Eagles-Giants Live Blogging: Second Quarter

Two yards inside to Jacobs on a good run blitz; a toss left on second gets a yard with Jacobs running laterally. Third and 7 is a huge play from midfield, and Eli from the gun just misses Smith on a deep ball. Some pressure from a blitz, but neither Brown nor Dawkins was in good position, and the only person keeping the Eagles in this game right now is Eli. After the de rigeur great punt from Feagles and a nice coverage play from the gunner, the Eagles will start their next drive at their own 7 yard line, with 10 yards of total offense in the first quarter.

Can the offense do anything into the wind, when they did nothing with the wind? Dub gets a yard and puts the ball on the ground after the whistle. That might be his best run of the day. Joy. And then, a marginal intentional grounding call that Troy can't love enough for the safety. The offensive line is terrible so far this week, which, of course, is what happens when you don't have a bye, but still. Kill me. Eagles 7, Giants 5, and this offense can't play any worse, can they?

Rocca's free kick from the 20 is his best of the day, and the coverage is decent. The Giants will start at their own 32, with the wind, needing only the field goal now for the lead. If the Eagles want to win this game, it'd be nice if more than one unit contributes.

Ward's best run of the day is four yards on first. Pierce lobbying the ref for more help. Eli finds Boss short, and the spot gives the Giants a first down they probably don't deserve. It's 69 yards to 11, and a 2-to-1 time of possession, and Ward squirms out of backfield traffic for a 3 yard gain that makes me worried about the fatigue factor. On second and 7, Eli has all day but nearly throws a pick to Mikell; a flag on Bradley negates the play and gives the Giants another first. This game is slipping away fast.

From the 49, Eli finds Boss for 21, and that was easy as well; Bradley, like every other Eagle defender, struggles to cover the tight end. From the 28, Jacobs is nearly horse-collared on the right side, but goes down with no flag and no gain. Second and 10 from the 28 has Eli calling time, the Giants' first. The idea that the Eagles are leading in this game with 11 offensive yards, 24 minutes into the game, kind of staggers the imagination, but what the hey... wasn't this the early game yesterday, too?

3.9 yards to 0.9 yards per play. Wow. On second and 10 from the gun, Eli has time and Hixon open, but once again, the QB fails Big Blue. Third and 10 is a big play, of course, and Eli goes to the gun with another one of those plays where the clock shows zero and there is no flag. I love those plays. A badly designed screen is incomplete, and Carney's try from 46 is wide left. Useful, that. Eagles hold the 7-5 lead and have non-safety field position with 8:53 left in the half.

From the 36, Buck has no gain. This is not a recording. At least it's running some clock. A quick hook to Celek gains 5, and that's a tremendous play for this offense so far today. Third and five requires a timeout, because calling plays crisply is just one of those things that we don't do very often. From the gun, Don finds Smith and a decent spot, and the chains are moved. He was in no way open and Don got crunched, but there's a reason he's the best QB in our franchise history; he makes plays like that fairly often. Phew.

A toss to Westbrook gets 2 as Don swaps helmets; maybe that was the issue with all of the sucky plays up to now. On second, Don doesn't have his chinstrap buckled -- more equipment worries -- as Dub finally gets a hole and goes for 7+. On third and short, BUCK IS A MAN, and converts inside. Huge. Five minutes left in the half and clock running into the wind.

From the Giants 42, Don stumbles his way back to Dub, who gets a yard; dangerous. On second down after four straight runs, Don can't hook up with DJ despite time; into the wind, everything is short, which makes sense. Don is 4 of 8 for 18 yards and leading. Unreal. From the gun on third, Don throws an Arm Punt Pick that Dockery collects at the 20; it's not good by any means, but under pressure, he just couldn't get the ball far enough to DJ to have a chance. Also, I don't really trust Rocca and the coverage team to pin the Giants deep, so I've seen worse picks in my life.

From the 20, Jacobs nearly changes everything with a 24-yard run where an arm tackle at the ankles saves the touchdown. Gahhh. Ward gets five on the right side, and the defense doesn't look ready on either of those runs. Under three minutes left in the half. Eli has all day to find Boss, and when Bradley falls down, that's even easier. It's good for 25 yards, field goal position, and teeth grinding. Jacobs has a big hole on the last play before the two-minute warning, and he pushes Bradley backwards for extra ground and momentum. Let's just say that the All-Pro selection isn't looking good on him right now.

The Eagles get a break from the refs, who deny the Jacobs run before the two-minute warning. Coughlin is in full Rassin' Frassin' Mode over it, of course. From the 26, Eli from the gun throws the quick screen to Hixon for no gain, but offsides on the defense (Juqua Parker, who hasn't been good for a while) negates, which makes Troy and Joe happy that Andy Reid's trickery on the 2-minute Jacobs run review has been thwarted.

From the 21, Eli is high and bad to Toomer, who can't bring it in one-handed. He's 7 of 14 for 83 yards with the pick, and that's with low pressure and some running game, at home. Heh. From the gun again, the deflection is high but not controlled, and Mikell could have picked it as well. You've got to make those plays, defense. Third and five with 1:45 left prompts Eli to use his second timeout, and if this game wasn't for high stakes, it would be Less Than Interesting.

Big play here, and from the gun, Ward collects the quick screen but can't get the first. The Eagles call their second timeout as if they have a functioning offense. Coughlin thinking over his options, and he'll try the field goal from 35, with the wind. He gets it, and the Giants lead 8-7 with 1:33 in the half.

A big return might be the Eagles' best chance, seeing how they have 34 yards. Demps tries hard and runs a long way, but he can only get it to the 25, and I'm not filled with confidence here, unless the 2-minute drill is good.

From the gun on first, Don has time and hits Celek in the hands; he drops it. On second from the gun, DJ turns a short crossing route into a first down to the Eagles 38. That was helpful. 1:13 left. Don gets it to Avant for 5. Don finds Dub for another short cross, and he reaches the sideline with another first. 47 seconds left, with the ball at the 49. Don finds Avant for a big 15 yard middle route despite pressure, and another 10-20 yards would get this in conceivable field goal range. The final time out comes with 40 seconds left in the half, with the ball at the Giants 34. From the gun, Don gets DJ on a 9-yard out and clock stoppage; useful. 36 seconds left. From the 25, Don throws it away as all of the underneath routes are covered.

Fox shows that the Eagles were second in the NFL in points scored in the last two minutes. An inside handoff to Dub moves the chains and gets it to the 20; Don clocks it with 18 seconds left. In normal circumstances, you'd try the end zone now, but this ain't normal, and Don scrambles to the 12. A useful flag is against the Giants to add another five yards, and with 10 seconds left, the Eagles have a first down at the 7. One try for the end zone? Only if you don't give up the field goal... and DJ can't get the feet down on a ball that's too far. Damn, that would have been huge. From 25 yards into the wind, Akers makes it, and the half ends with an Eagles lead, 10-8. Two more quarters of grind await, and the Eagles will get the ball to start the second half.