In case you haven’t noticed, a football is not round. It comes to a point at both ends, which is why when you try to bounce it on the grass or the turf, it deflects this way or that way but almost never straight back up to you.
In the second quarter of the long-awaited first victory of the season for the Giants on Monday night, Peyton Hillis ran for three yards before Vikings safety Jamarca Sanford reached in and yanked the ball out of Hillis’ grasp. The ball hit the turf and bounced right back to Hillis, who pounced on it. No harm, no foul for the Giants.
In the third quarter, the Giants were in what has been their typical scenario this season — third-and-10 — when Eli Manning made a predictable and ill-advised throw, targeting and tossing to Victor Cruz. Cornerback Marcus Sherels diagnosed the play perfectly, broke on the pass and stepped forward for what should have been a gift interception and 40-yard pick-six for a touchdown. But Sherels dropped the ball.
Later in the third quarter, Manning stuck the ball into the midsection of rookie running back Michael Cox, but the ball didn’t stick. As it hit the ground, Cox fell on it. Officially it was ruled a fumble by Manning and a rush for no gain.
So it went for the Giants in their 23-7 victory. At long last, their offense did not commit a turnover — Rueben Randle did lose a fumble on a punt return — after committing a ridiculous 23 of them in their first six games. But with a different bounce here, a different bounce there, Manning could have thrown three interceptions and the Giants could have lost two fumbles on offense, which would have put them near or beyond their four-turnover average.
Nitpicking? Not really. Manning was more careful with the ball, but his arm at times still betrayed him. The next time, maybe the corner doesn’t drop the ball and maybe the ball doesn’t bounce right back into the arms of Hillis or Cox. Offensively, the Giants won a game because their defense pitched a shutout vs. the Vikings, because they were fortunate and because they were actually able to sustain drives long enough to get three field goals from Josh Brown after going only 1-for-4 in the red zone.
Other observations from the Giants’ first victory of the season:
— Don’t go starting a candlelight vigil for Justin Tuck’s career just yet. He was an active and powerful presence all night, and his 14-yard sack of Josh Freeman pushed the Vikings out of field-goal range in the third quarter. The Giants also got excellent push up the middle, especially from massive Shaun Rogers, who got four of the Giants’ season-high 13 quarterback hits and continues to be surprisingly nimble for such a big, big man.
— The most impressive aspect of Hillis’ debut with the Giants was that he was on the field for 48 snaps — that’s 65 percent of the offensive plays. Hillis actually looked stronger later in the game, a good sign moving forward. His best contribution was the solid pass protection he provided when asked to stay in and block for Manning, which shows that a 245-pound running back can make a difference.
— When Tom Coughlin during a Tuesday afternoon conference call said “I’m disappointed in the majority of our special teams play,’’ it was not a direct challenge to special-teams coordinator Tom Quinn. But it might as well have been. The coverage breakdowns on the 86-yard punt return given up for a touchdown was, in Coughlin’s view, “a fundamental error that should never happen.’’ Instilling fundamentals is the responsibility of the coach. Something is not getting through. The Giants have allowed three punt returns for touchdowns in their first seven games and, wouldn’t you know it, old friend DeSean Jackson of the Eagles is up next, licking his chops at a chance to take one back against this lousy coverage unit.
— The Vikings got plenty of pressure on Manning right up the middle, which is a bad sign for the Giants, who again are going to have to live without center David Baas, who cannot stay healthy. Baas missed the opener coming off his assorted off-season surgeries. He started two games and then missed the next three with a neck injury. He lasted one long series against the Vikings before going down with a knee issue that is definitely going to keep him out of the next game in Philadelphia. His replacement, Jim Cordle, showed signs of improvement last week in Chicago, but the pressure up the middle is going to be a constant battle.
— Hakeem Nicks had three dropped passes Monday night and the natives are getting restless. Nicks was targeted as team-high 10 times in the game and came away with only two receptions for 28 yards. While reaching out for a pass that hit off his hand, he looked as if he might have re-injured the left middle finger he dislocated earlier this season. “If he did he certainly kept it to himself,’’ said Coughlin, adding, “It certainly was a ball off his fingertips. I’m sure Hakeem would be the first to tell you a couple of these balls he should have caught.’’
— Remember the dramatic playoff-clinching victory in a Buffalo rain, wind and snowstorm two days before Christmas in 2007? Bills quarterback Trent Edwards hit 34.6 percent of his passes (nine of 26) that day. Josh Freeman’s miserable showing for the Vikings (20 of 53, 37.7 percent) was the lowest completion percentage against the Giants since then.