Now that we are in the super dead time of the offseason, it's a good time for an old game review.
One of the most pivotal games of 1986 which gets lost in the shuffle was the Week 4 game against the Saints. As that 1986 season went along, the Giants actually played a number of close games and had to fight their way back for wins. It wasn't until very late in the season did they actually start blowing out teams. Everyone remembers the comeback in San Francisco down 17-0 on the road, but they actually did the same thing earlier in the season to the Saints.
This game had so much going on that became memorable for the Giants
- This is the game where Bavaro broke his jaw and came back a little while later to score a TD and help lead the comeback
- LT's career highlight play where he chases down Rueben Mayes and tackles him from down the line
- The Giants lost both Lionel Manuel and Mark Collins to injuries, and watched Tony Galbreath nearly botch the game trying to return a punt, which forced the trade for Phil McConkey
- Joe Morris was out with a blood disorder, giving the start to Lee Rouson, which convinced the Giants they needed to trade for OJ Anderson for more depth
- Raul Allegre's first game after a rotating group of kickers that Parcells used
Ultimately, this was the type of game the Giants had lost before. Even as they climbed up to playoff team status in 1984 and 1985. But they found a way to win it in 1986.
I have another fun/different review coming up in the next few weeks before camp, but I'll let that one be a surprise. Enjoy!
https://bigbluevcr.blogspot.com/2019/06/1986-giants-vs-saints.html - (
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The Manuel hit was dirty. The Collins hit was dirtier. Collins helmet comes off, he keeps running back the punt, and Jack Del Rio kind of holds him up and while he does, Glen Redd came in and gave him a shot to the skull with his helmet. If that had happened today, Redd would have been given a huge fine and would have been suspended. This was the game which Redd lost his starting job to Sam Mills at linebacker and he never got it back. So maybe Redd was pissed off and took it out on Collins.
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I was happy he was able to come back for the playoffs.
The Manuel hit was dirty. The Collins hit was dirtier. Collins helmet comes off, he keeps running back the punt, and Jack Del Rio kind of holds him up and while he does, Glen Redd came in and gave him a shot to the skull with his helmet. If that had happened today, Redd would have been given a huge fine and would have been suspended. This was the game which Redd lost his starting job to Sam Mills at linebacker and he never got it back. So maybe Redd was pissed off and took it out on Collins.
Harry Carson is quoted in all the NY papers the day after the game stating that the hit on Collins upset the entire Giants team and served as the emotional catalyst for the comeback.
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This line sums it up well.
Ultimately, this was the type of game the Giants had lost before. Even as they climbed up to playoff team status in 1984 and 1985. But they found a way to win it in 1986.
Yup, even the '84 and '85 Giants seemed more likely to pull defeat from the jaws of victory rather than vice versa. This game was a sign of good things to come.
Thanks Ray. Good call, I'll make that correction, you are right, I forgot about him in the Niner game.
We'd watched a laughing stock mature into a team that could actually put points on the board, that could win, then went through dramatic peaks and valleys through the early 80's.
After losing to the Bears in 85' and bringing in a motherlode of fanastic rookies in the draft, we knew 86' was OUR year and each week was a drama in itself, and the Saints game really DID feel like a turning point, it felt like a game the Giants weren't supposed to win, the referees and the injury gods ganged up, there were bad interceptions and bad plays, but we saw that day - this was a team that would not be denied.
86' was the best full-sports season experience of my life.
Thank you for helping me remember that!