World Champions!

6 02 2012

It’s hard to imagine a more anticlimactic game-winning touchdown run with :57 seconds remaining in the Super Bowl than the one Ahmad Bradshaw scored last night. On a second-and-goal from the six yard line, Bradshaw took the hand-off from Eli Manning and ran directly up the middle of a gaping hole in the Patriots defensive line. Shocked by this clear path to the end zone, it took a few seconds before Bradshaw suddenly remembered what he had to do, but it was a few seconds too late. Just inside the one yard line, Bradshaw squatted as if he was shrinking away from an imaginary tackler, hearing Eli yelling for him not to score. The momentum of his run was too much to fight though, and it carried him over the goal line, backwards, almost as if he were moving in slow motion.

And just like that, the New York Giants led the New England Patriots 21-17 with :57 seconds left in Super Bowl XLVI and we didn’t know whether to celebrate or be disappointed. So, by default, we celebrated — even if the reaction was a little delayed. After all, wouldn’t it be better to force the immortal Tom Brady to go the length of the field and score a touchdown to win, rather than relying on Tynes to boot a high-pressure kick and then give Brady the ball back needing only a field goal to win?

The decision will be debated, for sure, but not as much as it would have been if the outcome of the game was any different than what it ultimately was. As it were, Brady’s last second Hail Mary pass ended up hitting the turf  just out of the reach of Rob Gronkowski’s fingers and scooted out the back of the end zone, and then — cue the confetti, for the second time in four years.

It’s still far too early for me to accurately put this Super Bowl run and eventual title in the proper perspective, but I can say this much: this one seemed more deserved, like we really earned it, at least more so than 2007. Although 2007 was special for me in its own way (it was the first Giants title that I was old enough to appreciate, we ruined the Pats’ perfect season, etc.), my immediate feeling is that I will come to cherish this victory even more when I look back on it years from now.

To compare the two would be foolish at this moment, before the initial wave of euphoria from last night’s victory has even worn off. If I could put it simply though, I would say that when it comes down to it the 2007 title felt like it was a series of serendipitous events that carried us like a team of destiny, whereas this run felt like we scratched, clawed and fought to the death every step of the way, catching fire at the right time and straight-up beating the best teams in football in the rawest, most pure way possible.

And maybe there are other factors in there somewhere too. Maybe it’s because of the fact that this run seemingly came out of nowhere. Maybe it’s because of the fact that every single win in this six-game stretch dating back to Christmas Eve against the Jets has felt like one big sigh of relief after another. Or maybe it’s because of the fact that I already have such fond memories surrounding each and every playoff game that made up this run. From being there in MetLife Stadium to witness the first home playoff win in the new building against Atlanta, to the improbable win over the 15-1 Packers, to watching us capture the NFC title on a beach in St. Maarten, and finally watching Big Blue wrap up another Super Bowl title in the last minute with my Dad, the only other Giants fan I know more diehard than I am, every step of the way was memorable.

A few years from now, I’ll probably be able to better assess the two Super Bowl runs and how they compare to one another, but right now, I’ll just stick to enjoying this one.

So soak it all in, Giants fans. After the season we just went through, that might very well have taken a few years off of my life, we sure as hell deserve it.


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Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants vs. New England Patriots Position-By-Position Breakdown

30 01 2012

There are about 155 hours left until the kickoff of Super Bowl XLVI, or three viewings of The Tree of Life if you want a rough comparison. The Patriots have already landed in Indianapolis and the Giants are due to arrive today, so in celebration of the official beginning of Super Bowl Week, I’m going to do a position-by-position breakdown of the big game. But before you read all the way through to the bottom expecting to find my prediction, I want to warn you that you’re not going to find it. If you think I’m going to be pressured into giving a prediction that I’ll regret all week, then you must be outside of your mind. It’s not happening.

Quarterback: Eli Manning vs. Tom Brady

If this breakdown was comparing how Eli Manning and Tom Brady played last week, then the outcome might be a little different. If it was comparing which quarterback was hottest at this very moment, then the outcome would definitely be different. But if we’re just comparing Eli Manning and Tom Brady straight-up, with no stipulations, then it’s hard not to tip the scales in Brady’s favor. I know Eli has won his last two games against Tom and I know he’s probably playing the best football of his life right now, but the fact is that Tom Brady is still Tom Brady, official UGG’s spokesman, until further notice. The fact that this is even as close as it is speaks volumes to how well Eli Manning is playing right now. I’ll leave it at that.

Slight Edge: Pats

Running Backs: Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw vs. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead

If this category was “Which running back tandem has the best names” then I’d have to give it to the Patriots. BenJarvus Green-Ellis almost has half as many names as he had rushing touchdowns during the regular season and Danny Woodhead sounds like a comic book character. But if we’re comparing them based on which tandem is more likely to swing the momentum of the game, it’s going to have to be Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw is the heart of the Giants offense, even if his numbers may not always show it. He didn’t play the last time the Giants and Pats met back in Week 9 and the Giants still came out on top, so having him around this time should be a big plus for Big Blue. And if Brandon Jacobs can break a few big runs, the Patriots defense will have major problems.

Edge: Giants

Wide Receivers: Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham vs. Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Chad Ochocinco

Right now, the Giants have the best wide receiving corps in the NFL and it isn’t even close. Each and every one of those three have had a significant impact on the Giants’ postseason run and they are a major reason why the Giants are going to be playing for the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night. Nicks had enormous games against Atlanta and Green Bay, and when he was locked down against San Francisco, it was Victor Cruz that stepped up with 10 catches for 142 yards. And what about Mario Manningham? Well, he has only quietly scored 3 touchdowns this postseason, one in each game so far. His 3rd-and-15 catch against San Fran to put the Giants up 17-14 was one of the biggest plays of the season.

As for the Patriots receivers, we all know that Welker has had a monster season. Although the New England receivers are the exact polar opposite of the Giants’ squad in that they are more prone to controlling the middle of the field and not known for their big-play tendencies the way Nicks, Cruz and Manningham are, they are still dangerous and equally hard to cover in the 10-20 yard range. Plus, Ochocinco just bought a pair of Beats by Dre headphones for every single player on the Patriots which is probably the most important thing he’s contributed all year.

Edge: Giants

Offensive Line: Chris Snee, David Diehl, Kareem McKenzie, David Baas vs. Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Nate Solder

These two units are going to play an extremely important role in Sunday’s game. If the Patriots offensive line can protect Brady and make sure he isn’t running scared and throwing darts into the ground like Alex Smith during the 4th quarter last week, then the Pats should be in good shape. We all know what can happen if the Giants get pressure on Brady. We saw it in Super Bowl XLII and we saw it in Week 9. This is no secret. For the Giants, their line was simply abused by the 49ers defensive front last week. Manning was hit so many times he could have legally changed his name to Tina Turner. Luckily for the Giants’ line, the Patriots pass rush isn’t nearly as ferocious as San Francisco’s. For now though, and since the play of the Patriots’ line is much more closely connected to their success than the Giants’ line is, I’m going to give the edge to New England.

Edge: Pats

Tight Ends: Jake Ballard, Travis Beckum vs. Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez

Much like the wide receiver match-up, this one isn’t even close. Only instead of being in the Giants’ favor, this one clearly goes to New England. Jake Ballard can hold his own with just about anyone in the league and has had a great season filling the shoes of the departed Kevin Boss, but he’s leagues away from Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Gronkowski shattered tight end records left and right this season and even on a bad ankle, he’s the player that the Giants defense needs to make its number one priority going into Sunday night. His high ankle sprain is going to be the big story leading up to the game and it’s not likely that Gronk will be 100%, but Rob Gronkowski at 75% is still more dangerous than 90% of the tight ends in the league playing at full health. Plus, Aaron Hernandez plays like a wide receiver and the Pats have even started using him as a running back too because apparently their offense is run by a 12-year-old playing Madden.

Edge: Pats

Defensive Line: Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul, Chris Canty, Linval Joseph vs. Shaun Ellis, Vince Wilfork, Mark Anderson

This unit is the Giants’ bread and butter. They will set the tone of this game and it’s up to the Patriots offensive line to keep them at bay, which will be easier said than done considering no offensive line has been able to successfully do that in over a month and a half. The Giants’ defensive line is a very close-knit group and they have big game experience too. Tuck and Umenyiora both played huge roles in the Super Bowl XLII victory and Tuck sacked Brady twice in that game. In fact, if it wasn’t for Eli Manning’s late game heroics, an argument could have been made to give Tuck the MVP of that game. Simply put, this game will be determined by how much pressure the Giants’ front four can put on Brady.

As for the Patriots, Wilfork had an enormous game against Baltimore last week, and it will be up to the Giants’ offensive line to keep him at bay on Sunday. If it was legal for defensive tackles to eat their way through the offensive line though, Wilfork would be absolutely unstoppable.

Edge: Giants

Linebackers: Michael Boley, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jacquian Williams, Chase Blackburn vs. Brandon Spikes, Rob Ninkovich, Tracy White

This is a tough category to call because the Giants linebackers have been really hit-or-miss all season. Only in the last five weeks have they begun to really gel and play some quality football. Jacquian Williams is finally making plays, Boley and Kiwanuka are finally both 100% healthy and Chase Blackburn went from eating Cheetos on his couch two months ago to playing a major role in another Giants Super Bowl run. It’s weird how football works. The linebackers are going to really be tested on Sunday with Gronk and Hernandez roaming the middle of the field. If they can cover and not let either tight end go all Vernon Davis on them, then they will severely limit the Patriots’ offensive options.

Slight Edge: Giants

Secondary: Kenny Phillips, Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Deon Grant, Antrel Rolle vs. Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington, Pat Chung, James Ihedigbo, Sterling Moore

I have to give the edge to the Giants here on principle. The Patriots owned the league’s worst passing defense all season, and even though they’ve looked a little better during the playoffs, you need to remember who they went up against the last two weeks: Tim Tebow and Joe Flacco. Two quarterbacks who aren’t exactly known for lighting it up. The most dangerous receiver they’ve had to cover was probably Demaryius Thomas. Let’s get real here for a second. They haven’t had to face a receiving corps like the one the Giants have since the last time they played the Giants. Plus, if they throw Julian Edelman out there on Cruz or Manningham it’s going to be a blood bath. The one thing the Patriots’ secondary has in its favor is that it’s opportunistic. They get a lot of takeaways, so as long as Eli can play mistake-free football and be careful with his throws like he was last week in San Francisco, then the Giants can avoid playing to the Patriots’ strengths.

Edge: Giants

Special Teams: Lawrence Tynes, Steve Weatherford, Will Blackmon, Devin Thomas vs. Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko, Julian Edelman, Wes Welker

The Giants special teams play is probably what won the game for them against the 49ers. Weatherford punted the hell out of the ball all night, Thomas’s two fumble recoveries were responsible for 10 points and he might have singlehandedly put the Giants in the Super Bowl and of course Lawrence Tynes was the one who won it with his kick. But the truth is that Big Blue’s special teams have been shaky all season. Another game like last week’s is probably asking too much, but all they really need to do is play smart, mistake-free football. On the Pats’ side, Gostkowski is a model of efficiency and Edelman and Welker are always dangerous in the return game. We’ll call this one even.

Edge: Even

Head Coach: Coughlin vs. Belichick

For the second time in four years, Tom Coughlin has coached himself off of the hot seat and into the Super Bowl. He’s done a fantastic job of getting the team motivated and prepared down the stretch this season and especially in the playoffs and he’s converted guys like Antrel Rolle and Michael Boley and made them believers. In fact, he might be doing the best coaching job of his career right now. But so is Belichick. He’s taken a team with the 31st ranked defense in the league and brought them within one win of a Super Bowl title, which is amazing given the fact that he has based his entire career up until now on his defensive superiority. Basically this comes down to the fact that Belichick is Belichick — the slight edge here goes to the Pats, even though, much like the Manning-Brady comparison, this is much closer than it would have been a few years ago.

Slight Edge: Pats

 

Prediction: No way.


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Thanks for the Heart Attack, Giants

12 12 2011

Well, I just found something that pisses me off more than the Giants’ defense: WordPress . I came in fired up this morning and delivered a 1,300+ word column about how even though I was excited to come away from last night’s game with a win, there are still countless problems with the defense that need to be addressed before we can even think about the Giants as possible playoff contenders. Then, when I went to hit submit, POOF! All 1,300 words disappeared. Vanished like a fart in the wind, as Warden Norton would say.

“Okay, that’s fine,” I thought, “I’ll just go back and check the last automatically saved draft.” That sounded like a solid plan, until I checked the last saved revision and found that it, too, was completely blank. So, to make a long story short, I am now attempting to rehash everything I wrote in the last column that I spent almost two hours writing. Maybe I’ll tell a better story this time around because I’m consciously trying to cut straight to the point and eliminate all the fat.

Or maybe, because I’m so mad at WordPress for the events that just occurred, I’ll forget a bunch of the gems I included in my original draft and just resort to bullet points this time around for the sake of time. For example, I could list all the ways in which the Giants defense tried to give away the game (and the season) in the 4th quarter last night:

*Following Sean Lee’s interception of a tipped Eli Manning screen pass (hey Gilbride, how about we rip the page with “screen pass to D.J. Ware” out of the playbook from here on out? Sound good, buddy?), Dez Bryant got behind Corey Webster, the entire cast of Dallas and everybody sitting in the endzone seats at Cowboys Stadium for a 50-yard touchdown catch. It was a break-down in coverage that was “Look away from your TV”-level embarrassing.

That play made it 34-22 Dallas with under six minutes to play, and at that point I was convinced that the Giants’ season was over. The funeral dirge was playing and the Giants’ season was suspended over a freshly dug grave about be lowered into the ground. That was it. And at that moment I was getting ready to throw the towel in on the 2011 NFL season, and I’m sure every Giants fan would have agreed with me. After all, we’ve already seen a handful of remarkable and improbably 4th quarter comebacks this season, but 12 points down with under six minutes left? Let’s just say I wasn’t expecting too much.

*Of course, not only did Eli Manning refuse to throw in the towel, but he then proceeded to twist the towel up really tight and whip the Cowboys defense into submission. Rob Ryan paced the sidelines like a scowling, pregnant Rex Ryan clone as Eli marched the Giants down the field in six plays before finding Ballard in the end zone to cut the lead to 34-29 with 3:14 to go.

With 2:25 to go and the Cowboys facing a 3rd-and-5 from their own 25 yard line, the game came down to one play for the Giants defense. A first down by Dallas would almost guarantee victory and a stop by Big Blue meant that Eli would get the ball back with a chance to complete the comeback. Of course, knowing that the ultimate weakness of the Giants defense is stopping 3rd down plays of between 5 and 10 yards, Jason Garrett chose to go for the jugular and send Miles Austin on a go-route down the near sideline. Austin was working on Aaron Ross in single coverage, and of course Ross got absolutely torched by Austin like you read about. Just flat-out lost. Suddenly, Romo spots a wide-open Miles Austin streaking towards the sideline with nothing but green FieldTurf in front of him. If Romo makes the throw, it’s 41-29 Cowboys a few seconds later and the Giants’ season is as dead as a door nail. This morning, the story would be about how the Giants defense came up flat again and got torched for 41 points and couldn’t come up big when it had to.

But what happens? Of course Romo overthrows Austin by a hair because he’s Romo. The Cowboys are forced to punt with 2:20 and the Giants dodge a bullet the size of Cowboys Stadium. Now, all is forgiven because we know the outcome of the game. But all is not forgotten. That play stuck in my mind all night, and as Mat McBriar trotted out onto the field to punt the ball back to the Giants, Bob Papa summed up the situation pretty perfectly when he asked Carl Banks, “Did the Giants defense just stop the Cowboys, or did the Cowboys just stop themselves?” I’m going to go with the latter.

*So that was instance #2 of the Giants defense trying to give the game away. Let’s fast forward through yet another heroic Eli Manning drive, leading the Giants down the Dallas 1-yard line after passes of 21 and 18 yards to Jake Ballard. Let’s fast forward through the game-winning touchdown run by Brandon Jacobs and the ensuing two-point conversion run by D.J. Ware (yup, same play that they ran against Green Bay last week) and let’s get to the :46 seconds of deja vu that came with the Giants up 37-34.

The Cowboys offense, with no timeouts remaining, was able to effortlessly glide into field goal range, leaving the game in Dan Bailey’s hands with :09 left. Two big passes from Romo to Austin of 22 and 23 yards, respectively, set up what should have been the game-tying field goal. Once again, the Giants defense was primed to let another valiant comeback by Eli Manning slip away because they couldn’t make one stop when they needed to. If Coughlin doesn’t call that time-out and Bailey’s game-tying kick sails through the uprights, it’s an entirely different story today. Instead, the defense gets bailed out yet again.

Only this time, it was one of their own that came through. Jason Pierre-Paul single-handedly (get it, because he blocked the kick with one hand?) saved the game and the Giants’ season, and not only with that blocked kick. His safety in the first quarter gave the Giants 2 points that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.

*Here’s the bottom line: The Giants won, the Giants are now in first place, every one in Giants Nation is happy today. That is all true. But what’s also true is that the Giants defense failed to show up yet again last night and despite the win and the larger-than-life effort of JPP, there are still a ton of problems that need to be addressed on the defensive side of the football. Last night’s win was a good start, and a step in the right direction. But the Giants are basically in their own version of the playoffs from here on out and they are going to have to handle their business once again at home against Dallas on New Year’s Day. If the defense doesn’t fix the problems that are currently plaguing them, they might not get bailed out again.


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Here we go again…

21 11 2011

I don’t want to focus on one drive because the Giants’ play was so maddeningly uneven last night that it would be unfair to single out one specific series. But, this particular drive was so problematic, so typical of the Giants recent late-season struggles, that it really sort of embodies everything that is wrong with the 2011 New York Giants. And the 2010 New York Giants. Probably the 2009 New York Giants too.

At the 11:36 mark in the 4th quarter, after the Giants had just tied up the game at 10-10 on a 24-yard touchdown pass where Victor Cruz burned Nnamdi Asomugha for the second time in as many games this season, the Giants seemingly had the Eagles exactly where they wanted them. The 4th quarter hasn’t been kind to the Eagles this season, and after being in control for almost the entire game, one would imagine that this touchdown would have sent the Birds spiraling towards other blown 4th quarter lead. At least it seemed that way.

What happened next was an inexplicable 18-play drive that drained almost 9 minutes from the clock and was about as painful to watch as anything I’ve seen from the Giants since that afternoon at the Meadowlands 11 months ago. Out of the 18 plays on this Philadelphia drive, 6 of them were 3rd down plays. Of course, the Vince Young-led Eagles offense converted all 6 of these 3rd downs almost effortlessly, the last one being a 3rd and goal from the 8-yard-line, where Young found Riley Cooper in the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Yes, the same Riley Cooper that had a grand total of 0 catches in the 2011 season coming into last night’s game.

That he ended up supplying the dagger in our hearts was not the most maddening part of that series though. The most frustrating thing about the 18-play march was the way in which the Eagles converted 3rd downs of 3, 10, 3, 1, 4 and 8 yards. On each of these 3rd down plays, the pass-rush was virtually non-existent.

Vince Young was able to sit back in the pocket and calmly sling passes over the middle to a fully-exposed area of the field that was being continuously exploited due to the inexperience of the Giants rookie linebackers. Herzlich and Paysinger played well at times last night, but they seemed to spend most of the game getting caught in no man’s land and leaving the middle of the field wide open for the likes of Brent Celek, Riley Cooper and Jason Avant to sit down in coverage and make uncontested catches. And without so much as a hint of a pass rush all night, Young was able to easily make these plays when he had to.

Early on in the night Young looked rusty, which was no surprise. He hadn’t started a game in over a year and hadn’t even practiced with the team until this past week. But after realizing that the Giants weren’t even going to attempt to put pressure on him, he began to settle into a groove. When it comes down to it, Vince Young is still an NFL quarterback, and if you give any NFL quarterback time to throw with no pressure and a trio of rookie linebackers leaving the middle of the field as exposed as it was, he is going to make plays — and he did.

I had a lot of problems with the New York Giants last night, and honestly, that 18-play drive was only the tip of the iceberg. As frustrating as it was to finally win the momentum back by tying the game, only to watch the Eagles march right back up the field on a drive that we had the chance to stop six different times, there were so many other things that frustrated me about last night.

For starters, changes have to be made in the running game. Last night’s performance by Brandon Jacobs was absolutely embarrassing. After the game, Tom Coughlin was quoted as saying their run game was “as pathetic as it gets” and he couldn’t have been more right.

Gaining 21 yards on 12 carries is inexplicable, especially against a weak run defense like Philadelphia’s that has been exposed numerous times this season. As bad as that stat line is, it’s even more misleading than it looks: Jacobs’ long run of the night was a 9-yard carry, meaning that 9 of his 21 yards came on one play. That means that aside from that one run, he gained 12 yards on 11 carries. That’s not New York Giants football. In fact, that’s not even professional football. That’s laughable.

I’m aware that some of the blame for the failure of the running game must be placed on the offensive line. For the most part, the offensive line has done a pretty good job this year of protecting Eli and giving him enough time to throw. However, last night they failed. Eli was constantly under duress, even though the Eagles were sending only four down linemen for most of the night. The fact of the matter is that Jacobs no longer has the explosive I’m-going-to-run-you-over energy that he used to have. There are a lot of changes that need to be made with this team, and they have to start with the running game. If that means that Jacobs and Bradshaw have to go, then so be it. I hope to see more carries from D.J. Ware and Da’Rel Scott going forward, but you know that’s not going to happen.

What else frustrated me last night, besides the 18-play drive, the lack of a pass rush and the slow, painful death of our running game? How about the DeSean Jackson punt return late in the first half that gave every Giants fan watching the game Vietnam flashbacks of December 19, 2010. I’ll ask it again, because it seems like nobody in the Giants organization has an answer to this question: WHY DO WE KEEP PUNTING THE FOOTBALL TO DESEAN JACKSON? I mean, Steve Weatherford might have had the game of his life last night, but that still doesn’t excuse him from trying to pull a Matt Dodge and giving Jackson opportunities to make us look stupid. Why do it? Without that punt return, it’s unlikely that the touchdown pass to Steve Smith (really? Steve Smith?) even happens and it’s probably 3-3 at the half instead of 10-3. That was such an unnecessary, stupid, STUPID decision that I wasn’t even completely sure it was happening while it was happening.

I’m not done yet though. How about we discuss the Giants once again relying on Eli Manning’s late-game heroics to save them? Listen, I know that for five of our six wins this season we’ve come from behind in the 4th quarter and that Eli has proved that he can bring us back time after time, but we can’t keep putting everything on his shoulders. For the second straight week, we played inconsistent, incomplete games and when the 4th quarter rolled around, we put everything in Eli’s hands and basically said “you can take it from here.”

Like we saw against San Francisco and again last night, he’s not going to save us every week. He’s not immortal, and he’s not Tim Tebow. Watching him complete a beautiful 47-yard pass to Victor Cruz and then getting mauled from the blindside and fumbling the game away on the very next play is about as maddening as it gets — but it should have never even come down to that. It should have never even come down to that because the fact of the matter is that we should have gained more than 29 yards on the ground. We should have picked up more than 10 first downs. We should have played a complete 60 minutes of football instead of believing that Eli would clean up the mess for us in the 4th quarter again.

After 1,200 words, I’m finally going to get to the point of this article. Here it is: we’re not making the playoffs this season. In fact, I’d be surprised if we finished better than 8-8. My last column was a few weeks ago now, and I wrote it before the inspiring win in New England gave us all the confidence that maybe we had something special in this 2011 Giants team. In that column I questioned whether this Giants team had the heart to avoid yet another late-season collapse. After beating the Patriots, I thought we did. But after these last two weeks, I know that we don’t. This team is no different from the team that melted down the stretch in 2009 and they’re no different from the team that blew a 31-10 lead at the Meadowlands last December 19th. This team has no heart and no fire, and they are in dire need of a regime change.

I don’t care how much the players like playing for Tom Coughlin, the fact is that he no longer knows how to coach this football team and the countless stupid penalties and lack of preparation for big games is more than enough evidence. The fact that this team continually comes out flat against weaker opponents is a hallmark of poor coaching and poor preparation and that all has to be placed on Tom Coughlin. I love the guy, and I love all that he’s done for this franchise over the last 8 years, but he can’t coach this team anymore.

The same goes for Kevin Gilbride. His play-calling has been atrocious, not only last night, but all season. His unrelenting desire to continue running the football when we clearly have no running game is frustrating beyond all belief, and there are times when his play-calling is so head-scratchingly bad that I’m not sure he even knows what football is.

I hate to say it as a Giants fan, but this team is in the midst of yet another late-season swoon and these demons will not be exorcised until this entire coaching staff is gone and we can start from scratch. I know that the Giants are historically good at preparing for good teams and showing up to play against the best of the best, but the way this team looked last night I can’t realistically sit here and see them having a shot at beating New Orleans or Green Bay. Of course this statement means nothing coming from me because we all know how unpredictable this league tends to be, but it would not go against my better judgment to say that we will likely be 6-6 going into our Week 14 game against Dallas. With the Cowboys’ next two games coming against Miami and Arizona, it’s conceivable to think that we might be two games out of first place by the time we face them, on a Sunday night in Dallas on December 11th. At that point, a loss to Dallas would almost certainly end our season.

Will it happen exactly like that? Probably not. But the fact that the scenario I just outlined above is a real possibility is just as absurd, given the position we were in a few weeks ago, with a record of 6-2 and coming off of a huge win in Foxborough.

This entire team is absurd though, and I’ve come to realize this over the last few seasons, along with every other sane and rational member of Big Blue Nation. The good grace that Super Bowl XLII brought about expired the moment DeSean Jackson crossed that goal line last December, and now, on the verge of our fourth late-season collapse in as many years, we have to start wondering where we go from here. The script for the 2011 season has already been written several times — now we have to see if the Giants are going to follow it.


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Brace Yourselves, Giants Fans

31 10 2011

In the eight years that Tom Coughlin has been the head coach of the New York Giants since he arrived in 2004 along with Eli Manning, Giants fans have become pretty accustomed to the team’s quick starts. Of the eight seasons he has been at the helm, the Giants have started 5-2 in seven of them. The one season they didn’t start 5-2? It was 2008, and they started 6-1 instead.

But just as Giants fans have gotten used to fast starts in the Tom Coughlin Era, we have also grown just as accustomed to second-half collapses. In 2004, Coughlin’s first year on the job, the Giants jumped out to a 5-2 start behind veteran quarterback Kurt Warner. Midway through that season, Warner was replaced by Eli Manning (then just a rookie) and the Giants went 1-8 in their remaining nine games to finish 6-10. This collapse was excusable, mostly because we had just handed the keys to the offense over to our freshly minted rookie quarterback and growing pains were expected.

In 2005, a 5-2 record became an 11-5 finish and a first-round playoff game at home. The second half collapse was avoided. Then, in 2006, it returned again. This time, a 5-2 start was followed by a 3-6 second half and the Giants barely squeaked into the playoffs at 8-8.

A Super Bowl title in 2007 erased the memories of past late-season collapses, at least temporarily. The following season, an 11-1 start was negated when Plaxico Burress decided to tuck a gun into the waistband of his sweatpants in a NYC club. The Giants finished that season by losing four of their last five games, including an embarrassing home playoff loss to Philadelphia.

In 2009, the second half struggles continued. Another 5-2 start was tarnished by yet another 3-6 record in the remaining nine games, including two straight losses to end the season, in which the Giants were outscored 85-16. Last season, the Giants’ second half problems were less pronounced. They are typically attributed to the fourth quarter of the gut-wrenching Dec. 19th loss to Philadelphia, a game that served as a sort of poetic microcosm for all of the Giants’ late-season collapses of the past. Nevertheless, a 6-2 start gave way to a mostly mediocre 4-4 in the second half of the 2010 season and the Giants missed out on the postseason for the second straight year.

And that brings us to the present. On October 31st, the New York Giants sit at 5-2 for the third consecutive year and currently hold a two-game lead in the NFC East over the Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins, who are all 3-4. If there was ever a time for the Giants to perpetuate their habit of folding in the second half of the season, it’s now. Big Blue faces arguably one of the most arduous nine-game stretches in recent memory and are fresh off of a less-than-inspiring 20-17 win over the 0-7 Miami Dolphins at home.

The last nine games of this season will tell you everything you need to know about the 2011 New York Giants, and it will likely tell you everything you need to know about the Tom Coughlin Era, which will either live or die with this stretch of games. Beginning next week in New England, the Giants will face five 2010 playoff teams (New England, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Green Bay, NY Jets) and will also have to deal with four crucial divisional games thrown in for good measure. Although Dallas and Washington may not scare too many teams right now (especially after Dallas’ performance in Philly last night), divisional games are always tough and the Giants have already lost to Washington once this season.

The Giants can easily fold up once again, like they’ve done before, and blame their shortcomings on the brutal schedule and bad luck. But they also have the opportunity to exorcise their second-half demons and rise to the occasion. They can choose to thrive on the adversity and Eli can continue his stellar play and the scary-when-healthy defensive foursome of Tuck, Osi, Pierre-Paul and Kiwanuka can terrorize the likes of Brady, Rodgers and Brees. The fact is, anything is in play right now, and with most of Giants nation expecting another late-season swoon, this is finally Big Blue’s chance to rise above the expectations and surprise us all.

For better or for worse though, at the end of this season, we will know what kind of team these Giants are — whether or not we’re ready for it.


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The Nightmare Before Christmas

20 12 2010

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 19: DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles runs in the game winning touchdown on a punt return against the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium on December 19, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The reality of it all started to come crashing down sometime after DeSean Jackson dropped the line-drive punt that fluttered off the foot of Matt Dodge, and a few seconds before he cut sharply to his left and streaked straight across a suddenly wide-open middle of the field. The feeling of “Oh s— this isn’t really happening, is it?” collided with the sudden realization that “Oh s— this really IS happening right now” and before the 85,000 bewildered Giants fans even had a chance to fully process what naturally occurs when these two things collide with one another, DeSean Jackson was crossing the goal line with the ball held high in his right hand and the game clock showed 00:00.

Then it was quiet. Empty plastic bottles of Coors Light whizzed by, zipping through the air like bullets, tiny droplets of beer being flung in every direction. There was a pile of Eagles in the corner of the end zone so big you would have thought they just won the World Series. Photographers ran on the field, apparently unaware that an extra point still had to be kicked, players pushed and shoved one another, Tom Coughlin chewed out a dumbfounded Matt Dodge who looked like….well, exactly how someone should look in that situation. And there I was. All around me there was confusion. Not the kind of confusion where nobody knows what’s going on. No, everybody knew exactly what had just happened. It was the kind of confusion where nobody knew how something like that could have happened. The kind of confusion where the look on our faces told the whole story all at once: “Did I really see what I think I just saw?” The answer was clear, and it was sobering.

Eagles 38, Giants 31. There I was, standing in a building with 85,000 other people who had no clue how to react to what they just saw. So I looked around me for something to throw. Then after deciding against hurling projectiles, I went ahead and threw the only thing I had on me: words. Very, very bad words, and a lot of them. I yelled obscenities that would make a sailor blush. I yelled until spit flew from my almost-numb lips, pointing my finger at the field as if anyone down there could hear me. I didn’t care though.

Eagles 38, Giants 31. Anyone who left the game early, right after Eli Manning’s 4th touchdown pass of the afternoon found Kevin Boss in the back of the end zone, might not understand how that score ended up the way it did. Even I don’t fully understand, and I was sitting there watching the whole thing unfold. After all, it was Giants 31, Eagles 10 with no more than 8 minutes left in the game, right? The game was all but over, the fat lady was warming up her voice, everyone in the stands were dancing to Kris Kross’s “Jump” and my brother was slumped so far down in his seat that I thought he was trying to hide in his own jacket. We had this game wrapped up. First place in the NFC East, maybe a #2 seed in the NFC if we could win out, we were going to steam roll our way into the playoffs and it was all going to start with the beating we gave Michael Vick yesterday. We shut him down. We intercepted him, we sacked him, we hit him, we beat the Eagles’ morale into submission. It was over. Giants 31, Eagles 10.

Then it was Vick to Celek. A freak play that should have never happened like it did. Justin Tuck was 40 yards deep in coverage for some reason and Kenny Phillips dove at the ball and missed when he should have been trying to tackle Celek and suddenly it was 31-17. It was alright though, there were only 7 minutes left, all we had to do was run the ball, run the clock, pick up a few first downs and we were good.

Then the onside kick. Apparently no one on the Giants coaching staff had ever heard of such a thing. “Onside kick, what’s that?” Oops. The Eagles had the ball again, and now I’m starting to wonder. This is when the fear begins to creep in. Exactly two minutes later, with the clock reading 5:28 and the scoreboard reading Giants 31, Eagles 17, Vick scampers through a gaping hole off left tackle and into the end zone. Way too easy. Giants 31, Eagles 24. Uh oh.

Now there’s no more dancing in the stands. There’s no more “EA-GLES SUCK!” chants, no more of anything. Now there’s just that sinking feeling. Now there’s just a lot of people turning to the person next to them and not having to say a word because they both know exactly what the other is thinking. And even though we both knew, I said it anyway. I turned to the guy next to me, wearing a Giants construction helmet and Giants earmuffs and I said, “Oh s—, they’re gonna lose this game, aren’t they?”

But we still had the ball. We needed to run some clock. Actually, we needed to score again. So it’s Manning to Manningham for 12. First down. Then it’s Bradshaw for 7. Bradshaw for 2. Bradshaw for 2. Another first down. Bradshaw for 4. Now we’re at the Eagles 38-yard line. The Eagles have called all of their timeouts. None left. There is 3:56 to go. Ten more yards and we’re at least in field goal range. Ten more yards and we can push our lead back to two scores. Ten more yards and we can breathe easy again. Then a penalty. False start. We march back to the 43-yard line. On 2nd and 11, Bradshaw goes for 3. Third down. Now we’re passing. The Eagles know we’re passing, but who cares, they haven’t stopped it all day. Manning to Hagan: incomplete. And we punt.

Three minutes to go. The Eagles have the ball on their own 12. They need to go 88 yards. That’s a long way, at least that’s what everyone in the building is telling themselves. Plus, they have no timeouts. All we need is for our defense to make one play. One big play, that’s it. They’ve been doing it all day, so it shouldn’t be a problem. We’ve batted down four passes at the line, we’ve sacked Vick three times, we can do it again.

One minute and forty-five seconds. That’s all it takes for Vick to lead the Eagles up the field and into the end zone. Runs of 33 yards and 22 yards by Vick make it look like the defense is moving in slow motion and he has switched it into a higher gear. That’s how easy it looks. The touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin looks even easier. Giants 31, Eagles 31.

Here’s the good news, Giants fans: we have the ball again. 1:16 to go, and the game is in Eli’s hands. We only need about 30 yards to be in a comfortable range for Lawrence Tynes. How many times have we seen Eli come through for us in this situation? A lot. That’s what I tell myself. At the very least, we can run out the clock and play for overtime where we can hit the reset button and start over. But it didn’t happen that way. Instead, it went like this: incomplete, incomplete, sack. Then a punt. The punt.

It all happened so fast. It all looked so easy. In fact, it was just so perfect that it seemed fixed. I half-expected the Undertaker to roll out of the tunnel behind the end zone on a motorcycle and smack Matt Dodge with a steel chair as he tried to make a game-saving tackle on DeSean Jackson. At least then it would have made some sense. But alas, we Giants fans are left behind in the debris of this latest disaster, still trying to make sense of it all. Trying to understand how, or why. Don’t expect any answers. Don’t expect me to try and glean any positives from this either; there simply aren’t any.


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WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?

22 11 2010

With the (huge) exception of our 2007 Super Bowl title run (and trust me, I don’t want to take anything away from that miraculous season), the New York Football Giants have been notorious for flushing the second half of their season down the toilet, at least in the Tom Coughlin Era. I don’t have a clue as to why this seems to happen every year, but it does and it’s about as frustrating as successfully potty-training your child only to have him poop his pants in the garden section of Home Depot the next day.

I don’t know exactly what it is about Coughlin’s teams that make them poop their pants in Home Depot in the second half of every season (you know, except for 2007), but I don’t want to go on a rant without first giving you some raw numbers to support my wild-eyed theories. So here they are:

In 2004, Coughlin’s first season with the Giants, we started off the season 5-2 before we went into the tank in dramatic fashion, dropping 8 of our last 9 games to finish 6-10. That is a pretty rough second half of the season, by any standards.

In 2005, we began the season 6-2, and then had a slightly less successful second half, going 5-3. I actually wouldn’t even include 2005 in this argument if we hadn’t hosted a playoff game in round one against the Carolina Panthers after finishing 11-5 and gotten shut-out 23-0. A one-game playoff collapse, but a late-season choke nonetheless.

In 2006, we once again began the season 6-2, getting off to yet another red-hot start. And once again, we would sputter out down the stretch, finishing a dismal 2-6 in our last 8 games and actually losing 6 of 7 before winning in the final week at Washington to squeak into the postseason at 8-8. What happened in the playoffs? Another first round exit, this time at the hands of the Eagles. So much for the hot start.

We’ll skip 2007 and go to 2008. After one of the best starts in franchise history, we found ourselves at 11-1 going into Week 14. We then lost back-to-back games to the Eagles and Cowboys in which we couldn’t manage more than 250 yards total offense in either one, before finally clinching the #1 seed in Week 16 against Carolina. We ended up going 1-3 in the last four games and — once again — leaving the playoffs after only one game, thanks to the Eagles and one of the most abysmal playoff performances I have ever seen from a 12-4 team playing at home.

What about last year? Well, you should remember last year, unless you willingly chose to repress those memories deep within your subconscious to stop the pain, which is completely understandable. Last year, we began 5-0, as per the usual in the Tom Coughlin Era. And as per the usual, we lost 8 of our last 11 games, finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

What is going to happen this year? Honestly, I don’t have a clue. This season so far, through the first 10 games, the Giants have looked like the most schizophrenic team in football. We opened the season 1-2, with three of the sloppiest performances I’ve seen from a Giants team in years. Eli had almost 90 interceptions off of tipped passes and our defense looked suspect at best. Then starting with a dominating performance on Sunday night in Week 4 against Chicago (a team that might be just as schizophrenic as us), we rolled off 5 straight wins and looked like we might just be the best team in the NFL, at 6-2. Then the last two weeks happened. All of a sudden our invincible and impenetrable defense looked….well, very vincible and very penetrable.

We let Jon Kitna through the ball all over the field on us, and last night we allowed LeSean McCoy to turn a nearly-broken play on 4th and 1 into a 50 yard touchdown run. That play, unquestionably the back-breaking turning point of the game, put the Eagles back on top 24-17 and buried the Giants. That play marked the second time in as many weeks that the Giants defense surrendered a touchdown run of more than 50 yards, after not allowing one all season.

I’m not going to blame last night’s loss on the defense though. Actually, the defense was what allowed us to stay in the game as long as we did, forcing the Eagles to kick 3 field goals on three red zone trips and limiting the damage as much as they could. Instead of trailing 28-3 late in the 3rd quarter, it was a much more manageable 16-3 deficit, which allowed us to crawl back into the game and eventually take the lead in the 4th.

So the defense was not to blame. They did their job, containing Michael Vick for most of the night, something that no defense has been able to do successfully all season, and even forcing him to commit his first turnover of the year, a fumble caused by a very timely Justin Tuck strip in the 4th quarter that ultimately led to the Giants’ go-ahead touchdown.

My major gripe about last night’s game should come as no surprise to anyone watching the Giants all season: turnovers. TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, and MORE TURNOVERS. If you think I’ve had enough ranting for one day, just wait until I get started with the turnovers (just to give you a heads-up, I’m starting right now).

The turnover bug has got to stop. I have never, EVER seen a team turn the ball over more times than this 2010 Giants team. It’s almost gotten to the point of hilarity where you can almost predict when and how they are going to turn the ball over. Actually, I did it twice last night, I kid you not. I correctly predicted Ahmad Bradshaw’s first fumble (his 13,456th of the season) and I predicted Eli’s interception on the Giants final possession of the game, which Asante Samuel then proceeded to give back to us by fumbling on the return. What’s even funnier, is that only three plays later, Eli would turn the ball over again, fumbling because no one told him that quarterbacks are supposed to slide feet-first and not dive face-first into the grass like they’re being shot at. The funny thing is, he did the exact same thing in a game against the Eagles last year, and fumbled it. Come on Eli, you’re telling me you’re not smart enough to learn from your own mistakes?

The turnovers are getting really, really, REALLY ridiculous and the worst part about them is that they always seem to come at the absolute worst possible moments. Moments where I have found myself literally begging out loud for them not to turn the ball over, only to see them do just that on the next play. It’s uncanny, it’s painful to watch, and it needs to stop. I don’t care if they need to put glue on Ahmad Bradshaw’s hands or bring Joe Girardi in to teach Eli how to slide like he did for (choking back vomit) Mark Sanchez.

Nobody in the NFL is going to win games with a -4 turnover ratio and nobody is going to win games turning the ball over twice inside their own 30-yard line. That is why last night we were on the short end of a 27-17 score and not the other way around.

The good news? Believe it or not, there is something: In 2007, we were 7-4 after Week 12 and went on to win the Super Bowl, so we’re not dead yet. Unfortunately that’s the only good news I can think of right now. We host the Jacksonville Jaguars next week and the Redskins the week after that, two very winnable games, as long as we don’t turn the ball over 70 times. 8-4 is where we are going to need to be heading into Minnesota for Week 14. Let’s hope, for Tom Coughlin’s sake, and for the sake of my health, that we can get there.

*Editor’s Note: Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to be interviewing offensive lineman David Diehl, so if you have any questions you want me to ask him, feel free to leave them in the comment box below, or drop me an email at robertmoreschi@gmail.com


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A Housewarming Gift

16 09 2010

These were my seats. Great view, right?

There was a distinct new stadium smell on Sunday afternoon as I walked in through the Verizon gate at the New Meadowlands Stadium. The place may not have a real name yet, but it has a unique identity all its own, and although it was the first time I was walking in to the building for a regular season game, it already felt like home. Flags marking the Giants three Super Bowl titles flew proudly out front and a 100 ft. long mural capturing the most influential players in the team’s illustrious history hung over one of the four main entrances to the stadium, a welcoming sign showing that although this is not the Giants Stadium we had become so familiar with over the past 34 years, it is our new home, a place where many memorable games are yet to be played.

I wouldn’t say that Sunday’s season-opener against the Carolina Panthers is one of those memorable games, save for the fact that it was the first ever regular season game to be played at the new Giants Stadium (I’m calling it Giants Stadium because it’s shorter and easier, so sue me). The game, for the most part, was sloppy and played in a light mist that sprayed the sell-out crowd of 77,825 like a garden hose with a hole in it for most of the third quarter. Coincidentally, the third quarter was the best out of all of them. It was the point in the game when the Giants suddenly decided to turn things around and step on the gas, blowing past the clearly over-matched and fresh-faced Carolina Panthers and leaving them behind in a cloud of dust by the time the fourth quarter began.

Coming out of halftime trailing Matt Moore and the Panthers by a score of 16-14, the Giants were looking to avenge a dismal final :33 seconds of the first half where, after grabbing a 14-9 lead, their special teams (dreadful all day) allowed Carolina to return the kick-off all the way into Giants territory. A few plays later, Moore would make them pay with a quick 19-yard touchdown strike to Steve Smith to put the Panthers on top. It was one of the low points of the day, as instead of heading into halftime with a semi-comfortable 5 point lead on the heels of the second touchdown connection of the day between Eli Manning and Hakeem Nicks, we were suddenly trailing again.

The third quarter was where it all changed though. The momentum began to swing on the second play of the half as Manning pitched the ball to The Ghost of Brandon Jacobs who blew by several Panthers linebackers, stiff-armed a few defensive backs and rumbled down the sideline for 22 yards. It was the longest run of the day for the Giants, and frankly I think it was the first run of positive yardage, as it seemed like every time we ran the ball in the first half we lost 6-8 yards. The run set up the Giants in Panthers territory, and although the drive later stalled inside the 20, a Lawrence Tynes field goal gave the Giants a 17-16 lead they would never relinquish.

The third quarter was also a coming out party for the defense. After an entire first half where it seemed as if the defensive line was getting little penetration and putting minimal pressure on Matt Moore, the whole defensive unit came out with a fire lit under their behinds in the second half. Key sacks by Kiwanuka, Chris Canty and Barry Cofield helped stall Carolina drives and heads-up plays in the secondary by the new and improved Kenny Phillips and just plain new Deon Grant helped to fluster Matt Moore (I mean, it doesn’t really take much to fluster Matt Moore because after all, he’s Matt Moore). All in all, the Giants just looked like a completely different team in the second half, and maybe it took a half for Perry Fewell’s new defensive schemes to really start clicking, but whatever it was, it worked and it worked well.

The Panthers could muster only 6 yards of offense in the third quarter and after a third touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Hakeem Nicks, the Giants extended their lead to 24-16 with 1:42 to play in the quarter. The fourth quarter was where things started to get a little sloppy. I don’t know if it was because of the slick new FieldTurf with a fresh coat of September rain and little bits of chopped up tire flying left and right and landing in everyone’s eyes, but things just got out of hand.

On Big Blue’s first possession of the fourth, Ahmad Bradshaw broke off a 34-yard run in Panthers territory that initially seemed like it ended in a touchdown to just about everyone in the stadium, including Tom Coughlin, who challenged the call on the field that Bradshaw was down at the Carolina 1. It turns out that he was down, and after two plays of negative yards, Bradshaw ended up punching it in from the 4 to give the Giants a comfortable 31-16 lead. This is where things started to get weird. At this point, for some strange reason, neither team wanted to keep possession of the football. After driving 76 yards on the ensuing possession, down to the Giants’ 4-yard line with just over 8 minutes to play, Matt Moore was picked off in the end zone by Terrell Thomas. It was the second time he was picked off in the end zone, which is bad enough but as you know, things only got worse for poor Matt. I mean, getting picked off in the end zone three times in one game never happens to professional starting quarterbacks, right? You have to be pretty bad to be picked off in the end zone not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES. It never even happened to Kerry Collins, at least not that I can remember. And that guy was intercepted in the end zone a lot. A LOT.

Anyway, as I was saying before, nobody really wanted the football, and about two minutes after the Giants took over following the Thomas interception, Eli was picked off the for third time, turning the ball back over to Carolina with 6 minutes to play. Now, the Panthers were looking to really cut into the Giants lead and get back in the game. And they threatened to. They really did. With a 2nd and 9 from the Giants 11, Moore once again looked to the end zone, and again, he completed the pass to a New York Giant. This time, it was Kenny Phillips. Another touchback, and another blown opportunity for the Panthers, who at this point should have just given up.

The Giants would pick up one first down on the next drive before stalling and sending out Matt Dodge to punt with 4 minutes left. Now Matt Dodge had been struggling all day, shooting off line drive punts that looked like they barely made it over the heads of the guys at the line of scrimmage. We all knew that eventually this would turn sour, and this time it did, as Dodge’s punt was blocked (more like swatted) and thankfully rolled out of the back of the end zone resulting in a safety. 31-18 Giants.

On the first play of the next drive, Moore was sacked by Kiwanuka, the ball came loose and Tuck fell on it. At this point, it almost seemed as if both teams were suddenly allergic to the football. And I say this because three plays into the ensuing Giants possession, from the Panthers’ 14 yard line, Ahmad Bradshaw FUMBLED THE FOOTBALL. If you’re scoring at home, that was 6 consecutive possessions ending in turnovers. SIX. Looking to set a new NFL record, Matt Moore fumbled once again on the very next play following a sack by Osi Umenyiora, but the Panthers recovered it. Taking this as a sign that maybe he wasn’t cut out for the NFL, or maybe caused by the ringing in his head from the hit that Osi put on him, Moore left the game, leaving poor rookie Jimmy Clausen to be traumatized.

The Panthers punted, Eli took a few knees and that was that. Giants 31, Panthers 18 in the opener of the New Meadowlands Stadium With No Name. It was a great way to welcome the fans to our new home, and although the new stadium smell would be gone by the next night thanks to the stink that the Jets left on the field, it was still a game I will never forget. Hey, it wasn’t pretty but it was a win, and at the end of the day as Eli and the rest of the Giants walked into the tunnel, that 31-18 score on the flashy, bright new LED scoreboards meant only one thing: that we are 1-0.

MVP of the Game: Hakeem Nicks. Watching him explode onto the scene as a rookie last season, I knew that he would be a special player to watch in a Giants uniform. I didn’t exactly realize how quickly he was going to become that “special player”. Week 1 of his sophomore season sounds like a good time. 4 catches for 75 yards and 3 touchdowns is a pretty damn good start. We’ll see how it goes from here. I’m excited.

Honorable Mentions: Eli Manning. He just keeps getting better and better with age. Kind of like…his brother. (YES!) Also, Justin Tuck has arrived, Kenny Phillips is back, and Tom Coughlin can still throw that red challenge flag almost 20 yards further than any coach in the league.


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Remembering the Beginning of the Eli Manning Era (and Week 11 Picks)

20 11 2009

On Sunday I’ll be making my third trip up to Giants Stadium this season to see a Giants-Falcons game that at the beginning of the season looked like it would be a late-November battle for NFC supremacy. After all, both the Giants and Atlanta were coming off playoff berths last season and looked poised to get even better. Now this game, while still important, is important for an entirely different reason. Both the Giants and Falcons are 5-4 and locked in a downward spiral. On Sunday, one team will win and improve to 6-4, possibly providing the momentum necessary to save the season and turn things around. On Sunday, one team will lose and drop to 5-5, making it very difficult to make a late-season playoff push. You can call it a do-or-die game, or a building block to bigger things or a hundred other euphemisms, the fact still remains: the Giants absolutely need to win this game. There’s no way around it. Coughlin called the Giants’ last game against San Diego a “one-game playoff”;  if that were true, the Giants have been knocked out already. But then something happened last week. With the Giants resting up on their bye week, both the Eagles and Cowboys, the two teams ahead of Big Blue in the NFC East, both lost. And suddenly this thing is far from over.

Sunday’s game also has me thinking about something else. It has me thinking about the last time the Falcons visited the Meadowlands, 5 years ago tomorrow. On November 21, 2004, I sat in Section 121 and watched Eli Manning, our prized number one draft pick make the first start of his NFL career. Even though I had absolutely no part in Eli Manning’s conception or subsequent birth, part of me felt like I was watching my son take the field for his first pop warner game, or something along those lines. I was still in high school at the time though, and these were still the days where Michael Vick was only 45% hype and 55% talent, as opposed to 95% hype and 5% talent like he has been post-prison stint. Unfortunately, the 55% of talent prevailed on that day and Vick rushed for something like 900 yards against us, in route to a 14-10 win. We did have a chance to win the game, but our last gasp drive was stalled when Eli was picked off by Keith Brooking. On that day in 2004, Eli was hesitant, he was a little unsure, and the impossibly high expectations that he carried with him from Oxford, Mississippi for the rest of that season, and the season after that and the season after that, made it extremely difficult for anyone to see past his shortcomings.

Did that all change when his playoff heroics helped us win the Super Bowl two years ago? I wish I could say it did, but in New York, there is no such thing as a championship grace period, as relentless and unforgiving as that may sound. Now, 5 years after that game against Atlanta, there is no question that Eli has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. On Sunday, I’d like to see that Eli. The Eli that’s a leader and a cool assassin in the clutch, and not the Eli from 2004 who looked like his lunch was on the way up after every bad pass he threw. I would like to win another Super Bowl (honestly, who wouldn’t?) and I think this team has about as good a shot as any other Giants team I’ve ever watched, even last year’s team. So it starts on Sunday, at home against Atlanta. Back to where it all began.

On to this week’s quick picks, sponsored by nobody. Home teams in all caps.

DETROIT (-3.5) over Cleveland

Mangini wasn’t the first coach to be fired this season? I guess cameos in The Sopranos do go a long way. You should have thought about that before you turned down the part, Dick Jauron.

Buffalo (+9) over JACKSONVILLE

And the countdown to T.O.’s first sideline temper tantrum begins….(checking watch)….NOW!

Pittsburgh (-10) over KANSAS CITY

Nothing allows you to heal the wounds of getting swept by the Bengals quite like a game against the Chiefs.

Indianapolis (-1) over BALTIMORE

This game has “37-3 Colts” written all over it.

NY GIANTS (-6.5) over Atlanta

I don’t know why I’m doing this. Please, someone tell me why I’m doing this. Oops, too late.

GREEN BAY (-6.5) over San Francisco

Brett Favre against Steve Young, should be a great game (2000).

MINNESOTA (-11) over Seattle

Brett Favre against Matt Hasselbeck, should be a boring game (2009).

Washington (+11) over DALLAS

Only because I know there’s no way that three different teams are going to cover 11+ point spreads this week.

New Orleans (-11.5) over TAMPA BAY

10-0 is when the people start talking. Can you handle that, Saints? Although the Pats 16-0 regular season a few years ago has taken some of that edge off.

Arizona (-9) over ST. LOUIS

Just a few more wins for the Cardinals before they go back to looking like they don’t really care. Just in time for the playoffs! Hey, it worked for them last year.

NY Jets (+10.5) over NEW ENGLAND

No I will not take the Patriots! Rex Ryan cried during a team meeting this week. HE CRIED. Do you know what that means?

Cincinnati (-9.5) over OAKLAND

Part of me is hoping for this game to be close so that a few people will vacate the Bengals bandwagon. I’m in Standing Room Only right now. My legs are getting tired and I’d like to have a seat.

San Diego (-3) over DENVER

Broncos should have stuck with wearing their mustard and brown Denver Omelettes uniforms. Ugly uniforms help teams win, just ask the Jets and Bucs.

Philadelphia (-3) over CHICAGO

-3 is the spread, and also what Jay Cutler fantasy owners see every time he throws another INT. I’m just kidding, I know that there aren’t any Jay Cutler fantasy owners….right?

Tennessee (+4.5) over HOUSTON

VINCE YOUNG WINS FOOTBALL GAMES.

Last Week: 7-8

Season Total: 81-63


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