Giants contain Vick, but it isn't enough

PHILADELPHIA - After all the Giants' concern over Michael Vick's legs and left arm beating them, it was the length of Osi Umenyiora's fingernails that made the difference.

After a determined and successful effort to keep Vick under control, with the Giants leading by a point, Umenyiora came within a millimeter of batting away Vick's pitch to Lesean McCoy on fourth-and-1 from midfield late in the fourth quarter. McCoy did get the ball, found a gaping hole to the left and scored on a 50-yard run with 4:25 remaining to put the Eagles ahead for good in their 27-17 win.

The goal was to stop Vick, to turn him into just another quarterback. After a slow start in which the Giants seemed too timid on passing downs, Perry Fewell got his defense back to blitzing from all angles, and the bulk of the third and fourth quarters belonged to the Giants' defensive front, with Justin Tuck recording three sacks and forcing two fumbles.

Vick had his elusive moments, but he finished with a manageable 34 rushing yards on 11 carries. The Eagles were held to 51 rushing yards until McCoy broke free for his touchdown.

The Giants were so concerned with Vick's legs, they forgot about his left arm on a couple of occasions in the first half, and that helped the Eagles take a 13-3 lead.

Of course, it was Vick's legs that carried Philly into the end zone first, a 4-yard touchdown run on which he eluded Michael Boley's grasp and then outran Kenny Phillips to the pylon.

But Vick had all kinds of time to throw on second-and-18 from the Eagles' 24 at the start of that scoring drive, a straight drop-back in which he had no pressure from the Giants' front four and found DeSean Jackson over the middle for a 23-yard pickup.

That is Vick's greatest strength this season: His ability as a passer. The legs have always been there, but he doesn't give up on his arm the way he used to after just a few seconds.

"He's pinpointing the football from 30 and 40 yards deep, so he has been breaking down defenses in the games that we've been looking at that he's played," Fewell said before the game.

That may have been why the defense was unwilling to go full-bore at Vick in passing situations early. On third-and-16 on the Eagles' opening drive, a situation in which the Giants might have blitzed another quarterback, they had only three down linemen. Terrell Thomas broke up a pass that was in and out of Jeremy Maclin's hands.

"Sometimes you have to try to contain him and keep him from running, sometimes you have to go take a shot at him," Fewell said. "If you've got all the lanes filled up, he's going to find a little seam."

After that drive, though, the Giants went at Vick, hitting him hard even in the pocket. The defense held the Eagles to field goals after consecutive turnovers in the second quarter and allowed the Giants to get back into the game. They contained Vick, but the loss meant it wasn't good enough.