Giants Week 6: Lots of Tiki and D

Sorry about the 8-day-late recap, but I just watched the DVR replay today.

That was probably the ugliest 1st quarter I've ever seen! 4 turnovers! 2 picks thrown by Eli (in his defense, one of the passes was tipped at the line, but the other was his fault - a bad overthrow), with a pick and fumble by Vick. No one wanted to score.

Then finally in the 2nd quarter the offenses started to click - the Gints moved all the way inside the 5 but couldn't punch it in, while Vick scrambled for a 22-yard TD, and the halftime score was 7-3 Atlanta.

Warrick Dunn (who I was a big fan of when he was a Seminole) ripped off a 90 yard TD run, putting the Gmen in a 14-3 hole. That seemed like the turning point - and it was, but for the Giants. They completely dominated the game after that, outscoring Atlanta 24-0 the rest of the way. It was mostly due to Tiki, who had his best game of the year, racking up 227 total yards on 29 touches. It felt like every other run Tiki was gaining 8-12 yards. He's just so smart. He reads the defense, and uses his blockers, and breaks tackles with ease. Over the past 21 games, he's been the best RB in football: 2393 rushing yards, 459 carries, 720 receiving yards, 76 catches, with just 2 fumbles! That equates to 3113 total yards on 535 touches - 5.8 yds/touch. This season he leads the league in rushing yards and first downs (a big category). Don't forget about Big J either, who (as always) had a punishing 53 yards on 11 carries with a TD. J-Shock also had his best game of the year: 6 catches, 55 yards, 2 TD. Several of the catches were of the 'reach-behind-you-and-know-you're-getting-drilled' variety. I was astounded to hear that it was Shockey's first career game with 2+ TD!

Then there's the D. 7 sacks! 2 by Osi, 2 by Brandon Short. Outside of the 2 scoring plays, the D completely contained Atlanta's offense. If you discount Dunn's 90 yarder (to flukiness), he only gained 56 yards. Sam Madison had a pick (his 1st), while the surprising Barry Cofield had 1.5 sacks.

27-14 Gmen

3*: Tiki, 227 yds, 29 touches
2: Shockey, 6 catches, 55 yds, 2 TD
2: Osi, 2 sacks, 1 QB hit, 5 tackles, 1 forced fumble
1: Short, 2 sacks, 8 tackles, 1 forced fumble
1: Cofield, 1.5 sacks, 1 QB hit, 6 tackles
1: Jacobs, 53 yds, 11 carries, 1 TD
1: Webster, 1 sack, 4 tackles, 1 pass deflected, 1 forced fumble

Huge game vs. Dallas tonight. A win puts the Gints in 1st, a loss into 3rd.