The Undefeated NY Giants Crush The Seatle Seahawks 44-6!!!!!!

by **J The Kidd** Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:42 pm

By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports

In New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress’ locker was a t-shirt
that seemed planted, draped on a hanger in a tilted way to make sure
that everybody saw it.

Or, in the case of Burress, to make sure he will see it when he returns
to work Monday after being away from the team for two weeks because of
a suspension. The red shirt was emblazoned with bold white capital
block letters:

Team First.

Team Last.

Team Always.

The Super Bowl champion Giants reinforced that message – one they hope
Burress will get to their liking from now on – with a 44-6 thumping of
visiting Seattle on Sunday at Giants Stadium. The Giants don’t just
believe the message, they embody it.

There is no better proof than what they did to the Seahawks. This game
was over just about the time that the echo of home of the brave cleared
the stadium. The Giants were up 24-3 midway through the second quarter
on their way to a 4-0 start.

More than that, New York is taking the notion of addition by
subtraction and making it look like a logarithm. Future Hall of Fame
defensive end Michael Strahan retires? No problem. Trade tight end
Jeremy Shockey? Big deal. Lose Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora to
injury? What of it? Suspend Burress, the team’s leading receiver? Big
whoop.

On Sunday, the Giants replaced Burress with Domenik Hixon and he rolled
up 102 yards receiving and a touchdown before halftime. Prior to
Sunday, Hixon had just 7 catches, 94 yards receiving and no scores in
his two-plus year career.

“We just felt, honestly, it would be good to have Plaxico back, but the
guys we had out there, we could rotate them in,” quarterback Eli
Manning said.

No matter how much teams espouse the cliché about sticking together and
overcoming the loss of stars, they’re really not supposed to be able to
lose both starting defensive ends, a leading tight end and a leading
wide receiver and just keep rolling. Not just rolling, but
steamrolling; plowing over opponents as if it were a varsity-JV
scrimmage – not the NFL regular season.

How else do you explain a team averaging an absurd 7.5 yards per
rushing attempt on the plays in which it actually tried (throw out two
kneel downs at the end by backup quarterback David Carr and the Giants
combined for 256 yards on 34 carries)? Even worse, starting running
back Brandon Jacobs (15 carries, 136 yards and two touchdowns) averaged
an absurd 9.1 yards per carry.

That also was against a run defense that came into the game allowing
only 3.5 yards per carry. New York’s domination filtered to the passing
game, where Manning completed 19 of 25 for 267 yards and two touchdowns.

“I told (Eli) toward the end – I saw his numbers – I said, ‘Man, it
doesn’t get too much better than that,’ ” said Jacobs, whose pounding
running style sets the tone for what the offense is trying to do.

While everyone treated Burress’ absence politely, refusing to crow about how they did this without him, the statement was clear.

“We are just talking about today and winning the game, a bunch of guys
playing as a team and realizing the idea and the concept of team,”
coach Tom Coughlin said.

While that comment can certainly be interpreted as pointed, none of the
Giants really wanted to go there. They realize over the long haul of
the season, they will need Burress. How he reacts to this situation
when he returns to the team Monday will be interesting.

“Plax is a professional and he’s going to have his mind right when he
gets back to the team,” linebacker Antonio Pierce said. “He hasn’t been
talking to anybody (in the media), just keeping it to himself until
he’s ready to talk. I know he’s going to be fine.”

Maybe so, but nothing tends to put people in a different state of mind
more than the notion they can be lived without. On Sunday, the Giants
didn’t just live without Burress, they flourished. Moreover, they are
flourishing without a lot of people.

This is the same team that lost running back Tiki Barber to retirement
after the 2006 season and proceeded to do better than it had during his
time as one of the best backs in team history.

“I don’t think we’re doing anything where we’re coming up with all
these extravagant plays or that one or two guys are playing extremely
well, I think it’s just the whole team coming together,” wide receiver
Amani Toomer said. “You’d think it wouldn’t be like that, but we have a
lot of guys who are looking for a shot to play like everybody else.”

They’re doing more than just playing. They’re thriving as a team.

AND DATS WASSUP!!!