Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Jacksonville 17 at NY Giants 24 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Jacksonville Jaguars: WR Jimmy Smith had a very productive day. He was the lone bright spot for the Jaguars, catching 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Smith was able to get separation and make plays despite being the only real option in this passing game. QB Mark Brunell conjured up images of 1996, as he threw for 230 yards and rushed for another 63. Brunell was under a lot of pressure all game and was able to avoid the oncoming rush a number of times by using his feet. RB Fred Taylor was ineffective running the ball, dropped a perfect 69 yard TD and left the game with an unspecified back injury. How's that for a bad day? RB Stacey Mack carried the load in the second half. Taylor had just 4 total yards in the first half and did not fare much better in the 2nd. Mack carried Jacksonville for an entire drive and showed an ability to plow over defenders where Taylor could not. Taylor owners don't need to be told to get Mack; the two should be attached at the hip on anyone's fantasy roster. New York Giants: Head Coach Jim Fassel announced earlier in the week that he would assume offensive play-calling duties from coordinator Sean Payton. The results had to be very encouraging to the Giants. The Giants got out to a 24-0 lead which could have been even greater had Matt Bryant not missed two first half field goals. RB Tiki Barber had a monster game. He totaled 163 yards and had 2 scores, including a tremendous 44-yard touchdown run to put the Giants up 24-0. Despite the well-documented struggles of the Giants rushing attack thus far, Barber is still on pace for over 1,900 total yards and 6 touchdowns. QB Kerry Collins played pretty much a flawless game. He finished up 20-28 for 228 yards and a touchdown. The TD was a huge play in the game. The Giants had dominated the entire first half but were looking at just a 7-point lead heading into halftime. Collins threw a late TD to Ron Dixon, putting the Giants up 14 and giving the team a big lift. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Jacksonville Jaguars QB: Mark Brunell put together a fine game from a fantasy perspective, with 2 touchdowns and nearly 300 total yards. His numbers would have looked even better but Fred Taylor dropped what would have likely been a 69-yard touchdown reception. Brunell mentioned before the game that the Jaguars wanted to re-establish the big play as part of the offense. While they didn't connect on too many real long ones, the attempt was there. He basically locked onto Jimmy Smith all game, and with good reason as no one else seemed able to do much of anything. RB: Fred Taylor was a complete non-factor. The only significant play he was involved in was when he dropped a possible 69-yard touchdown pass from Brunell. Taylor totaled just 9 yards in the game, and when he went out Stacey Mack had a lot of success running the ball. The only reason Taylor got into the game in the 2nd half was because Mack had just run for 22 yards and needed a rest. He left the game with an unspecified back injury. You've been holding your breath on him I know so stay tuned to see how this shakes out. Stacey Mack was very effective running the ball while Fred Taylor struggled mightily. With Taylor's injury history and Mack's nice production thus far this season, anyone who is a Taylor owner should have had Mack as insurance since draft day. WR: Jimmy Smith had a typical Jimmy Smith game. He was targeted on half of Brunell's passes, and responded by catching 10 balls for 123 yards and a touchdown. Bobby Shaw scored Jacksonville's first touchdown of the game mostly due to the fact that Smith was receiving so much attention. Shaw is nowhere near the complement that Keenan McCardell was, and takes almost no pressure off of Jimmy Smith. TE: Kyle Brady turned in a typical performance with 3 receptions for 20 yards. Jaguars Pass Defense: Other than Marcus Stroud (who briefly left the game but later returned after a knee injury), no other Jaguar could get any kind of pressure on Kerry Collins. Stroud played with anger after having his knee apparently intentionally rolled up on, and he made his presence felt in the 2nd half with 2 sacks. The Jacksonville cornerbacks did a good job on Amani Toomer, but the DBs allowed Giants WR Tim Carter a huge 27-yard reception on 4th and 17 late in the first half. They also then let up a touchdown reception to Ron Dixon on the very next play. After claiming that they "had" to neutralize Tiki Barber's effectiveness in the passing game, they allowed him 4 receptions for 62 yards. All in all, it was a very poor performance. Jaguars Rush Defense: The Giants have been the worst rushing team in the NFL this year, but tonight Jacksonville allowed them to run wild. The Giants ran for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns, with the majority of that production attained by Tiki Barber. Barber consistently got to the outside, and Jacksonville's linebackers struggled to catch up to him as he turned the corner. Jaguars Special Teams: Tim Seder didn't miss any field goals or extra points. However, both of his onsides kick attempts were very poor and his kickoffs were not very good either. As for job security, he probably wasn't bad enough to warrant being cut by Coughlin, but he is definitely on thin ice. If you are searching for a kicker, look elsewhere. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** New York Giants QB: Kerry Collins has had a number of games this season in which he has looked excellent. Until tonight, most of those good performances have not resulted in very many points. Against the Jaguars, Collins led the Giants to a 24-0 lead. He had a big touchdown pass to Ron Dixon just before the half that swung the momentum heavily in the Giants favor. Collins finished with 228 yards and 1 touchdown pass. RB: For all the complaints about the Giants running game this season, Tiki Barber has actually been very effective. He totaled 163 yards and 2 touchdowns in this game, and basically appeared to do what he wanted. Barber has great vision and always knows when to burst and when to wait for his blocks. A perfect example of Barber's patience and vision was on his 44-yard touchdown run. He waited for the wide outs to get downfield ahead of him to create a convoy into the end zone. If the Giants rushing attack is this successful in subsequent games, Barber could be a very valuable second half player. Barber suffered an ankle injury that he doesn't seem worried about. "It's nothing much," Barber said. "I was more scared than anything. I heard a little clicking in my ankle, but it's nothing serious." Ron Dayne had a season-high 13 carries and responded with a season-high 52 yards. Dayne, however, lost a potentially costly fumble late in the game with New York up 21-3. Dayne did not return to the game. WR: Amani Toomer had a very quiet game for the third time in a row. Although he tied for the team lead in receptions with 4, he totaled just 36 yards on those catches. Ron Dixon responded with a big game in place of the injured Ike Hilliard, who is out for the year. In his first start, Dixon had 46 yards and a very nice touchdown grab late in the first half. With the Giants clinging to a 7-0 lead, Dixon caught a Kerry Collins pass, maintained possession, and dragged his feet across the field for the catch. It was originally ruled incomplete, but it was clearly a catch and the ref overturned the call. Tim Carter will likely now assume Ron Dixon's role as #3 wide receiver for New York. He has blazing speed and demonstrated it tonight. With the Giants facing a 4th and 17 from the Jacksonville 35-yard line late in the first half, Carter came up with a huge 27-yard grab. This enabled the drive to continue and led to the Dixon TD on the next play. TE: Jeremy Shockey had a quiet game from a numbers standpoint. One of his two receptions was a tremendous grab in which he had Donovan Darius basically hanging on his back. Shockey also helped to keep the linebackers off of Barber and Dayne because Shockey could take off downfield at any moment. Giants Pass Defense: Really got after Brunell all day. On a number of occasions, commentator Paul McGuire mentioned how Brunell appeared to be "running for his life". Brunell was sacked twice, and flushed from the pocket consistently. Brunell also fumbled a snap from center, which led to the first Tiki Barber touchdown. Jimmy Smith had a great game, but not until the Giants were already up 24-3. Giants Rush Defense: Incredible. Stacey Mack was able to run effectively on one drive, and Mark Brunell only got rushing yardage on what were supposed to be pass plays. Fred Taylor, one of the most electric backs in the game, was completely stifled and never got anything going. The Giants were helped by the fact that they had a 24-3 lead heading into the 4th quarter, so running the football was not really an option for Jacksonville. Giants Special Teams: Matt Bryant missed a field goal for the first time in his career, and then later missed another one. He did settle down to hit a 27-yarder later on.