No Plax, no problems for Giants

Oct 5, 2008 - 11:18 PM By Zachary Braziller PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New York Giants were missing their top offensive weapon. Yet there were no signs bearing Plaxico Burress' absence.

With Burress sidelined due to a team-imposed suspension, the Giants did not miss a beat in Sunday's 44-6 thrashing of the Seattle Seahawks.

The Super Bowl champs set a season high in points, and the production came from everywhere.

Running Back Brandon Jacobs scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground and ran for 136 yards, wide receivers Domenik Hixon and Sinorice Moss combined to haul in three scores and catch eight passes for 147 yards, and Eli Manning continued to impress, connecting on 19-of-25 passes for 267 yards.

"We feel like we have a lot of weapons and just because one guy is out, it's not going to change our philosophy, change the plays, or change the offense," Manning said. "We are still going to go through our same plays, and guys did a good job of stepping up when their name was called."

One Giant whose name was not called Sunday was Burress, who was suspended after missing two team meetings and failing to inform the team of his absence. Officially, it was "a violation of team rules."

The move, while risking the result of this week's game, was two-fold: to show Burress his misconduct would not be tolerated and send a message to the rest of the roster.

After all, the Giants won the Super Bowl last year on their team concept and not with individuals bending rules.

"We are just talking about today and winning the game," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "(It was) a bunch of guys playing as a team and realizing the idea and the concept of team."

"We know what that did for us a year ago," middle linebacker Antonio Pierce added. "We're trying to build that, make it a little better. Hopefully we can keep it going."

Hixon and Moss made a point of telling reporters they were only trying to fill the void left by Burress, and not replace him.

In the process, the duo made more than enough big plays. In an ironic twist, New York hit on several big passing plays, Burress's specialty, instead of scaling back its aerial attack.

"We thought we could get some vertical things done," Coughlin said.

The Giants improved to 4-0, winning their eighth consecutive game dating to last postseason.

New York took the lead for good on its fourth play from scrimmage when Manning found Hixon for a 32-yard scoring strike to open the scoring 3 1/2 minutes into the game.

"I ran a double move, and Eli put it where only I could catch it," Hixon said. "It was great timing on our part. Seattle is a pretty tough defense, but we went out there today and executed very well."

Hixon, used primarily as a kick returner last season before earning a roster spot as a receiver in training camp, suffered a mild concussion near the end of the first half and did not play after the break.

But Hixon certainly made an impact, finishing with four catches for 102 yards. Each of his four receptions resulted in a first down for the Giants, who accumulated 523 yards of total offense.

"Domenik played just like he did right through the preseason," Coughlin said. "When he has an opportunity, he plays very well."

"(Hixon) played well," Manning added. "He had to come out, but other guys stepped up and played really well also."

One of the guys who stepped up was the underachieving Moss, who caught a pair of touchdown passes in the second half. They were the first two career TDs for Moss.

"We felt very confident with Sinorice, who got a lot of playing time in the preseason and made plays," Manning said.