Giants Q&A: What happened in Denver?
Photo credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski | New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, bottom, is sacked by Denver Broncos linebacker Wesley Woodyard during the second quarter of an NFL football game in Denver, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski)
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Week 12: Broncos 26, Giants 6
DENVER - Why can’t the Giants run the football anymore?
As with most aspects of the game that go wrong, the Giants can do little but throw their hands in the air and wonder the same thing themselves. “I don’t know, I don’t have an answer,” center Shaun O’Hara said after the Giants were held to 57 rushing yards on 16 carries in a 26-6 loss at Denver on Thanksgiving Night. “I know we have the talent to run the ball … we’re just not putting it all together.” Said Brandon Jacobs, who ran for 27 yards on 11 carries, “We have to play harder on offense than we did (Thursday night). We looked terrible as a unit.”
What happened on the DJ Ware fumble?
It was a case of inexperience, just as his attempt to brace himself on the opening kickoff of the season when he dislocated his elbow was. This time he tried to jump a defender without having the ball fully secured. “He just went low and when he went low I came up off my feet and he stripped it when I was in the air,” Ware said. “Bad play on me. That’ll never happen again.”
Wait a second … DJ Ware? I thought he was Danny Ware?
Yeah, he’d like to be called DJ now, which stands for Danny Jr. Apparently he’d been called that his whole life until he went to college at Georgia and coaches there didn’t want to confuse him with quarterback D.J. Shockley. Whatever he’s called, he left the game with a concussion after Champ Bailey drilled him on a screen pass near the Giants’ sideline.
Any other injuries?
Safety Michael Johnson left the game with a groin injury suffered while covering a punt in the first half. And Mario Manningham came off the field wincing and seeming to favor his shoulder, which has given him trouble this season.
If Michael Johnson can’t play next week, that means the starting safeties against the Cowboys could be …?
Yes, Aaron Rouse and C.C. Brown.
Speaking of which, what happened on the wide-open touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley in the fourth quarter?
The Broncos had three receivers on the right and the Giants had three defensive backs over there. Brown followed the motion in that direction and should have taken the receiver who made the inside-most move. That was Stokley. Instead Brown and Rouse were both covering tight end Tony Scheffler while Stokley was left free over the middle. Brown was even called for defensive holding against Scheffler, so not only was he covering the wrong guy, he drew a penalty while doing it.
Was the timeout before the second snap of the game an omen of disjointed football to come?
The Giants say no, that it was a case of the radio communication between the sideline and Eli Manning’s helmet being on the fritz. “That was not an indication that there was confusion,” Tom Coughlin said. “Had there been communication from the sideline to the field there would have been no timeout." Added Manning: “Rather than getting a bad play or having a penalty right there, I just took the timeout and tried to get it settled and tried to get something going.”
>> PHOTOS: Broncos 26, Giants 6
