david dieHl - New York Giants

As it turned it, it was all just talk. Until a meaningless touchdown, the Giants were outscored 67-
7 in the last two games, the sort of no-show efforts that prompt big changes.
“There’s obviously something missing because this is not who we are, this is not our team but
this is the team we’ve displayed two weeks in a row now,’’ Rolle said.
This was a rout seemingly from the opening kickoff. The Ravens toyed with the Giants’ lame
defense, running through it for 224 yards with Bernard Pollard (123 yards) and Ray Rice (107).
Joe Flacco, mired in a slump, got well in a hurry, throwing for two touchdowns and picking on
struggling cornerback Corey Webster blatantly and ever-so effectively.
Eli Manning’s offense, coming off the first regular-season shutout in the Coughlin Era, was
dismal. Ahmad Bradshaw returned, but the Giants got behind early and ran it only 14 times.
Manning was sacked three times, repeatedly under pressure. Hakeem Nicks for the first time in
his NFL career did not catch a single pass.
Asked if the performance was embarrassing, Manning said “You saw the scoreboard. It wasn’t
real pretty, but that’s what can happen in football.’’
It is difficult to pinpoint a worst moment, but what happened with 1:04 left in the first half has
to come close when Rice ran through Michael Boley, Will Hill and Stevie Brown for a 27-yard
touchdown catch-and-run to make it 24-7 at halftime.
“We still had a fighting chance to make our way to the playoffs, we didn’t achieve that,’’ Rolle
said. “It’s a huge letdown for everyone, families, friends, organization, more importantly
ourselves because this is not the kind of team we are.’’