The Game

UPDATE: That's it. Eli's kneeling it out for a 24-0 win. First shutout win for the Giants since 36-0 over Washington in 2005, and first on the road since the blanked Philly in 1983. Summary will be up later.

What do you guys think of all this?

UPDATE: Looks like the Giants are going to get their shutout. Amazing time of possession difference. A well-deserved walk in the park after a couple of tough division games. I'm starting to think 5-0 is a distinct possibility now.

UPDATE: Guess that defense does want the shutout. After a near miss on Michael Clayton's drop in the back of the end zone, they pressured Johnson into a bad throw on second down, then got a deflection from Antonio Pierce to save them on third down, and a breakup from Terrell Thomas on fourth down. Nice job.

UPDATE: Cofield's down with a right calf cramp as the Bucs drive to the Giants' 5. Maybe this Josh Johnson kid, in for Leftwich, is the Bucs' answer. Doesn't matter. Only 6:31 to go, but don't you think the defense would love a shutout here? Those chances don't come around very often.

UPDATE: Coughin's doing something very smart here, putting in David Carr and Gartrell Johnson for the last 12 minutes of garbage time. Keeps your main guys healthy. And this is going to be Johnsoon's role as the third RB anyway.

UPDATE: First catch of the season for Moss, and it's a touchdown as he leaps for Manning's throw over Aqib Talib. Well, they're 3-for-5 in the Red Zone today. Got a long way to even things up from the first two games, but it's a good start. Giants 24-0.

UPDATE: Play is upheld and Tampa Bay loses it's second timeout. First down on the 15.

UPDATE: Tampa Bay's challenging Smith's diving catch off Eli's wobbler. Looked good to me, though.

UPDATE: Third quarter ends as Jacobs brings it down to the Bucs' 25. Giants 17-0. Would take a Tampa Bay miracle for the Giants to lose this one. Have no idea, absolutely no idea, how the Cowboys gave up so many rushing yards to these guys.

UPDATE: Rich Seubert's out with a shoulder problem. But Bradshaw still got 9 with Kevin Boothe in at left guard. Giants should just keep the ball on the ground now. But who listens to me? Manning hits Smith for 9.

UPDATE: McKenzie's being carted off. Tampa Bay made its first first-down of the game at 4:37 of the third quarter.

UPDATE: Gonna go out on a limb here and say even the Red Zone problems aren't going to hurt them in this one. No sign of a Bucs offense at all. But Kareem McKenzie just went off with a right knee problem.

UPDATE: Didn't like the third-and-10 handoff to Bradshaw from the 12. But at least Tynes made this chip shot from 26. Giants 17-0.

UPDATE: Can somebody tell me what they're seeing with Jacobs? He looks a step slow to me. But I love what they're doing with Bradshaw.

UPDATE: Another three-and-out for Tampa Bay. They didn't have a first down in the first half. Looks like they may not get one in the second half. Advice for the Giants: Score right now and put them away.


UPDATE: Just a heads up. There's something real screwy going on with the blog host. If some of these updates get delayed, they'll eventually be up. And I'd be interested in knowing if anybody's having trouble posting comments.

UPDATE: Nice third-and-short conversion as Bradshaw goes up the middle on spread formation. Then Eli throws to Hedgecock incomplete. And now they'll probably have to settle for a field goal. Don't quite understand all this faith in Hedgecock as a receiver. It's third-and-9 now from the 23. But after Manningham gets it to the 13 and Jacobs picks his way up the middle to the 2, Piscatelli flies in from the edge and drops him for a loss. Then, Tynes misses his second field goal of the season from inside 30, a 21-yard chip shot, to keep the score at 14-0. Guarantee it, this is going to figure huge in the second half. Another situation where the Giants were positioned to bury somebody early on the scoreboard and let them off the hook. Nothing worse than letting a bad team hang around, but that's what the Giants have historically done.

UPDATE: Game's settled into a punting drill. Four straight three-and-outs, two each.

UPDATE: Looks like conditions are getting a little rough down there with the rain. Could make running a bit tough, but the Giants ought to stick with the run-pass ratio even if it does.

UPDATE: Tampa Bay just went three-and-out as the defense stuffed Ward twice and then smelled out a screen pass at the Bucs' 20. This, by the way, is the same unit that gave up 251 rushing yards last week.

UPDATE: Eli just threw a nice pass to Smith for a touchdown from the 4 for a second Red Zone touchdown. Beauty of this one was the three-receiver formation with Smith, Boss, and Hagan causing coverage havoc.

UPDATE: Can't beat a nice 38-yard run by Bradshaw where he shook off a tackle for the last 10 yards. They're third-and-goal from the 5 now as the first quarter ends, Giants up 7-0. Anybody want to see play-action right now? A little Kevin Boss, maybe?

UPDATE: See, the thing about Byron Leftwich is you're never really in danger, even if you make a mistake. Leftwich just gave it back on a play-action pass to heavens knows who, which Terrell Thomas intercepted in great field position. Guarantee you one thing. If the Giants go plus-4 in turnovers, they won't have to worry about any last-minute field goals to win this one.

UPDATE: Bad news here. Giants go three-and-out, and then louse up the punt coverage as Feagles does his job in pinning Clifton Smith to the sideline, only to watch Smith return it 20 yards when the first guy down misses a tackle.

UPDATE: Tuck's in on third down and Osi Umenyiora gets pressure on Leftwich's short pass, forcing a punt. Giants will be smart to use Tuck like that. Just limit him to third-down situations.

UPDATE: See what happens when you mix things up? Great catch by Smith at the 20. Honestly, don't know how that got past the corner. Then a real good run by Bradshaw and a walk-in by Jacobs from the 7 to break that 0-for-8 Red Zone drought. The O-line is manhandling the Bucs' front seven at this point. Giants 7-0. But hey, Eli Manning, be careful down there. You nearly got intercepted at the 7 on that blocked pass.

UPDATE: Giants have gone straight to the run, and convert a third-and-1 with Jacobs up the middle. I think they're gonna pound today. That's the first third-and-short conversion this year.

UPDATE: Feels like 102 on the field in Tampa. That DL rotation's gonna get a workout. And we're off.

Update: They're going to get to say hello to Derrick Ward right away. He's starting ahead of Cadillac Williams, whose injury will supposedly limit his action today. Bet a couple of guys on defense would like to plant him right way.

About 15 minutes to kickoff. Get the brats and beer ready!

EP