BALTIMORE — Hakeem Nicks was at his locker, where he was told this was the first time in his NFL career he was held without a catch.
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” the Giants wideout said, almost interrupting.
It’s hardly an enjoyable topic to speak about, but after playing in 57 games as a pro, including the playoffs, Nicks endured his first personal shutout. He didn’t catch a single pass in the Ravens’ 33-14 rout of the Giants last night, and he was only targeted three times in the game.
It was almost a double shutout for the Giants’ two best offensive weapons — Nicks and Victor Cruz. While Nicks had zero catches, Cruz managed just three for 21 yards. There was nothing substantive from one of the NFL’s best wideout tandems against a Ravens defense missing its best corner in Lardarius Webb.
“I think as a secondary, that’s the best we’ve played all year,” Ravens corner Cary Williams said.
Nicks was clearly upset afterward, as the normally accessible fourth-year man spoke only briefly, saying — politely — that reporters might be better off interviewing him later and that he “might have more to say after I watch the film.” He added, “I don’t really like talking when I’m frustrated.”
But Nicks was baffled as to why he was absent yesterday. He said the Ravens’ defensive schemes were not out of the ordinary, and when asked if he and Eli Manning were not on the same page, he replied, “I don’t know what it was.”
Either way, Nicks has not managed a 100-yard game, or even an 80-yard game, since Week 2.
Hampered by knee and foot woes, Nicks missed Weeks 3-through-5 but played in the Giants’ last 10 games. In that span, he has caught just 39 passes for 455 yards and two touchdowns.
While Nicks was blanked yesterday, Cruz didn’t catch his first pass until there were 28 seconds left in the second quarter, a 3-yard completion. He added grabs of 7 and 11 yards in the second half, but that was it.
“It’s just the ball didn’t come my way today,” Cruz said.
Manning threw for just 150 yards — remarkable, considering how badly the Giants were losing. No Giant had more than 43 yards receiving, and none caught more than four passes.
Said coach Tom Coughlin, “We did nothing offensively.”
Especially Nicks and Cruz.