New York Giants Official Website

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -The Giants are a contradiction of achievement and disappointment at the midway point in their schedule.

With a 5-3 record, the Giants are one of just five NFC teams with at least five victories (though they are joined by Minnesota and St. Louis as the only teams in the conference that have yet to have a bye). The Giants are the only team in the NFL ranked in the top five in both offense and defense.

But no one is celebrating in the Timex Performance Center because the Giants have lost their last three games after a 5-0 start. On Sunday, they were defeated by the Eagles in Philadelphia, 40-17, and fell out of first place in the NFC East for the first time this season. They hope to begin climbing back up on Sunday, when they host the San Diego Chargers in their final game before the bye.

A year ago, the Giants reached midseason with a 7-1 record. Statistically, the Giants are very similar to where they were in 2008 in several categories. For example, their average yards per play (5.8) and third-down conversion percentage (43.8) are identical to what they were a year ago. But in several other areas, notably turnover differential and several defensive stats, the Giants have taken a step back.

Offensively, the Giants are gaining more yards, but scoring slightly fewer points a game. On defense, they are allowing more yards and points and they've had trouble stopping people in the red zone.

Here are some highlights of our annual midseason statistical review:

*The Giants have been 5-3 or better in the first half of each of Tom Coughlin's six seasons as head coach. The current 5-3 mark has improved their record to 35-13 (.729) in the first eight games since Coughlin arrived in 2004.

*The Giants are fifth in the league with an average of 386.9 yards a game, or 15.5 more than they were gaining halfway through the 2008 season. For the first time under Coughlin, they have gained more than 3,000 yards in half a season. They are on pace to finish with 6,190 yards, which would shatter the franchise record of 5,884 yards, set in 1985.

*The Giants are averaging 26.5 points a game, which is ninth in the league and down slightly from the 28.3 they averaged at this point last season. They have scored 23 touchdowns (seven rushing, 14 passing and two returns), one less than they had last year (when the breakdown was 10 rushing, 13 passing and one return).

*Their average time of possession of 33:57 is 56 seconds more than last year, a Coughlin-era high and second in the NFL, behind New England's 34:22.

*But this year, the Giants rely on their passing attack to control the ball much more than they did last year. Their rushing output has dropped by more than 20 yards a game, from 162.6 last year to the current figure of 141.8. Brandon Jacobs has run for 550 yards and a 3.9-yard average after finishing the first half with 680 yards and a 5.2-yard average in 2008. The team average has slipped from 5.2 to 4.4 yards a carry.

The passing game has picked up the slack, averaging 245.1 yards a game, 36.3 more than last year and 29 more than the Giants' best first half under Coughlin, set in 2006.

*Last year through eight games, the Giants had converted 42 of 96 third down opportunities. This season, they succeeded on 49 of 112. That's 43.8 percent all the way around.

*The Giants have 15 takeaways and 14 turnovers, a plus one differential. At midseason last year, they had 13 takeaways and seven turnovers (on their way to a league record-tying 13), for a plus-six differential.

*Eli Manning's midseason passer rating of 86.4 is a bit lower than last year's 89.7. Manning has completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 1,855 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Last year at this time, he had hit 61.2 percent of his throws for 1,735 yards, 12 scores and five picks.

*In 2008, Manning had been sacked 10 times for 70 yards. This season, Manning and David Carr have been sacked 10 times for 66 yards.

*Steve Smith leads the team in receptions, as he did at halftime of the 2008 season. But last year, he had 34 catches for 328 yards and one touchdown. Currently, he leads the NFL with 53 catches, which have accounted for 662 yards and four scores. Smith is on pace to finish with 106 receptions for 1,324 yards. The team records are 82 and 1,343, set by Amani Toomer in 2002.

*After eight games a year ago, Plaxico Burress and Steve Smith were tied for the team lead with three touchdown catches. This year, Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks have four apiece.
 
*Defensively, the Giants are third in the NFL in yards allowed per game (278.1) but 22nd in points allowed (22.9). That is 17.7 more yards and 6.8 more points than the Giants were giving up at this time last year. Their opponents have scored 24 touchdowns (12 rushing and 12 passing) - 10 more than at this time last year.

*The opponents' biggest improvement has been on the ground. The Giants are allowing 113.1 rushing yards a game, a sharp rise from the 85.4 they were giving up a year ago. At the same time, opposing passing yardage is down, dropping from 175.0 to 165.0 a game.

*That last figure is perhaps surprising, given that the Giants have five fewer interceptions (11-6) and 12 fewer sacks (30-18) than they did at the midpoint of the 2008 season. The Giants also had 30 sacks halfway through the 2007 season.

*Giants opponents are averaging 5.2 yards per play, compared to 4.6 last year.

 *Despite those numbers, opponents have converted only 30 of 96 third down opportunities, a 31.3 success rate that is the league's second best and easily the best first-half figure in Coughlin's six seasons as head coach. And though their opponents have eight more first downs (125) than they did last year, the Giants are first in the league, allowing only 15.6 a game.

*In 2008, Justin Tuck was the Giants' midseason sack leader with 8.5. Mathias Kiwanuka was second with 6.0. This year, Osi Umenyiora leads with 4.0, followed by Tuck with 3.5.

*Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 86.3, or 16.1 points higher than last year's 70.2.

*Last year at this time, the Giants had shown significant improvement in their red zone defense. They had allowed only five touchdowns on 14 opposing trips inside their 20-yard line, a touchdown percentage of 35.7. This season, the arrow is pointing in the other direction. The Giants have allowed 19 touchdowns in 26 opposition trips inside the 20-yard line, a 73.1 percent rate that has the Giants at the bottom of the NFL.

*Lawrence Tynes has kicked 17 field goals, one less than John Carney had at this point last year. Tynes leads the NFL with 74 points, six more than Minnesota's Ryan Longwell.

*Neither the team's kickoff returns (21.5-yard average compared to 20.6) nor punt returns (8.4 from 9.4) have changed significantly. Giants opponents have returned 11 punts for 84 yards. Last year, they had returned 11 punts for 59 yards.

*The Giants have been penalized 45 times for 386 yards. Their opponents have been penalized 45 times for 389 yards. For the Giants, that is 11 fewer penalties and 103 fewer yards than at this point last season. For their opponents, the declines are 17 penalties and 75 yards.

A look at the Giants' midseason statistics under Coughlin:

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

SPECIAL TEAMS

*This is the third time a Coughlin-coached team has reached midseason with a 5-3 record. In addition to the 2004 Giants, the 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars were 5-3 and finished 11-5.

*Manning rushed for a career-best 34 yards on Sunday, the highest total by a Giants quarterback in 10 years. On Oct. 31, 1999, Kent Graham ran for 41 yards - also in Philadelphia.

*Nicks has 368 receiving yards, which tie him with Pittsburgh's Mike Wallace for second among all rookie receivers - one yard behind Minnesota's Percy Harvin. Nicks has touchdown catches of 62, 54 and 37 yards and is the only rookie in the league with three scoring catches of 30 or more yards.

*On Sunday, the Eagles scored 30 points in the first half two weeks after New Orleans totaled 34 points in the first two quarters. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it's the first time the Giants allowed 30 or more first-half points twice in the same season since Sept. 18 and Nov. 27, 1966, when Dallas scored 31 and Washington scored 34.

*Philadelphia (two) and the Giants combined to score three touchdowns in a span of 1:08 late in the second quarter. That's the quickest three touchdowns were scored in a Giants game since Dec. 22, 2002 at Indianapolis, when the Giants and Colts (two) reached the end zone three times in 51 seconds - and four times in 2:45.

*The Eagles scored their two touchdowns at the end of the half in 52 seconds, the two fastest six-pointers allowed by the Giants since Nov. 25, 2007, when the Vikings scored two touchdowns in 42 seconds - both on interception returns.

*Philadelphia scored on runs of 41 and 66 yards and a 54-yard pass, the first time the Giants allowed three touchdowns from scrimmage of 40 or more yards since Oct. 28, 1973 in a 35-27 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

*The Giants had last allowed two touchdown runs of 40 or more yards in the same game on Nov. 27, 1966 (the 72-41 loss to Washington that is the highest-scoring game in NFL history).

*If the Giants defeat San Diego Sunday, they will tie the Dallas Cowboys for the highest winning percentage in games prior to a bye:

*Jeff Feagles has placed 169 punts inside the 20 as a member of the Giants, one behind Dave Jennings' franchise record.

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