It's been said before, Cullen Jenkins is missed big time. And Collins and Peprah were a much better combo that Burnett and Peprah.

Anyway, disappointing, but not really. Kept trying to see a defense where there really wasn't much of one.

Matt

How come nobody in the media held Raji accountable this season. It was an awful comedown from his performance in the later stages of last season. He is a Nose Tackle and should be able to at least push the pocket back every now and then. Gilbert Brown also filled space and also collapased the pocket regardless of what Reggie White and Sean Jones were doing.

We don't know if Collins will get a clearance to play by the doctors so the Packers better plan on replacing him. They need competition on the front line to push these guys. Neal was supposed to take Jenkins place and couldn't stay on the field either through injury or ineffectiveness.

Needs:

OLB
NT or DE (maybe both)
Corner
Guard, Tackle (Both) Sherrod was poor before he broke his leg and Newhouse was maybe average. Looks like Clifton will hang it up

Credit Coughlin keeping that team focused. They did not let emotion from calls or plays distract them. Constantly kept calling on different players to get them over the next challenge all game long. The Giants paid extra attention to respecting the game and the history of where they played, that was a huge part of their playing big, that's Giant football. Did my eyes misread the NFP game log, was Charles Woodson held without a stat?

Two NFC Divisional games were good as any perhaps ever viewed. Congrats to the Niners earning home field and to the Giants for the same kind of football character. Hope some of those Giants who were sidelined for moments of the game are able to come back this next week and lay it on the line and play all out once again.

Eli had enough time in the pocket to outgrow his older brother. Can't blame other people in the Big Apple making a play for a Manning in media rounds. The Giants called on so many different names in that game, sharing the wealth with Eli getting everyone a chance. You had to have that in your team's game to beat the Packers because McCarthy's team did so much of that in the past two seasons. They set the bar and Eli and his entire team measured that challenge.

No one has been able to explain to me why Gregg Williams is getting a pass on the long 2nd down play. You can't single cover the opponent's #1 option with a safety when the season is on the line. I know he wanted to bring pressure, but it becomes stupidity rather than strategy at some point, especially after he's killed you all day.

Packers defense is finding age catching up with key guys. I saw it the whole second half of the season. Woodson is one. The defense simply doesnt make impact plays anymore. THe Giants have the mojo right now. Also, the secondary played much better and the linbacking was often very good.....and they made quick reads. The d-line was again effective.

The 49ers win again....largely because of great coaching. Saints defense again......whats wrong?

I see giants having more experience in big games for next week....and just a bit better offensive depth.....a few more weapons at wide out. The differnce might be Nicks and Cruz.

But some mention has to go to the 49ers O-line....Ive been saying this all year. They are the most underappreciated unit in football. All season Lupati, Snyder, et al.....even Staley....have been outstanding.

Props to Ravens D. They made plays. The value of ed reed cant be calculated. That was the difference......because really the Texans, and yates, were every bit as good a team.

Packers defense is finding age catching up with key guys. I saw it the whole second half of the season. Woodson is one. The defense simply doesnt make impact plays anymore. THe Giants have the mojo right now. Also, the secondary played much better and the linbacking was often very good.....and they made quick reads. The d-line was again effective.

The 49ers win again....largely because of great coaching. Saints defense again......whats wrong?

I see giants having more experience in big games for next week....and just a bit better offensive depth.....a few more weapons at wide out. The differnce might be Nicks and Cruz.

But some mention has to go to the 49ers O-line....Ive been saying this all year. They are the most underappreciated unit in football. All season Lupati, Snyder, et al.....even Staley....have been outstanding.

Props to Ravens D. They made plays. The value of ed reed cant be calculated. That was the difference......because really the Texans, and yates, were every bit as good a team.

49ers Vs Pats

Giants gone run the NFC east for a while with Eli,Cruz & Hicks.The Eagles got CBs for them but no LBs, The Skins D. Hall & thats it should not have let Carlos Rogers go, & Tha Boys Need 2CBs (Kirkpatrick & sleeper Casey Hayward) & 2 Ss (M.Barron & TJ Mcdonald)other than that its NYC BABAY!!!!!!!(I believe in Eli)

Far too much credit is being given to the Giant's defense in this one. While they did play well and forced several turnovers, this was more of a case of the Packers' offense coming out flat and out of sync. New York's defense may have limited big plays, but they got absolutely zero pressure in the first half, and receivers were wide open on most plays with plenty of time to find them. Rodgers was uncharacteristically inaccurate and the epidemic of drops killed just about every drive. New York's D certainly played well enough, but it's a bit of a stretch to credit them with shutting down Green Bay's offense. The Packers did that all by themselves.

TJ McDonald will return to college next year.

ThankX what about Robert Lester?

It is hard to win a game when you turn the ball over as many times as the Packers did. The offence could not get anything going, but perhaps you can credit that to the Giants defence rather than the two weeks off.

Maybe the saying "Defence wins championships" still holds true.

I think that one of the keys in stopping the Broncos run offense, was the great play of the two DTs (Love and Wilfork). They beat almost on every snap their opponents and had great penetration forcing the play to go outside where NE was perfect in contain. Many times I've seen Tebow forced not to hand off the ball to his HB and opting for keeping the ball and try to do something by himself, therefore zeroing the option play. Anyway once again the Broncos D wasn't ready to play vs NE: once again no pressure at all by the front four (if you give time to Brady, he's still the best QB in the league by far) and nothing prepared to limit the TEs.
Gregg Williams is considered a defensive guru, and probably rightfully so, but saturday his defensive plan was awful: when you play vs SF you've to worry about their running game and V.Davis. the 49ers had 143yds and 1td (6.5 per carry) and Davis 180yds and 2tds (98yds and 1td in the last 4 minutes of the game). A part from the stats, the whole D was out of sync and lost. Probably it will not be such a disgrace if Williams will be reunited with Fisher in St.Louis.

Memo to Packers/Saints: next time bring a defense. Hope the same thing happens to the last of the Madden '12 teams left, the Pats. Funny how the more things change - all those rules giving QBs and WRs all the breaks - the more things stay the same.

Stepxxxz mentions defensive age. True with Pickett and Woodson but both were effective this year. Can't count on that continuing.

Nick Collins and Cullen Jenkins aside, I'd still like to understand how the same personnel can drop from 5th to 32nd in one year.

BearMarket is right. Despite what the analysts say about defense not being as important any more, the most effective teams in the playoffs all have decent pass rush ability. The Packers had it in 2010 and had the sacks along with the INT's

BearMarket,
And the Giants aren't a video game style offensive team themselves? They may have had a better D than the Packers, but they didn't win because of it. They won because they executed a lot better on offense. It really wasn't much different of a game from Saints-Lions. Both of next weekend's matchups (but especially Pats-Ravens) will be the real tests of whether defense still truly rules the postseason or not. If we get a Giants-Pats rematch, then the answer will be "no."

No Bill Bates, they're not. I never said you didn't need to have playmakers on offense. And it's still a QB league. But the G-men can run the ball when they needto and they have a stout Defense.

The Giants did execute better on offense, partly because the Pack couldn't get any pressure on Eli, and their D told the tale. They sacked Rodgers four times, they hurried his throws, they took him out of his comfort zone. And the Pack turned the ball over 3 times.

On the other side, the Pack D couldn't come up with the big plays when they needed them, especially at the end of the first half. Tell me that 23 yard run and hail mary weren't huge indictments of a pathetic defense.

The Packers, in an instant, have gone from a dynasty to a team in disarray and trouble. My Bears, with a solid D in place, are a LT and a big play WR away from taking back that division. We've got the D, the RB, and the QB.

One last point: why do we always forget that any QB, when subjected to pressure, can and will make mistakes. Happened to Joe Montana, happened to John Elway, Favre, Marino, Brady, et al. Yes, the QB is the key position, so disrupting it becomes the key objective of all Defenses. That is what has not changed.

BearMarket,
I would hardly describe this Giants' D as "stout". They have a pass rush and that's about it. Everyone seems to be confusing this year's edition with the 2007 champions, but they are photo negatives of each other. That team had a middling offense that was carried by a great defense, and this team is almost exactly the opposite. They're put together the same way as the last two Super Bowl champs who both used the offense to pressure their opponents, freeing up their defense to rush the passer and play for turnovers. As for yesterday's game, the Giant's pass rush did absolutely nothing to make Rodgers uncomfortable for the entire first half. He simply missed connecting on easy passes or the more accurate passes were dropped. The New York defense only started to play very well in the second half once the offense applied more pressure by putting more points on the board. That's the same blueprint that all of the "Madden" teams of which you aren't a fan use.

so much for the packers. you can draw up as many blitzes as you wish but when you can't get home to the QB, that poorus secondary is exposed.

charles woodson is a marginal player who no longer has the speed and quickness to be an effective corner at this stage of his career. waiting for packer trolls in 3...2...1.

so much for the packers. you can draw up as many blitzes as you wish but when you can't get home to the QB, that poorus secondary is exposed.

charles woodson is a marginal player who no longer has the speed and quickness to be an effective corner at this stage of his career. waiting for packer trolls in 3...2...1.

Bill Bates 40,
You sound like you drank a big swig of the post game commentary kool aid served up at 1265 Lombardi in that you cannot admit that the Giants are better than the Packers. McCarthy couldn't admit they were beaten by a better team and a better coach but only said the Packers didn't play to their own identity (turnovers, etc.). Rogers, the arrogant talent that he is, only would say that that Giants played better than the Packers but wouldn't admit the Giants are the better team at this moment in time. Keep in mind the Packer's had all the advantage yesterday - bye week, home field, and yes even the refs were trying to help them (another story because I honestly don't think the refs try to throw a game but the crew yesterday was brutal). A team's regular season's record is the means to get to the playoffs. Once the playoffs start it's a new and totally different season - and it counts more. With the sole exception of a fixed game, a team is what it's record says it is and the Pack is 0-1 and the Giants are 1-0 so own it and stop whining about it. Two excellent games next weekend but unfortunately the Packers didn't belong or they would have won.

Packer Fan,
You need to work on your reading comprehension if that's what you took from my posts. My comments are simply about the Giants' DEFENSE getting too much credit for the win (and the struggles of Green Bay's offense). The Giants played better on both sides of the ball yesterday, but it was their offense that was the reason they earned the W (as well as made their defense look good in the last half). Beyond that, I'm not sure what you are reading that you imagine me to be saying something else...

Dez juz messed up with da law ! Cowboys may be in The Kendall Wright Sweepstakes! stay tune 2 Americas team TV(well its better news than having Tebow facetime on BSPN)

I just hope they keep playing A-Rod's insurance commercials all through the playoffs.

Funny - postseason and the Brees & Rogers show is over - huh, what happened...finesse offenses in the NO defense league that have become all the rage didn't make it to their confernece final...the "dream game" of GB vs NO just ain't there folks, seems in the playoffs the refs who of course can't find a $5 bill laying on the turf sure do miss a lot, that being said they're also allowing more contact down field which results - thx god - in fewer game changing PI calls, or maybe goodells put out the word that the NO defense league needs to reestablish some kind of credibility as a football game on the gridiron; otherwise, there's a better game being played - its called the NBA, just don't need to see it with 11 players per side!!!

Bill Bates, it hardly matters what you would call the Giants defense. On Sunday, it was what it was - STOUT. I believe that most of my honest Packer friends, who I respect, are not saying the Pack beat itself. Let's see: did everyone in the Packer WR corps get the yips? Was it the first time they were on the big stage? Did those guys forget how to catch (well, maybe except for Finley who really does drop a lot of balls)?

I will say this: the Pack are a great frontrunning team, and that's not a knock. The Bears used to routinely give up leads in the fourth quarter, so getting a lead and winning out is a great thing.

But they are not a great come from behind team, and part of that may be due to the fact they haven't had to do it much this year. But in the two games they got behind, to two teams that played tenacious D, the Chiefs and the Giants, they couldn't come from behind.

In the case of the Giants, part of the reason they couldn't was because they couldn't stop NY from scoring.

Last year's GB team was 10-6 but they had a great D. This year's 15-1 had a terrible D. They couldn't get any pressure on Manning and he picked them apart.

BearMarket,
Again, I'm not sure what game you were watching because the Giants' D did absolutely nothing in the first half other than sit back and stay behind anything deep. They got no pressure whatsoever on Rodgers, and their coverage wasn't locked down on the receivers. When Rodgers misses that many wide open players (while not being pressured) and his targets drop 8 balls, you can most definitely say that the team beat itself. The "stout" Giants' D didn't show up until the offense gave them a sizable lead to play with, much the same way that the Packers' and Saints' play these days. I am not in any way suggesting that the Packers would have or should have won if they had played better, but it's completely dishonest for anyone to say that them playing like shit independent of what the Giants were doing was not a huge factor in the game.

rogers frustration against the giants was both in his inability to make plays and his receivers to help him as needed - sometimes a qb aint got it, but the receivers extend plays for him by making plays they'd otherwise miss - or sometimes its the qb that can past the receivers drops to make plays with his feet (which rogers was somewhat effective with in the first half in particular but not dominant) or find other outlets for the ball to turn to with RB's & TE's...but when both are problematic (TE Finley may need to find a mountaintop and some peace) then it leads to a sputtering offense - particularly when the run is a disguise or extended handoff via screen of checkdown then its not something thats consistent either as again turnovers offset that consistency

I expect mismatches, but in this game the Packers were just disjointed - out of sync. They lacked continuity, and for the Packers, that's saying something. Watching the game, I just couldn't believe how they just kept dropping passes and while in the end it may not have made a difference it had to be a confidence killer. Never mind the fumbles.

The Giants have been playing above average and they didn't disapoint - the D-line was good enough. Though the running game was average, who cares when Manning is throwing the way he has? Too, the loss of life of O-coordinator Philbins son had to be a major distraction for everyone, not to mention how the Pac' may have been loving themselves a bit too much.

"the loss of life of O-coordinator Philbins son had to be a major distraction for everyone, not to mention how the Pac' may have been loving themselves a bit too much"

Two points of lockerroom speculation - and since have no access to or way of verifying that it existed in either case cannot state was a factor - interesting speculation though as did not really consider either during the game - but again, only those inside the packers lockerroom know if either had an effect on the game - rip young mr philbin

Bill Bates 40 -
You just don't get it. Your logic is flawed and just continues to highlight how arrogant some of the Packer fans have become - you're actually embarrassing. You refuse to give any real credit to the opponent. Incredible. Wow!

Packer Fan,
Do you have an actual argument to make or should everyone that disagrees with you simply take your word for it that they are wrong? And I said before, if you're not intelligent enough to comprehend what folks are writing in here, save yourself the trouble of looking ignorant by responding. THAT is embarrassing.

Bill Bates - you must have watched a different game than the rest of us. Giants didn't sack Rodgers until the very end of the 1st half, but he was under pressure on almost every play. He was the leadiing Packer rusher in the 1st half only becuase the Giants flushed him so often. He made a lot of bad throws because he was running away from the D-line. That defense was stout as hell - in both halves.

Oh - almost forgot. If it hadn't been for the refs making 2 atrocious calls the Pack wouldn't have even scored a TD. The non-fumble call was ludicrous, and the phantom roughing the passer call kept the Pack alive to go down and score. If the refs had done their job it would have been at least 37-6.

not sure how you can say that Eli did well vs. pressure. The Packers actually shut him down pretty well when they blitzed. But then every time they had NY in a 3rd and long Capers decided to rush 3 against the Giants' 7. That's 3 guys on Mattews and double teams on both linemen. Most of those plays Eli could have taken 5 minutesto find a WR if he needed to. I don't care if you've got 8 Derrel Revis clones in coverage, a receiver is going to get open when you give the QB that much time. Can't believe there wasn't a better adjustment to that on the part of te coaching staff, because besides the lack of pass rush on 3rd downs and a hand full of poor tackling plays, the GB defense actually played a pretty decent game yesterday. (same can't be said for their offense however)

Mike,
You're being awfully loose with what you consider to be "under pressure." Not only were they not sacking Rodgers for almost the entire half, they weren't even getting to him to knock him down after the pass. Sure, even the worst front four in the NFL eventually collapses the pocket, but that is largely irrelevant if the QB had plenty of time to throw before then, which Rodgers did on most plays. I also think that some (but obviously not all) of his runs were the result of him not having confidence in his own throws or the receivers' ability to catch them once they started so poorly. Given their lofty reputation as a pass-rushing front four, the Giants' D-line played VERY unimpressively for the first half, and every stat the measures them getting to the QB (sacks, knockdowns, hurries) agrees. I am with you on how terrible the officiating was with both the Jennings fumble and the blow to the head on Rodgers. I just can't believe how badly officials have been mangling the fumble calls in particular this postseason. One bright spot, though, has been the relative lack of PI calls. It's nice to see defensive backs allowed to play defense at least one month out of the year.

at Bill Bates 40 -
Dude - let it go. The Packers got beat by the better team. Own it already and stop being a D-Bag. All of us here sure hope you didn't beat your wife or girlfriend over this loss - sheeshh..

Giants Fan,
At what point did I make the claim that the Giants weren't the better team? If you're not actually going to read someone's posts, don't bother commenting on them.