GIANT NOTES
One consistently troubling ingredient in the Giants’ 3-0 start is the special teams play, which has operated far below the standards set by the offense and defense. There have been coverage breakdowns, penalties and, in Sunday’s 14-7 victory in Chicago, a new problem sprouted like weeds. Brad Daluiso missed one field goal and had two other attempts blocked.
Jim Fassel said yesterday there were even more mistakes, as Jason Whittle’s snap on the first extra point was too low. Whittle also made a low snap on Daluiso’s second field-goal try, followed by a poor hold by Brad Maynard.
Blaming Larry Mac Duff, the special teams coach, is not the answer, Fassel said. After last season’s poor play on special teams, Fassel could have fired Mac Duff and replaced him with several qualified candidates, as Larry Pasquale and Bruce DeHaven – two longtime NFL assistants – were both available. Fassel opted to stick with Mac Duff and says he does not regret the decision.
“When something goes wrong, the first thing is it’s the coach’s fault,” Fassel said.
The special-teams units could be better stocked with more experienced players, Fassel explained, but to help prevent injuries to his key players, Fassel instructed Mac Duff to make do with an extremely young group.
“We’re going to play with young guys and live with some growing pains,” Fassel said.
Asked if he felt Mac Duff was receiving too much of the blame and was serving as a scapegoat, Fassel added, “To a degree,
yeah.”
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Three weeks into the season and only five teams have escaped with perfect records. The Giants and Jets are two of those teams. “Five undefeated teams and two of ’em are in New York,” Fassel said. “That’s pretty good.” … The Giants sustained one serious injury against the Bears. Rookie CB Ralph Brown suffered a lacerated kidney and will remain hospitalized in Chicago until Thursday. He’s expected to be out 6-8 weeks.
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Through three weeks, Tiki Barber (41-326) continues to lead the league in rushing, but his average dropped from 10 to eight yards per carry. The closest running back to Barber is Denver’s Mike Anderson, who has 318 yards. Barber also has four rushing TDs, surpassing the total of three he had in his first three seasons combined … Kerry Collins rose to second in the NFC with a passer rating of 98.9, trailing only Kurt Warner (101.3) … Here’s a rare double: The Giants are ranked first in the NFL in rushing defense (allowing 49 yards per game) and first in rushing offense (187.3 yards per game).
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Michael Strahan could not get over the size of James Williams, the Bears’ RT, who is listed at 6-7, 331 but appeared to tower over everyone else on the field. “The guy, he was not human,” Strahan said. “Christian [Peter] said his face looked like it was pouring out his helmet. This guy is called ‘Big Cat.’ He is truly a big cat.”
