Mon 27 Oct 2008
What an awesome win, and what an example of the resiliency of that has become the hallmark of our New York Football G-Men. I can’t think of an attribute I’d rather my team have – since we turned the corner late last year, the Giants have developed an ability to overcome shit, to get up and fight back from things that would fall lesser teams and lesser men.
The big thing we had to overcome yesterday was the officiating. Normally, I refrain from bitching about the refs, but yesterday was unique: I can’t remember a game in which so many key calls were blown, so egregiously, against us.
–We’ll start with the fourth down goal line play on which Jacobs was stuffed. 1) That was a touchdown – he clearly pierced the plane; and 2) The challenge that preceded that play, while validly overruling the initial touchdown call, led to the refs spotting the ball about a foot further back from the goal line than they should have. It was a shockingly careless spot, and it cost us.
—That ridiculous personal foul called on Kenny Phillips.  Aikman – who is amazing, by the way – was all over this one. On that play, Mewelde Moore was bobbling the ball and Phillips led with his shoulder. There was absolutely nothing dirty or unnecessary about what Phillips did.
The NFL has gotten so protective of players’ health that refs break out the flag at the mere sight of a big hit, as if automatically means that the rules were broken. But as my brother said at the time, “I’m sorry that Big Ben exposed [Moore], but that’s not our fault.â€
—There were two extremely visible holds by Steelers d-backs that weren’t called. On of them was in the third quarter, when Smith, who would have been wide open on a flag pattern, was slowed up when a Steeler tugged his jersey. This led to an incompletion on a key third down pass Smith probably should have caught anyway (not a great game for my man yesterday…).Â
But the refs miss those calls occasionally, so you don’t get too bent out shape over one of them. Until later in the game, when they missed an even more obvious hold on Plax on a fade play that probably cost us a touchdown.
**
Ok, let’s get to the players.
I haven’t reviewed the tape yet, but the obvious game ball goes to the swarming pass rush, which sacked Big Ben five times and knocked him down 16 times. Remember after the Browns game when our pass rush was a huge question mark? That seems like a long time ago now.
Again I haven’t looked at the tape so it’s hard to tell, but my sense is that we didn’t blitz very often and much of the pressure was generated by the front four. Certainly the sacks themselves – three by ‘Nuke, one by Tuck, and one by Tollefson – went to our D-linemen, so good job, boys.
It was also nice to see us get those four picks, although two of them were on fourth down in bat-down situations. But along with our pass rush, our seeming inability to create turnovers had threatened to become a disturbing trend. Hopefully there’s nothing to worry about in both respects, Charlie.
Offensively, the game-ball goes to the O-line. Although the run-blocking was uncharacteristically poor, the pass protection more than made up for it. The Steelers have a nasty pass rush and Eli wasn’t sacked once. Awesome job, fatties.
Eli also deserves credit. No, it wasn’t his best game, but it was a winning performance that should make us even more confident going forward. 19 for 32 for 199 yards doesn’t sound great, but don’t forget those two drops each by Hedgecock (on short passes) and Smith (on the flag pattern described above and a deep post on which, although he got crushed, he probably should have secured the catch).
Eli also saved his best pass for the most important moment, that fourth and 6 to Amani that set up the field goal that pulled us to 14-12. Speaking of Amani, a special game-ball goes to him: Once you saw that the open man downfield was Amani, did you not 75% more confident at that moment? What a fine receiver and a great all-time Giant.
**
On the downside, yesterday’s game was a clear example of the coaching staff’s forcing the issue with Jacobs, particularly in short-yardage situations. Just because a guy is big doesn’t mean he’s the best man for the job. In fact, I would argue that Jacobs’ size prevents him from getting the leverage necessary to generate power in cramped quarters. And his lack of short-area quickness precludes improvisation: if the hole is blocked and Jacobs has the ball, we’re fucked.
In terms of the running backs, the obvious question after yesterday is, as NYGMen commentator Cody put it last week, “Whither Ahmad Bradshaw?â€
On Saturday, I gained some insight into this from a source I met while covering a story for my day job, who told me Ahmad has been “getting into trouble with the coach.â€Â So there you have it, folks: Ahmad is in the doghouse. For what, we do not know. Maybe it’s related to his historical legal troubles, and maybe it’s not. Either way, this is very disappointing to hear.
Speaking of the doghouse, this shit with Plax has gone too far. I’ve tried to defend him all year, but his most recent episode of insubordination has, I fear, made a fool out of me. Plax: Stop being a dick. We just gave you a new contract, and all we ask is that you do what’s asked of you at your job. It shouldn’t be so fucking hard.
**
This game reminded me of the Green Bay playoff game last year. It was a tough road game at dusk against a storied opponent wearing yellow helmets. And while that opponent was favored, it became evident over the course of the game that we were the better team.
As with the Green Bay game, our dominance wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard. Yesterday, we had to overcome poor red-zone efficiency when our first four trips yielded four field goals.
Also like the Green Bay game, our inferior opponent stayed in the game with a couple of big plays: Against the Packers, it was that bomb to Driver. Against the Steelers, it was the long run by Moore and then the bomb to Washington (obvious point here, but what in the world was Butler thinking on that one?).
And like the Green Bay game, this one appeared to be slipping away in the third quarter, when our opponent finally got their shit together and started playing well. But in both games, we came back and won the fourth quarter decisively.
I’m proud of this team.
October 27th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Good game, Giants fans. You were definitely the better team yesterday, even more so than the final score showed. Eli outclassed Big Ben, and your offensive and defensive lines are dominant.
You’re right about some of the officiating, but Jacobs didn’t get into the end zone on 4th down.
October 27th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Re: Bradshaw – obviously he’s in the doghouse; so it makes sense what your source disclosed. And his issues with fumbling certainly cannot help matters any (can Coughlin teach him the same lessons he taught Tiki?).
The entire team really played a great game and I thought all facets of the NYG TEAM contributed to the victory. The D played AMAZING, and the O obviously did enough to win the game and (IMPORTANTLY!) had no major mistakes (ie turnovers).
What I’m really impressed with is Special Teams. Consider the following:
+ Four nailed FG’s and no misses
+ Excellent punt returns by Hixon
+ Great coverage on kickoffs/punts
+ Bradshaw chipping in with great coverage and several very good returns
The only potential quibble would be with Carney’s weak(ish) leg. He boomed one (I think) into the end zone, but otherwise, several of the kicks were on the shorter side.
Either way, having top notch special teams is wonderful, and its a far cry from when Fassel was roaming the sidelines and ST’s were a pure afterthought. Compare that to the breakdowns the Steelers had on special teams (and yeah, I know Harrison is the backup snapper….but still).
A few quick issues to bring up:
1) Plaxico. WTF, man??!? Get on board, please! This is starting to become a serious distraction. The Giants just don’t need this right now. The team is winning and playing well and there’s no reason for Plaxico to be acting like this. None whatsoever.
2) Gilbride. Even Coughlin seems to be exasperated with Gilbride’s issues (witness his comments to Pam Oliver that the plays need to come in from the sideline with more urgency). But I have a serious problem with the way he called the game: no play action on the goal line until late in the 4th Q?? I’m all for setting plays up, but the fact that there wasn’t a single play action call on ANY of the trips to the brink of the goal line prior to the last drive (mind you, at the end of the 4th Q) is horrendous. Gilbride simply needs to work harder and call a better game. The “O” is stacked with talent and its incumbent on Gilbride to take better advantage of it.
So….in all, great win, friends. Huge road win, and a great way to keep pace in the NFC East on a day when all of the division rivals got a W.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I agree Greg that yesterday’s win made me proud! They played with composure after blowing so many TD opportunities in the first half. As far as game balls I have to give one to Antonio Pierce because he’s just great at reading the offense but he should get one every game so I’m not mad you left him out. I’m glad you mentioned the refs because they were horrible!
Anyway, next week it’s TO and the Romo-less ‘Boys! I hope to see our Offense be real good and score TD’s everytime because I really wanna put a whooping on those clowns! One last note, Plax is just acting reckless now. I was riding with him on the missed practice because of family issues, but to not make it to a physical therapy session, which is INDIVIDUALLY helpful, just seems WAY TO SELFISH even for Plaxico!
October 28th, 2008 at 8:05 am
For as many special things that this team has going for it right now, what we’ll be telling our grandkids about the circa 2007-8 GMEN will be Eli’s knack for winning these types of road games (not just the playoff games last year, but also the Buffalo and DC games, just to name a few). We’ll say, “sure, his #s were usually something like 19 for 32, ~ 200 yds, and he would do stupid things like calling timeout on the play after a timeout, but more often than not he did what he needed to do to make his teammates look good and step up.”
I still cannot believe I’m sitting here giving Eli Manning props.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Here’s a question that my father posed last night: “Can you name one quarterback that you’d rather have than Eli?”
I couldn’t think of anyone. This is neither to say that Eli has the best numbers in the league nor that he will necessarily go down as the best QB of his era. It’s not even to say that, technically speaking, Eli is currently the best QB in the league. BUT for the moment (in light of last season and this season), I really would not trade Eli for any other QB in the NFL.
I welcome anyone to comment who disagrees . . . .
October 28th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Love the blog, but don’t the Skins scare you more than any other NFC team?
October 28th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Jake –
I’m not Greg, but I’ll go ahead and presumptuously field that question. My answer: a douchey “yes AND no”.
Yes: The ‘skins have performed amazingly this season in spite of what has, thus far, been a challenging schedule. The fact that they are 6-2 with a definitively easier second half indicates that no one (Gmen included) should allow them to fall off of the radar. Campbell’s interceptionless season is also something that should be recognized and respected. It is very possible that the Gmen and the ‘skins will be vying for the division title as the regular season comes to a close (particularly in light of the fact that the Gmen have a decidedly more difficult second half).
HOWEVER
No: Campbell is untested. If one wants to make the argument that he has been tested by playing in the postseason, fine. At this point, he has not passed “the test”. So perhaps I should say that Campbell is “unproven”. Speaking of unproven, so is Washington’s coaching. Now, admittedly, I have seen very little of the ‘skins since the first game of the season save a few minutes here and there and highlights. I do recognize, of course, that the disorganized and seemingly amateurishly coached Washington team has certainly improved since then (they must have). And even though the Gmen dominated the Redskins, they had difficulty executing and Washington could very well have made it a game (if they weren’t so disorganized and amateurishly coached).
Nonetheless, the ‘skins have been exploiting the NFC East underdog role. In essence, I think there is less pressure when you’re not expected to excel. This will not last for much longer. Very soon, the media will start giving the ‘skins the full-blown respect that they probably deserve as a top team in the league (which, for the moment, is certainly not a preposterous notion). Once this occurs, meaning once the ‘skins are hailed as one of the NFC’s elite teams, we’ll see whether they can handle it.
Look, we know that Washington has talent and we should all be impressed by what they have accomplished up until this point. But I’m an “odds” guy (I’ve said it before on this blog). In other words, generally-speaking and in reference to sports specifically, I believe that things tend to even out. So if the ‘skins have been overachieving, which they kinda have (not to take away from them, of course), odds are that they’re going to lose some games that they shouldn’t. Taking this into account, one has to wonder whether Washington is peaking a little too early. I think that odds indicate that they are. So while I’m not guaranteeing a victory when we head down to Washington (although I certainly expect one since I think the Gmen are the better team), a fully healthy ‘boys team with Romo and TO still scares me more.
But who knows? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Perhaps I’ll feel differently a few weeks down the road.
P.S. Don’t forget about the Eagles. I think we can all agree that no one in the NFC East should be counted out . . . .
October 29th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Thanks for the reply Dan; where you at Greg? I’m in business school right now with Tim Hermann, probably the only other Carleton grad who’s a legit Giants’ fan.
As to the Skins: While not particularly concerned about peaking at the wrong time, Campbell and Zorn’s lack of experience scares me. Campbell has been playing at a Pro Bowl level all season – he’s got a cannon and making the right reads – but he has folded under pressure in the past. Zorn is a wildcard. At times he’s played the savior; at times he’s looked like an angry fratboy. My biggest concern however is how poorly we start games. Eventually that’s going to bite us in the ass…
That said, minus the Giants, I don’t see a more talented team in the NFC….
October 30th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
[…] the comments section of Monday’s post, Jake, a ‘Skins fan, posed the question of which NFC East team should scare us the most. […]
November 10th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
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