HPF:NEW (York) state of mind

[Wolf]

With the Giants perched at the Texan 19, Williams blew apart Bob Whitfield and ferociously drove Eli to the ground for a 6-yard loss. On the next play, Mario broke through again, this time from the tackle spot, freeing up space for a blitzing Demeco Ryans, who hauled Manning down for a 10-yard loss. On 3rd and 31, Williams again got to Manning, hitting the quarterback right as he was attempting to throw a pass, causing an incompletion. The succession of plays knocked New York out of field goal range and kept the score 7-3 at the half. Notably, on the Giants’ next series, Earl intercepted Manning on the final play of the half, recording the team’s first interception since week one.

Roughing the passer penalties would bite both teams in the third quarter. On the Giants’ opening drive of the second half, Williams flushed Manning from the pocket and was hit with a ridiculously ticky-tacky roughing the passer call on a third down incompletion, sustaining a drive that eventually made its way into Texan territory. But Houston’s defense stiffened and forced a field goal that New York botched, keeping the score, 7-3.

http://www.houstonprofootball.com/game/2006/week08.html

David Carr’s Rebound
Say what you want about Carr, but he certainly didn’t shrink from the challenge. In New York, against one of the best teams in the NFC, Carr was efficient and safe. Consider, he drove Houston into Giant territory on five of their seven possessions, only to watch the team: miss a field goal, cowardly punt from the Giants’ 38, kick a field goal, score a touchdown and fumble.

The Rookies
Williams and Ryans had back-to-back sacks for a loss of 16 yards, knocking New York out of field goal range as the first half closed. Together, they recorded 10 tackles, two sacks, one tackle for loss and two hurries. They were a disruptive pair all afternoon.

Glenn Earl’s Hit on Shockey
Shockey had a sure touchdown until Earl unloaded an absolute strike, dislodging the ball and saving 6 points. Very quietly, the Texans’ defense has been pretty frisky since that second half meltdown in Dallas.
What Went Wrong?

Freezing Up
The Texans had a chance to put the game on ice as the fourth quarter started. But after the defense stuffed New York on three consecutive downs, the offense squandered the opportunity with, on consecutive plays, a penalty, a sack and a run that went for negative yardage. Up 10-7, they punted to New York and the Giants promptly marched down the field and scored. They still lack a killer instinct, maybe because…

Gary Kubiak Has No Balls
By and large, Kubiak’s been a Godsend this year. But why, on 2-5 team going nowhere, are you not pushing these guys? He punted from the Giant 38 on 4th and 7, and then was content to let the clock run out at the end of the first half (notice, the Giants were not) with 1:46 remaining. Obviously, things unraveled last week at the end of the first half, but by sitting on it this week, aren’t you essentially instilling in your team the notion that you don’t trust it and certainly don’t think it’s capable of making amends and pushing it downfield?
Key Play Of The Game

Pretty easy, really. Trailing 14-10 with 5:23 reaming in the game, the Texans had moved to the Giants' 38 (thanks to a roughing the passer penalty) when Jamal Cook took a short pass underneath and coughed up the football. Game over.