T-Rock's Take on the Giants

Tom Rock answers your Giants questions in a live chat today at 2 p.m.

I was chatting with Barry Cofield yesterday about what the defense focused on during the bye. He said one of the things the staff pointed out was the correlation between penalties and scoring drives. Barry didn't remember the exact numbers, he said, but it was pretty glaring.

I put those numbers together and yes, they are glaring.

The Giants have allowed nine scoring drives so far this season. Six of them were helped out by a Giants penalty on defense. Three of those penalties were early in the drive and may or may not have had a direct influence on what happened. But three others were fairly significant: The facemask call against Jay Alford that set up Washington's only TD at the end of the first half, the facemask against Justin Tuck as he made a third-down sack against the Rams, and the pass interference call against Kevin Dockery on third down against the Rams.

If you take away the drives in which the Giants committed a penalty, they've allowed only one touchdown and two field goals this season. And that one touchdown was the ghastly 25-yard run by Perry in the second quarter of the Bengals game.

Just for comparison's sake, the Giants have 20 penalties for 179 yards in three games (that's on offense and defense). That's 6.67 penalties per game and 59.67 yards per game. Last year they averaged 4.8 penalties and gave up 40.75 yards per game.

Don't forget, live chat today at 2 p.m. See you then.

Just received this murky statement from NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis:

"We are in the process of completing a settlement relating to several issues involved in the Burress matter.”

Several issues? What does that mean? Does it include the domestic disturbance calls now and not just the missed Monday session?

Richard Berthelsen, the NFLPA's acting executive director, was at Giants Stadium today for a previously scheduled meeting and told reporters that the settlement was all but finalized. "Everything is pretty much put to bed," he said this morning, adding that since the union and league were working toward a settlement there would be no grievance and no arbitrator involved.

He didn't make it sound as if there were several issues that needed working out at the time.

First it was Bradshaw spending part of the summer in the slammer. Then Plaxico gets suspended and a few domestic disturbance calls come to the surface that could (could) catch the attention of the NFL's personal conduct policy enforcers.

And now this.

Apparently Danny Ware was arrested this weekend while visiting his alma mater, Georgia. According to the report from the Athens Banner-Herald: "Officers arrested the world champion New York Giants running back on an alcohol charge as he joined other Georgia Bulldog fans who wallowed in the aftermath of Saturday night’s defeat to the Crimson Tide of Alabama."

Ware had a blood-alcohol content of 0.152 and was charged with pedestrian under the influence and pedestrian in the roadway. He posted a $500 cash bond, the story says, and was released on Sunday morning.

I forgot Manningham! He wasn't at practice this morning. Coughlin said he's suffering from the flu and has been told to stay away from the other players so he doesn't spread his cooties. I couldn't figure out how I missed not counting him at practice, until I saw David Tyree and remembered that with him on PUP they have 62 heads, not 61.

Tough break for Mario, who always seems to be in the bat hwhen opportunity knocks. Look at training camp for Example A.

Coughlin said he'd consider dressing two kickers for the game on Sunday. He said he's done that before. They want to make sure Tynes is 100,000,000 percent healthy before they even think about letting Carney go.

As for the locker room, it was filled with those obligatory post-bye questions about why the team has struggled after its weeks off in the past. They are 1-3 under Coughlin in those situations. While there were no theories passed around, the players did point out that the Seahawks are coming off the bye as well, so maybe there won't be any advantage to anyone. They all said it was a crsip practice. In fact, just about everyone I spoke with used that word: Crisp. It was more like a cereal commercial than a football locker room.

The other big question was about them being in first place. Their collective reaction: Doesn't matter. "If this was December, we'd be ecstatic," Pierce said. But after only three games, the Giants aren't putting any stock in their first-place status. Especially considering that they were never in first place last season and wound up winning the Super Bowl.

Rock: Live on the blog Tuesday at 2 p.m.

That's right. The Boss might be performing at halftime of the big game in Tampa this February, but you don't have to wait that long to chat with me. After the bye, we'll return to our regular weekly live chats this week as part of Newsday's Football Tuesday. Boland has a live chat on the Jets at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, assuming he's done counting Brett's TDs and Warner's passing yardage by then.

That's right, this is post number 1,000!

The Stapler took care of the first 600 or so of them, and I've been here since April with a few handoffs to Boone and Strang.

Anyway, enough with the balloons and the marching bands. We had a football practice today.

Looked like everyone who is not suspended was at practice. The only guy on the injury bike was Jerome McDougle.

Some of the players had new adornments on their uniforms: red hand towels dangling from their shorts. Most of them had their initials and numbers printed on the towels, but a few had nicknames. The most glaring nickname: KIWEEZY.

The defense was certainly focused on turnovers for the first part of practice that we saw. They started out with strip drills where the first guy makes the hit and the second guy goes after the ball. Then the LBs were working on fumble recoveries and later interceptions. The DBs worked on INTs and returning them with laterals.

Meanwhile, Hixon took the place of Plax with the starting offense. No surprise there. The RBs worked extensively on catching passes. The best of the bunch might be Hedgecock, who showed some good hands. Jeff Feagles was throwing the passes to the RBs. Nice, tight spirals. I guess if Brett can do what he did at his age yesterday, maybe Jeff still has a chance.

We get Coughlin and locker room in a little while. Be back with some nuggets from there for post number 1,001. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this thought:

Don't act disappointed -- you never really had a chance.

That's where the Giants are right now.

All alone in first place in the NFC East.

All alone as the only unbeaten team in the conference.

And, with the Jets taking a bye week, baseball season over in NY (in terms of games being played at least; around here it's never really over), and hockey and hoops not yet in gear, well, the Giants are all alone as the only active major sports team in New York.

(I say major, but as a Cablevision employee I must remind you of the Liberty and Shock playing in the WNBA playoffs tonight.)

That means for the first time since, oh, probably the middle of February, the Giants should be front and center in the minds of NY sports fans.

Game 4 of the post-preseason (which is what we've taken to calling these first six regular season games before the REAL tests begin on Oct. 26) is Sunday against the Seahawks.

The team has its first practice coming off the bye in a few minutes. I'll be back to update you on any changes that have taken place since last we saw the team on the field as well as a headcount to make sure everyone made it back from their break.

In the meantime, Giants fans, enjoy your alone time.

My buddy and neighbor Joe just passed by and stopped for a front lawn chat. He wanted to know what's going on with Plaxico. I told him it looks like he'll be fined about $177 grand and he'll be suspended for the Seahawks game.

"Wow, they really brought the hammer down on him," Joe said.

I tried to put that in perspective and told him that the fine is "only" a one week salary for the player. Joe couldn't believe it. I think he still lives in a world where Willie Mays comes out to play stickball with the kids from the neighborhood and Whitey Ford hops on the subway to and from the ballpark.

Anyway, the point is that the one thing that has been pretty non-negotiable in this situation is the suspension for the game. The Giants want to make a point that if you miss practice or meetings, you don't play. It's the same rule I was under when I was a kid playing in Levittown West Little League. It's nice to know that those same rules still apply to the bigger stage of the NFL.

Even if, as Joe pointed out, that $177 thousand could pay off his mortgage and then some.

UPDATE: By the way, poster Adam made the point that it would be a nice gesture if instead of fighting the fine, Plaxico fought the suspension, gave up the two weeks' salary, and played in the Seattle game for free. Nice thought, Adam. You and Joe can go wait on the street to shag flies with Willie Mays!

Not as quiet of a bye week as I would have imagined, but the drama seems to be drawing to a close as we get ready to plop in front of the TV on Sunday and actually just watch a football game or two.

There are numerous reports that the suspension of Plaxico Burress is close to being settled by the NFLPA and the NFL (you should know this is not a negotiation between Burress and the Giants).

"Still in discussions," NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis told me a few ninutes ago.

Apparently the deal they're working on would cut the fine in half from its original $235 grand, still have Burress miss the Seattle game, and not allow the Giants to touch his signing bonus. The suits who are working on an agreement could still be at it during the weekend -- "Not sure" Francis said when I asked if they'd take a break until Monday -- but it doesn't sound like we'll have anything concrete until early next week.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in Dick’s name to the New York Chapter of the NFL Alumni Association or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). Written condolences can be made at www.mem.com

So says Justin Tuck.

The Giants defensive end was asked about the Plaxico Burress situation a few minutes ago after the Giants wrapped up their final practice before heading off to their various destinations, whether it be to some other part of the country or to the friendly confines of their living rooms.

Usually, most athletes and coaches will say distractions can affect preparation and concentration on the task at hand. Tuck, however, went in the other direction.

"You know, sometimes distractions are a good thing. In this situation man, like I said, we just going to rally behind it and play football. Sometimes distractions can be a good thing because it keeps your mind off some things that might just ... it's just tough being in this situation because of the fact that you love your teammate. But obviously it was some situations where he and the coaching staff got into it and they didn't really appreciate and they felt this was the measure they needed to take and they took it.

"We are down one of or stars and that makes other people aware of the fact that they've got to step up."

Antonio Pierce, who is good friends with Burress, said he spoke with the suspended wide receiver. So, how's Plax doing?

"He's in high spirits," he said. "He's excited to get back, ready to get back. Hopefully, he'll be back sooner than later."

Not that one thing necessarily has anything to do with the other (and not that it doesn't, we just don't know yet), but there's a report on northjersey.com that says cops were called to Plaxico Burress' house twice in recent months, each time at the request of his wife for what is called a domestic disturbance. One of them reportedly included some physical contact, while the other had him playing loud music.

Just got back from the locker room and Tom Coughlin's press conference.

Here's part of what Coughlin had to say about Burress' suspension.

"I think we are all saddened by it. But we want to make sure the message is loud and clear. We have had success here because of the team concept. And the team concept means basically that everyone is accountable and responsible and that we don’t let other guys down. And that is what we are trying to do. We are trying to acknowledge one of our guys had a violation of a team rule and we want to bring him back on very good terms. We try to do this the right way."

Coughlin wouldn't say who would take Burress' spot in the lineup, but Domenik Hixon was out there lining up opposite of Amani Toomer during the portion of practice that was open to the media. Eli Manning kind of alluded to Hixon getting the nod when he was asked if he was mad at Burress.

"My job is to get ready for Seattle," Manning said. "I don't have any bad feelings. When he gets back, we will come back and we will get going again. But for Seattle, we will have a new guy. We will have Hixon playing 'X' and obviously he has proved that he can make plays and can do a good job for us."

We dialed up Burress' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, on the phone for a conference call and Rosenhaus would not go into the reason why Burress failed to properly communicate with the team. He was asked why Burress was not around Monday. Tuesday was a regularly scheduled off day.

"It’s a private matter and it has to do with Plax and his family," Rosenhaus said. "He had some responsibility that he needed to take care of as it relates to his family. The most unfortunate thing here is there was a lack of communication. In talking to Plax, he feels bad about that obviously and it’s something that we can’t do anything about now."

Rosenhaus went on to say that he's contacted the NFLPA to file a grievance because he thinks the penalty is excessive and wants Burress reinstated ASAP.

"We have to respect their decision, but we don’t agree with it. And as a result we have spoken to the NFL Players Association and Richard Bertlesen, the executive director and we’ve consulted with them and asked if we can request an immediate hearing to get Plaxico reinstated. Although we do acknowledge that there was an infraction here and a violation of team rules, it’s not something that we think is tantamount for Plaxico being suspended from the team for these two weeks, especially the ball game."

This bears watching.

Plaxico Burress has been suspended.

Burress didn't report for work on Monday and did not return messages left for him Monday or Tuesday, and the Giants aren't pleased one bit about it. General manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin met with Burress this morning and informed him of their decision to suspend him.

"We had a meeting this morning," Reese just told us, "and it is what it is."

That's the extent of Reese's comments. He didn't have to much to say beyond the official statement that was released, underscoring that Burress would be allowed back with the team on Oct. 6.

We'll get to talk to Tom Coughlin after practice about 12:30 or so and then the locker room will be open afterward. We'll be back then with some reaction from the head coach and some of Burress' teammates.

Now it's somebody else's turn to write the story: Are the Saints better with or without Jeremy Shockey?

Sorry about the rather long blog blackout. Was working on a story about Jets punter Ben Graham's life after football. Now it's about his life between football, a fun few days away from Mangini.

I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Just a lot of things to get in order for the bye. I'll be in and out during the week, but Rod Boone will be around to fill the gaps. Think of him as your very own Dave Tollefson.

A couple of thoughts after rewatching the game this morning:

Holy cow! It wasn't quite as nerve-wracking watching the end of regulation from the booth, but how do the Bengals get that far down the field and NOT take a shot at the end zone. I mentioned in my game story that the tackle by Butler and Phillips on that last offensive snap was a game-saving stop. I thought I was over-playing it when I wrote that, but I'll stand by it now.

Bad defense against the run in the first half, particularly on that 25-yard TD run between Michael Johnson and Fred Robbins. Robbins looked like he was held a little bit, but somebody's gotta shed a block there.

Speaking of Robbins, what an up and down game. Penalties, sacks, fingertip deflections on field goals. And still, it's hard to believe the guy leads the team in sacks with four. If he's going to be doing this all year, he'd better come up with better dances. I did like the Kiwi bird shape with his hands after his sack.

Sticking with the defense, I spoke with Bryan Kehl about that play when he was caught running off the field and Pierce had to take an encroachment penalty to stop the Bengals from taking a shot at a 10-man defense. Kehl said he was confused by the calls because he didn't catch the hand signals. He was trying to figure out where he belonged and when one of the players yelled that he was the "nickel right" Kehl thought he had to get off the field or be hit with having 12 men out there. Turns out the player was identifying himself and not the formation. "I just wasn't paying attention," Kehl said.

Coughlin said Aaron Ross suffered a shoulder injury late in the game, although he said he doesn't think it's a chronic condition (Ross missed time last year with a shoulder). He said that with the extra week off, Ross will probably be good to go against the Seahawks.

So, too, will Lawrence Tynes, apparently, although Coughlin said he might keep John Carney around a little longer just to make sure everything is 100 percent with Tynes. "Until we are completely convinced that Lawrence is ready to go and is right where he should be and would be," Coughlin said of when he would have to make a decision to release Carney. "If other than kicking in game situations he has progressed to the point where we think he should be, that would be the time to make the call. And I would say right now that is the not the time."

Coughlin said there wasn't enough evidence to challenge the near TD catch by Plaxico Burress in the back of the end zone -- I thought at the time it was worth a shot -- and added that even after watching the coaches' tape he couldn't tell if both feet were inbounds. The catch by Toomer down the left sideline, though, was more conclusive and Coughlin said the tape showed he had both feet in, as was called on the field.

Finally, you can stop by to see Eli Manning tomorrow in midtown Manhattan as he (or rather his likeness) will be unveiled at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum at 5 p.m.

He's out because of an injury, I'm being told. It wasn't severe enough for him to miss any time in practice this week, and so the Giants didn't have to list him on the injury report. But it's apparently enough for the Giants to rest him this afternoon. Call it the NY Times Curse.

We used to have such a curse at Newsday. Not so much "we" and I. I think there were three straight weeks last season on the Jets when I wrote about a player for the Saturday paper only to show up on Sunday and find him inactive. Got to be that guys were afraid to talk to me. I was like The Turk of the media. Oh well. At least those stories hold up for a few hours.

Here are the guys who are out for the Giants:

K Lawrence Tynes
CB Terrell Thomas
CB R.W. McQuarters
RB Danny Ware
LB Jonathan Goff
OL Adam Koets
WR Mario Manningham
DE Jerome McDougle

Bit of a surprise with McDougle out and Tollefson in at defensive end. And Tynes, who as you loyal readers of this blog know was out on the field kicking field goals a little earlier, is out. John Carney gets at least one more game in a Giants uniform.

For the Bengals, starting CB Johnathan Joseph and TE Ben Utecht are out. Starting safety Dexter Jackson is out, but he'd already been ruled as such.

Good afternoon Giants enthusiasts! Welcome to Week 3 in the NFL!

I'm Chris Mascaro and I'll be bringing you all of today's live game action, as the Giants (2-0) welcome the Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) to the Meadowlands.

Last year at this time, the Giants were 0-2 and needed a goal-line stand in Washington to salvage their season. Yet this year, the Giants are sitting pretty at 2-0, with no games against a team with a winning record until Week 8 in Pittsburgh.

The Giants have cruised to an undefeated start behind a defense that has allowed just 20 points through the first two games (last year, that number was 80). Justin Tuck has turned into one of the best defensive ends in the league, the linebackers are flying to the football and the secondary is keeping deep threats at bay. But let's be honest, the opposing offenses the first two weeks aren't exactly the greatest shows on turf.

Anyway, let's switch gears to the Bengals, which have plenty of issues, including an identity crisis. Carson Palmer has yet to throw a touchdown pass, while running back Chris Perry already has four fumbles. And that guy with the funny Spanish name? Just five catches for 59 yards in the first two games (losses to Baltimore and Tennessee).

The problem for the Bengals is that they seem to play right into the Giants' strengths. The Bengals can't protect the quarterback (Palmer has been sacked three times this season) and the Giants rush the passer very well (seven team sacks already). The Bengals can't stop the run (they have allowed an average of 203 yards per game on the ground), while the Giants thrive off their potent rushing attack (354 yards through two games). The signs point to an easy Giants' win heading into the bye week.

With that said, let's get to the keys to today's game...

1. Don't let the Bengals hang around. The Rams closed the Giants' lead to 20-13 early in the fourth quarter last week before New York cruised to a 41-13 victory. All this week, the Giants have been trying to convince themselves the Bengals are good. Because if Cincy actually gets rolling, then comes some of the nonsense that may distract the Giants from the task at hand. So bottom line: they want to bury the Bengals early, which is certainly possible. The game went into overtime, so this mission failed.

2. Stand tall Eli. One of the things the Bengals actually do well is bat down passes. They have 11 pass deflections, including four by Jonathan Joseph and another three by Leon Hall (although Joseph is out today with an injured ankle). Opposing defenses always seem to get their hands on Eli Manning's passes (though he has just one INT). If the Bengals can turn those batted balls into turnovers, they can keep this game close. The Joseph injury hurts though. Eli had a ball tipped at the line in overtime that was almost picked off after floating like a duck. Could have been a game-altering turnover.

3. Don't fall into the trap. I believe we haven't even come close to seeing the Giants at their full potential. This game is a typical "trap game," as the Giants are looking forward to a week off next Sunday while facing a team that has struggled mightily. The Giants would be remiss to not nip the Bengals in the bud early on. The Giants trailed for the first time all season.

4. Pay homage to Yankee Stadium. So you probably heard the old ballpark in the Bronx is hosting its last game today. And that the Giants played a famous game there. What's the correlation really? I don't know. I ran out of keys to the game because the Bengals really stink and this game should be a blowout. No blowout, but the Giants improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2000. That's all that counts.

Here are the inactives for today's game, courtesy of Giants' beat writer Tom Rock. John Carney will get the kicking duties yet again, while Domenik Hixon will return punts for a second straight week.

Okay, plenty more to talk about today, so let's get the comments going in the chat box below! And be sure to vote on the poll questions (which continuously scroll on the bottom of the chat box)!

I'll be back with updates after each quarter.

We're about 15 minutes from football on CBS!

Recap of the 1st Quarter:
Bengals 3, Giants 0

*The Giants are trailing for the first time this year.

Bengals' first scoring drive: 12 plays, 59 yards, 6:20
Scoring play: Shayne Graham 22-yard field goal
Key play: Palmer scrambled for 15 yards on a 3rd-and-10 from the Giants' 20

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Steve Smith made two catches for 13 yards in the first quarter. Nothing spectacular, but it's a good sign for the Giants to get him involved early.
-Fred Robbins and Corey Webster each recorded a sack of Palmer.

Players who struggled:
-Jacobs had just nine yards on five carries and couldn't convert a 3rd-and-1.
-Jeff Feagles put his first punt into the end zone, something he usually doesn't do.
-Darcy Johnson was flagged for a boneheaded block in the back penalty on Hixon's first punt return.
-Robbins had trouble with the hard snap counts, with two encroachment penalties.

What to watch for in the second quarter: Can the Giants' offense get in gear?

End of the 2nd Quarter:
Bengals 13, Giants 10

Giants' first scoring drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 5:02
Scoring play: Jacobs 1-yard run (Carney kick)
Key play: A defensive pass interference penalty on David Jones on a 3rd-and-7 from near midfield gave the Giants a 1st-and-10 on the Bengals' 36.

Bengals' second scoring drive: 8 plays, 74 yards, 3:16
Scoring play: Chris Perry 22-yard run (Graham kick)
Key play: Antonio Chatman made a nice run and catch for 25 yards on 2nd-and-10 from their own 47.

Giants' second scoring drive: 7 plays, 51 yards, 3:25
Scoring play: Carney 24-yard field goal
Key play: Manning found Kevin Boss for 26 yards on 2nd-and-8 from their own 45

Bengals' third scoring drive: 13 plays, 66 yards, 3:23
Scoring play: Graham 30-yard field goal
Key play: Palmer to Houshmandzadeh for 26 yards on 3rd-and-7 from their own 35

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Boss made the first two catches for a Giants tight end this season for 47 yards.
-Derrick Ward had 23 yards on two carries, including a 22-yarder to help setup the field goal. He also made three catches for 26 yards.
-Barry Cofield chased down Palmer and just tripped him up for the Giants' third sack of the game. Kiwanuka added a fourth later in the quarter.
-Reuben Droughns had a nice 34-yard kick return to give the Giants good field position on their field-goal drive.

Players who struggled:
-Plaxico Burress dropped an easy pass that would have given the Giants a first down.
-Kevin Dockery gave too much space to Chatman on his 25-yard catch, allowing him to spring free to the Giants' 26.
-Tuck couldn't get onsides fast enough on the Bengals' two-minute drive and was penalized five yards.

**Chad Johnson (Ocho Cinco?) has just one catch for six yards (although it did go for a first down) in the first half. Kenny Phillips knocked the ball out of Johnson's hands the only other time he was thrown to.

What to watch for in the second half: Can the Giants avoid the upset?

Recap of the 3rd Quarter:
Giants 13, Bengals 13

Giants' third scoring drive: 9 plays, 30 yards, 3:38
Scoring play: Carney 46-yard field goal (The 20-year vet is a perfect 7-for-7 on field goals on the season)
Key play: Hixon 12-yard reception from Manning on 3rd-and-10 from their own 42

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Hixon has three catches for 29 yards, and fought hard to pickup a first down on the field-goal drive (see above).
-Sam Madison and Dockery each made a tackle for a loss.
-Dave Tollefson picked up the sixth sack of Palmer on the afternoon. Five different players have recorded at least one.

Players who struggled:
-Eli Manning has completed just 14-of-24 passes for 147 yards on the afternoon.
-Jacobs looks slow hitting the holes. The Giants may want to go with the quicker Ward or shiftier Ahmad Bradshaw in the fourth quarter.

What to watch for in the fourth quarter: Can the Giants get to 3-0?

End of Game, Giants win 26-23 on Carney's 22-yard field goal in overtime.
Giants: 3-0
Bengals: 0-3

Giants' fourth scoring drive: 9 plays, 30 yards, 3:38
Scoring play: Carney 46-yard field goal (he's now 8-of-8 on the season)
Key play: Steve Smith's 15-yard reception on a swing pass from Manning on 3rd-and-14 from their own 49

Bengals' fourth scoring drive: 12 plays, 82 yards, 4:39
Scoring play: Houshmandzadeh 17-yard reception from Palmer (Graham kick). It was Palmer's first touchdown pass of the season.
Key play: Palmer, who was 7-for-7 on the drive, completed two third-down passes to Houshmandzadeh, including the touchdown throw.

Giants' fifth scoring drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 2:49
Scoring play: Boss 4-yard reception from Manning
Key play: Smith had a 15-yard reception over the middle from Manning on 3rd-and-10 from the Bengals' 32

Bengals' fifth scoring drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 1:50
Scoring play: Graham 21-yard field goal
Key play: Reggie Kelly's 12-yard reception from Palmer on 3rd-and-2 from the Giants' 46

Giants' sixth scoring drive: 7 plays, 62 yards, 1:49
Scoring play: Carney's 22-yard field goal (his fourth of the game)
Key play(s): Burress 28-yard reception from Manning down the left sideline on 2nd-and-10 from their own 34. Then Toomer 31-yard catch from Manning on 3rd-and-10 from the Cincy 38 (great job keeping his feet in bounds).

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-You won't see many plays bigger than the catches by Burress and Toomer in the final drive.
-Boss took a shot when he caught the ball in the end zone, but he hung on for the score.
-Ward had runs of 22 and 14 yards on the final touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
-Manning looked very poised on the final drive (of regulation and overtime), coolly finding his receivers on underneath routes.
-Excellent job by Smith to stay in bounds down the right sideline and pickup the first down on the first field-goal drive of the quarter.
-Antonio Pierce made a heads-up play to take a 5-yard offsides penalty after he realized the Giants had just 10 men on defense. The five yards were costly, but a play against 10 men could have been far worse.
-Kenny Phillips and Dockery made a nice stop on Antonio Chatman to save a touchdown on the penultimate play of regulation.
-Cofield made a nice stop on Perry to bring up third down for Cincy in overtime. Madison knocked away the third-down pass on the ensuing play to force a punt.

Players who struggled:
-James Butler made a decent play on the ball, but it clearly wasn't enough on Houshmandzadeh's touchdown catch.
-The secondary as a whole gave the Bengals' receivers a lot of room off the line of scrimmage.

Here are your three stars for today's game:
1. Carney: 4-for-4 on field goals today, and a perfect 9-for-9 on the season
2. Manning: 26-for-43 for 289 yards and a touchdown
3. Ward: 9 carries for 80 yards, and 3 receptions for 26 yards

Antonio Pierce made 13 stops, Steve Smith had 60 yards on seven catches, Toomer had 64 on five receptions, Burress had 45 on three catches. Brandon Jacobs had 14 carries for 35 yards and a TD.

Carson Palmer was 27-of-39 for 286 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Perry had 74 yards on 20 carries. Houshmandzadeh made 12 catches for 146 yards.

As always, it was my honor and pleasure to bring everyone all of today's live game action. Thanks so much for coming out! Hope to see ya'll real soon. Check back above for updates on my pregame keys to the game.

Off week for the Giants next Sunday. They'll return Oct. 5 at home against Seattle.

Have a good night!

Hmmm. Inactives will be announced a little later, but I can tell you that right now, at 10:45 a.m., Lawrence Tyens is on the field, in full unfirorm, warming up. He just kicked a 40-yard field goal. He's about to attempt a 45-yarder, but I'll publish this post before he tries it. Look back for an update.

UPDATE: It's good. He also kicked one from 50.

I know it's a football blog, and we'll get to the game in a bit. But since they did play football at Yankee Stadium for a few decades, I thought I'd share this article from today's paper along with some other John Mara Yankee Stadium memories that didn't make it into print.

The first is a memory he shared of sitting in the locker room, he and his sibling atop these large trunks used for hauling equipment and other things, and listening to stories told by the locker room attendants named Big Pete and Little Pete Sheehy. They worked for both the Yankees and the Giants.

"They’d regale us with stories of Ruth and Gehrig, this is where their locker was, Babe came in one day after a long night on the town and we took him back here," Mara said. "They were great stories. It was good stuff."

The other memory wasn't John's but his father's Wellington, and passed down.

"My father told of the day in probably 1922 or 23, his father taking him and his brother over to see the new ballpark being built in the Bronx and then they drove up north to see the new golf course being built in Mamaroneck, which was Winged Foot, on the same day."

That's not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Our man T-Rock is taking a much-needed day off today. With the crisp fall-like temperatures, this isn't a bad day to have off and soak up the sun is it?

Anyway, only real thing of note from the little bit of time we got to watch practice was R.W. McQuarters. He's been battling a calf injury and has not practiced since last week. But he was out there taking some limited reps (as in catching passes from David Carr along with Amani Toomer), though he wasn't fielding any returns and had a sleeve on his calf to keep it warm.

Other than that, mostly quiet day today. But I'll be back with any pertinent details after we get Tom Coughlin and the locker room opens up in a few.

McQuarters update: We just spoke to Coughlin and he said McQuarters did pre-practice work and worked on the side. Looks like he might be iffy for Sunday. If he can't go, Dominik Hixon will return punts again.

Then he said "You're gonna die!"

Well, that's what my digital recorder said when I transcribed it. Actually, while we were talking with Coughlin in the end zone of the stadium, someone had the idea to test the audio systems and cranked up the Guns n Roses classic "Welcome to the Jungle." So while we were trying to listen to Coughlin's words (and later when I listened to my recording), all I could hear was Axel's screeching and Slash's guitar. Then, just when things quieted down and Coughlin was starting to wrap up, out came the sweet, soothing strains of Metallica with the amps turned up to 11.

Not sure if Coughlin chose the soundtrack. Credit to him, though, he hardly flinched at the distration. I probably would have waited it out.

Interestingly enough, later in the day when Fooch and I went out on the field to file the video blog you can watch below, we were just about to get started when "Welcome to the Jungle" started playing again.

Maybe someone from Cincy can update us with a comment: Do they still use that "Welcome to the Jungle" song in heavy rotation at Bengals home games? I know it used to be a staple of the Tiger-striped motif at Riverfront.

Me, not so much.

... apparently OK. I thought I might have to come in from practice to write about how the Giants secondary might be even more vulnerable to the Bengals' WRs if Webster can't play. For about half the time we were out watching practice, Webster was on the sideline by the exercise bike having his legs looked at and stretched.

But then he jumped up, did a little running, and resumed his place with the starting defensive unit once the special teams segments began.

R.W. McQuarters did sit out of practice, though. That left Domenik Hixon to return the punts, backed up by Ahmad Bradshaw. Sinorice Moss had been backing Hixon up for most of the season, but today it was Bradshaw. Worth noting that the Giants were working on punt coverage and not punt returns, so take it for what it's worth.

Also, Plaxico Burress needed help putting his jersey on over his shoulder pads. It's a quiet week. Take the observations you get and like them!

More later when we get Coughlin and the boys in the locker room.

Nearly everyone in the Giants locker room today was trying to figure out what their name would be if they, like a certain receiver, took their jersey number and translated it into Spanish. In one corner, Rich Seubert and Dave Tollefson were trying to figure out how to say their numbers in German. See, my Funfundachtzig idea is catching on!

I typed T-Rock's Take into an online Spanish translator and it came back with T-Roca's Tomar. So there you go.

Plaxico Burress, by the way, said he wouldn;t change his name out of respect for his family. Interesting point. But then there was safety Michael Johnson, who is presumably happy to move up in the alphabetical listing of NFL players with the last name of Johnson. "I bet you his Momma still calls him Johnson," Michael said. Still, M.Johnson couldn't help but smile when he said, several times as if to test-drive it, "Michael Veinte."

Johnson, by the way, was one of several Giants players who said they are entertained by Funfundachtzig's antics on and off the field. Johnson (the Giants' one, not the formerly-known-as one) said he's just like everyone else, a fan of the game, and he likes to see those touchdown dances on ESPN highlights.

“Our whole purpose is so they don’t have highlights. No big plays, period, but especially not out of 85," said Johnson, who helpfully translated Ocho Cinco's name back into English. "I think it’s really funny. I like to see him clown and stuff on TV. I like it. He just don’t need to be doing it to us."

By the way. Senor Cinco gave a very entertaining chat with the NY media today. You can click below for the transcript.

Just wanted to share this thought from Marvin Lewis. It makes sense if you try to figure it out:

"How you got to where you got to you got because you worked extremely hard."

Got it?

From the Bengals' weekly release:

"The NFL gives no breaks to an 0-2, team, and particularly not to the Bengals this week. They travel to the home of the defending world champions, who are off to an impressive start with clinical disposals of Washington and St. Louis. So be it, says the Cincinnati camp."

Very poetic.

It's followed by this quote from coach Marvin Lewis:

"We're going to get to work and go beat the New York Giants in New York, and that's all we can do."

Tom Coughlin speaks in a few minutes, then we get Lewis and the receiver named Chad Funfundachtzig (when you think about it, German makes as much sense as Spanish) after the locker room. Might not be much blogging today; they're killing the power in the Stadium for a while in about an hour. Someone just suggested it was a moment of silence for the Mets.

Here are the Giants who will be on the injury report later:

Michael Johnson (neck/stinger)
Mathias Kiwanuka (ankle)
R.W. McQuarters (calf)
Terrell Thomas (hamstring)
Lawrence Tynes (knee)

Johnson hurt himself on Sunday but was able to bounce back and make a stiff hit on special teams. Still, if he's unable to practice at full capacity this week, it could be the opening for Kenny Phillips to mix in with the starting group.

Also, I know there's been some concern about people using other peoples' names to post comments or questions on the live chats. It's my understanding that we're inching closer to having our commenters register, in which case you would pick a screen name and it would be yours. So, just know that we're working on it. And unless there's some kind of flagrant content, I don't think we'll be erasing comments for now. But that option will be looked at as well as we move forward.

* Spellings corrected; thanks, self!

Justin Tuck may not want to compare last year's defense to this year's, but that won't stop us from doing it. Here are the numbers based on the first two weeks of each season courtesy of giants.com:

Two-Game Totals.........2007...........2008
Points Allowed...............80...........20
NFL Rank......................32............2t
First Downs Allowed.......46...........24
NFL Rank......................28t...........2t
Third Downs Allowed.....12/22.......6/26
Conversion Pct..............54.5........23.1
NFL Rank......................32.............4
Net Yards Allowed.........846..........410
NFL Rank......................29.............3
Opposing Yards/Play......6.9............3.9
NFL Rank......................31.............4
Net Rushing Yards.........225..........152
NFL Rank......................19.............5
Net Passing Yards.........621...........258
NFL Rank......................32.............5