Vick uses his arm to hurt Giants in first half

PHILADELPHIA - The Giants were so concerned with Michael Vick's legs, they forgot about his left arm on a couple of occasions in the first half, and that helped the Eagles to a 10-point lead at halftime last night.

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 with 2:22 left in the first quarter.

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 when Vick 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," Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said on Thursday.

He did it again in a two-minute offense at the close of the half, hitting Jeremy Maclin over the soft middle for 35 yards and the again to Maclin for 21 yards to set up another field goal. Vick didn't scramble or look for room, he simply hung in the pocket until his receiver came open underneath the coverage.

The Giants did well to contain Vick's running, giving up 24 yards on six carries. But it was the 10-for-18 passing for 130 yards that hurt the Giants.

Antrel Rolle, who was on the field most of the time with Deon Grant and Phillips in a more mobile nickel alignment with three safeties rather than three linebackers, stopped Vick for a 1-yard pickup on a designed run in the first quarter.

Rolle was pressed up at the line of scrimmage as a spy on several plays, and that did help the Giants' run defense - the Eagles had just 13 rushing yards on seven carries in the first quarter - but perhaps the defense was unwilling to go full-bore at Vick in passing situations.

On third-and-16 on the Eagles' opening drive, a situation in which the normally aggressive Giants might have blitzed another quarterback, the Giants only had three down linemen. Terrell Thomas broke up a pass that was in and out of 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."

The Giants did get back to their aggressive selves on the Eagles' next drive, and two blitzes led to a near-sack by Rolle, who came in free off the right side - Vick did get away from Rolle and Jason Pierre-Paul and nearly completed a 60-yard strike to Jackson - and a sack by Tuck on third down.