There seems to be a growing disconnect between New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and his players. According to a New York Daily News report, Coughlin called out Giants cornerback Antrel Rolle for saying that his teammates lacked heart in a 23-10 loss to the Washington Redskins on Dec. 18. “I’m sure there’s frustration there,” Coughlin said of Rolle’s comments. “I don’t think that’s the mechanism by which you express your frustration.”

Are the New York Giants still playing hard for Coughlin? That’s the burning question that will be answered in the Giants’ stretch run of the season, in two must-win games against the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.

At Justin Tuck’s post-game press conference following the loss to the Redskins, he said “a lack of sustained intensity” was a good way of describing the New York Giants’ performance during the game. “We came out and had a pick in the first play of the game, but we weren’t able to create any momentum on offense after that,” Tuck noted.

The lack of intensity during the game seemed to carry over into the post-game conferences, at a time when the Giants should have shown anger or at least more emotion following such a disastrous loss.

Not that they didn’t seem to care, but they didn’t look like a team that was truly upset about losing, or hungry to bounce back and make a playoff run.

New York running back Brandon Jacobs was asked at the press conference if he thought the Giants played with emotion and passion, and he said they did not. “We didn’t want it bad enough the first time we played these guys,” Jacobs said. “And we didn’t want it bad enough this time.”

Jacobs later added that he couldn’t answer why the passion wasn’t there. “For whatever reason, why we came out and played the way we did, I can’t answer that,” Jacobs said. “We have two good teams that are coming up and we have to be on our feet.”

The responsibility of getting a team to play with emotion and passion should fall squarely on a coach’s shoulders, and it looks more and more like Tom Coughlin’s message isn’t getting through to his team like it once was.

Following the loss to the Redskins, coach Coughlin said he was extremely disappointed with the way his team played. “The responsibility comes back to me, and I accept it,” Coughlin noted. “I told the players ‘I expected to see more. I expected to see quality execution and quite frankly, we didn’t get much of that.”

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York resident and fan of both New York football teams. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

Sources

www.giants.com, Giants, press conference videos and player quotes

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Now that the New York Giants have ended their losing streak, they have a
clear path to the NFC East title.

The next step comes Sunday at home and the Giants will have to contend with
a number of injury problems as they try to avenge a season-opening defeat to the
Washington Redskins.

New York (7-6) held a two-game division lead after starting 6-2, then fell a
game behind Dallas thanks to a four-game slide. Eli Manning, however, guided the
Giants to two touchdowns in the final 3:14 to rally them to a 37-34 road victory
over the Cowboys last Sunday and a share of first place before Dallas’ win at
Tampa Bay on Saturday dropped New York one-half game back.

“We knew that we couldn’t afford to fall further behind Dallas when we went
into the game,” offensive lineman Kevin Boothe said. “We are in a playoff-type
atmosphere from here on out. We have a big division game this week and we have
to take it one game at a time and see what happens. We have to give Washington
our best shot.”

New York can clinch the division by winning one of its next two games along
with the regular-season finale at home against Dallas.

The Giants, though, are dealing with numerous injuries.

Pro Bowler Justin Tuck failed to record a tackle against the Cowboys and
could sit out with a toe injury while fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora could
miss a third straight game with a sprained ankle. Safety Kenny Phillips missed
the Dallas game with a sprained left knee.

Tuck and Umenyiora were both injured when they sat out a 28-14 loss at
Washington (4-9) in the opener. Rex Grossman continued his success against the
Giants with 305 yards passing and two touchdowns as the Redskins ended a
six-game slide in the series.

That loss didn’t stop Giants safety Antrel Rolle from saying earlier this
week that New York could beat Washington 99 out of 100 times.

“I know what the outcome of the game should be come Sunday,” Rolle said. “It
is up to us to go out there and put it on film and make sure the outcome is what
we plan.”

Three of Grossman’s six best games in terms of passing yards have come
against New York. He didn’t sound too worried about Rolle’s comments.

“It is the NFL and nobody is going to beat anyone 99 out of 100 times,”
Grossman said. “I am confident about where we are. We haven’t finished games
lately and we need to finish and everything should take care of itself.”

Grossman was sacked four times in the first meeting, twice by Jason
Pierre-Paul. The Giants defensive end had two more last week to bring his season
total to 12 1/2, and he blocked Dan Bailey’s tying field-goal attempt near the
end of regulation.

Pierre-Paul has come on strong after he registered 4 1/2 sacks in 2010 as a
rookie.

“I’m not thinking as much as I was last year,” Pierre-Paul said. “Last year,
I was on and off and I wasn’t sure about all of the calls so I was playing
slow.”

Pierre-Paul and the Giants’ pass rush will be looking at a patchwork
Washington offensive line that is far different from what they saw in Week 1.
Right tackle Jammal Brown missed last week’s 34-27 loss to New England with a
groin injury as Tyler Polumbus replaced him while left tackle Trent Williams
continues to serve his suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse
policy.

Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass against Washington in the opener -
one of two times that has happened this year. He recorded his third 400-yard
effort of the season last Sunday and is fourth in the league with a career-high
4,105 passing yards and sixth with 25 TD passes.

Manning has totaled 1,153 yards with seven touchdowns and three
interceptions over his last three games.

“Eli has taken it upon himself to throw the ball well, and exceptionally
well for the last three games,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. “But he’s
played well the whole year.”

A major reason why Manning’s numbers are up is that New York owns the NFL’s
worst rushing attack at 85.8 yards per game.

There is reason for optimism. With Ahmad Bradshaw suspended for the start of
last week’s game due to a violation of team rules, Brandon Jacobs gained a
season-high 101 yards on 19 carries with two scores.

“Nobody wants to hit that guy running like he’s running other than they have
to,” said Giants coach Tom Coughlin about Jacobs. “It’s the right message and
when you see him north and south as hard as he can go and the pile’s going
forward, we’re all cheering.”

Washington has the league’s second-worst rushing attack at 93.8 yards per
game, but rookie Roy Helu has reached 100 for three straight weeks. Helu had a
season-high 126 last week.

The New York Giants saved their season and took control of the NFC East wth Sunday’s 37-34 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

It Was Over When …

Jason Pierre-Paul blocked Dan Bailey’s 47-yard field goal with six seconds left. Bailey made his first kick, but it was negated when Giants coach Tom Coughlin called a timeout. Pierre-Paul blocked the second effort.

Turning Point Of The Game

There were several of these. The final one, though, was a failure by Dallas quarterback Tony Romo to connect with Miles Austin on a pass that would have sealed a Dallas victory. With Dallas leading 34-29 and facing a third-and-five at their own 25-yard line with 2:25 remaining Austin broke clear of Giants cornerback Aaron Ross for what should have been a game-clinching 75-yard touchdown pass. Instead, Romo overshot Austin and Dallas had to punt. The Giants then drove 58 yards for the game-winning score.

The Good

The tremendous work by Pierre-Paul, who finished with eight tackles, two sacked, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal … the 400-yard passing day by Eli Manning, who now has a record-setting 15 fourth-quarter touchdown passes this season and has led five fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories … The 101 yards rushing for Brandon Jacobs … The seven catches for 154 yards for Hakeem Nicks.

The Bad

Ahmad Bradshaw violating team rules and being benched for the first half by Coughlin.

The Ugly

The atrocious pass defense for both teams. The Cowboys blew a bunch of coverages while Manning was passing for 400 yards. The Giants did the same while Romo was passing for 321 yards and four touchdowns of his own … The fractured ankle suffered by DeMarco Murray, the tremendous rookie running back for the Cowboys.

Quotable

“We have a great quarterback,” running back Brandon Jacobs said. “If you ask me he’s the best in the business when our backs are against the wall and we need a score. He’s never let me down.

“I believe in him. I believe in our offense, I believe in our coaches and they got it done.”

— See the ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ game review, plus much more coverage at Big Blue View.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Eli Manning and the New York Giants finally have something to show for all their hard work — first place in the NFC East.

On the verge of being knocked to the edge of the playoff chase, Manning led the Giants to two touchdowns in the final 3:14 and Jason Pierre-Paul blocked a field goal as time expired, giving New York a 37-34 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

“Good to get that winning feeling again,” Manning said.

New York ended a frustrating four-game losing streak filled mostly with narrow losses to division leaders. The Giants (7-6) appeared headed to another setback when they were trailing 34-22 with 5:41 left, but a series of clutch plays on their part and meltdowns by Dallas reshaped the division race.

With three weeks left, these clubs are tied atop the NFC East. New York has the inside track and will host Dallas in a season-ending rematch on New Year’s Day.

The Cowboys lost their second straight, both in dramatic, frustrating fashion that involved missed kicks by rookie Dan Bailey, who’d been so good for so long this season. The really bad news for Dallas was running back DeMarco Murray breaking his right ankle, ending his record-setting rookie season.

Manning was 27 of 47 for 400 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once, on a tipped pass, and it led to a touchdown that appeared to put the game away for Dallas.

But Manning came back with a pair of touchdown drives. The first went 80 yards in eight plays, capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ballard. The New York defense had allowed Tony Romo to throw touchdown passes on the two previous possessions, but it forced a punt, and it was a short one. Then the Dallas defense had two penalties that helped scoot along a drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Brandon Jacobs, with D.J. Ware adding a 2-point conversion.

Romo hit Miles Austin for a pair of long gains that gave Bailey a chance to force overtime. He made a 47-yarder that ended up not counting because New York coach Tom Coughlin called a timeout. His second try was denied by Pierre-Paul, who already had contributed an early sack for a safety.

“Guys stepped up and made some big plays,” Manning said.