Dottino: 'Underdog' Giants Show 49ers Who's Boss
By Paul Dottino
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The performance was so dominant Sunday that Candlestick Park was filled with a chant of "Let's go Giants!" with nearly 4 minutes to play.
Coach Tom Coughlin and his staff had developed same daring wrinkles in the game plan and the players, who displayed a quiet confidence heading into the game, executed to near perfection on the way to a 26-3 blowout.
Once again, the Giants played up against a quality opponent on the road and overcame their role as an underdog. So they will take a 4-2 record into an all-important two-game set with the division-rival Cowboys and Redskins.
Let's get to our review:
GAME BALLS
Offense-RB Ahmad Bradshaw. He owes dinner to his offensive line, which came alive in the second half. Bradshaw (27-116 yards-one TD) ran 16 times for 93 yards after the break. He was key on the opening TD drive of the third quarter with the Giants up, 10-3.
Bradahaw carried five times for 23 yards, highlighted by the final three plays of the march and capped by a 1-yard dive.
Defense-Coordinator Perry Fewell. He can take FS Antrel Rolle (6 tackles, 2 INTs) out to dinner. Rolle's picks came on consecutive third-quarter drives and resulted in two field goals and a 23-3 edge. But it was Fewell who totally baffled the Niners by breaking out new player deployment combinations.
He turned LB Mathias Kiwanuka back into a lineman (end and tackle) while rotating Jacquian Williams and never-used Spencer Paysinger at linebacker. Rolle took a few snaps at corner and the entire front four seemed to be reshuffled on almost every snap. He rarely dialed up a blitz and the defense still had six sacks (Jason Pierre-Paul had two).
Special teams-K Lawrence Tynes/P Steve Weatherford. These guys are so tight that they can share. Tynes went 4-of-5 on field goals and Weatherford had a 39.3 net on four punts. Most importantly, the Niners' average start was their own 20; the Giants was their own 40.
GASSERS
Offense-WR Hakeem Nicks. Yes, he was gimpy on a sore knee, but he also had the only dropped pass on a day when it was hard to find much wrong with the offense.
Defense-CB Prince Amukamara. For the most part he played as well as the rest of the defense and he made a second-quarter interception. But he also dropped a fourth-quarter interception and was beaten by Randy Moss on a 55-yard bomb near the end of the third.
Special teams-TE Bear Pascoe. He was the right wing on the field goal protection team and allowed the Niners' Tarell Brown to come in untouched off the edge to block Tynes' 40-yard attempt with 15 seconds left in the half.
Who gets your game ball? Let P-DOT know in the comments below!
