Packers vs. Giants: The morning after

Nov 25, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty (99) trips up Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

Last night’s 38-10 thrashing at the hands of the New York Giants no doubt has all Green Bay Packers fans feeling rather foul this morning – the morning after is a difficult one, if not one of the more difficult we’ve had to deal with in some time … well, at least since the last time the Packers faced the Giants.

Once again, the Giants dominance along both the offensive and defensive lines was the difference. Hopefully Coach Mike McCarthy takes note.

We could write all week long about what went wrong in this one, but truth be told? It’s not worthy.

This is a game you stick in the trunk and bring out just before the Packers meet up with the Giants again in January. Hopefully, by that time the Packers will be healed up and prepared to stand toe-to-toe and absorb blows. Yes, it’s a tough loss, but it’s simply a single game – one that should be remembered.

Could it be the Packers lost the battle last night en route to winning the war? We shall see as the Packers venture off to fight more battles -all-important battles – within the division.

Oh, and by the way, Mike McCarthy needs to lose the mustache.

But just for one last look, we’ve taken a stroll around the Internet to see what’s being said out there …

Here’s a sampling:

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.

Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

Head Coach Mike McCarthy on the loss:

"“This is a game that really makes everybody look inside and find out what you’re about,” McCarthy said. “I believe in what we’re about as a football team. I haven’t felt like this since probably the first game I coached as a Green Bay Packer head coach. Beaten very thoroughly tonight. Doesn’t taste good, doesn’t feel good.”"

From JSonline.com – Packers players quotes on the loss –

"Morgan BurnettJeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIREMorgan Burnett, SOn the loss: “That was tough, man. That was a real bad loss. The only thing we can do is just learn from it and make sure it never happens again.”On if it’s even tougher considering last year’s problems returned: “It was just all-around. We, as a team, we didn’t get the job done. The Giants came out, and give them credit, those guys came and did what they were supposed to do. We didn’t get the job done and that’s why the outcome of the game ended like it did.”On if the Giants’ physical play is what separates the two teams: “Yeah, they made their plays. They took advantage of making plays. It was a good team over there and we didn’t finish like we were supposed to. We didn’t come out with that intensity like we normally do. So the only thing we can do is everyone look at themselves in the mirror. Myself, I missed a lot of tackles I should have made. Just have to regroup, reload, learn from this and make sure it never happens again.  Aaron RodgersBrad Penner-US PRESSWIREAaron Rodgers, QBOn the disappointment: “It’s disappointing. It’s one game. We had an opportunity to put ourselves in a better position than we’re in right now and didn’t do that. We’ll be disappointed watching this film but as we move on we have five games left — three at home, four against division opponents. Everything’s right in front of us. We win out, we win our division and accomplish our first goal — winning our division. So that’s what we’re trying to do.“We have to regroup. I think we have to get a couple things shored up. You win five in a row and everybody’s happy but there’s often things, like I said last year, there are things that kind of go under the radar that need to be handled. Sometimes it takes a loss to handle those things. Now, that being said, I’ve never been on this side of this kind of loss before but I know that if you play long enough, at some point you will. Hopefully we’ll remember this feeling and not have this kind of embarrassment happen again.”On how it’s different: “It’s just a lot more embarrassing. National TV. Good opportunity. Good opponent. They played well tonight. You have to give them credit. But it was not the way we wanted to play. We’re better than this. We’re going to regroup. We have Minnesota at home and we’ll be ready for them.”On where things went wrong on offense: “We’ll have to look at the film and look at the execution, learn from it and get better. Teams are going to play us like this so we’re going to have to have answers and execute better than we’ve done most of the season. …You have to run the ball effectively. You have to throw at a high percentage. I think that moving forward, we’ll see. We’ll talk about it. We’ll look at the film and figure out what we have to do to score some more points.”  B.J. RajiJeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIREB.J. Raji, NTOn McCarthy’s message: “Coach was a little upset. He didn’t say too much. He’s never been a part of this so it’s not like he had a speech ready. Taking Aaron out of the game in the fourth quarter, that doesn’t happen here too much. But I’m sure he’ll have something positive to say when we meet on Wednesday.”On if the loss is troubling: “That’s a good question. At this point, without evaluating the film, it’s tough to say. But it’s not something we can’t overcome. We have everything in front of us that we need. We can still go out here and win our division and still have homefield. But we’re not going to do that playing the way we played tonight.”  Josh SittonJeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIREJosh Sitton, RGOn fixing what went wrong: “There wasn’t any crazy crap that happened out there. It just comes down to fundamentals and winning your one-on-one battles. There’s always room for improvement. So we just need to watch the film, figure out our mistakes and try to improve upon them.”On improving as a line: “Everything is pretty simple, especially on the offensive line. It comes down to fundamentals. I know it sounds simple and pretty cliche but that’s really what it comes down to — hand placement, footwork, small things. There are things we can improve on for sure.”"

From packers.com

"Randall Cobb: “I think the biggest thing is we have to come out and play with some emotion. I feel like our care level just wasn’t there tonight. I don’t know how else to put it.”Tramon Williams: “We were flat out there. They got a couple turnovers and we were trailing the whole time. It was a total downfall, I guess you could say.”"

From CheeseheadTV.com

"“Whether it’s Eli Manning this week or Christian Ponder next week, almost any signal caller will pick apart a defensive backfield if given enough time. The Packers pass rush has to improve, especially on third down in the red zone.”"

Giants players quotes from www.bigblueview.com

Justin Tuck on if he knew the Giants would play such a dominant game Sunday night:

"“That? No. I saw us playing better. I thought we had a great week of practice. I thought we in some ways just had a refreshing week off. People seemed like they were kind of refreshed coming back this week and we had a great week of practice, but Green Bay’s a great football team. I didn’t see us winning it like this, but I felt very confident going into the game.”"

Mathias Kiwanuka on the meaning of the victory:

"“I think for us, it’s a start. The message has to be continued on. You can’t just be a fluke. For us, it’s we came back after the bye, we put it together. We had a good week of practice and everybody was clicking. We have to make sure that we build on that and I think that will be a better message than just one game.”"

Ahmad Bradshaw on Andre Brown’s injury:

"“I feel bad for Andre. He’s my little brother, man. It’s heartbreaking for me just to see him so down. When I was a rookie, I told David (Wilson) that D(errick) Ward broke his fibula and I had to step in and be a big part of our offense and that’s what I expect from David and I told him just to get right and get ready for the following weeks to come…. Once we get him going and get him learning a little more and different things in different areas, I think he’ll be a great asset to our offense.”"

Eli Manning on lowering his shoulder into a Packers’ defensive back instead of sliding:

"“It’s kind of one of those circumstances where if I slide, I wasn’t sure if I had enough yardage for the first down and the new rule that if you do slide it’s from where you start your slide. I thought it might be close to the first down so I just thought I might have to go get an extra yard. I didn’t think the guy was running at me, he was kind of stopped in a DB so I just tried to make sure I got the first down. I’m sure I’ll get some heat from it or maybe guys will be proud of me in the meetings tomorrow.”"

Oct 14, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Head coach Tom Coughlin on the performance of his team:

"“We played well tonight, really in all three phases, something we needed to do. We approached this game as if it was the first of a six-game season. I thought we had a good week of practice. I thought the guys were very committed, very serious. I thought they came back rested, both mentally and physically. I thought they were really into preparing and supporting each other and so on and so forth. We challenged our team to play. Adam (Merchant), a young man who was with us from Make-a-Wish on Friday, said to our team, ‘Play like world champions.’ The message was loud and clear. We had Adam in the locker room after the game as well and had him in the middle. Guys were very appreciative that he was here and really what he said was most meaningful. We picked up on that and that’s basically the challenge that we kept throughout the weekend and on our Saturday night meetings, ‘play like world champions.’ “"

From jerseyal.com

"Pathetic, flat, uninspired and unemotional.These are a just few words that could be used to describe the dud that the Green Bay Packers put up against the New York Giants on national television Sunday night.  It was a game many fans had circled on the calendar since the schedule was released in spring.  The Giants ended the Packers’ season in the playoffs last season and many a player and fan were eager to get some revenge on the Giants in their own house.Instead, by a score of Giants 38, Packers 10, salt got added to the wound and boy does it burn."

Well, that’s probably enough … time to move, wouldn’t you say?