MINNEAPOLIS – Their hearts and minds were filled with more than the usual excitement and anticipation of a normal pre-season opener. The Giants admitted as much last night, as they made no secret following a thorough 36-21 thrashing of the Vikings that their thoughts were with their head coach, Jim Fassel.
Thursday afternoon, after they boarded busses in Albany to take them to the airport, the Giants were informed by Fassel that he would not be making the trip because his mother, Dorothy, was in critical condition in Scottsdale, Ariz. The news shook the team and was clearly never far out of the minds of the players before, during and after the game.
“We talked about it before the game, that, hey, we’ve got to win this for Jim,” said Kent Graham, who excelled as the starting quarterback. “He was real emotional when he told us. You could tell it was really hurting him.”
The game operations ran smoothly, with offensive coordinator Jim Skipper and defensive coordinator John Fox dividing the coaching chores and Sean Payton, the first-year quarterbacks coach, calling the plays via signals to Skipper.
“I think Jim’s spirits were with us,” Skipper said.
“I think our guys wanted to see a smile on the Fassel family,” added Fox. “Our guys were motivated by it. We had them all in our prayers this morning.”
Dorothy Fassel remained in intensive care and in critical condition in a Scottsdale hospital.
*Mike Cherry got into the game as the third quarterback but did not throw a pass … Sean Bennett suffered a mild concussion in the third quarter but said afterward he did not have a headache. WR Joe Jurevicius, who left with a slightly pulled hamstring, said his leg was “a little twinge, nothing big.”
Overshadowed by the eye-opening play of the offense was a splendid job by the first-team defense, which did not allow a point in three Vikings possessions.