No thanks.
That’s the reaction of the Giants to what they experienced this past week. The frustration of walking off the field a loser. The feeling of letting down your teammates. The wait for days until the next time you can unleash your fury.
MATCHUP: GIANTS-49ERS (PHOTOS)
The 35-14 upset loss to the Browns was just one game, but for the Giants, it was their first defeat in more than 10 months. This afternoon, they try to avoid what they haven’t experienced in more than 13 months – losing consecutive games – when they face the slumping 49ers at Giants Stadium.
Eli Manning is coming off a three interception outing. The defense is coming off a game that included all sorts of physical and statistical failures. The coaches are coming off a game in which the opposing staff put on the field the more prepared team.
It was an aberration, the Giants insist.
“How do I know? I am not a psychic, so I don’t know,” Justin Tuck said, before offering a prediction. “I am willing to say that you will see a different Giants team out there at home.”
Here’s a look inside the game:
BEST BATTLE
49ers WR Isaac Bruce vs. Giants CB Aaron Ross: It’s back up on the beam for Ross, coming off the worst game of his two-year career after getting torched repeatedly by Braylon Edwards of the Browns. Ross said he has a short memory. Bruce doesn’t run like he used to, but he’s a veteran who knows all the tricks and is sure to pull them out against the young Ross.
GET DEFENSIVE
No sacks. No forced turnovers. The Giants allowed a whopping 454 yards against the Browns, the highest total by an opponent in 20 regular-season games. Big Blue is not coming off a bad defensive performance in Cleveland – they are coming off an embarrassing one.
“If we had lost the game and we had played a good game, that is another thing, but we just didn’t like the fact that we didn’t really show up on Monday night,” Tuck said. “We were ‘out-physicaled’ and we just didn’t like the way we lost. That was the biggest thing that a lot of people were disappointed about.”
Of all the bad signs this one was worst of all – the Giants did not force the Browns to punt once.
“To not make a team punt in a whole game is embarrassing as a defender,” linebacker Danny Clark said. “That is in the back of our minds. We could definitely have our minds set on going and playing well against San Francisco, but it is definitely in our minds to go and erase what happened a week ago.”
THE MIGHTY MARTZ
Niners coach Mike Nolan said the addition to his staff of Mike Martz as offensive coordinator has “been a real blessing.”
There’s no doubt Martz has stamped the 49ers with his special brand of offensive genius, getting more at quarterback than anyone could have expected out of career backup J.T. O’Sullivan.
Because in large part to the schemes devised by Martz, the 49ers have hit 22 pass plays of more than 20 yards, the third-best total in the league. But after three straight losses, there are rumblings in the Bay Area that Nolan’s job security is hanging by a thread. A favorite to replace him? Martz.
LOSE THE ATTITUDE
The Giants learned what can happen when an opponent is highly-motivated, better prepared and turns desperation into spirited play. It was fairly obvious that the Browns, playing at home and on Monday night, were the more inspired team. That was apparent even from afar.
“It just didn’t seem like they wanted it, like they kind of relaxed a little bit, you know?” 49ers running back Frank Gore said.
No team wants to hear that from an opponent but sometimes the truth hurts.
PAUL’S PICK
Returning home to face a struggling team traveling 3,000 miles is just what the schedule-maker ordered for the Giants coming off their first loss. Eli Manning is 4-0 after games in which he’s thrown three or more interceptions and he figures to bounce back nicely, but the defense must pick it up.
GIANTS 27, 49ERS 19