The Gints Were Robbed

Dear football gods,
Please don't let the Giants start 0-3. And if they're going to miss the playoffs, just let them go 0-16. I'd rather get a top pick in the draft than go 8-8 and miss the playoffs. Of course, if they go 8-8 and make the playoffs, that would be nice too.
Amen.

What an unbelievably frustrating game... 2 major things: that pass-interference call against Carter was absolute horseshit (one never knows if this would have made a difference, but it really, really hurt); and the Colts should have been flagged for a false start when they had it 2nd and goal - their FB jumped early. I can't believe the refs called every little twitch by the Giants but didn't call an obvious jump by the Colts.

Five thousand coulda-shoulda's. The Giants dropped 3 interceptions. Jay Feely missed a 40-yard FG. The Colts seemed to convert on every 3rd down (11-16 actually). The Gints didn't return a kickoff past the 25! And the Colts were getting to at least the 28 every time. Why didn't Shockey get out of bounds? They also killed their drives with penalties several times. And then the refs took 10 seconds from them when they still had a (marginal) chance to win.

And how the hell did the Giants average 6.6 yards a carry, while the Colts averaged 2.4, and still lose?! Eli never really got into a rhythm. The only reason his numbers look as good as they do is because of the incredible ability of Plaxico, who made 2 spectacular grabs. What happened to those short screens to Carter that we saw in the preseason? The guy's got blazing speed. And those little plays always seem to gain 4+ yards.

The Gints D really didn't do much against the pass. Only 1 sack, a few hurries, and a pick. This was the same problem as last year. Arrington had no impact. Osi got hurt. What's funny is that the DTs seemed to play the best, the weakness of the D. They just couldn't generate enough pressure on Peyton. When they blitzed, it was always picked up, or Peyton still had enough time to find a receiver. When they didn't blitz, Peyton still found the open guy. You need more than 1 sack to stop the Colts offense.

This almost feels like that Seattle game last year. The schedule doesn't get any easier.

26-21 Colts

3*: Tiki, 23 touches, 171 yds
2: Jacobs, 8 carries, 54 yds, 1 td
1: Plax, 4 catches, 80 yds, 1 td (would be 2* except for his 2 big penalties)
1: Shockey, 5 catches, 59 yds, 1 td
1: McQuarters, 1 int, 1 tackle