Coming Back to Earth

Maybe it was the prowess of the Cowboys defensive front that made the G-Men look so impotent last night. Maybe it was the Dallas secondary that blanketed the Plax-less Giants receiving corps. Maybe it was Tony Romo’s toughness and leadership that inspired great Cowboys performances all over the field. Maybe it was the elusiveness and power of Cowboys RB Tashard Choice.

Whatever “it” was, the Giants sure looked toothless last night. The 20-8 final score didn’t seem to adequately characterize just how decisively the Giants were beaten. Wind and fire became a puff and a spark; they were nothing without “Earth”, or maybe it was just the lack of an offensive line.

And yet, the Giants were really never out of it, not until the fourth quarter draw play to Choice out of the shotgun that put the contest out of reach. These Giants are nothing if not resilient, even without Plaxico, even without Brandon Jacobs, and last night without one of their fine defensive tackles.

So, despite the loss last night, the Giants are still in pretty good shape. That team that was running around last night wasn’t the real Giants team, not without their best receiver, their best running back and one of their best defensive linemen.

The G-Men finish with a contest against a Carolina team that has lately been playing as if it thinks it’s the best team in the NFC, followed by a contest against another tough defensive team, the Minnesota Vikings.

They won’t beat either of those teams if nothing changes. Forget about Burress, he’s been suspended and it just won’t do to keep harping on the fact. But Jacobs and Fred Robbins in the middle of that defense are both too big and strong bodies that are hard to not miss.

But, whether or not these two giant Giants can return, I think the G-Men should consider moving Hixon back to his specialty, returning kicks. Although he’s an adequate receiver, he’s not an imposing threat at wide receiver. He is an imposing threat as a return man. In moving Hixon, the Giants lose at two aspects of their game, special teams and their passing offense.

It’s high time to try somebody else at the wideout. Maybe it’s Manningham, maybe it’s Sinorice Moss, but it’s definitely not Hixon. Although the passing offense might suffer somewhat in that scenario, it should put a charge back into their kick returns, which have had nothing without Hixon.

You have to admire the Giants for keeping it close last night. They showed their true character. The same can be said for the Jets Sunday afternoon, as they overcame their deficiencies all afternoon by capitalizing on a stupid move by Bills coach Dick Jauron.

Jauron, doing his best Herm Edwards impersonation, called for a pass in a clear running situation. The game should have been over. But the Jets did what they had to do, stripping QB J.P. Losman of the ball, scooping it up and running it in for the winning score.

A win is a win. But you have to think the Jets have their work cut out for them. They play Seattle next week, a weak team, but as the Jets have proven they don’t travel well to the West Coast, having already lost to the Chargers, Raiders and Niners on the road, nothing is a sure thing.

If they do get by Seattle, and I think they will, they’ll then face the Miami Dolphins and Chad Pennington in the season finale. That should be great! If the Fish can beat the Bills next week, everything sets up perfectly for a game that will not only decide the AFC East, but one that will determine whether the Jets erred in their quarterback selection process for 2008.

It goes without saying that I wish the Jets had kept Pennington. He was a club leader and he never complained, despite a lack of protection and a lack of skills at the receiver position, which is still a problem. Neither Coles nor Cotchery have the speed to stretch the field, nor do they have the best hands, nor do they ever get much separation anywhere. Other than that, they’re fine.

Favre usually does have time to throw though, something Pennington never had. He has a defense that can usually stop the run as well, if not yesterday. The Jets let the Bills backs, Marshawn Lynch and even Fred Jackson, run over, around and through them to take the lead into the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

As strange as it seems, the Jets finally focused on stopping the pass against a Bills team that can’t pass that well, a team that ranked 19th in passing in the NFL. They hadn’t been that good at running either, ranking 15th in rushing, but yesterday managed about 185 yards against the men in the ugly green uniforms.

But the Jets did win the game. It’s difficult to say they’ll come back to earth, though. They were never that far removed from earth in the first place, although they were the first team to beat the Titans from Tennessee in very impressive fashion,

There is hope for the Jets though. They have a great running attack with Thomas Jones running behind that improved offensive line. They can pass the ball too, but not with authority, nothing that would scare opposing defenses. So those smart opponents will plan their strategies for stopping the running game.

There are bright spots though. For the Jets, there is Leon Washington. He added another long TD run to his already impressive resume by exploiting a seam in the Bills defensive middle on his way to a 47-yard score that put the Jets ahead 21-17 right before the half. If not for Leon, the Jets season may have already come back to earth.

The Giants can look forward to “Earth” coming back, either that or some extensive tweaking to a pretty moribund offense, one that just can’t score.