Wild card playoff: Giants 24, Atlanta 2

FIRST QUARTER
Not a great start by the Giants offense. Overthrow by Eli, Bradshaw stuffed, false start, pass short of the sticks. There's a lot of talk that Matt Ryan has struggled in postseason, but Eli has had his clinkers, too. In fact, just about every postseason except the one in 2007-8.


Atlanta follows with an even worse start. Turner stuffed twice, terrible sideline pass by Ryan. Looks like we're in for a field position game.

Ha, the Giant defensive line did all the talking before this game, but it's Atlanta's that strikes first, John Abraham whipping Kareem Mackenzie for a near sack/fumble. Jonathan Babineaux stuffed Bradshaw on first down, Abraham drew a hold Troy Aikman disagrees with on 3rd down, off to Puntland.

Troy's right, that looked a little like a hold on Abraham but really wasn't. Giants would have punted anyway. The Falcon offense, meanwhile, looks exactly like the Rams'. Useless two-yard pass. Poor sideline pass. Dropped short pass. I thought I was done watching football this awful! Send in Donnie Jones, er, the Atlanta punter.

Looks like the NFL Replay version of this game is going to be cut back to 30 minutes. The Giants FINALLY get the game's first 1st down on a rollout pass to Jake Ballard, but the Falcons continue to stuff the run and Eli makes the weird decision to audible to a handoff against a STUPID 3rd-and-9 blitz. The call sounded like "Eat salad! Eat salad!" Danny Ware was stopped well short. To Puntville!

Weatherford downs a punt inside the 10 that Donnie Jones either would have dropped in the end zone or hung up at the 22. That could be the key play of the game so far! No, Atlanta FINALLY gets their first 1st down, 20 to Julio Jones in the middle of the zone. Michael Turner then gets his first decent run in about six tries with a draw for 9. Roddy White makes an impressive catch for 5 while falling down. Jacquizz Rogers gets that first down on a swing pass, and Julio is wide open again, this time in front of Aaron Ross, for a first down at the Giant 33. The Falcons have gotten Turner going, but facing 3rd-and-1 at the 25, Jason Snelling gets stuffed, leaving Mike Smith a decision during the commercial break for the end of the first quarter.

0-0 after one.

SECOND QUARTER
Wow, the Falcons are going for it on 4th-and-1. The count is so long you think they're trying to draw an offside, but it's Ryan on the sneak, and I think he got it.

Nope. Short by a couple of inches. Giants ball.

Chris Snee sends the Giants back to the 14 with a hold on Abraham. Abraham then swallows up a middle screen to Bradshaw. And then, wow, safety James Sanders blitzes, is on top of Manning in no time because McKenzie idiotically shoved him right over to him, Manning's attempted pass is well short of the line of scrimmage with no receiver nearby, grounding in the end zone = safety for Atlanta.

Even though they didn't get the 4th-down, it still may have been genius of Mike Smith to go for it. It's as important as anything right now to dominate the field position battle, and that just got the Falcons two points. And they have fine field position again after the free kick.

Falcons 2-0.

I have to admit I would have been kicking the FG. Turner rumbles now up the middle for a first down at midfield. A 3rd-down dumpoff to Rogers after that comes up just short, though, and Smith decides to punt this time. Could have been better; Giants will start at their 15.


Speaking of "could be better", where's the Giants pass rush been lately?

The Giants open by brilliantly running at Abraham, which ain't happening today, dummies. Victor Cruz FINALLY gets open for his first catch today, a slant for 6. Huge pressure by Abraham AGAIN flushes Manning on 3rd-and-2, but Eli gets away for a huge 14-yard scramble and a huge play in this game. Jacobs crashes up the middle for 8. Another key 3rd-down conversion, a 7-yard dumpoff to Bradshaw, gets the Giants across midfield.

Jacobs breaks away from there with a 34-yard run down to the 15. Kevin Boothe blew a huge hole open for him with a cut block. Bradshaw gashes the Falcons up the middle for 9 on 1st down, but is stuffed on 2nd down. Jacobs appears to get stuffed on a similar run on 3rd-and-1. What will Tom Coughlin decide at the 5-yard line? It's 4th and a couple of inches. They're going for it.

Jacobs spins off a hit in the backfield and gets down to the 4. Manning follows that with a play-action TD to Hakeem Nicks (nice call Kevin Gilbride), and the Giants are up now.

Giants 7-2.

2:47 left in a half that's gone by faster than it'll take to read this post. Nothing happening for the Falcons this time. A false start, then the Giants run over Ryan for a sack. Rocky Bernard ran right through where I imagine Harvey Dahl would have been last season. Julio almost gets the third-and-a-mile on a short cross (Steve Spagnuolo totally would have been handing off to Jerious Norwood on that play), but the Falcons will have to punt right after the 2:00 warning.

That punt cruelly (for Atlanta) checks up and runs backwards, barely in bounds, for about ten yards. 1:47 for Eli from his 37. Chris Owens breaks up a perfectly-thrown bomb for Mario Manningham. 10 to Nicks? No, 9, and Eli fires another one for him on 3rd-and-1 that's broken up. The Giants punt it back having held the ball only 31 seconds. It splashes down in the end zone.

Some nice secondary play going on right now. Corey Webster breaks up a sideline pass for White. Then the referees give Tony Gonzalez 10 on a play where he clearly gained less than 10. After that, I don't know what the hell Atlanta's trying to do. Ryan has to scramble on one play, hits Gonzalez for 9 the next, but nobody ever calls either of Atlanta's TWO timeouts. Their brilliant option from there is a Hail Mary the Giants knock down.

That was a Rams-quality two-minute drill right there. 7-2 at halftime.

HALFTIME

Except the one long run by Jacobs, this has been a terrible first half for both offenses. Neither team can run, and a bunch of star wide receivers in this game have become mere rumors. The Giants helped themselves out late in the half by attempting to stretch the field. Atlanta's going to have to get Ryan enough time to do that in the second half. Even if it's not successful, the Falcons need to start trying the deep part of the field, and maybe that opens things up for Turner, or even more for Julio and T-Gonz underneath.

New York can't be naive and think they can pound away with this lead. I'm expecting a healthy amount of play-action. Their first half has really set that up here in the second half. If Eli makes a couple of big play-action plays downfield in the 3rd, that's probably enough to send the Giants to Green Bay.

THIRD QUARTER
Turner pounds out one first down, but gets stuffed on a third straight run, and Ryan has a pass blocked at the line and nearly intercepted. Um, Atlanta, that is NOT the field-stretching I called for at halftime.

Jason-Pierre Paul was injured while diving for that tipped ball. Aaron Ross was also injured and replaced by Prince Amukamara. That's who I was drafting in the first round for the Rams this year, and why I should have been fired at GM like Billy Devaney. Amukamara, when he wasn't injured, was terrible. Ryan has to go right after him. No, he tries to pick on Corey Webster, the best Giants corner, and he breaks up the pass for Roddy White.

I really wonder about Atlanta's game plan here coming out of halftime.

After Victor Cruz drops a play-action pass, Manning throws a perfect ball to Nicks on a dig route for 19 on 3rd-and-8. Manning then overcomes a David Baas holding penalty by dancing out of the pocket on 3rd-and-12 and hitting Cruz over the middle for 22. Ahmad Bradshaw appears to put this game away with a 30-yard burst off a good block by McKenzie. First-and-goal at the 5, but the Falcons get lucky and hold. A perfect pass goes through Jake Ballard's hands in the back of the end zone on 2nd down, and Owens breaks up a pass for Nicks after Abraham flushed Eli for the millionth time on 3rd down. Chip shot FG is the best the Giants can muster. But the Atlanta offense needs to do something NOW.

Giants 10, Atlanta 2

Falcons FINALLY stretch the field with Ryan hitting White in the zone for 20. White then botches a wide-open screen play. White's open in the zone again for 9 on 3rd-and-4. Tricky end-around to Julio for 10. Where's this been all game? But with the Falcons at the NY 30, the Giants force back-to-back incompletions with blitzes. FOR THE THIRD TIME IN THREE STRAIGHT PLAYOFF GAMES, an offense gets caught with 12 men in the huddle. On 3rd-and-now-15, Ryan and White come up a yard short.

The Giants stuff Ryan AGAIN on the QB sneak attempt on 4th-and-1. Start the bus, Atlanta.

Yep, might have wanted to have Turner on the field that last play so the Giants wouldn't know exactly what was coming. The Falcon coaching staff has NOT impressed today.

On 3rd down, Manning just barely escapes Abraham, finds Nicks ALL ALONE over the middle, and Hakeem does the rest, exploits a terrible angle by the safety and zips away from everybody for a 72-yard TD. Start loading the bus, Atlanta.

Giants 17-2

Well, at least the under is looking good for me. Looks like I should have trusted the Giants after all.

The Falcons are continuing to run on 2nd-and-long, and then get stuffed on 3rd down, to give the ball right back. Dammit, this is what I get for not doing enough research. Just dawned on me that Mike Mularkey is their offensive coordinator. What's he been concentrating on all week, coming up with a good game plan or trying to get a better job with another team? Knowing that, I should have been betting on the Giants all the way, because Atlanta's offensive game plan today has been terrible.

This is why you don't let your assistants interview with other teams while you're in the playoffs, people. Same thing happened to the Rams with Lovie Smith in '03.

FOURTH QUARTER
Manning dumps off to Bradshaw for first downs while the Falcons are busy finishing loading the bus. Their pass rush has stopped and their coverage has gotten soft. Easy drive ends in a very expensive, for me, 27-yard TD to Manningham.

Giants 24-2

10 minutes to play, but this thing's over. Time to look ahead.

Goat of the game is Mike Mularkey, who I'd contend cost his team dearly by not concentrating on his job.
If Mularkey's game plan hadn't been such crap, I would have given Star of the Game to Giants DC Perry Fewell, but Hakeem Nicks gets it instead - 5-112 right now, with the first two TDs, the second one breaking the game open.

The Falcons are still in best-player-available mode for next season. They don't have much wrong personnel-wise that an offensive coordinator with a brain wouldn't fix. It looked like they missed Harvey Dahl a little bit on the many short-yardage downs they couldn't convert, but maybe Michael Turner should have been handling the ball more than Matt Ryan on those plays, too.

Les Snead should drop off the Rams' GM list after today, too, though that list has probably been quickly cut to the two Titans' front office people, iykwim. Look at the Falcons' two biggest moves this offseason. Julio Jones a harmless 6-59. And has Ray Edwards' name even been called? Did he even play? I looked up to see if he's hurt but didn't find anything. And the whole Tom-Dimitroff-will-rub-off-on-our-general-manager theory didn't work with Billy Devaney, anyway. Snead can help the Falcons find a stud DT, a cover corner or a Dahl-like mauler at guard in their soon-to-start offseason.

I'm not picking the Giants to beat the Packers next week, but if the any given Sunday rule ever applies, it'll be to that game. The Giants hope to echo with the Packers what they did to the Patriots five years ago. And they definitely have the pass rush to give Aaron Rodgers trouble. But I see next week's game kind of like the Saints-Lions game last night. The Packers have too many weapons for the Giants to account for them all.

On to the Tebowcalypse. I'll update any meaningless scores in this game in the subject header.