Umenyiora lays it on the line at halftime

The Giants knew the Jaguars were going to run the ball. They just weren't expecting them to run it that well.

"We don't give up rushing yards like that," defensive tackle Chris Canty said of a first half Sunday in which the Jaguars ripped the Giants for 145 yards on the ground, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. This against a defense that entered the game allowing less than 90 rushing yards per game.

"For them to come out and run the football like that, it definitely caught us off balance," Canty added. "We had to regroup. Flat-out. We had to come in at halftime and regroup as a football team, as a defense, and we did that."

The Jaguars were limited to 62 yards on 14 carries, 92 total yards and three points in the second half. Not all of it was an adjustment in scheme, although the Giants certainly were more aggressive after halftime, particularly in the fourth quarter.

No, the biggest change might have been in mind-set. Justin Tuck gave an impassioned speech to the team that he said nearly brought him to tears. But before Tuck hit "just the right nerve," according to one teammate, Osi Umenyiora was the guy who ripped into the team.

"I think Osi was a little bit more purely upset," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said in comparing the two oratory styles. "Just pure anger and screaming. From a guy like that, it's effective because he's a guy who is normally reserved and who doesn't say too much. To have him that intense and screaming and raising his voice like that, that's abnormal for him."

"It was very emotional and heartfelt," Terrell Thomas said of Umenyiora's loud words. "He spoke nothing but the truth. We were making excuses, this and that, coaches, blah, blah, blah. Plain and simple, we have to go play. We have too much talent on this team and on this defense."

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Umenyiora was very subdued after the game and did not let on that he had produced such an outburst when the Giants entered the locker room trailing 17-6 at halftime. "We decided that we had to play a lot better than we've been playing," he told reporters.

But several players said they were shocked by Umenyiora's passion. He's usually not one to stand up and address the team, although some have urged him to do so.

"He's played at such a high level for a long time, I've told him this before, he's allowed to talk," backup defensive end Dave Tollefson said. "He's allowed to open his mouth and speak, and people in this locker room will respect him."