“The Cheap Seats: Notebook” NFL GameDay Blog: January 11, 2009 – East Rutherford, NJ

› 5:09 pm: I want to add this note in there: Jacobs said he’s going to be back next year.  He’s a free agent, but Jacobs doesn’t want to play anywhere else.  The Giants reward their players nicely, and I’m sure they’ll do the same thing for Jacobs, one of the heroes of this run.

› 5:08 pm: I just got back from the post-game.  The Giants locker room was very quiet.  Many players did not want to talk, including Amani Toomer, a free agent, who could have been walking out of there for the very last time.  Manning looked visually upset with the end result, but he wasn’t the only one.

I was able to talk with the Giants’ John Carney, Derrick Ward and Brandon Jacobs.  For the Eagles, I spoke with Donovan McNabb.  I’ll have audio of Ward and Carney’s interview up later; however, my recorder died for the Jacobs and McNabb ints.  Look for a full piece on the game tomorrow.

› 4:21 pm: The New York Giants will no longer become back-to-back Super Bowl champions.  Philadelphia knocked off New York, 23-11.  The blame falls on a number of players, namely Manning who had two interceptions and never found a rhythm.  You could go back and forth with the what if’s, but I personally believe the Giants should have used Jacobs a lot more.  He only had 19 carries, near his average throughout the season.  But, wasn’t the reason Coughlin did that was to preserve Jacobs for the playoffs?  I’m heading down to the locker room.  Check back later and Monday for more insight and interviews, right here on CheapSeatsRadio.net.

› 4:17 pm: Smith turns the ball over for the Giants.  That should do it.

› 4:07 pm: And that should do it for the Giants.  Manning just overthrew WR Steve Smith and was picked off by Quintin Mikell.  It’s the reigning Super Bowl MVP’s second interception of the day.  Not a good day for him.

› 4:03 pm: The Giants are lucky the Eagles only got a field goal out of that last possession.  With a fresh set of downs, and the ball on the 1, the Giants defense was able to stop Philly’s two rush and one pass attempt.  The Eagles did come away with three thanks to Akers.  New York is still within two scores — both have to be touchdowns.  Eagles 23, Giants 11.

› 3:56 pm: A second time, in two straight possessions for the Giants, they failed to convert on fourth down.  With just over six minutes left, that could be it for the New York, who figure to get the back at least one more time.  It’s not looking good for the reigning Super Bowl champs.

› 3:47 pm: At least it wasn’t a play action.  The QB sneak failed and now the Giants turn the ball over to the Eagles on the Giants 44 yard line.  The Eagles now have great field position.

› 3:46 pm: The Giants are left with just one timeout remaining after losing the challenge.  In a close game like this, that could be — and will be — critical.

› 3:42 pm: As the officials look at the spot of the ball, I’ll say the Giants have to go for it if they’re short.  It’s fourth down, with just over 12 minutes remaining in their biggest game thus far.  Hand it off to Jacobs, who’s being led by fullback Madison Hedgecock.  I’m not the coach, but that’s just my opinion.  Please, no play action.

› 3:36 pm: This is now a two-possession game for the Giants.  McNabb hit TE Brent Celek for a one-yard touchdown pass.  It’s the first touchdown through the air for either team in the game, and gives the Eagles the 20-11 lead.  New York has to get the ball into the end zone to stay in it.

› 3:24 pm: The second miss of the game for Carney.  This one from 47 yards.  Both Carney and Lawrence Tynes are activated for today’s game.  With Coughlin choosing to go with Carney on the long kick, you have to wonder why he even activated the two.

› 3:23 pm: I’m not a fan of running Jacobs to the outside when you need big gains.  It slows him down, and I believe he’s most effective when he rushes right up the middle at full speed.  He’s quietly having a good game, grabbing 71 yards on 14 carries.

› 3:18 pm: Finally, a big play out of the Giants and Manning.  The QB hit his top deep threat, Domenik Hixon, in tight coverage for a 34-yard gain.  The pass brings the Giants to the Philadelphia 30, and in a spot for a field goal should they not be able to pick up any yards.

› 3:15 pm: Akers just hit from 35-yards out to bring the Eagles back on top once again.  It’s his 17th postseason field goal in a row, a new NFL record.  This is the fifth lead change of the afternoon.

› 3:14 pm: Despite no sacks, the Giants defense is playing quite well.  They’ve been pressuring McNabb, forcing him to get rid of the ball earlier than he’d like.  A lot of that pressure though, he sees coming.  If they can catch him from behind, perhaps to force a fumble — McNabb likes to hold the ball out while he’s looking around — the Giants may be able to do something.

› 3:04 pm: WR Kevin Curtis was as wide open as  you could possibly be when he dropped that pass.  It’s doubtful he would have made it to the end zone if he pulled it in, but that would have given the Eagles great field position.  Curtis was McNabb’s main man last year, but missed a lot of time this season.  Missing opportunities like that aren’t going to help their relationship.

› 2:57 pm: Carney hits again, this time from 36 yards.  The score puts the Giants up 11-10.

› 2:52 pm: An unlikely hero in Fred Robbins?  Perhaps.  The defensive tackle picked off McNabb, his second on the afternoon, and barreled down the right side of the field to the Philly 33.  Cheers here in the press box as we all witnessed the 317-pounder chug 17 yards with the ball.

Also of note, Samuel is out of the game, back in the locker room getting an IV.  This definitely hurts the Eagles, even more so with Manning not throwing the ball quite so well.

› 2:44 pm: Some nice hospitality by the Giants’ press box staff.  Instead of the usual chicken fingers, they’re serving up Philly cheesesteaks.  I’d prefer a Jersey pork roll and cheese, but that’s just me.

› 2:35 pm: The Eagles came right back and drove down the field, all the way to the Giants’ 10 yard line.  They couldn’t get it in on a McNabb pass; instead, they settled for a David Akers field goal to take the lead.  That gives the Eagles the lead, 10-8.

› 2:25 pm: Carney redeemed himself after an earlier missed field goal.  This time the veteran kicker hit from 35 yards out to give the Giants a 8-7 lead with 1:33 remaining.

› 2:14 pm: Give rookie Terrell Thomas credit for creating McNabb’s interception.  Thomas has made a few big plays through the first 25 minutes of the game.  As he went to sack McNabb, the QB threw it up and was picked off by CB Kevin Dockery.  Big Blue has a ways to go, but let’s see if they can close the half out with some points.

› 2:05 pm: I take the earlier comment about the wind not being much of a factor back.  It is a factor.  First off, Manning has been erratic with his throws.  The Giants’ QB has thrown overthrown his wide receivers on several passes (trying to over-compensate perhaps?), and numerous throws have come out of his hand wobbly.  Secondly, Carney couldn’t give the Giants a one-point lead on a 46-yard field goal.  The ball looked like it had the distance, but missed right.  Still Giants 5, Eagles 7,

› 1:52 pm: The Giants defense helped put points up on the scoreboard.  With the ball inside the 5, the pocket closed around McNabb, who was just in the end zone, between the lines.  With the area becoming tighter, McNabb threw the ball out to his right, where not one receiver was standing.  The refs accurately called an intentional grounding, which translated into a safety.  Add two more for the Giants.  Giants 5, Eagles 7.

› 1:43 pm: Head coach Tom Coughlin has to be disappointed in his special teams.  Not for the long returns they’ve been getting, but because of the penalties that have negated them.  That’s twice now that the Giants have lost great field position because of foolishness.

› 1:25 pm: What did I write about on Thursday? To remind you: That the main key to the game for the Philadelphia Eagles was corner Asante Samuel.  Manning had to keep the ball away from him and has already failed at doing that.  Manning was picked off on the first play of their second drive by the former New England Patriot.  Samuel, who’s four interception-return touchdowns leads all players, brought the ball back to the Giants’ 2-yard line.  A few plays later, McNabb ran it in for the touchdown.  Giants 3, Eagles 7.

An interesting note: A poll on the Giants official web site asks “Who should the Giants be the most concerned about?”  Of the five choices, Samuel has the least amount of votes.

› 1:20 pm: Just spotted former Giants coach Jim Fassel.  Rumors are that he’s a candidate for the vacant St. Louis Rams job.  The two sides were supposed to meet on Thursday.  This isn’t unusual for Fassel to be at Giant games… I’ve seen him here at least one other time.

› 1:13 pm: New York couldn’t get the ball into the end zone and had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by All Pro kicker John Carney.  Giants 3, Eagles 0.

› 1:07 pm: RB Ahmad Bradshaw sets the Giants up with some great field position on the opening kickoff.  He took Eagles kicker David Akers’ kick 65 yards to the Philadelphia 35.  Manning followed the return with a poor throw to a wide-open Steve Smith.  A few plays later, on 4-and-2, New York goes for it and picks up the first down on a Brandon Jacobs rush up the middle.  Manning’s throw a few plays later looked wobbly again, though he completed this one.  New York may hold the advantage since Philly will have to drive in this direction in the fourth quarter.

› 12:51 pm: No lineup changes for the Giants today.  They had a nice two-week vacation to heal all injuries.  The Eagles, however, will start Nick Cole in the right guard position over veteran Shawn Andrews, who’s been out with a herniated disk.  RT John Runyan (sore knee) was listed as questionable and FB Dan Kleko (shoulder contusion) as doubtful for the Eagles on Friday, but both will play.

For your info here’s the rest of the inactives: Giants: RB Danny Ware, CB Rasah Barksdale, LB Gerris Wilkinson, T Adam Koets, DE Dave Tollefson, DT Jeremy Clark, DT Leger Douzable and WR Mario Manningham.  Eagles: QB A.J. Feely (third QB), CB Dimitri Paterson, RB Lorenzo Booker, LB Joe Mays, DE Bryan Smith, Andrews, WR Greg Lewis and TE Matt Schobel.

› 12:31 pm: I was just down by the field and the seats are all frozen over with ice.  Fans are coming in shocked to see they’ll have to sit on frozen water instead of just a frozen piece of plastic.  It’s definitely cold down there, but it’s not as bad when the sun is out.  There was some wind, but not enough that could alter the gameplan for each team.  The official temperature right now: 31 degrees.

Although it’s less than an hour before kickoff, there’s a nice mixture of Giants and Eagles fans so far.  Many part of the Big Blue faithful gave DeShean Jackson a nice earful.  He toyed with the crowd as if he were a conductor orchestrating their boo concert.

Quarterbacks Eli Manning and Donovan McNabb each led their teams out on the field.

› 11:00 am: More traffic than usual heading to the Meadowlands.  I usually arrive about three hours before each game, and on most occacsions you’re able to glide right in through all parking entrances.  Not today though.  Then again, it is the playoffs and you have two local teams playing one another.