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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The New York Giants have a running
game again, and it's called Thunder and Lightning.
Tiki Barber ran for career-best 144 yards and two touchdowns,
including a 78-yarder, and Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne powered
for 78 more and a TD as the Giants beat the Arizona Cardinals 21-16
on Sunday.
|  | | New York's Tiki Barber dives over the goal line before Arizona cornerback Aeneas Williams can stop him. |
"There is nothing you can do to adjust to thunder and
lightning," said Barber, the lightning part of the tandem. "We
have a good feeling about each other. If the offensive line
continues to do what it did today and we don't have injuries, we
can do this all year."
The only thing that actually stopped the Giants' running game on
Sunday was real thunder and lightning. A storm blew into the area
at the start of the third quarter, and play was suspended for 23
minutes by referee Bill Carollo when a bolt of lightning came over
the stadium.
Giants rookie Ron Dixon's legs turned to jelly, and most of the
players ran off the field. The Giants might have run faster,
conscious of a lightning strike that knocked five University of
Albany police officers off their feet during training camp.
"I wasn't wasting any time," Giants defensive end Michael
Strahan said. "I wasn't going to be the poster child for
lightning."
The Giants' defense also contributed, intercepting Jake Plummer
three times and recovering his fumble deep in New York territory.
Arizona was limited to 43 yards rushing, with Plummer getting a
team-high 18.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Although everybody probably watched this game to see Ron Dayne, the real impressive performance came from Tiki Barber.
Barber had a great preseason and picked up today where he left off. The Giants took somewhat of a gamble in the off-season by rebuilding and re-tooling their offensive line and drafting Dayne; but it looks like the Dayne-Barber combo with the improvements to the line have the potential to give the Giants a pretty good running game.
It's so disappointing to see Jake Plummer still turning the football over. Last year when Plummer threw 24 INTs and 9 TDs the Cardinals blamed it on injuries. But he's healthy now and if he wants to take the next step up as a leading NFL QB he's got to cut down on the interceptions. He did rally the Cardinals late to make the game close, but it was to little too late. His mental game is probably his biggest obstacle, as he continues to force the ball and make throws he's not capable of making.
Plummer is talented and needs to get back to that kind of production if the Cards are
going to have a good year.
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Plummer did throw touchdown passes of 9 and 25 yards to David
Boston in the final 1:55, but that only made the score respectable.
"I stunk pretty bad," said Plummer who completed 28 of 49
passes for 318 yards. "I could throw for 5,000 (yards), but I
don't care if we don't win."
Neither team looked particularly good in the season opener that
pitted two coaches under fire, but New York made far fewer
mistakes.
The Giants and Jim Fassel have missed the playoffs the last two
years, while Vin Tobin has taken the Cardinals to the playoffs only
once in his four seasons.
The Giants had an advantage on Sunday because the Cardinals'
defensive line was so banged up.
Simeon Rice is unsigned, and fellow defensive end Andre
Wadsworth is still unable to play after knee surgery. Backup
defensive end Thomas Burke is also sidelined with a knee injury.
The Giants, whose 88.3 yard rushing average last season was
their worst since 1953, exploited Arizona's problem by rushing 41
times for 223 yards.
Barber, who last week referred to the backfield combination as
thunder and lightning, made two great plays to break the game open
in the first half.
The fourth-year running back gained 116 yards on eight carries
in the first half, and he ran almost as far on his 10-yard
touchdown run as he did on his 78-yarder, which was the
fourth-longest run in team history.
The 10-yarder started as a sweep to the right, and Barber
realized when he got near the sideline there was nothing there. So
he changed directions, avoided two Cardinals and circled back to
the left, diving into the corner of the end zone at the pylon,
capping a 10-play, 66-yard drive that gave New York a 7-0 lead on
the final play of the first quarter.
"I had a decision to make," Barber said. "I could take a
3-yard loss or do one of those plays like I used to do in high
school."
The 78-yard run was much more direct. Barber went through a hole
between the right tackle and guard, avoided a diving tackle by
safety Pat Tillman and then outraced cornerbacks Tom Knight and
Aeneas Williams to the end zone.
"We knew coming in that Tiki could get around the corner and
run, so I'm not surprised by the thunder and lightning deal they
have going here," Williams said.
Plummer had a couple of chances to get the Cardinals back in the
game, but he couldn't come up with the big play. He drove Arizona
from its 29 to the New York 13 right after Barber's second
touchdown, but he fumbled the snap on a fourth-and-1 sneak at the
New York 13.
Plummer, who threw 24 interceptions last year, was intercepted
by Emmanuel McDaniel twice late in the second quarter and once by
safety Shaun Williams midway through the third.
A 32-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard made it 14-3 on the final
play of the third quarter, but the Giants iced the game with a
15-play, 82-yard drive that took up the opening 7:32 of the fourth
quarter. Dayne crashed through the right side to score his first
NFL touchdown.
Barber's previous single-game best was 114 yards against
Philadelphia as a rookie in 1997.
Game notes
Cardinals left tackle L.J. Shelton sprained his right knee
on the first play from scrimmage and did not return. ... Giants
safety Sam Garnes, who left the game in the third quarter with
cramps, sustained a concussion with 2:57 to go. ... Cardinals
fullback Joel Makovicka left in the fourth quarter with a knee
injury. ... Giants receivers Ike Hilliard and Ron Dixon both
overslept and missed Saturday's walkthrough. Coach Jim Fassel said
they would be fined the maximum allowed. ... Hilliard caught three
passes for a team-high 62 yards. ... Dixon returned two kickoffs
for 27 yards. ... Arizona had only had one penalty for 5 yards.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Arizona Clubhouse
NY Giants Clubhouse
Week 1 wrap-ups
Week 1 infirmary report
TJ's Take on Week 1
Week 1 stats leaders
Prime Time Players
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