Report from the Meadowlands

[Tunescribe]

A few random notes from attending the game last night:

* I got to my seat about 75 minutes prior to kickoff. There were only about 10,000 people in the whole stadium at that point and ALL the GameDay programs were sold out! Vendors told me that the minute gates opened, people were lining up and buying 10, 20 programs at a time. Sure enough, they were selling on eBay this morning for $50-plus. This really sucked, I wanted one and didn't even think about their being gobbled up by "speculators."

* Giants fans weren't that loud when we had the ball except for occasionally on third down. Not nearly as loud as Jets fans.

* Tons of Pats fans there as expected. Loud chants of "16-0! 16-0!" as time ticked away.

* The Giants are a big, slow, lumbering team. Jacobs and their big tight end playing for Shockey (Boss?) are beasts. New York deserves a lot of credit for playing with intensity.

* Hobbs on Burress was an obvious mismatch. Eli Manning was playing over his head.

* LOTS of chippiness/pushing and shoving after plays. It seemed like Rodney was always mixing it up with someone away from the play. When he got yanked after being flagged for a 15-yarder on the Giants' last drive, he stayed away from BB on the sideline.

* Traffic control around Giants Stadium is state-of-the-art. We stayed until the players had left the field, and were on the highway 15 minutes after getting to the car.

* Couldn't have asked for better weather this time of year for tailgating and a night game.

* After Moss caught the record-breaker, he dropped the ball to celebrate with teammates. I was thinking, "Doesn't he want to keep that ball?!" Then later he picked it up and tossed it to the sideline. I wonder who'll keep it -- Randy or Tom.

* Lots of media, of course. Saw the NFLN crew, Adam Schefter, Gumbel (bleah!) on the sidelines before the game.

* Giants have no cheerleaders.

* During a timeout there was a "this date in Giants history" segment on the Jumbotron referring to some accomplishment by Tiki Barber, and the Giants fans booed.

* I like Giants Stadium -- cozy confines, seats are really close to the field, enclosed bowl, good sight lines.

* Giants suffered some apparently serious injuries, including their starting center who might be out for the playoffs (knee). During radio interviews after the game, Strahan and Toomer said nothing positive could be taken from the game because they lost. That is, despite Coughlin reportedly stating that he thought there were some good things to be taken from it heading into the playoffs.

 

[carolinatony]

Good report. Thanks

 

[C'est La Vie]

A few random notes from attending the game last night:

* I got to my seat about 75 minutes prior to kickoff. There were only about 10,000 people in the whole stadium at that point and ALL the GameDay programs were sold out! Vendors told me that the minute gates opened, people were lining up and buying 10, 20 programs at a time. Sure enough, they were selling on eBay this morning for $50-plus. This really sucked, I wanted one and didn't even think about their being gobbled up by "speculators."

* Giants fans weren't that loud when we had the ball except for occasionally on third down. Not nearly as loud as Jets fans.

* Tons of Pats fans there as expected. Loud chants of "16-0! 16-0!" as time ticked away.

* The Giants are a big, slow, lumbering team. Jacobs and their big tight end playing for Shockey (Boss?) are beasts. New York deserves a lot of credit for playing with intensity.

* Hobbs on Burress was an obvious mismatch. Eli Manning was playing over his head.

* LOTS of chippiness/pushing and shoving after plays. It seemed like Rodney was always mixing it up with someone away from the play. When he got yanked after being flagged for a 15-yarder on the Giants' last drive, he stayed away from BB on the sideline.

* Traffic control around Giants Stadium is state-of-the-art. We stayed until the players had left the field, and were on the highway 15 minutes after getting to the car.

* Couldn't have asked for better weather this time of year for tailgating and a night game.

* After Moss caught the record-breaker, he dropped the ball to celebrate with teammates. I was thinking, "Doesn't he want to keep that ball?!" Then later he picked it up and tossed it to the sideline. I wonder who'll keep it -- Randy or Tom.

* Lots of media, of course. Saw the NFLN crew, Adam Schefter, Gumbel (bleah!) on the sidelines before the game.

* Giants have no cheerleaders.

* During a timeout there was a "this date in Giants history" segment on the Jumbotron referring to some accomplishment by Tiki Barber, and the Giants fans booed.

* I like Giants Stadium -- cozy confines, seats are really close to the field, enclosed bowl, good sight lines.

* Giants suffered some apparently serious injuries, including their starting center who might be out for the playoffs (knee). During radio interviews after the game, Strahan and Toomer said nothing positive could be taken from the game because they lost. That is, despite Coughlin reportedly stating that he thought there were some good things to be taken from it heading into the playoffs.

Giants lead the league in drops. Toomer dropped an early first down that, while not game changing, was a big drop. Eli is a more than capable QB. I wouldn't take him over Brady, but he's easily top 10 in this weak league of QB's.

 

[richpats]

Their fans were the most pissed I've ever seen. We're talking guys flipping over tailgating tables. I had a guy chuck a full beer can at me and it hit me in the leg. I'm sure he was aiming for my head

 

[marty]

Between Rodney and Wilfork I'm assuming that there was a lot of cheap shots going on last night? Did you see what started either one of those guys off? It's been reported that Rodney was ticked at WR going for his knee's all night. Did you see any of that?

 

[DaBruinz]

Between Rodney and Wilfork I'm assuming that there was a lot of cheap shots going on last night? Did you see what started either one of those guys off? It's been reported that Rodney was ticked at WR going for his knee's all night. Did you see any of that?

Yes, Burress went for Rodney's knees on 2 separate occasions.

 

[primetime]

* During a timeout there was a "this date in Giants history" segment on the Jumbotron referring to some accomplishment by Tiki Barber, and the Giants fans booed.

* I like Giants Stadium -- cozy confines, seats are really close to the field, enclosed bowl, good sight lines.

* Giants suffered some apparently serious injuries, including their starting center who might be out for the playoffs (knee). During radio interviews after the game, Strahan and Toomer said nothing positive could be taken from the game because they lost. That is, despite Coughlin reportedly stating that he thought there were some good things to be taken from it heading into the playoffs.

It was famous last games in Giants history. Last year, Tiki ran for over 200 yards in his last game in Giants stadium, if you'll recall... the entire stadium booed him.

I got to my seat about 10 minutes before kickoff as traffic coming down through Paramus was horrendous and we wanted to get loaded before the game. Some mall there was packed to the brim, I've never seen anything like it. New Jersey Blue Laws means its closed on Sundays, I guess that's why I never noticed it going down to Jets-Pats games.

I was surrounded by mostly Giants fans... they were completely friendly. At Jets games, they were tossing things at us, including a 14 year old girl, but at the Giants game (which I attended with a friend of mine rather than my father and sister), the Giants fans were all nice people. I guess it was the atmosphere of the event... nothing was on the line and the Giants had a more important game the next week, and even with the loss they got to play witness to history. Agree about the traffic control... I took a bus down, and the bus was amazingly out of the parking lot in record time (then continued that record time back to Albany).

Giants lost their center (O'Hara) to a broken leg, apparently, and a starting LB (Kawika Mitchell) to a chopped cruciate ligament. Not exactly what they had in mind by playing their starters the whole way through the game. On the other hand, Manning played pretty well, though at the end when it came down to it, he made some bad decisions and threw a bad INT, an interception every Giants fan around me knew was happening the second he dropped back to pass. I think he played so well because of his lack of concern over the result... Eli still isn't a pressure QB.

 

[Tunescribe]

Between Rodney and Wilfork I'm assuming that there was a lot of cheap shots going on last night? Did you see what started either one of those guys off? It's been reported that Rodney was ticked at WR going for his knee's all night. Did you see any of that?

Rodney was fighting with all kinds of guys, including offensive linemen. I never saw these things from the beginning as they often were away from the play. I did see a couple cheap shots on Welker and Moss, including a short catch by Moss prior to Maroney's second touchdown (if I recall correctly) where he was being tackled and a second Giants defender went for his head but missed.

I only saw the aftermath of the Wilfork play where he was flagged for holding Jacobs down after the tackle -- a mass of pushing, shoving and jawing. Guys on both teams were getting pissed at times, there was a lot of intensity in this game.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Thanks for the eyewitness report. It sounds like Giants fans were pretty friendly, although I have no idea why they'd be booing their own player - Tiki Barber.

Yeah I was pretty sure there would come that one moment were Eli choked, and sure enough it came along at a crucial juncture. The Pats then proceeded to smartly grind the clock down on the way to scoring that vital insurance TD to go ahead by 10.

 

[primetime]

Thanks for the eyewitness report. It sounds like Giants fans were pretty friendly, although I have no idea why they'd be booing their own player - Tiki Barber.

Because Tiki walked out on them to start his broadcasting career while still in his prime and tore the locker room apart last year, and tried to do so this year from the NBC booth by making comments about the Giants and Eli Manning in particular.

Think Bill Parcells leaving the second the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. That's the kind of enmity Giants fans have for Tiki Barber.

 

[Omega Supreme]

At Jets games, they were tossing things at us, including a 14 year old girl

They were throwing 14 year old girls at you??

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Giants lead the league in drops. Toomer dropped an early first down that, while not game changing, was a big drop. Eli is a more than capable QB. I wouldn't take him over Brady, but he's easily top 10 in this weak league of QB's.

I disagree. They will never win with him. He has all the physical tools, it's the mental aspect of the game that eludes him. He folds under pressure, his mechanics become unwieldy, he can't make good decisions quickly with consistency, and he doesn't have a commanding presence - teamates aren't drawn to him so much as reluctantly tolerant of him considering the alternative. Kind of like the relationship they barely have with Coughlin.

* Hobbs on Burress was an obvious mismatch. Eli Manning was playing over his head.

And yet, Hobbs had a better evening than our Pro Bowl corner...funny how nobody mentions that. Two TD, no picks...ouch. LOL

 

[AStack75]

I just wanted to echo the comments about the Giants fans. They were all really cool people and fun to tailgate with. It's hard to believe these people live in the same place as Jets fans.

 

[i support BB]

Yes, Burress went for Rodney's knees on 2 separate occasions.

Rodney had this to say after the game about that, "It's just disappointing the level they would stoop to"...."A guy like Burress trying to cut my knees out. We knew it was going to be like that and I'm just disappointing"

 

[PlainOldEd]

At Jets games, they were tossing things at us, including a 14 year old girl, .....

They tossed a 14 year old girl at you?

 

[Fencer]

they were tossing things at us, including a 14 year old girl,

Did you catch her?

 

[primetime]

They tossed a 14 year old girl at you?

Only one.

 

[Disco Volante]

* Traffic control around Giants Stadium is state-of-the-art. We stayed until the players had left the field, and were on the highway 15 minutes after getting to the car.

Wish I had this luck.

Getting out of the parking lot was an absolute *****.

Had some cool Giants fans sitting near me, informative and polite.

Awesome leaving the stadium, high fiving every Pats fan I saw yelling "PERFECT". Saw a few fights break out between Pats/Giants fans. It appears the older fans are fine but the young drunk ones are foolish.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

At Jets games, they were tossing things at us, including a 14 year old girl,

did chris hansen emerge from an adjacent row afterwards?

 

[FFTWENTYTHREE]

we got in thru the gates about an hour and a 1/2 before KO we got down to row one behind the all access show and hung for an hour and 15 noticed right off the bat their were not as many Pats fans as the media hyped,having been to more than a fair share of road games I would say average fans attended we (wife@I) made our way to our seats and got to see this history unfold wow what a game both teams jacked up from the start we were treated nice by everyone we encountered and we both had our game jersey's helmet etc ( big Diff from Pitt/jets etc) and the beginning of half time the jints and their fans were celebrating like they already won the game and I think at that point they had a 4 point lead? I guess they didn't realize the P A T S play for the full 60 minutes we walked back to the hotel after the game about a mile and still did not get harassed once my hats off to the jints fandome,also we got some good tv air time nfl network and wbztv had us on,All in all a great trip and just glad the playoffs will be hosted by us and we will be back in section 129 rooting on the historic PATRIOTS SEASON ....these are not the same patriots I grew up with GO PATS bring home #4