The New York Giants new West-Coast offense was very unimpressive in their week one debut. In a battle of teams, unveiling two new offensives Detroit Lions had by far the better first impression.
Jim Caldwell, who had coached Peyton Manning and Joe Flacco to super bowl victories, has now taken over the Detroit Lions head-coaching job and looks to put Stafford on the same path.
The Detroit Lions race out to a 14-0 lead on Calvin Johnsons two touchdowns in the 1st quarter, which was too much for the Giants to overcome in the game. The Giants being who they are hung in their with their strong, aggressive defense to make it a 14-7 game at the end of the half. The touchdown was made by the Rookie tight end, Larry Donnell.
Giants received the kick off to start the 3rd quarter but once again could not mount to any offense. The Detroit Lions picked up right where they left off in the 1st quarter and scored 13 more points, to make the score 27-7.
In the 4th quarter Rashad Jennings for the Giants had scored a touchdown, making the game 27-14. With 10:50 to go in the game, the Lions are in full control and are looking to score one more time to put the game away. And with 4:32 left in the game, Joique Bell answered with a 3-yard scoring run and, the lions added a two-point conversion.
The final score of 35-14 is not a true indication on how well the Giants defense played. It was the Giants new West-Coast offense that was inept and had no flow and continuity. It seemed like Eli Manning and the wide receivers were never on the same page. They were not able to put together any long drives to give their defense a rest.
Eli Manning was 18 of 33 for 163 yards and a touchdown and, two interceptions. The former number 1 overall draft pick, Matt Stafford went 22 of 32 for 346 yards, Calvin Johnson had 7 catches for 164 yards.
The Giants were hoping to have started off the season on a much better note than last year. They were not able to make it to the playoffs last year due to their 0-6 start. It did not help when within the first 5 minutes into the game; Jason Pierre-Paul had left the game due to a minor neck injury but returned in the 2nd quarter. You will have to keep your eye on him this season.
Melissa Pecoraro: PureSportsNY