DE-FENCE! Like The Good Old Days In Win Against Chicago Bears

     Last night's Giants win over the Bears was like a throwback game from the days when you could hear the echoing chants coming down from the rafters of old Yankee Stadium.  Or from the upper deck of the "real" Giants Stadium.   Defence!, was the name of the Giants game last night as the G-men put 10 sacks together to all but shut out a feeble Bears offense in a 17-3 win.   It was a game that reminded some of the defensive battles these two storied franchises have had in the past. i.e. the final game of the 1977 season in Giant Stadium, or the 1985 playoffs in frigid Soldier Field. 

     The Giants showed us that there is still pride in a defence that last year completely closed shop after the New Orleans game.  That game was the beginning of the end of a season that saw the worst Giant defensive output since their 1-12-1 season in 1966.   A season where the unit was lost under the coordination of Bill Sherman, and now has found new life under new DC Terry Fewell.   This coming in a game where the Giants introduced their "Ring Of Honor" honoring some of the greatest defensive players to have worn the blue.  Lawrence Taylor, Emlen Tunnell, Harry Carson, George Martin, Sam Huff are just to name a few. 

     2 Bear QBS were knocked out of this game. First, starter Jay Cutler was consistently flushed out of a collapsing pocket and hit over and over again until he suffered a concussion just before the 1st half ended.  Career back up QB Terry Collins ( remember him from that disastrous loss against the 'Skins in 2007? )  came in, and had little or no results until a vicious hit from behind took him out of the game.   Little known or used 3rd string QB Caleb Hanie came in to "mop up" so to speak, and just tried to finish the game healthy.    The Bears running game had the same dismal results as RB Matt Forte was held to only 26 yards on 12 carries.  The Bears could get nothing going, despite how well their defence played. 

      The Giants offense had little going for itself as they had a small 3-0 lead at halftime.  A bad turnover could have changed the momentum of this game at any time, and a good NY win could have been a disastrous home loss.   But ball control with Ahmad Bradshaw, and a good punting performance by rookie Dodge put the Bears in bad field position all night.   QB Eli Manning had an efficient game hitting WR Hakeem Nicks 8 times, and consist ant slot receiver Steve Smith 4 times.  Brandon Jacobs began what hopefully is a breakout game for 2010 as he had a TD, and 62 rugged yards.  Most coming at the end of the game helping kill the clock.  

     But last night's game was about defence.   Winning divisions is about defence.  This year is shaping up to be a highly competitive season in the NFC East, and a team with the right defensive squad could win this division and springboard that squad into the tournament.