Giants Daily Blitz Blog

Inside the Locker Room: After the Bye

WR Victor Cruz
On playing after the bye week…
“I’m kind of anxious to get back out on that field and play some football again. It feels like forever since we’ve been out there, so we’re excited about it. We know that we’re in a little bit of a funk, but it’s a brand new season, we feel like, and we just want to attack it head on.”

WR Hakeem Nicks
On Packers revenge for last season’s playoff loss…
“We’re not really focused on what they’re trying to do, we’re focused on what we got to do.”

Safety Kenny Phillips
On Giants chemistry in last year’s playoff run…
“We’re definitely trying to get back to that and hopefully it’ll show this week.”

>> CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST PRESS CONFERENCES & LOCKER ROOM INTERVIEWS <<

2ND QTR: Offense finds rhythm but no TD

SECOND QUARTER

15:00 — Cincinnati begins the second quarter with the ball on New York’s 30.

14:25 — On fourth-and-three, Stevie Brown breaks up a pass intended for Gresham. The Giants take over on downs.

7:44 — On their next drive, the Bengals go for it again on fourth down. This time they get it on a 15-yard pass to Sanu.

4:17 — FIELD GOAL BENGALS. Mike Nugent makes a 28-yard attempt. CINCINNATI 17, NEW YORK 3 (Drive: 15 plays, 60 yards in 7:46)

2:04 — After back-to-back completions to Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz hauls in his first catch of the day for an eight-yard gain.

1:17 — Giants convert a big fourth-and-6 from Cincinnati’s 41 on a 16-yard pass to Nicks, his seventh catch of the day.

0:11 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes a 31-yard attempt. CINCINNATI 17, NEW YORK 6 (Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards in 4:06)

0:00 — BENGALS 17, GIANTS 6

Daily Blitz: Milestones to look for in Week 10

The New York Giants (6-3, 3-1 away), take on the Cincinnati Bengals (3-5, 1-3 home) this Sunday at 1 PM ET. Here is a look at milestones Giants players may hit in the upcoming weeks:

QB Eli Manning

» 92 completions away from breaking Phil Simms’ team record of 2,576.
» Three touchdown passes away from breaking Phil Simms’ team record of 199.
» 25 touchdown passes from breaking the Giants’ single-season record (36 – Y.A. Tittle, 1963).

RB Ahmad Bradshaw

» One rushing yard away from moving past Ron Johnson (3,836) into sixth place on the Giants all-time rushing list.
» 165 rushing yards away from 4,000 career rushing yards.
» Four rushing touchdowns away from surpassing Ron Johnson (33) on the Giants all-time rushing touchdowns list and tying Frank Gifford for seventh.

WR Hakeem Nicks

» 21 receptions away from 250 career receptions.
» 76 receiving yards away from 3,500 yards.

DE Osi Umenyiora

» 2.0 sacks away from 75.0 career sacks.
» Four tackles away from 400 career tackles.

DE Justin Tuck

» 1.5 sacks away from 50.0 career sacks.
» Six tackles away from 400 career tackles.

QUICK HITS

» What to look for around the NFL in Week 10

» Take a look at the best sound from New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin during one of the Giants’ practices [NFL.com]

» OC Kevin Gilbride looks for improvement

» Giants react to Bengals WR A.J. Green

» WATCH: Big Blue Hits with Stevie Brown

2ND QTR: Giants go ahead on Boley’s TD

SECOND QUARTER

15:00 — Pittsburgh begins the quarter third-and-4 on New York’s 23.

12:20 — TOUCHDOWN STEELERS. After three straight Isaac Redman carries, Roethlisberger throws a four-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders. XP is GOOD. PITTSBURGH 7, NEW YORK 0 (Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards in 5:54)

10:50 — Pittsburgh is called for passing interference for 41 yards on a pass intended for Hakeem Nicks.

7:06 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Andre Brown moves the pile for a one-yard score. The play is challenged by the Replay Assistant and the play was upheld. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 7, PITTSBURGH 7 (Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards in 5:08)

5:29 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Osi Umenyiora strip-sacks Roethlisberger for a loss of six yards. Michael Boley recovers the fumble and returns it 70 yards for the score. The play was challenged by the Replay Assistant and the call was upheld. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 14, PITTSBURGH 7

2:32 — Pittsburgh goes for it on fourth-and-1 on New York’s 48, and Isaac Redman takes a carry for four yards and the first down.

1:26 — On third-and-7, Jason Pierre-Paul sacks Roethlisberger for a loss of 12. That’s three on the day from the big three — JPP, Umenyiora and Tuck.

1:02 — Pittsburgh is called for passing interference on a pass intended for Domenik Hixon, moving the ball 46 yards into Steelers territory.

0:36 — Falling short, Lawrence Tynes misses a 51-yard field goal attempt.

0:05 — FIELD GOAL STEELERS. Shaun Suishman makes a 30-yard attempt. NEW YORK 14, PITTSBURGH 10 (Drive: 4 plays, 47 yards in 0:31)

0:00 — GIANTS 14, STEELERS 10

4TH QTR: Giants pull out thriller

15:00 — Giants begin fourth quarter with the ball on their own 15.

14:46 — Eli Manning goes right to work on the first play of the fourth quarter, completing a 29-yard pass to Hakeem Nicks.

10:22 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes a 43-yard attempt to regain the lead. GIANTS 26, COWBOYS 24 (Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards in 4:26)

6:50 — After the Cowboys completed two key third downs, Felix Jones fumbles the football and Stevie Brown recovers at the Dallas 45.

3:37 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes adds to the lead with a 37-yarder. GIANTS 29, COWBOYS 24 (Drive: 6 plays, 26 yards in 3:09)

1:59 — Justin Tuck sacks Tony Romo but the play is negated by a defensive holding penalty.

1:14 — Stevie Brown intercepts Romo for the second time of the day.

0:00 — GIANTS 29, COWBOYS 24

Inside the Locker Room: Heading to Dallas

DE Jason Pierre Paul
On containing Tony Romo…
“He’s an elusive quarterback, basically. He’s not like a Michael Vick, he’s not like an RGIII. He does have some elusive skills and you have to be careful when you’re rushing him.”

WR Victor Cruz
On Week One performance…
“I don’t really think about that game very much, I just want to continue playing the same way I’ve been playing these past couple of weeks. Put some positive things out there, so that’s what I’m focused on now not Game One.”

WR Hakeem Nicks
On recovery since Week One…
“I look at the San Fran game, then look at the Redskins game, I ran a whole lot better than I did that first game. Each week, I get a lot better.”

Tackle Will Beatty
On traveling to Dallas…
“We play against great teams every week, going down there and their home crowd, you got the noise advantage on their side but it’s still football.”

Giants take lead on Cruz TD

SECOND QUARTER

15:00 — Giants begin the second quarter with the ball on their own 28.

14:02 — Prince Amukamara INTERCEPTS Alex Smith’s deep pass intended for Walker. Giants take over on their own 33.

*The interception was Amukamara’s first of the season and second of his career. It was Smith’s second interception of 2012.

12:35 — Eli Manning goes deep on third-and-6 and hooks up with Domenik Hixon for a 39-yard gain.

10:08 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Manning finds Victor Cruz in the end zone for a six-yard score. XP is GOOD. NEW YORK 7, SAN FRANCISCO 3 (Drive: 7 plays, 67 yards in 3:50)

8:10 — Jason Pierre-Paul stops the 49ers’ ensuing drive with a sack for a loss of nine yards on third down. He has 2.5 on the season.

6:53 – Back from injury, Hakeem Nicks hauls in his second catch of the game for a 16-yard gain.

3:04 — FIELD GOAL GIANTS. Lawrence Tynes makes a 34-yard attempt. NEW YORK 10, SAN FRANCISCO 3 (8 plays, 51 yards in 4:34)

1:47 — Deep pass intended for Mario Manningham falls incomplete. 49ers forced to punt and Giants take over on their own 21.

0:15 — Giants drive down to the 49ers’ 22, but Lawrence Tynes has his 40-yard field goal attempt blocked.

0:11 — Kaepernick completes a 36-yard pass to Manningham, setting up a field goal attempt before halftime.

0:02 — Akers misses his second field goal of the game, this time from 52 yards (wide left).

0:00 — GIANTS 10, 49ERS 3

Inside the Locker Room: Preparing for Philly

Giants players talk about what it’s like to play in a tough rivalry game on the road in Philadelphia…

QB Eli Manning
“It’s a great atmosphere. It really is, it’s tough and it’s loud and the fans are unique. It can be a fun place to play, and we just got to go in there and we got to have great communication between our offensive line…I got to be loud and if we’re making checks and making different calls, everyody’s got to be on the same page. It always makes the experience of playing in Philadelphia very interesting.”

WR Hakeem Nicks
“I’m definitely looking forward to Philly, it’s a big game for us; rivalry game. They know us, we know them and I’m looking forward to it.”

WR Victor Cruz
“It’s pretty crazy. Obviously those fans don’t like us very much and they make sure we hear it every time we’re out there, we’re warming up and coming out of the tunnel. Every snap, every play, it’s intense. You can cut the tension with a knife in the stadium. It’s always a great place to play when you’re under that pressure and you feel good about and you want to go out there and make a play.”

LB Mathias Kiwanuka
“There’s always an emphasis when you have two teams in the division that we’re rivals, we see each other twice a year every year. We know that our playoff hopes could come down to this game, they feel the same way. They don’t need anymore motivation, and neither do we. We know we have to win this game and they feel the same way so that’s all the motivation we need.”

Vote for Player of the Game

With the Giants’ thrilling 41-34 victory, it’s time to vote for the Giants “Extra Effort” Player of the Game. Struggling to score in the first half, the Giants offense opened up for 28 points in the second half.

Here are this week’s candidates and a look at their performances:

QB Eli Manning

31/51 passing, 510 YDS, 3 TD, 3 INT

Manning led the Giants to 510 net passing yards — the most in franchise history – and it was the first time they won a regular season game in which they threw at least 50 passes. Manning’s 510 yards were also the second-highest total by a quarterback in Giants history, next to Phil Simms’ 513 in 1985.

WR Hakeem Nicks

10 REC, 199 YDS (19.9 AVG), 1 TD, 50 LG

Nicks put up the sixth-best yardage total in franchise history and sparked the final go-ahead drive with a 50-yard reception late in the fourth quarter.

WR Victor Cruz

11 REC, 179 YDS (16.3 AVG), 1 TD, 80 LG

Cruz had a career-high 11 receptions and along with Nicks became the first tandem in NFL history to both record 10 catches and at least 175 yards receiving.

VOTE HERE FOR THE GIANTS “EXTRA EFFORT” PLAYER OF THE GAME

Nicks’ 199 yards wow teammates

When you see the stat line of 10 catches for 199 yards, you don’t automatically think of a gritty performance. However, that’s what wide receiver Hakeem Nicks showed on Sunday as he played through the pain associated with his recuperation from a broken foot and posted a career day en route to a Giants’ victory.

Antrel Rolle, who has been Nicks’ teammate since 2010 and once faced him in 2009 when Rolle played for Arizona, thought it was his best performance. And it didn’t have anything to do with personal records.

“I think Hakeem probably played one of his best games as a Giant,” Rolle said. “Just his attitude, I saw the hunger in his eye before we even stepped out on the field today. He knew that he had something in him today – that he was going to go out there and be dominant. That’s exactly what he was. He was a dominant force for us.”

Playing alongside Nicks since they were drafted together by the Giants in 2009, Ramses Barden agreed it was one of his best performances. He also knew what the day meant for Nicks with Buccaneers offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan on the other sideline. Sullivan was their wide receivers coach when they came into the league before becoming the Giants’ quarterbacks coach (2010-11) and then taking the job in Tampa over the offseason.

“It’s hard to say ‘best,’ with that guy,” Barden, who began the final go-ahead drive on Sunday with a 24-yard catch, said of Nicks. “Because he’s talented and he’s done some special things for us in the last several years. But it’s definitely a memorable one, especially with Hakeem’s relationship with Mike…I think it holds some special weight with him, and it would anybody.”