someone to spy on Donovan McNabb, because if he gets loose to run, he will.

Intangibles... The Eagles have the loud crowd and there will be some dirty play -- Antonio Pierce is out for blood and Jeremiah Trotter would knock over the first-down marker guy -- so the Giants have to maintain some poise, which hasn't been one of their strong suits. Special teams could be huge -- David Tyree blocked a punt on the Eagles last season.

Prediction... The Giants really do seem to have too much talent to go 0-2, which would certainly become 0-3 in Seattle a week later. Giants, 20-13

Finally, some game action to talk about!

First off, the injury update: Tom Coughlin gave it about an hour ago. G Chris Snee has no fracture and no ligament damage in his left ankle, so that leaves... a sprain, I guess. Coughlin said we could "call it what you want. It's an ankle injury." And it's bad enough that Snee is about 99% out of Sunday's game with the Eagles already. Coughlin , who usually gives nothing away, sounded sure that Snee would be out at least a week.

But Rich Seubert was quite capable in Snee's place and should be good going forward.

That was the only big injury, but boy, was Coughlin unhappy. In the year I've covered him, he's usually better at keeping his emotions in, good or bad; today, he was clearly unhappy with so many aspects of his team's play last night, and who can blame him?

1. Dropped INTs. The ghost of Will Allen haunts the Giants secondary, it seems. Antonio Pierce would have had a spectacular pick of Peyton Manning had he not let a bullet pass go through his hands in the second quarter -- a play that an NFL linebacker can make, but maybe isn't expected to.

But James Butler and Corey Webster (the "ball hawk" the Giants drafted last season to show the Wills how to intercept passes) had game-changing plays in their grasp and neither held on. Amazing, and you can't do that against Peyton Manning. Heck, you can't do it against Archie Manning.

2. Penalties. Ten total, nine on the offense. Yes, I agree that some of the calls were horrible -- and I even agree that the NFL, with eight officials on the field, still gets more calls wrong than any other major sport -- but the Giants are not getting the breaks and they aren't coping well. OK, so the Colts D-linemen are yelling "hut" and the umpire won't listen; there's still no reason to jump (and yes, BB, there were five false starts, not three, good catch), considering how well the line was protecting Eli and busting open huge holes for Tiki Barber, Brandon Jacobs, Chad Morton, Rodney Hampton, Joe Morris, Bam Morris, Mercury Morris, Morris The Cat... You get the idea.

3. Special Teams. A total meltdown, from Jay Feely's missed field goal and poor k