N.Y. Giants: Big Easy Hangover

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

Giants continue throwing rocks through their windows of opportunity

NEW YORK GIANTS: Yes, Eli really is an elite quarterback!

Eli Manning took over sole possession of 10th place on the NFL's all-time career touchdowns list by throwing six TD passes during Sunday's 52-49 loss against the Saints in his home town of New Orleans.

His fourth TD pass against the Saints pushed him passed Joe Montana.  Eli's sixth and final TD pass was the 276th for his career, moving him ahead of Vinny Testaverde.  Next on the career ladder is Johnny Unitas with 291 touchdown passes.

Eli now has 17 touchdowns with just 4 INTs at the halfway point of the season.  He was 30/41 for 350 yards against the Saints, putting him over 2,000 yards for the season, and keeping him on pace for the fifth 4K season of his 12-year career.

But, what's the sense if...

I know love is blind, but who didn't see this debacle coming?

These Giants do not handle success very well to begin with.  In my PIGSKIN picks, I warned everyone to look back at what Tony Romo, Matt Ryan, Sam Bradford, Kirk Cousins, and Colin Kaepernick all did to the Giants secondary.  Even Matt Cassel had his moments during the Giants second game against Dallas.

Did you really think Brees would do any less?

Not only was Drew Brees the best quarterback the Giants have faced this season to date, he established a new career high with 511 passing yards, and tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes.

Dominque Rogers-Cromartie recorded the game's lone interception on a day which saw Eli Manning and Drew Brees combine for 91 pass attempts and 13 touchdown passes.  And while that was DRC's third INT in the last two games, Sunday's was just another indictment added to a long list of many levied against the Giants' overall secondary play.

Naturally, lack of a professional grade pass rush is equally to blame.  In the 50 times Drew Brees dropped back to pass, the Giants managed no sacks and just three QB hits all game.

Despite the Giants securing two New Orleans turnovers, the Saints still controlled the ball for 34:59 and posted 614 total yards (versus 416 for the Giants).

Otherwise, some things have not changed...

The Giants rushed 21 times for 87 yards:

• Rashad Jennings 10 rushes for 54 yards.
• After opening eyes last week, Orleans Darkwa was limited to just 4 carries for 23 yards.
• Andre Williams rushed 5 time for 7 yards.
• Shane Vereen rushed twice for 3 yards.

New Orleans Mark Ingram rushed 16 times for 80 yards by himself.  All told, the Saints rushed 25 times for 102 total yards.

And the moral of the story is...

Once upon a time, Tom Coughlin was handed a great defense, and a powerful running game.  He in turn handed the starting quarterback job to Eli Manning in 2004, whom together added another dimension to a Giants team primarily constructed by Ernie Accorsi.

Today, there's no longer a defense to speak of, and certainly no running game worth mentioning.  All that's left of those days are Coughlin and Eli, with Jerry Reese providing them a never ending flow of wide receivers.  

These days Big Blue lives to throw, and throws to live.

It's so flawed.