Bird Bashing

Brandon and Bradshaw Bust-out
Who says three’s a crowd? Certainly not the NY Giants riled up running unit. Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward amassed 207 yards on the ground in Sunday’s 30-10 shellacking of the Baltimore Ravens. This performance was against a team yielding a league best average of 65 yards per game coming into week 11. Jacobs scrambled for 70 yards in the first quarter alone!
The early pounding by Jacobs set the tone for the now 9-1 Giants. New York was able to move the ball all afternoon, eat up the clock and keep the chains going offensively. The penetration through a very staunch Ravens defense was a compelling act for the Meadowlands faithful who endured wind and mid-November chills. Jacobs was sidelined after the first quarter but it wasn’t a problem for the Giants. The running game made itself felt, presenting an all together gnashing attack. Ward and Bradshaw were just as effective as Jacobs, almost outshining the star back. Ward weaved his way through Ray Lewis and the Ravens secondary as if he were indestructible. Bradshaw was even harder to take down, plowing his way like a bulldozer through the defensive line. Bradshaw, in his coming out party Sunday, had a 77 yard carry in the second half that shifted the momentum back NY’s way. There was no question what team was going to prevail in the battle of the NFL’s best offense vs. the best defense.
The Giants defense deserves credit too. They limited Willis McGahee and Ray Rice and shut down the entire rushing scheme. In fact, the Ravens leading rusher was rookie signal caller, Joe Flacco. Flacco showed his inexperience but I was impressed with his game management and mobility. The Giants’ Aaron Ross had two Flacco picks, including a heads up tipoff for a touchdown. His second interception virtually put all Ravens comeback hopes out the Meadowlands gates. Eli Manning wasn’t perfect nor even a big factor in the win. But, he did not need to be. He didn’t make costly errors and seemed to try to spread the ball around.
The Giants invent new ways of winning each week. If New York fails to return to the Superbowl, I would be surprised. At this rate, even the Tennessee Titans are not better than the Giants. They are playing so well and unless they incur a major injury, no team is going to slow them down. And, this year, they are undefeated at home. Last year they were considered road warriors.

Parting points: I really thought Ryan Howard was a shoo-in for NL MVP but congratulations to Albert Pujols.
It was nice to see the Cowboys come back last night. They needed that win. What happened at the end of the Steelers-Chargers game? I’m still lost on that call.