Frustration was bubbling on the New York Giants' sideline as Justin Tuck threw his helmet after David Garrard ran in for a touchdown. Perry Fewell's vaunted run defense -- which has shut down the likes of Houston's Arian Foster and made Michael Vick look human a week ago -- suddenly looked as soft as "Refrigerator" Perry's midsection. Jacksonville pounded the Giants' defense for 145 yards on the ground and the Jags sprinted into the locker room at halftime up 17-6, and defensive players began to question everything and some were making excuses. "We were squabbling about little things," Tuck said. Osi Umenyiora saw enough and spoke up, imploring his teammates to forget about the first half and raise the energy level and the quiet and low-key Tuck then delivered one of those speeches straight out of an Under Armour commercial, but this one might've been a bit more R-rated, and Tuck's speech was so stirring it moved teammate Barry Cofield to near tears as he walked back onto the field for the second half. "Cut all B.S.," safety Antrel Rolle said of Umenyiora and Tuck's message. "I don't care what's called, let's go out there and play. We don't let anyone come in our house, eat up our food, take our wives and leave. We're dogs, and we went out there hunting." "He gave a halftime speech for the ages," Cofield said. "This was a different type of halftime. By far the most intense, by far the most effective. A lot of times you will have guys screaming and it's in one ear and out the other. But I was near tears hearing some of the things that Tuck had to say." The Giants emerged from the locker room a different team and, more importantly, a different defense, they held Jacksonville to a total of 92 yards of offense and only three more points in the second half as the Giants roared back for what could be a season-saving 24-20 win. Source: ESPN New York
You wouldn't think that words would really make a difference in a situation like that, but that really was a different team in the second half. I just hope the effects of the speech carries over to the next 5 weeks as well.
