Picking on Hall Pays Off in Yards for Giants
By RAY GLIER
NY TIMES
Published: October 16, 2007
ATLANTA, Oct. 15 — The Giants first worked over the beleaguered Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall with Amani Toomer and his deceptive moves. Then they punished Hall with Plaxico Burress’s size.
By the end of the first quarter Monday night, the 5-foot-10 Hall probably could not decide who he wanted lining up across from him at left cornerback, because the Falcons’ alleged best cover man could not handle either Toomer or the 6-5 Burress.
The Giants’ ability to beat the Falcons’ strength — Hall, their Pro Bowl cornerback — was a key to their building an early 14-point lead on the way to a 31-10 victory at the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons had their starting defensive line for the first time this season, but their best pass rushers, Rod Coleman and the former Jet John Abraham, could not get to Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who was making quick throws to his wideouts.
After the Giants’ first possession was extended by a roughing-the-kicker penalty, Manning took them to a touchdown.
He hit Burress with a 15-yard completion over the middle on third-and-9 from the Atlanta 47. Manning then connected with Toomer for a 10-yarder in front of Hall. Moments later, a 10-yard pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey, with Hall covering, gave the Giants a first down at the Atlanta 12. Two plays later, Toomer lined up right, faked outside, then slipped inside Hall’s coverage and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass.
On the Giants’ next possession, Burress beat Hall on the right side for an 18-yard gain to the Atlanta 39. Two plays later, Toomer ran Hall down the right side, cut to the sideline and caught a 17-yard pass at the 1-yard line before falling out of bounds.
Reuben Droughns plunged in from the 1-yard line, and the extra point kick made it 14-0.
Burress continued to haunt the Falcons in the first half, but this time Hall was not the victim. On first down from the Atlanta 43, Burress found himself wide open down the middle of the field and Manning delivered a nice and easy toss for the touchdown.
“They have developed this timing and knowledge of where Plaxico is going to be and that is a big factor in the confidence level,” Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said of Burress and Manning.
In the first half, Burress had five receptions for 89 yards, and his touchdown catch tied him with New England’s Randy Moss for the most scoring receptions in the N.F.L. Toomer finished with seven receptions, becoming the leading receiver in Giants history with 587 career receptions.
“He made big plays tonight, consistent plays tonight,” Coughlin said of Toomer.
The Giants, perhaps, got a little too confident with the passing game in the third. They were moving the ball with the run when Manning tried to go deep down the right sideline to Toomer, and Hall leaped to make the interception of the underthrown ball. Hall’s return and a penalty on Shockey for a trip gave the Falcons the ball at the Giants’ 44.
Atlanta, however, seems harmless on the opponents’ side of the field. The Falcons came into the game with only four touchdowns on 32 possessions on the opponents’ side of the 50. When Atlanta punted the ball following the Hall interception, it was the third time in the game it failed to get a touchdown with the momentum of being inside Giants’ territory.
The Giants pushed the lead to 24-10 in the fourth with the help of more Manning-to-Toomer passes. Toomer beat Hall inside for plays of 16 yards and 11 yards as the Giants moved to the Falcons’ 11-yard line before settling for a field goal.
