Post-Vick apathy, Eli's struggles and Toomer's mark

Yes, the Falcons did have 103 rushing yards. But 83 came on two Jerious Norwood runs alone, including a 67-yard scoring burst. Doug Benc/Getty Images

ATLANTA -- Want to know how un-obsessed Atlantans are with the Michael Vick story now? Witness the local ESPN radio affiliate in the hours leading up to Monday night's game between the Falcons and the Giants. The hosts spent a 10-minute segment making fun of the male producer, who had spent part of his weekend getting a manicure, pedicure and his eyebrows waxed. "Nothing wrong with taking care of yourself," the producer argued. "It's time we put the 'man' back in manicure."

It was a far cry from the days the very same station would spend every second of the daily four-hour show discussing the disgraced Falcons quarterback. That was three months ago, when Vick's dogfighting federal indictment first came down. Callers would jam the station's phone lines to discuss the hot-button topic. In a town where late summer is the time to talk football, the Vick issue remained at the forefront, shoving aside talk of Falcons training camp, Georgia and Georgia Tech football and even the Braves.

The Vick talk has simmered down, but the Falcons are still trying to crawl out of its shadow. Monday's 31-10 loss won't go very far in helping this city permanently put Vick in its rearview. Winning may be the only way to make that happen.

Here's five more things we learned on a night Michael Vick jerseys spotted in the Georgia Dome outnumbered Joey Harrington jerseys 34-4, which included the real No. 13 on the field. (In all fairness to Joey, his jerseys are not available in the official Falcons store.)

1. Bobby Petrino's offense ain't NFL-ready. Through their first five games, the Falcons had reached the end zone five times. To put that in perspective, in four seasons at Louisville, Petrino's offenses scored five touchdowns in a game 29 times. In game six, the Falcons continued to show some glimpses (10 points in their first two drives) but still couldn't put the whole thing together (0 points in its final 11). The thing that hurt Atlanta the most? Not scoring off three Giants turnovers. The closest they came to points was a missed 48-yard Morten Anderson field goal attempt. Also at the root of the problem? An inconsistent run game. The Falcons broke 100 yards rushing as a team for the first time this season with 103 yards, but the bulk of it came on two Jerious Norwood runs of 67 and 16 yards. Until the Falcons can re-establish their run game, defenses will continue to tee off on Harrington (four sacks) and handcuff Atlanta's offense.

2. Peyton was the best Manning quarterback this week. And he was on bye, which tells you how glum Eli Manning's situation was, even in a win. Manning did have two touchdowns, but his three turnovers (two INTs and one fumble lost) left his TD-to-TO ratio at 1:1 (11 TDs, 8 INTs, 3 fumbles). Obviously, the turnovers did not cost New York the win, but the opponent won't always have as inept an offense as the Falcons. Manning and the Giants may get away with not protecting the football in their next two games (against San Francisco and Miami), but the Lions and Cowboys of the world likely won't be as forgiving.

3. Amani Toomer has still got it. After missing the last eight games of the 2006 season, the 12-year veteran has been an integral part of the Giants' 4-2 start. His seven receptions Monday put him atop the Giants' all-time receptions list with 587, passing Tiki Barber. Toomer also scored his first touchdown of the season (tying Kyle Rote atop the Giants' all-time receiving TD list with 48) on New York's first drive and his nifty, tip-toe catch at the Atlanta 1 set up the second score. As teams begin game-planning to limit Plaxico Burress and, to a lesser extent, Jeremy Shockey, Toomer will be left with single coverage and will be counted on to make big plays. On Monday, he showed he is still capable of handling it, even at 33 years old.

4. Undrafted free agent Renardo Foster made a lot of NFL teams look silly for passing on him in April. The Falcons rookie got his first start at left tackle, thanks to an injury to Wayne Gandy, and performed admirably. Foster protected Harrington's blind side and did not give up a sack to Giants right end Osi Umenyiora, who leads the NFL with seven. Foster even got under the skin of one Giant in particular, Sam Madison, who ripped off Foster's helmet in frustration after a clean block at the tail end of Norwood's 67-yard TD run. Many general managers and directors of player personnel around the league will argue that, after quarterback, left tackle is the most important position on the field. To plug in an undrafted free agent and have him hold the NFL sack leader sackless is unheard of. Credit goes to Petrino, who coached him at Louisville, and Falcons GM Rich McKay for recognizing Foster's ability when no one else in the league did. Now, if only the rest of the Atlanta offensive line could pass protect ...

5. They serve alcohol during the game to the guy who operates the Falcons P.A. system. That's the only explanation for why Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" was blared after the Giants' final touchdown. If these are the Falcons glory days, I'd hate to see the down years.

Email this writer at dom.bonvissuto@turner.com.