| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Are the St. Louis Rams in trouble
without Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk? Ask the New York Giants.
|  | | Trent Green improved his record to 2-1 as a starter this season. |
Trent Green threw touchdown passes to four receivers and
scrambled for another, and the Rams used three turnovers and a
couple of big plays on special teams to beat the Giants 38-24 on
Sunday.
"This just goes to show this is a complete team," said Warner,
last season's regular-season and Super Bowl MVP who has been
sidelined since Oct. 22 with a broken finger.
"This isn't about one or two guys," Warner added. "This is
about a complete team, what we have from top to bottom. Our defense
played great. Our offense played great. This is more the team we
saw last year. This shows we're a great football team."
The loss ended a four-game winning streak for the error-prone
Giants (7-3), who again showed they are not in the same class with
the NFL's elite teams.
|
TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
|
Question on the Rams: How far could the Rams go in the playoffs with
Trent Green at
quarterback?
Donahoe: The Rams haven't missed a beat with Trent Green at quarterback. It
seems the Rams have had a harder time replacing Marshall Faulk, but what they
showed today is that maybe they just won't run the football. They threw a
lot today and Green was very productive. You have to remember that several
years ago, when Mike Martz was the Rams offensive coordinator, they built
this offense with Green as the quarterback. Of course, because of the injury
to Green in the 1999 preseason, they were forced to use Kurt Warner -- and the rest is
certainly a great story. But Green is extremely capable and he's shown that
in the time he's played, throwing for 12 touchdowns and just three
interceptions. If the Rams can get Faulk back and continue to make strides
defensively, they will go deep into the postseason again. By then Warner is
expected back, but it looks like Green could take them there as well.
Question on the Giants: Can the Giants be considered one of the NFC's
top teams after this loss?
Donahoe: Each time the Giants have had the opportunity to step up
against the big boys, they've come up short. They've lost games to
Washington, Tennessee and now St. Louis. These are the games you have to win
if you want to win your division and then go far in the playoffs. While they
may not be one of the NFC's elite teams, the Giants are still in first place
and ahead of the Eagles in the NFC East.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
|
New York, also was outclassed in losing to Washington and
Tennessee, is a half-game ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East.
"We heard all the nay-sayers say we hadn't beaten anybody and
is this team a first-place team?" Giants tackle Lomas Brown said.
"We wanted to answer those questions and silence them. We
didn't."
Green's touchdown passes covered 1 yard to Roland Williams, 5
yards to Torry Holt, 8 yards to Ricky Proehl and 34 yards to Isaac
Bruce. Warner's backup also scrambled 18 yards for a touchdown, a
run that gave St. Louis a 28-7 halftime lead.
The four touchdown passes tied Green's single-game best, set
while playing for Washington against Arizona in 1998. He finished
27-of-45 for 272 yards, and he also rushed for 54 yards on six
carries on a day the Rams rushed for 141 yards against the Giants,
the NFL's second-best rushing defense. They are ranked seventh
overall.
"Any time we're able to put that many points on the board, I'm
happy," said Green, who has started the last three games.
Faulk, who led the NFL in combined rushing-receiving yards, has
missed the last two games with a knee injury.
Kerry Collins threw touchdown passes of 13 yards to Tiki Barber
and 46 and 34 yards to Ike Hilliard. The longer one started a
10-point run by the Giants at the start of third quarter that
closed New York to 28-17.
After Hilliard's long TD made it 28-14, Green was intercepted by
linebacker Ryan Phillips on the next play from scrimmage, giving
the Giants possession on the St. Louis 11. A run by Barber got the
ball almost to the 1, but Ron Dayne was stuffed on the next two
plays, and New York settled for Brad Daluiso's field goal.
Green then drove the Rams for two scores, a 50-yard field goal
by Jeff Hall and the touchdown pass to Bruce, which was set up by
London Fletcher's interception.
The Rams used a fumble recovery, a favorable review, a big punt
return, a fake field goal and interception to build a 28-7 halftime
lead.
The play that ignited the Super Bowl champions came on the
Giants' first series when Keith Lyle stripped the ball from Amani
Toomer at the end of a 21-yard reception and Dexter McCleon picked
up the ball and returned it to the New York 1.
After the Giants lost their challenge, Green hit Williams all
alone after a play-action fake.
Az-Zahir Hakim helped stretch the lead to 14-0 late in the first
quarter, returning a punt 39 yards to the 27. Green finished off
the three-play drive with a 5-yard pass to Holt.
A 50-yard run by Dayne ignited a three-play, 66-yard drive that
got the Giants on the scoreboard, with Barber scoring on a 13-yard
swing pass.
The score seemed to get the of 78,174 back in the game, but the
Rams didn't take long to take them out of it again.
Green hit six passes and Lyle ran 4 yards on a fourth-down fake
field goal before the 8-yard touchdown pass to Proehl, giving the
Rams a 21-7 lead.
After McCleon picked off Collins two plays into the next drive,
Green capped a five-play, 63-yard drive with the 18-yard scramble.
"We knew this was a big game without Kurt and Marshall, and
everyone in this locker room took it upon themselves to step up a
little," Rams tackle Orlando Pace said.
Game notes
Giants starting LG Glenn Parker pulled a calf muscle in
warmups and missed the game. Mike Rosenthal replaced him. ... This
marked the first time the Rams have held an opponent scoreless in
the first quarter since the Super Bowl win over Tennessee. ...
Green's 54 yards rushing were the most by a Rams quarterback since
Roman Gabriel ran for 57 in 1967. ... St. Louis has scored 20 or
more points in 26 straight games, the first team to do that since
Miami between 1983-85. ... Halfback Trung Canidate, the Rams
first-round draft, broke a wrist. ... Toomer missed the second half
with a concussion.
| |
ALSO SEE
St. Louis Clubhouse
NY Giants Clubhouse
Garber: Trent's no longer green with envy
Big game becomes Giant disappointment
Week 11 wrap-ups
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jim Fassel says the Giants need to get off to a better start.
wav: 173 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Mike Martz gives high marks to his quarterback Trent Green.
wav: 167 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
