Talk about the lateral to Kevin Boss?
Yeah. They were showing a look, we kept the play, they checked out and went to pretty good coverage versus the deal and didn't have a whole lot. Just was getting hit and looked up and kind of heard Boss yelling or saying something and it is one thing where you start throwing it to him and sometimes you don't really realize who it is. I was glad it was Boss and not Diehl. He did a great job just kind of staying alive. It was a tough catch, it was coming fast and he stayed with it and got a big chunk of yards. That was a big play for us. We ended up going down and getting a touchdown in that situation and that drive. It was something we needed to get going. We had a slow first half until that where we had a big play right there.
I know it was obviously different than the throw in Super Bowl XLII, but did the whole escaping the rush part remind you at all of that play?
Yeah a little bit. Not until just a second ago when I thought about it. Again, sometimes you have to improv in this game and it doesn't always work out just how you draw it up. That is not something that happens often, but sometimes guys just have to be alert. It was good by him being alert, staying alive, and just making something happen out of nothing.
When you threw the ball to Jacobs in the flat you didn't expect a long touchdown?
No, it usually doesn't happen with a little five yard flat route, but they were in man coverage to that side and Spencer just kind of banged Kevin Boss as he was trying to get a release and just got out of position a little bit. To be able to throw an accurate pass and kind of keep him in stride is important with those routes, where he is able to catch it, turn up field right away, and he showed some speed. He ran great. Darcy (Johnson) got a great block down the field. That was a huge play for us also. Right when Dallas went down and scored and had taken the lead, got a little momentum going, and we hit them right back with that. That was kind of the theme of the day; we hit a lot of big plays. We weren't real consistent and playing our best football the whole time, but when we needed a big play, guys stepped up. Steve Smith had a number of catches, Ahmad Bradshaw the big run, the Kevin Boss catch, Brandon, Hixon on the punt return, Osi on the fumble recovery. Just a lot of big plays and we took advantage of those and that kind of ended up being the difference in the win.
Did you sense that the game changed after the Jacobs touchdown?
Yeah, it just got us some momentum. Really in the second half we got off to a good start, we were driving and we hit some plays. We hit Steve (Smith) for a long play, then had the interception and they go down and score. We needed something to give us a little spark and that was it. Just a huge play right there that got us in the lead again. We have to find ways to be more consistent at things, but we have always talked about hitting big plays and momentum changers and we are doing a good job of doing that. Those could be the difference in games if you take advantage of your opportunities.
Do you feel like you saved the season tonight?
You can't save a season or make a season in one game. I thought this was a big game for us, no doubt, and we needed this win, but next week is going to be a huge game for us also. We are going to need that win. It is good to see that when you put some pressure on us and we needed to get something going, we were able to come out and do some things and win the game.
Did you ever think Brandon Jacobs would go 74 yards on that play?
No, it is not what you would consider might happen, but out of that formation we kind of knew how they might line up. We were trying to maybe hit Kevin Boss for the big play, but you take what the defense gives you. If they make a mistake or play it incorrectly or whatever, then you have to take advantage of it. It tells you about how many times we work on flat routes with running backs and the difference between an accurate pass and a pass being six inches off is the difference in a five-yard gain and a 76-yard gain for a touchdown. Just being able to hit him in stride, he was confident with the catch, looked it in, and was able to turn up and you never know what play or what route or something you worked on is going to come back to help you out and be the difference between a win or a loss possibly.
What is going through your mind as you are watching him run down the field?
I am just kind of watching. Just watching, seeing what is going on. I knew the safety was back to the right side so I was just seeing if he could outrun Spencer and Bradie James and he did that and then Darcy Johnson had a great block down the field and Brandon kind of ran through that tackle and got in the endzone. It was just a fun thing to kind of sit back and watch. I just had to do a little work and let Brandon do the rest.
Coach Coughlin said he has never seen him run that fast?
I don't think I have either. I asked Brandon and he said he didn't even know where it came from, but I am glad he had it on that play and it was a big play for us.
