Giants' Shiny New Look on Offense Has a Rusty Old Feel
DETROIT - Season-opening games can be symbolic and motivational. For the Giants, the idea was to use their visit to Ford Field to prove that this revamped team was new and different.
Rebuilt and re-energized, the Giants wanted to expunge the embarrassment of last year's lost season, a campaign most notable for a dysfunctional offense led by a mistake-prone quarterback.
The Giants had eight new starters and a new play-calling guru, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo.
New players and new plays did not lead to a new result. Eli Manning threw two costly second-half interceptions and the rebuilt offense sputtered in familiar ways - receivers looked out of sync, the running game was wholly anemic and undisciplined penalties stalled drives just as they did a year ago.
The Giants had brief rallies, but fell well short in the debut, losing in a rout to the Detroit Lions, 35-14.
The Giants problems began early as they fell behind by two touchdowns in the first quarter and their woes continued into the final quarter even as they cut the Lions lead to 27-14 with nearly 12 minutes remaining. At this juncture, when some kind of defensive stand was called for, the defense wilted.
The Lions marched 80 yards on 12 plays, using up more than seven minutes of clock to put the game out of reach. It culminated a thorough thrashing as Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions' superlative wide receiver Calvin Johnson caught 7 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
Manning completed 18 of 33 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown pass. His longest reception was 21 yards and the Giants longest rush of the night was 14 yards. New running back Rashad Jennings led the Giants with 46 rushing yards on 16 carries.
The start to the game was a nightmare. They looked overwhelmed both offensively and defensively.
A screen pass to Reggie Bush on the first play gained 12 yards. Four plays later, Stafford was under pressure and scrambled to his right. The Giants defensive end DeMarcus Moore missed his chance to sack Stafford. In the secondary, there was confusion with defensive backs caught looking toward Stafford. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie shifted to his left just as safety Stevie Brown came sprinting over from the right.
The two collided and no one went with Johnson, who ran uncovered to the middle of the field. Stafford lofted a pass to Johnson for a 67-yard touchdown. The game was less than three minutes old.
The Ben McAdoo era began shortly thereafter with a meek start. Jennings lost two yards on a run toward left tackle. Jennings tried again on the next play and gained one yard. Soon it was a three-and-out.
Nothing looked new about the remade offense.
Detroit did not immediately roll down the field on their second possession as they did on their first. But the end result was the same. Mixing effect rushes on the edges and short passes, the Lions moved to the Giants 16-yard line. The defense stiffened, forcing a third down. The pass rush had Stafford on the run again, but Stafford drifted free and motioned to Johnson who was covered in the back of the end zone by safety Antrel Rolle.
But great passing combinations have a symbiotic connection. Johnson glided subtly to his left and Stafford floated a pass in that direction with a sidearm flick of his arm and wrist. The ball was thrown where only Johnson could catch it - if he dove and plucked it just off the turf. Which is just what Johnson did. The spectacular reception gave the Lions a 14-0 lead.
The Giants had run three plays from scrimmage. Worse, during the Lions scoring drive, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who had looked active and strong, left the game with a neck injury.
Pierre-Paul was examined and X-rayed and returned to the game in the second quarter.
The Giants did not score on their next possession but they did at least move the ball to midfield with the help of a pass interference penalty.
The Giants defense, which seemed to be finding a rhythm against the run and was more consistent in pass coverage, held the Lions for the first time and the offense then scored its first points of the year.
Operating out of the no-huddle offense, Manning threw a 19-yard reception to tight end Larry Donnell and Jennings had some productive runs. But the drive stalled and the Giants were forced to punt.
Detroit, which had already partially blocked one punt, came after punter Steve Weatherford again. While they did not get to the ball, Jerome Couplin crashed into Weatherford after the kick and was penalized for roughing the kicker.
The penalty revitalized the Giants. Jennings carried for 14 yards and a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone gave the Giants a first down on the Detroit 1-yard line.
At this juncture, McAdoo proved that he was not your typical Giants offensive coordinator. He called two alley-oop corner fade passes that were incomplete, a run that failed to crack the end zone and then finally completed one of the corner fade routes - to the 6-foot-6 Larry Donnell - for the first touchdown of the season.
The half ended with the Lions ahead 14- but the third quarter did not start well for the Giants. On a third-and-9 play, Manning threw over the middle for Donnell. It was a quick, timing play but Donnell was not even looking for the football, which bounced off his leg and was intercepted by linebacker DeAndre Levy. Levy returned the interception to the Giants 13-yard line, a turnover the Lions converted into a 28-yard field goal and a 17-7 lead.
Detroit added another field goal and a second Manning interception led to a Stafford 5-yard touchdown run.
A 1-yard run brought the Giants back briefly but the Lions easily closed out the scoring to squash the Giants rally.
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