Rams vs. Giants Week 2: 5 Positive Things to Take Away

The New York Giants still have some areas to improve on, but there were five things they managed to do really well against the St. Louis Rams. 

The win against the Rams was exactly what the G-Men needed against the 14-28 debacle against the Washington Redskins. 

With Hakeem Nicks and Justin Tuck in prime form last night, here are five positive things to take away from the Giants outing against the Rams. 

Possession Time

I'm a firm believer of possession time usually determining who wins in the NFL, and the New York Giants beat the St. Louis possession time of 25:48 with their own 34:12. 

The Giants defense had half their points until a late second quarter drive for a Domenik Hixon TD, but the offense got its act together in the second half. 

The G-Men even had a nice 5:30 drive that was capped off by a 9-yard TD run from Brandon Jacobs. 

Wide Receivers

The New York Football Giants had 18 receptions for 200 yards and two touchdowns. 

Wow, wow and wow. 

That's a 11.1 yard average. 

Six different receivers recorded passes for the G-Men, and newly signed receiver Brandon Stokley didn't even have any of them. 

The Giants still managed to go 5-of-15 on third-down conversions, a big step-up from the 1-10 outing against the Washington Redskins. 

Eli Manning's Ability to Bounce Back

Eli Manning started off showcasing his 2010 self, throwing an early interception to St. Loius Rams cornerback Quintin Mikell. 

It looked like another underacheiving day for Eli, as he was 2-for-11 at one point. 

But how did Eli finish?

He ended with 18-for-29 for 200 yards even with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. 

I've always been tough on Eli, but I got to give him props for bouncing back the way he did tonight. 

Power Running Game

The New York Giants are known for their power running game featuring Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, and they showed it against the St. Louis Rams on Monday. 

Bradshaw had 15 carries for 59 yards, Jacobs had 16 carries for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Talk about a balanced two-back system. 

Danny Ware even chipped in for 22 yards on three carries. 

Good blocking plus a power running game equals a "Monday Night Football" win. 

New York Giants Defense

The New York Giants defense, led by Justin Tuck, was sensational against the St. Louis Rams. 

Before you get caught up on Sam Bradford's 308 yards passing, let's take a look at the 59 yards rushing on 19 attempts. 

While Steven Jackson didn't play on Monday, limiting any team to 59 yards rushing is impressive. 

The G-Men also limited the Rams to one touchdown the entire game. St. Louis was 1-for-4 in the red zone (with three made field goals) while the Giants were 2-for-2. 

There's also the two fumbles the Giants defense forced, one of which was returned by Michael Boley for a 65-yard TD return.