Giants Q&A: Orleans Darkwa?
Orleans Darkwa of the New York Giants runs the ball in the second quarter en route to a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during an NFL game at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Credit: Jim McIsaac
When did Orleans Darkwa know he would get his first offensive touches of the season?
When they sent him into the game for the third series. The fourth-stringer said he had no hint before that that he'd be called upon to play this week even though Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo made what, in retrospect, were revealing remarks during the week about his availability. "I wasn't expecting it," he said, "but I knew I had to be ready for it."
How did he perform?
He wound up running for 41 yards on four carries in that first drive, including a 15-yard touchdown. He finished the game with eight carries for 48 yards, providing a much-needed spark for an offense that had a lackluster look for the second straight week. "He certainly did look good out there," Coughlin said. "His touchdown run when he cut back behind the slanting defensive line was really quite an outstanding play."
Why is Dwayne Harris on the Giants' roster and not the Cowboys'?
The Cowboys wanted the free agent back after he spent four years with the team, but he said they weren't willing to give him an opportunity as a pass-catching wide receiver. That was something the Giants offered -- along with a five-year, $17.5-million contract -- and Harris jumped at the opportunity. "They kept their word," he said. "The Cowboys didn't really want me to be nothing but a blocking receiver, so I came here."
Why wasn't Damontre Moore active for the game?
Coughlin simply said that's between him and the player, but it's a really good guess to assume it had a lot to do with his silly roughing-the-passer penalty against the Eagles last week. Coughlin said the day after that game that he wasn't sure he could trust Moore to avoid those kinds of mistakes. With pass rusher Robert Ayers returning to the field after four weeks with a hamstring injury, Moore was benched.
Will the Cowboys discipline Greg Hardy for his on-the-field rant in the special-teams huddle?
That's unlikely given that owner Jerry Jones seemed to applaud the defensive end as he screamed and shoved players and coaches after Harris' touchdown and then got into a heated exchange with inactive wide receiver Dez Bryant. "He's of course one of the real leaders on this team and he earns it," Jones said after the game. "That's the kind of thing that inspires a football team."
It was Hardy's second game with the Cowboys after serving a four-game suspension for his role in a 2014 domestic violence incident.How many games has Tom Coughlin won with the Giants?
An even hundred. He becomes only the second coach in franchise history to reach the century mark; Steve Owen has 153. Coughlin is 100-83 with the Giants.Who made the one-handed catch this time?
Not Odell Beckham Jr., who tried to imitate his classic from last year but had the ball bounce off his hand in the end zone (he felt he was held on the play but there was no flag). Instead it was Rueben Randle who reached out for the one-hander, catching a key 44-yard completion down the sideline in the third quarter.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
