GIANTS 31 - CARDS 27
The Setup
The Bottom Line
Game Recap
Game Stats
Bright Spots
The Dark Side
Last Word

The Setup
After a brutal opening game vs. Washington and an unimpressive win over the Rams, the Giants were coming off huge win over Philly. The Cardinals represent the mirror image - winning their opener vs. Carolina only to lose by one point to Washington and by 3 to Seattle.

The Bottom Line:
Welcome to the newest weekly rendition of NFL Root Canal Reality TV. The Cardinals somehow had managed to carry a 10-point lead into the the final 5 - 6 minutes of the 4th quarter only to blow it on 2 deep TD passes that followed a bogus decision by the officials -to lose, once again, 31 - 27. Calais Campbell attribute the loss to the defense being "distracted" by the blown-call. If so, I think a more accurate description would be: "lack of mental toughness.

The miscall by the officials involved a Giant receiver (Cruz) being tripped up "untouched by human hands" by the proverbial Turf Monster and inexibly leaving the ball on the ground. A Cardinal defender then scooped it up and we would then logically either close out the game or, the very least, drain some time off the clock and give the Giants the ball back in rotten field position. Instead, the zebras ruled "no fumble" and their decision was not open to review. Giants kept the ball, Cards got "distracted", Giants scored twice, Cards (once again) couldn't come back in the final 2 minutes. Game over.

1st Quarter

• Giants returned the KO to their own 17. On the 4th play from scrimmage, Bradshaw put the ball on the ground after a hit by Campbell. Haggans recovered. Cards couldn't put it in from the 16 and had to settle for a 27-yard Feely FG. Cardinals 3 - Giants 0.

• Giants returned the KO to their own 12 and went 3 & out. Peterson returned the punt 4 yards to the Cardinal 48. Kolb moved the team to the Giant 17 where he got sacked and turned the ball over. Points Lost: 3 - 7. Giants started from their own 14, and the Cardinal defense made them scratch and claw for every yard as Eli Manning moved his offesnse to his own 43 in 9 plays before the Giants punted. Cards moved from their own 12 to their own 29 as the quarter ended.  1st Quarter Score: Cardinals 3 - Giants 0.

2nd Quarter

• Cards reached the Giant 8 before their drive stalled and we settled for another Feely FG (A 27- yarder). Cards 6 - Giants 0.

•  Giants returned the KO to their own 31. A few timely completions by Manning (none for over 14 yards) moved the ball to the Cardinal 13 where Bradshaw ran it in off RT.  Giants 7 - Cardinals 6.

• Jefferson returned the KO to the Cardinal 18. A penalty on Collidge and a sack of Kolb moved us back to our 5. Zastudil's punt was downed at the Giant 44. We held them to 3 & out. We got the ball back with 1:08 left at our own 20 but went 3 & out. Giants got the ball back on their own49 with 0:29 left til halftime, and a 26-yard completion to Cruz put them in position for Tynes to kick a 30-yard FG.  Halftime Score: Giants 10 - Cardinals 6.

3rd Quarter

• Jefferson returned the KO to our own 22 (net a delay of game penalty). A 47-yard Kolb-Fitz completion put the ball on the NYG 11. Kolb hit Fitz for 7 and Beanie eventually ran it in from one-yard out. (A roughness call on Bridges after the play wa senforced between downs). Cardinals 13 - Giants 10.

• Giants returned the KO to their own 27. Their penalty-marked drive forced them to punt from their own 35. Cards took over on their own 17. A 19-yard completion to Sherman managed to move us out to our own 48 but successive penalties on Kolb (for grounding and a false start) ended the drive and forced us to punt. Giants took over on their own 20, but Carter sacked Manning for minus-11. He fumbled. Dockett recovered. Cardinal ball at the Giant 5. Beanie ran it for 4 and then the final one-yard for a TD. Cardinals 20 - Giants 10.

• Giants returned the KO to their own 25 and (with their drive sustained on a 3rd & 6 by an interference call on Rhodes) moved to the Cardinal 43 as the quarter ended. 3rd Quarter Score: Cardinals 20 - Giants 10.

4th Quarter

• The Giants moved to the Cardinal 11 where (after a challenged TD call was reduced to a 10-yard gain) Jacobs plunged in from the one It was a 13--play drive that ate up 5:48.  Cardinals 20 - Giants 17.

  KO was downed in the end zone. Three plays later, Kolb's pass intended for Fitz was picked off by Rolle and returned to the NYG 42. Cards were able to force them to punt from their own 44.  8:25 left. A 39-yard ramble around left end by Wells helped set up a 2-yard TD run by Beanie. Cardinals 27 - Giants 17.

  5:16 left. This is where things got a little bizarre. KO was downed in the end zone. Operating out of a no-huddle,Manning hit Nicks for +9, ran Bradshaw for +2, hit Ballard for +21 (vs. A-Dub), hit Cruz for +20 (vs. Jefferson), threw an incompletion to Cruz, hit Nicks for +26 (vs. Jefferson and A-Dub. Jefferson injured). and then hit Ballard at the back of the end zone. Play was ruled a TD. (He looked out of the end zone to me, but play withstood the challenge). Cardinals 27 - Giants 24.

  3:37 left (Too much time!) KO went through the end zone. Cards went 3 & out. (This series is where you expect Kolb to make a play). Zastudil's "flat" 40-yard punt was returned 19 yards to the Cardinal 48 (Are you kidding me)? Manning then hit Cruz for +29. Cruz fell to the turf "untouched by human hands" and surrendered the ball. It was picked up by a Cardinal but refs ruled that Cruz "declared himself down by falling or kneeling" and that there was no fumble. (The play was not subject to review). On the very next play,  Manning found Nicks (who had blown by Peterson - with A-Dub late to provide deep help) for the 29-yard game-winner. Giants 31 - Cardinals 27

  2:39 still left, but - after moving his team to the Giant 29 (with 1:14 still left on the clock) Kolb was sacked for minus-10 by Umenyiora. His 4th & 2 incomplete pass to Fitz with 0:51 left to play turned the ball over to the Giants who then ran out the clock. Final Score: Giants 31 - Cardinals 27.

Last Word:
This Cardinal team is playing hard enough to win every game we've lost, but our repeated efforts to do so are not being validated by "W's", and my fear is that some players will lose heart. The comment by Calais Campbell (that the defensive unit was "distracted" by the bum-call on the Cruz fumble) is an indictment of the players (i.e. the team lacks mental toughness) and our coaches (who have around the block long enough to anticipate this sort of mental-letdown & nip it in the bud).

And while we're on the subject of "mental toughness" and "composure" - and as we learn more and more about Kevin Kolb  - it's becoming increasingly evident that one way he differs from  Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning (or little bro Eli yesterday) is that those guys somehow find ways to make plays when they must be made at crunch time. Kevin does not - at least not yet. Key question to chew on  - Is this something inbred or learned? If it's the latter, can or Kevin learn how to be a consisgent playmaker?