Atlanta Falcons

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning did not just pick on left cornerback Brent Grimes. He spread the love around.

He got right cornerback Chris Houston a couple of times. He used his tight end Kevin Boss a few times. He hit him on passes in man coverage, against zone coverage and when the Falcons were in a fire zone blitz.

Falcons coach Mike Smith called that the passing trifecta.

But Manning was the just the latest star quarterback in the league to torch the Falcons' secondary. The Falcons have been beaten by Tom Brady (277 yards passing), Tony Room (311), Drew Braes (308), Jake Welcome (195) and Eli Manning (a career-high 384). (Brady, Welcome and Manning have started in Super Bowls).

The Falcons have beaten Chad Pennington, Shaun Hill, Jay Cutler and Jason Campbell.

Manning was able to hit the Falcons up for seven plays that went for 20 yards or more. Those plays totaled 234 yards.

"The big plays, they hurt us," Grimes said.

The Falcons are 29th in the league against the pass at 253.4 yards per game. They'll need to step it up if they plan to make a return trip to the playoffs.

"Just do the fundamentals," Grimes said. "Do our techniques and make plays when we have the opportunity."

New York's receivers (Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith and Domenik Hixson) combined for 16 caches for 286 yards, an average of 17.87 yards per catch. Tight end Kevin Boss finished with five receptions for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

"We gave up a lot of passing yards. That's very obvious," coach Mike Smith said. "Way too many passing yards and again, it's team defense, it's not just the secondary. We cannot give up those types of yards in the passing game and expect to have the success that we want to have."

Coleman is the leader of the fragile group that needs to step up its play.

"The Giants came out with a great game plan," safety Eric Coleman said. "They executed well. Just give credit to them. They did a great job today."

The Giants' vertical game was a particular issue. The Falcons, who had given up 42 plays of more than 20 yards, allowed the Giants' seven of those plays, which led to 24 points, including Lawrence Tynes' game-winning 36-yard field goal in overtime.

"No team can give up big plays like that and expect to win," said Grimes.

--te T

ony Gonzalez and Roddy White helped Matt Ryan shake out of his slump.

Against the Giants, Matt Ryan threw 12 passes in the direction of Roddy White, but he caught only four for 45 yards.

Gonzalez was Ryan's top target with 14 passes. He caught eight for 82 yards and one touchdown.

With the Giants giving White and Gonzalez most of their attention, Michael Jenkins was open for nine throws and caught a season-high six passes for 76 yards. He dropped what would have been his first touchdown of the season.

• Teams have planned for defensive end John Abraham relentless pass rushes. Abraham has not had a full sack since the San Francisco game in Week Four. He has just 3.5 sacks after racking up a franchise-record 16.5 last season. He had a quarterback hit against the New York Giants.

  "The defensive line has to do a better job of getting (Manning) down," Abraham said. "The pressure was good, but we weren't getting him down. If we get him down, you don't have to worry about that stuff (the passing yards).

• The Falcons' secondary had turned in strong performances against top tight ends like San Francisco's Vernon Davis, Chicago's Greg Olsen and Dallas' Jason Witten. But New York's Kevin Boss got loose for five catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

  "Boss was very effective in the ball game," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "On some of the route progressions, he was the primary read. We gave up a play in man coverage. We gave up a play in zone coverage. We gave up a play in a fire zone. He basically got us on the trifecta."

Player Notes

• RB Jerious Norwood (right hip flexor) started to run again last week, but has missed the last five games.

• LT Sam Baker (right ankle) returned to the starting lineup against the Giants. He started and played the entire game.

• RB Michael Turner (high right ankle sprain) is hoping to come back faster than anticipated. But two weeks might still be too early for his injury.

• QB Matt Ryan threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns in the second half against the Giants as he directed scoring drives on four straight possessions, including an 18-play, 70-yard drive ending in a field goal.

• WR Michael Jenkins caught a season-high six passes for 76 yards, including a long of 28 yards against the Giants.

• WR Roddy White moved into fifth place on the Falcons all-time receiving yardage list with a seven-yard reception in the second quarter. He topped Michael Haynes (4,220 yards) who competed with the team from 1988-97. White finished the game with four catches for 45 yards.

• SLB Stephen Nicholas had his third sack of the season against New York.

Report Card Vs

. GIANTS

Passing Offense:

B-minus—Quarterback Matt Ryan came out of his slump in grand fashion. He directed the Falcons on four second-half scoring drives, including an 18-play, 70-yard drive. Tight end Tony Gonzalez took the game over in the final 12 minutes. Despite double coverage he came down with every pass thrown his way, including an 11-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds to play. The score forced overtime. After throwing 10 interceptions in the five previous games, Ryan didn't throw any against the Giants.

Rushing Offense:

C—Jason Snelling, the team's third-string tailback, filled in admirably for Michael Turner. He ran hard, but averaged just 3 yards per carry (25 carries for 75 yards). He did score two touchdowns and caught three passes for 13 yards. Turner could be out for awhile with a high right ankle sprain. Jerious Norwood, Turner's main backup, has missed the last five games with a right hip flexor. He started running last week and practiced for two days. He appears closer to returning that Norwood.

Pass Defense:

F—Eli Manning passed for a career high 384 yards. He had seven pass plays that went for 20 yards or more. He hit Steve Smith on a key 51-yard game early in the third quarter. In Overtime, he connected with Mario Manningham for a 29-yarder the helped to put the Giants in field goal range for the victory. Manning spread it around, beating man cover and then also dissected the Falcons' zone coverage.

Rush Defense:

B—Falcons free safety Thomas DeCoud is starting to get a reputation for delivering big hits. He put a big one on Giants running back Brandon Jacobs that dropped him in his tracks. Jacobs left the game and did not return. The Falcons held the Giants to 88 yards as Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Danny Ware were all held in check.

Special Teams:

D-minus—Kicker Jason Elam is having a hard time adjusting to new long snapper Bryan Pittman. For the second week in a row his timing appeared off on his approach. Pittman shot a snap back high that led to Elam missing a 35-yarder, his sixth miss of the season. He also shot one back on the extra point to tie the game and force overtime that was low. But holder Michael Koenen got the snap down.

Coaching:

D-plus—The defensive coaching staff hasn't come up with the scheme that hides the deficiencies of the entire secondary. Most of their problems had been at left cornerback. But Eli Manning was able to hit passes against all of the defensive backs. The pass rush has not been helpful and the secondary, which has clearly struggled in man to man coverage. The Falcons have to come up with a defensive scheme that hides their deficiencies. The offense got back on track, but will miss Turner.