Kanell Leaves Eagles Feeling Threatened

It’s one thing for your coach to tell you that you might not start the second half if you don’t have a good first half.

It’s another thing for your coach to tell the world.

Or at least the portion of the world that revolves around the New York Giants.

What’s a quarterback to do?

Danny Kanell, responding to the challenge of Coach Jim Fassel, survived a mind-wrenching week of controversy and a potentially devastating fumble in the first quarter. He threw two first-half touchdown passes in leading the Giants to a 31-21 victory Sunday afternoon in front of a disappointed Veterans Stadium crowd of 67,084.

In all, Kanell connected on 14 of 27 passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns.

And largely because of that effort, it is now the Eagles who are barely surviving in the tight NFC East.

The Giants (8-5-1) lead the division with two games to play. The Eagles fell to 6-7-1.

Kanell had more than a little help. The Giant defense intercepted three passes by Philadelphia’s Bobby Hoying, the hot quarterback coming in, sacked Hoying four times and limited the Eagles to 70 yards rushing.

Rookie running back Tiki Barber, taking over when Tyrone Wheatley went down late in the first quarter because of a severely sprained ankle, rushed for a career-high 114 yards and caught a touchdown pass.

“It was a very emotional week,” said Kanell, the second-year quarterback from Florida State who has been trying to maintain his shaky hold on the starting job with former starter Dave Brown looking over his shoulder. “Coach Fassel is not asking me to be a superstar, to be the hero of the game. He just wants me to be a smart quarterback and lead them down the field.”

Kanell said he received an outpouring of support from family, friends and teammates. But nothing was more impressive than his conversation with linebacker Jessie Armstead before the game.

“You are the king,” Armstead told Kanell. “Don’t let no coach or no media tell you different. Don’t let anybody take your throne away. And we’ll take up any slack for you.”

Armstead did more than talk. Less than three minutes into the game, he was taking up some slack.

Hoying entered the game having thrown seven touchdown passes and only one interception in the past 14 quarters as he rose from third string to the starting job.

But in the first quarter Sunday, attempting to hit Michael Timpson in the flat, Hoying threw the ball instead into the arms of Armstead, who raced 57 yards down the left sideline for the game’s first touchdown.

But Kanell wasn’t off the hook yet.

Later in the quarter, attempting to pass from his own 37-yard line, Kanell lost his grip and the ball sailed behind him as if an invisible defender had smacked it loose.

But Charles Dimry wasn’t invisible.

In plain view of the cheering crowd, he recovered the fumble, started toward the goal line, knocked the ball loose with his own knee, then recovered it again at the New York three-yard line, giving him the rare distinction of having recovered two fumbles on the same play.

Ricky Watters finished off the turnaround, diving over from the one-yard line to tie the score.

But Kanell regained his composure and the lead in the second quarter, hitting Barber for an 11-yard touchdown and David Patten for a 40-yard score to give the Giants a 21-7 halftime lead.

Again the Eagle defense struck back, safety Brian Dawkins picking off a Kanell pass and returning it 64 yards for a touchdown.

But again Kanell responded, connecting with Chris Calloway on a five-yard touchdown pass play.

Brad Daluiso added a 19-yard field goal for the Giants.

Hoying’s 72-yard touchdown pass to Irving Fryar in the closing minutes did nothing more than make the score respectable.

Now the Giants face another crucial game Saturday against the Washington Redskins at home.

After Sunday’s victory, nobody felt it necessary to ask Fassel who his starting quarterback would be.