ATLANTA – Too much success in the preseason can lead to complacency, bad habits, a false sense of security. At least that’s what coaches preach after failure in the preseason.
Jim Fassel no longer has to worry about too much of a good thing. After a brilliant and glowing start, his Giants flamed out yesterday in losing to the Falcons 36-24 in a sloppy, mistake-ridden and injury-filled mess of a game inside the Georgia Dome that gave Fassel reason to be disgruntled.
“This exemplifies everything I don’t want out of this football team,” Fassel fumed afterward, and then promised changes in his practice routine once his club returns to Albany for the final week of training camp.
As if six turnovers – five lost fumbles – weren’t enough, the Giants saw their top two tight ends, Jeremy Shockey and Dan Campbell, go down like bowling pins on the same play, both with sprained left ankles.
The double jeopardy happened with 8:44 left in the first quarter. Kerry Collins looked deep to Shockey, running down the left side against cornerback Ashley Ambrose. Shockey was open, but Collins’ pass was underthrown, allowing Ambrose to come to a stop and get an interception.
Campbell hurt himself on the return and left the game for good. Shockey also hurt himself on the play and left for good when his left ankle “caved in on me” and stuck in the sticky artificial turf. X-rays of Shockey and Campbell’s ankles both came back negative.
“I was running at an angle and I changed directions real fast,” said Shockey, walking with an obvious limp. “I planted my right foot and turned my body and then when I planted my other foot it just kind of stuck. It’s not a real bad sprain, and I will be all right.”
The Giants also lost Clarence LeBlanc, their third safety, to a fractured left tibia in the fourth quarter.
Careless is one way to describe the way the Giant offense operated in the first half after a wonderful opening drive. Collins (10 of 15, 136 yards) tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Shockey and a 48-yarder to Ike Hilliard, but Collins also threw one interception and lost the ball twice on fumbles.
“Thank God it’s the preseason,” Michael Strahan said.
The Giants (2-1) in the first half turned the ball over five straight times, including twice on more special teams follies. A Rodney Williams punt from his own end zone was blocked by Keion Carpenter and rookie running back Delvin Joyce fumbled on a kickoff return. The turnovers set the Falcons (1-1) up for all 23 of their first-half points as the Giants trailed 23-14.
“It was just a stupid half of football,” Fassel said. “Everything we talked about, they didn’t do.”
To end a dismal half, kicker Owen Pochman was wide left on a routine 23-yard field goal. “A chip shot,” Fassel said.
Once again, the Giants’ starting offense came out and rolled through an impressive early series. The first time Collins got his hands on the ball, he engineered a nine-play, 77-yard drive, ended by Shockey’s 1-yard touchdown grab, which was punctuated by an emphatic spike by the rookie.
Collins set an NFL record last season with 23 fumbles, and that bad habit cropped up on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter. The first turnover came when Patrick Kerney stormed past guard Jason Whittle and blind-sided Collins for a sack, and the second came when the pocket collapsed and Collins never saw Brady Smith until it was too late.
