At halftime of yesterday's key game, Jim Fassel was worried about Kerry Collins.

Fassel was trying to figure out ways to protect his quarterback from the Philly defensive pressure, but Collins kept getting hit.

"I was trying to protect him with everything, they were getting through a little bit and changing our tempo," Fassel said. "The pressure was getting to him pretty good, they were playing zone coverage and we couldn't shake some guys free."

Eventually the tide turned and the Giants' 10-7 overtime victory was a testament to many players, including Collins.

After playing so brilliantly the past few weeks, Collins was brought down to earth by the Eagles. He forced the ball into double-coverage in the first quarter looking for Jeremy Shockey, and safety Michael Lewis came up with an end-zone interception. Collins (25 of 35, 256 yards) tossed scoring passes to fullback Charles Stackhouse in the second quarter and to Amani Toomer in the fourth quarter, but both were called back because of holding penalties.

Trailing 7-0, the Giants finally broke through when Collins lobbed a pass into the right corner of the end zone with 8:08 left in the fourth quarter and Jeremy Shockey out-leaped Brian Dawkins for the touchdown.
Dec. 29,02