T-Rock's Take on the Giants

Now it's somebody else's turn to write the story: Are the Saints better with or without Jeremy Shockey?

Sorry about the rather long blog blackout. Was working on a story about Jets punter Ben Graham's life after football. Now it's about his life between football, a fun few days away from Mangini.

I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Just a lot of things to get in order for the bye. I'll be in and out during the week, but Rod Boone will be around to fill the gaps. Think of him as your very own Dave Tollefson.

A couple of thoughts after rewatching the game this morning:

Holy cow! It wasn't quite as nerve-wracking watching the end of regulation from the booth, but how do the Bengals get that far down the field and NOT take a shot at the end zone. I mentioned in my game story that the tackle by Butler and Phillips on that last offensive snap was a game-saving stop. I thought I was over-playing it when I wrote that, but I'll stand by it now.

Bad defense against the run in the first half, particularly on that 25-yard TD run between Michael Johnson and Fred Robbins. Robbins looked like he was held a little bit, but somebody's gotta shed a block there.

Speaking of Robbins, what an up and down game. Penalties, sacks, fingertip deflections on field goals. And still, it's hard to believe the guy leads the team in sacks with four. If he's going to be doing this all year, he'd better come up with better dances. I did like the Kiwi bird shape with his hands after his sack.

Sticking with the defense, I spoke with Bryan Kehl about that play when he was caught running off the field and Pierce had to take an encroachment penalty to stop the Bengals from taking a shot at a 10-man defense. Kehl said he was confused by the calls because he didn't catch the hand signals. He was trying to figure out where he belonged and when one of the players yelled that he was the "nickel right" Kehl thought he had to get off the field or be hit with having 12 men out there. Turns out the player was identifying himself and not the formation. "I just wasn't paying attention," Kehl said.

Coughlin said Aaron Ross suffered a shoulder injury late in the game, although he said he doesn't think it's a chronic condition (Ross missed time last year with a shoulder). He said that with the extra week off, Ross will probably be good to go against the Seahawks.

So, too, will Lawrence Tynes, apparently, although Coughlin said he might keep John Carney around a little longer just to make sure everything is 100 percent with Tynes. "Until we are completely convinced that Lawrence is ready to go and is right where he should be and would be," Coughlin said of when he would have to make a decision to release Carney. "If other than kicking in game situations he has progressed to the point where we think he should be, that would be the time to make the call. And I would say right now that is the not the time."

Coughlin said there wasn't enough evidence to challenge the near TD catch by Plaxico Burress in the back of the end zone -- I thought at the time it was worth a shot -- and added that even after watching the coaches' tape he couldn't tell if both feet were inbounds. The catch by Toomer down the left sideline, though, was more conclusive and Coughlin said the tape showed he had both feet in, as was called on the field.

Finally, you can stop by to see Eli Manning tomorrow in midtown Manhattan as he (or rather his likeness) will be unveiled at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum at 5 p.m.