Enemy Reaction - New York Giants

I love doing this segment. It's a light-hearted look at how the other team's fanbase feels after the Seattle Seahawks get the big W over them. This year I'm going to try out something new. For the gamethread portion of this feature I will put together the SB Nation blog comment reaction for key plays in the game and then put them side by side. It's always cool to get a contrasting view of irrational fan behavior. These are gigantic screenshots so go click on the images to get a proper zoom-in.

GAMETHREAD: Marshawn Lynch Unleashes Beast Mode

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GAMETHREAD: Anthony Hargrove Destroys DJ Ware For a Safety

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GAMETHREAD: Charliehorse to Dougie Fresh For the Go-Ahead Touchdown

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GAMETHREAD: Brandon Browner Pick 6 Seals the Upset Win

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Post-Game: The Defense is in Bad Shape

Overall, this was a very uninspired showing by the Giant’s defense. Let’s face it, when two guys named Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst can go 26/41, 315 yards and two touchdowns combined, you know your defense isn’t doing its job. Everyone knows the secondary is the weakest spot of the team, so it’s up to the line to put pressure on the quarterback and force mistakes. The Giants did not do this effectively enough. Yes, there were a handful of sacks, and eventually Jackson went out with an injury, but this actually felt like a turning point for the defense. There wasn’t much passion in their game from the first snap, but it felt like they really stopped trying once Whitehurst was in the game. That can’t happen no matter who is under center.

The rush defense is still in very bad shape. I did not see much improvement over last week’s performance. Marshawn Lynch gained 98 yards on only 12 attempts. I still think not having Tuck in the lineup is hurting this unit, but they have to be able to adjust, plain and simple, especially since it is unclear when he will be back. My guess would he will wait at least until after the bye, and with the surprisingly good Bills coming to town, the rush defense needs to find a way to show up. In fact, the entire defense needs to stop sleepwalking through the game. - Jennifer Allman from GiantsHQ on the biggest "CON" of New York's performance.

Post-Game: Thoughts and Musings

Well that sucked, didn’t it? That was a winnable game, and the Giants did what they often do. For years, seemingly, this is a team that very often, just comes out flat. It’s an issue.

-If the Giants were playing the Packers, this is a blowout. The Giants were only in this game because, let’s face it, the Seahawks aren’t that good. They fumbled twice near the end zone. They let the Giants get back into the game. Then the Giants shot themselves in the foot.

-What always kills the Giants: Penalties and turnovers. Same yesterday. Just can’t do it.

-I think I’m starting to realize why Ahmad Bradshaw couldn’t find a starting role somewhere else this offseason: He’s not a feature back. He needs to be part of a duo. He was not great yesterday, and without Jacobs to spell him, it caused a lot of issues.

-My oh my, is the line bad. Yes, Baas was out, but even before that, it wasn’t good. Kevin Boothe is not good. As a depth guy, fine. Ask him to start? No, he can’t do that. They were not opening holes in the run game, and the Seahawks had too much pressure for my liking.

-By the way, if you’re looking for the next great safety, it’s Earl Thomas. So fast, so instinctive. And he’s only in his second year. Pleasure to watch.

Jeremy Fuchs from GiantsGab musing on their stunning defeat to the 'Hawks.

It's always cool to get a compliment from the opposition. I hope Earl Thomas becomes a star in this league. Thank you, Ruskell. Excellent parting gift by robbing Denver of their soul and letting yourself go so Schneider and Carroll can pick useful first round picks for a change.

And last but not least......

Post-Game: Speechless on Sunday, Ranting on Monday

After the Game NFL Week 5: New York Giants vs Seattle Seahawks Game Recap 10-9-11 (via EpicConspiracy)

That was a ton of work. plenty of image-merging, and reading through gamethreads and Giants blogs.

It's fun to do this series. Not because I intend to embarrass opposition while they're down, but because it obviously means the Seahawks won. This is probably a season-saving victory against decent enough opposition in hostile territory. As long as Seattle stays within 2 games of the 49ers heading into our home game in December, they have a good shot of defending their divisional crown, much to the dismay of the suddenly California-friendly national press.

Seattle probably should've blown the Giants out, but I'll take this. Tarvaris Jackson's play was decent but not outstanding compared to the 2nd half of the Falcons game, and Charlie Whitehurst was clutch. Simply put I believe Whitehurst outplayed Jackson last game, and that's not as much a criticism of Jackson as it is praise of Charlie's improvement. For Charlie to come in and lead three scoring drives when the Giants were lucking their way into points and the Seahawks appeared to let another road game slip away, he made clutch throws to Golden Tate, Anthony McCoy, and obviously Doug Baldwin. He's got a bullet for a slant pass and an improving mid-range game. Sure he's still having trouble progressing through multiple reads but I think he's snapping out of that, too. I also noticed that Whitehurst was involved in plenty of play-action situations, which is fantastic because for once an opposing defense respected our run.

Unbelievably we're at Cleveland after the bye which means the media is going to bombard us with Mike Holmgren talk. That's a winnable game and regardless of who is starting at QB I suddenly have a rejuvenated feel of promise after such a terrible opening 2 1/2 games of football.