The “other” receivers ride into town once again tagged with second-class status. All anyone wants to know is what’s wrong with Randy Moss and Cris Carter. Few are clamoring about what is likely the best three-receiver combination in Giants history.
“I don’t think a lot of people respect our offense,” Ike Hilliard said. “If they want to downplay our talent, let them do so.”
There was plenty of that going around 10 months ago, when the Giants braced for the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. When the finishing touches of the 41-0 blowout were complete, it was Hilliard, Amani Toomer and Joe Jurevicius who performed like a high-wire act, with Moss and Carter placing a distant second in the play-making department.
Nearly a year later, the Giants are searching for an offensive rhythm but have had little problems with their pass-catchers, who are looking at Monday night’s rematch with the Vikings inside the Metrodome as perhaps the breakout game they’ve been waiting for.
“When Kerry [Collins] is playing like that, we feel we can do that a lot,” Toomer said of the title-game showing. “The way the game goes sometimes, we can’t really open it up, but when we get a team off balance, our offense has got all the tools to do it.”
Last year’s eruption was a nationally-televised coming-out party. Hilliard was sensational with a career-best 10 catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns, including a breathtaking 46-yarder less than two minutes into the game. Toomer wasn’t far behind with six catches for 88 yards and a touchdown to close out the scoring fest.
Everyone got into the act. Jurevicius scored, and, for goodness sakes, Ron Dixon caught two passes for 62 yards. That’s the last anyone has seen of him as a receiver.
Quietly, the Giants have taken off from that performance, although it’s been easy not to notice. Collins has 18 completions this season of more than 25 yards, second in the league to Daunte Culpepper’s 19. That long-range success would be more impressive if the Giants were reaching the end zone more often.
Of the 18 completions, only six have gone for touchdowns, with Hilliard the leader with TD grabs of 25, 27 and 27 yards.
