By now, some of you might be a little tired of my reliance on FootballOutsiders, and my constant proselytizing about the site.  But one of their more interesting tenets concerns teams’ performance on third down, and how teams that are strong on first and second down, but weak on third down, will improve the following year, and vice versa.

From the FO website (in the Football Outsiders basics section, a must read):

“Teams get fewer opportunities on third down, so third-down performance is more volatile – but it’s also a bigger part of a team’s overall performance than first or second down, because the result is usually either very good (four more downs) or very bad (losing the ball to the other team with a punt).  Over time, a team will play as well in those situations as it does in other situations, which will bring the overall offense or defense in line with the offense and defense on first and second down.”

So let’s look at the Giants.  First the offense, which put up a DVOAs of 19.0% on first down, 20.5% on second down, and 37.5% on third and fourth downs.  To put adjectives to those numbers, we were very good on first and second downs, but we were fucking awesome on third down.  This year, it’s more likely that we’ll be merely very good on third down, so expect some regression there.

On defense, we were very good on first down (-17.8%), below average on second down (5.0%), and pretty bad on third and downs (-9.4%).  So we should expect some improvement on defense, even aside from our improvement in personnel.

For us Giant fans, the critical importance of third and fourth down should be fresh in our minds.  In our playoff loss to the Eagles, we went 4 for 16 in these situations, while the Eagles went 7 for 14.

Thank God the Cardinals beat these guys. If not for some late heroics from Warner, Fitzgerald, and Hightower, it’s likely the Eagles would have won the whole thing and seized the upper hand from us only one year removed from The Awesomest Thing Ever.

But as painful as that playoff loss was for us, Philly’s loss the next week had to be worse for them: We still had our ring; they had just blown a late lead and a shot at the Super Bowl, and once again saw their quarterback not get it done in a big spot.

The bad news is that they’ll be back, possibly better than ever. Obviously, we feel like we’ve improved ourselves this offseason, and will be better in than the banged-up, our-of-sorts bunch we were at the end of ’08. But two facts remain:

1) The Eagles were better than us by the end of last year. In fact, their cumulative DVOA of 31.7% ranked 1st overall, a smidgen better than our 29.4%, which ranked 3rd. But their weighted DVOA – which accounts for trends as the season progresses, and doesn’t even include the playoffs – wound up at 30.5%, comfortably better than our 23.8%. I suppose we can take solace in the superiority of our record – 12-5 vs. 11-7-1 — but they can point to beating us in our last two games, in our place.

and 2) They had a tremendous offseason, with the possible caveat of Westbrook’s health (more on that later).

First, let’s do a quick overview of this team’s strength’s and weaknesses, using Football Outsiders’ DVOA stats.

Their offense was pretty good, posting a 9.3% DVOA that ranked 12th in football. Because of Westbrook’s off-year, their passing game (12.2%) was better than their running game (5.4%). (By comparison, our offense was awesome: Our offensive DVOA was 23.7%, which ranked 5th)

The Eagles’ defense was elite: Its DVOA of -20.7 ranked 3rd in the league. It was almost equally good against the pass (-22.1%) as the run (-19.1%). (Our defensive DVOA was -4.8%, which ranked 8th.)

Philly’s defense finished with DVOAs of -3.7% in 2007 and -6.4% in 2006, and because defense is known to be more inconsistent from year to year than offense, will likely see some regression to the mean. But keep in mind that the key players on that defense – Asante Samuel (28), Sheldon Brown (30), Mike Patterson (25), Broderick Bunkley (25), Trent Cole (26), Stewart Bradley (25), Chris Gocong (25), and Akeem Jordan – are all in their prime.

Much media attention will focus on the loss of Brian Dawkins, but the 35-year-old is far from the player he once was, according to Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders, who wrote:

“Dawkins had little left in the tank and won’t be missed, with Quinton Demps competing with new acquisitions Sean Jones and Rashad Baker as the likely replacement.”

But while we’ll expect some regression from their defense, we can also expect an equal amount of improvement from their offense.

As the cliché goes, it will all start up front. Given that the only relative weakness of their team was their rushing attack, it is not surprising that Philly’s offseason moves focused on improving their offensive line: They picked up Pro Bowl tackle Jason Peters (2007, 2008), will see the return of Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews (2006, 2007), who will move to right tackle alongside his newly acquired brother, Stacy Andrews (no Pro Bowls, but he’s good).

All three acquisitions represent improvements at their respective spots. Peter will replace Tra Thomas, a longtime stalwart, but one whom the Eagles made no effort to retain this offseason. Stacey Andrews will play right guard, replacing the two backups who replaced brother Shawn, who got injured and missed all but two games last year. Shawn will slide over to replace Jon Runyan, another longtime stalwart who broke down towards the end of the year, necessitating off-season microfracture knee surgery.

Last year, Philly’s O-Line represented a moderate strength: Their Adjusted Sack Rate – a pretty self-explanatory Football Outsiders stat – ranked 6th in the league at 4.3%, no doubt a reflection of McNabb’s rediscovered elusiveness resulting from his return to health and weight loss. But their run blocking, as measured by Adjusted Line Yards, ranked only 16th at 4.20 yards. They particularly struggled in short-yardage situations, a flaw that cost them a game against the Bears and snuffed out a potential comeback against the G-Men in the teams’ first meeting. Their 55% percent success rate in “Power” situations – defined by FO as goalline runs or runs on 3rd or 4th down with two or fewer yards to go — ranked 31st in the league.

They particularly struggled on runs to the left side of the line, according to FO stats: On runs off the left end, their ALY was 3.54 (25th); off left tackle, their ALY was 3.20 (30th). Was this Thomas’ fault, and will replacing him with Peters necessarily help? I don’t know, but the point is that there’s a very good chance that the Eagles’ acquisitions have turned this slightly above-average unit into a big-time strength.

This would obviously improve the Eagles running game, which stumbled last year. After posting a 16.1% DVOA in 2007, the running game slipped to 5.4% last year, still above-average, but a far-cry from the levels that the line and Westbrook had established in years past.

His game-breaking screen-pass scamper against Minnesota notwithstanding, last year was Westbrook’s worst as a full-time back: Battling an ankle injury that caused him to miss two games, he averaged 4.0 yards per carry, down from 4.8 in 2007 and 5.1 in 2006, while his personal DVOA tumbled to 6.9 from 19.9 in ’07 and 23.9 in ’06.

He had his knee scoped at the beginning of this off-season, then recently went under the knife for his ankle problems. Though he is expected to be 100 percent by mid-August, Westbrook’s future is an open question. Will he be as good as new after the surgery? Or is Westbrook, who turns 30 in September, officially on the downside?

Either way, it’s hard to expect the Eagles running game not to improve. Even if Westbrook is not fully healthy, he should be no worse than he was last year. And while Correll Buckhalter did yeoman work last year (11.0% DVOA, 4.9 YPC), Eagles fans are excited about second-round draft pick LeSean McCoy, billed as a good short-yardage runner and a good receiving running back.

But make no mistake: As every NFC East fan knows, as Westbrook goes, so go the Eagles. His health will go a long way toward determining Philly’s destiny, as well as ours.

The same statement can apply to Donovan McNabb. McNabb is a divisive athlete: Some people insist he’s a huge bitch, while others rail against those who insist he’s a huge bitch. I happen to think both cases have merits, but let’s focus on some objective stats.

McNabb’s DVOA (15.6%) ranked 12th in the league, but his DYAR, a more cumulative Football Outsiders stat as distinguished from the “rate” stat of DVOA, ranked 7th. Whichever stat you look at, he’s basically a top-third quarterback. And but for two straight horrific games – the Bengals tie (Huh? That’s even possible?) and the Ravens game in which he was benched — he would have had a top five in DVOA. (But if my aunt had balls, she’d be my uncle, McNabb detractors would reply.)

Even leaving aside the matter of clutchness, McNabb’s health is a perpetually open question. We are, after all, talking about a guy who sustained season-ending injuries in 2005 and 2006, and missed two games in 2007. What are the chances he’ll play a full season?

If he and Westbrook are healthy, however, this could be a dangerous offense, especially because they’ve accumulated some talent at wide receiver.

DeSean Jackson was better than I had realized last year: he had 912 yards on 62 catches and can be expected to do nothing but improve, although his 52% catch rate tempers enthusiasm slightly. Kevin Curtis, a talented deep threat, will return after an injury-marred 2008 in which he played only nine games. He will be pushed by Jeremy Maclin, for whom the Eagles traded up to draft with the 20th pick. Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, and Reggie Brown are all adequate in the best sense of the word, (as distinguished from a throwaway compliment to prove my point that the Eagles have good receivers).

Tight End Brent Celek posted a 21.9% DVOA and a 71% catch percentage, emerging as significantly better than LJ Smith. Celek completes the picture of an offense without any real weaknesses if guys stay healthy.

Looking at the offense as a whole, it seems likely that both the running and passing games should improve. Even if the defense takes a step back, if the offense goes from “pretty good” to “very good,” this team can match its statistical awesomeness of last year. There’s always the small matter of converting a high DVOA into a high win total – something the Eagles have struggled with in recent years – but there’s no way around the fact that the Eagles should be a real contender.

We’ll get to the game later on, but first, some historical perspective:

As much as we all suspended judgment after the Eagles game, it’s now time to face the facts: During the past two games, a Giants Super Bowl title has gone from probable to possible. Yes, I know, calling a Super Bowl ring “probable” is a little illogical. But let’s just say that going into last week’s game, we would have been absolutely crushed if the Giants continued their success only to come up short in the playoffs. That outcome, a nightmarish worst-case scenario eight days ago, doesn’t seem unlikely now.

As evidenced by last year, championships are determined by which team is playing its best when the playoffs come. After Week 15, with only two games to reverse the trend, it’s safe to say the Giants are not playing as well as some other teams. The Panthers are kicking some serious ass. The Cowboys and Eagles just beat us soundly. The Vikings have started to peak, and the Falcons are no cakewalk.

So we’ve fallen from the lofty perch we’ve occupied all season. The dream-like run in which wins came easy is over. We are now immersed in the same desperate struggle as every other team.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that Tom Coughlin’s Giants are uniquely equipped to weather this situation. Perhaps during that 11-1 start we forgot that this is the Giants we’re talking about, a franchise whose identity is tied to a belief that anything worthwhile does not come easy. It didn’t come easy last year, and it didn’t come easy in 1990, the most apt historical comparison if you want to be optimistic.

That year, a 10-0 start gave way to a 3-3 finish, with losses to the Eagles, 49ers, and Bills and thoroughly uninspiring wins against the mediocre Vikings, the lowly Cardinals, and the pathetic Patriots. We were written off, dropped by the experts from the ranks of the elite, but we kept grinding, eventually winning a championship that, like, 2007, owed itself to the team’s mental fortitude. Indeed, at their best, the Giants don’t dazzle, they grind.

Tom Coughlin’s Giants are a proud bearer of this standard of resilience. So while it may not look like it now, this is where we want to be. We don’t want to be above the fray, entering the playoffs with a dazzling 15-1 record. We want to be in the fight. Because there isn’t a team I like more in a fight than the G-Men.

I. Not Invincible

The first lesson from yesterday doesn’t have to do with “distractions” or even the absence of Plax.  Rather, we learned again that even excellent teams are capable of sometimes playing very poorly.  In brutal conditions – trust me, I was there – we turned in an awful performance against very good Eagle team that is probably one of the top five in the league right now.  And we got our asses handed to us.  It happens, even to 11-1 teams.

I’m assuming the Giants will bounce back against Dallas, although yesterday’s loss certainly raises the stakes for that one.  Once that happens, everything will be well and good in G-Men nation again.  In that sense, yesterday’s wasn’t a disturbing loss in that it shouldn’t shake our conception of who the 2008 Giants are: With all due respect to the Titans, we still have to be considered the best team in the league.

But the game reminded us that our path to another title isn’t inexorable.  In any playoff game, we can come out sloppy and get knocked off.  It has been a great season, but just being the best team in the league doesn’t guarantee a championship.  Just ask the 2007 New England Patriots.

II. Eli and the Meadowlands Winds

On the other hand, here’s what emerged from Sunday’s game that has me worried going forward:

We know that teams will stack 8 or 9 in the box for the rest of the year, especially after yesterday.  Therefore, the fate of our offense hinges on Eli, which means that we’re one bad Eli performance away from a heartbreaking playoff loss (and, even though the prospect off a post-season loss is not unlikely, anything short of a Super Bowl title will be severely disappointing.)

So it’s all up to Eli, which is fine except for this: Because we have home-field advantage, there is a chance that we’ll catch a windy-as-hell day like we did today.  And if we do, I think we’re in trouble.  Because as good as Eli has become, he is especially vulnerable to the Giants Stadium winds because he doesn’t throw a tight spiral.

Right now, this is just a theory: I hope Eli proves me wrong.  But, offhand, I can think of three super-windy days on which Eli has played poorly:  The Carolina playoff game in 2005, the Redskins home game late last year, and yesterday.

I know his final numbers weren’t all that terrible yesterday, and I know they were hurt by the Hixon and Smith drops.  But… they were also artificially aided by the garbage-time touchdown drive and the near-interception dropped by Asante Samuel.  (As I said to NYGMen commentator Dan, with whom I attended the game, Asante Samuel has a habit of dropping game-clinching interceptions against the Giants.)

So I can picture a scenario where our home-field advantage turns into a disadvantage.  Back in the ‘80s, people used to talk about how Phil Simms was uniquely qualified to be the Giants quarterback because of his tight spiral.  Isn’t it possible the converse is true with Eli?

III. Lack of Plax

Yesterday’s game answered all those who thought we’d be perfectly fine without Plax based on the Seattle and ‘Zona games.  Surely, he will be missed, especially in windy conditions when Eli’s ball takes unpredictable paths.

I have a feeling that most NYGMen readers weren’t on board with the whole “We won’t miss Plax, just like we don’t miss Shockey” thing.  But here’s why that premise is wrong anyway:

Shockey would brattily demand the ball, forcing Gilbride to draw up plays to keep him involved just so he would shut the fuck up (this according to Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News.)  But Plax, for all his off-field antics – which, in my mind, have crossed the line and demand his removal from the team – was a total team player between the lines.

It’s qualities like these that make parting with Plax – if that is indeed what we do – so fraught with mixed emotions.  It would be easy to say, “The guy was just a complete tool,” and leave it at that.  But that’s just not the case.

IV.  Free Ahmad

Can’t we get this guy on the field already?  Did we forget how good he was in the playoffs?  At this point, we can’t afford not to use him.  Without Plax, we need playmakers.

The Giants have been really great this year on a play-by-play basis, even moreso on offense than defense.  But often – possibly due to the fact that our offensive dominance is based on the running game, which will usually yield fewer points than an explosive passing game – the scoreboard has failed to fully reflect our dominance.  It’s great to pound the rock down teams’ throats, but no team is without the need of big plays.  A guy like Bradshaw can provide some; at this point, it’s criminal to keep him buried on the bench.

I can totally picture a post-season scenario in which we completely outplay the other team, but only have a 10-point lead in the third quarter.  And then they break off a big play, then Eli throws a pick on a high pass that goes off Hixon’s fingers, and then we’re in danger of an awful loss.

We need firepower.  Put in #44.

(Also on this note, can Hixon please get back to returning kicks?  I’m hoping that Colonel Tom is just protecting him from injury and that he’ll be back deep when the playoffs come.  But please, we’re really sitting on too many resources here.  It really might bite us in the ass.)

V.  The Lack of a Pass-Rush

You can live with a big game by Westbrook – he’s an awesome player who capitalized on some missed assignments to break a couple of long gains.  But to me, what’s more worrisome going forward was our total lack of pressure on McNabb.

Despite our good sack totals – we are tied for fourth in the league with 37, and are seventh in FootballOutsiders’ Adjusted Sack Rate – our pass rush has been inconsistent this year.  Without it, our defense is penetrable.

I suppose the overall theme of this post is that while we are good, we’re not so good that there aren’t scenarios under which we can lose.  At 11-1, it might have been easy to forget that.  Yesterday was a reminder.

At this point, it’s getting a little repetitive, but it’s worth saying again: Another week, and yet another statement.  Has there ever been a better time to be a Giants fan?  It seems like nearly every week, we severely outplay the opposition.  When we don’t catch breaks and we’re playing a good team – Eagles game, Steelers game – we win gut-it-out games that prove our character.  When we do catch breaks like we did yesterday, we blow teams out.

 

I. The Running Game

 

Not only does this team win convincingly every week, they win in the most enjoyable way possible: by dominating the line of scrimmage and ripping off big chucks of yards on the ground.  If there is a signature image of the 2008 New York Giants, it is Brandon Jacobs turning the corner with a head of steam, his stride kicking into full gear as the crowd noise rises around him before blowing past flimsy arm tackles on his way to a big gain.

 

Jacobs left the game with what he and Tom Coughlin described as a “sore knee” – he will have a precautionary MRI today and people are saying it’s not serious, but this is obviously cause for concern until he’s officially out of the woods.  But even without him, the train kept right on rolling yesterday.  On the first series Jacobs sat out, Ward came in and accumulated 50 total yards rushing and receiving, setting up our third touchdown in our first three series’ that pretty much ended the suspense right there.

 

And as he does every week, Ahmad managed to do something impressive late in the game, even when everyone knew a run was coming.  His 77-yard burst – during which he devastatingly cut back on a slightly out of position Ray Lewis – was his most remarkable run this year.

 

By now, we’ve probably all heard the numbers: the G-Men rushed for 207 yards against what was by far the best run defense in the league.  This makes it five times in 10 games that we have surpassed the double-centch.  What this means is that the Giants turn in a rare rushing performance half the time; there is as good a chance the Giants will thoroughly dominate on the ground as not.  I don’t mean to sound hyperbolic here, but we are witnessing something very special.

 

With any good running game, the temptation is to parcel out credit on an either/or basis.  Is it the O-line, or is it the running backs?  But this is a false choice in our case, because I firmly believe it’s both. 

 

I have been hard on Jacobs in the past, but it’s time I own up to the fact that I was very wrong: Jacobs is fucking amazing.  As my brother said, watching him is like watching an Earl Campbell highlight film.  But I think it’s important to note that, even more than other backs, Jacobs talents are brought out by the dominance of his O-line.  While Jacobs has improved dramatically at maneuvering in tight spaces, he is most dangerous at the second level, when his stride kicks in and he starts running downhill.  When he gets a head of steam, there is nobody in the game better.  I don’t mean this to sound like a backhanded complement, but Jacobs and our line are perfect complements for each other.

 

As for Ward, he has no weaknesses in his game, and is an excellent player by virtue of being good in every phase: He runs hard between the tackles; he blocks well – he had one very nice blitz pick-up on the first series on Eli’s 21-yard throw to Plax; he’s a very good receiver; and he’s good on the edge and in the open field.

 

And then there’s Ahmad, who flies through holes.  The following comparison only goes so far, but doesn’t Ahmad display an aptitude similar to that of Tiki’s when it comes to timing his cuts through holes?

 

The other piece of our running game, the O-line, has been getting its due on this blog and the mainstream media as the best in the game.  The other week, I used Football Outsiders stats to support this point, and I’ll do it again: The Giants line ranks first in the league in Adjusted Line Yards (run blocking) and seventh in Adjusted Sack Rate (pass blocking).  Only Denver (third and sixth, respectively) is close to being excellent in both categories.

 

(The only not-so-great area in terms of our running game is short-yardage and goal-line situations, what Football Outsiders terms “Power” situations, in which the Giants rank 22nd in the league.  This may be due to their overuse of Jacobs in those situations.  His size notwithstanding, Jacobs is not a great short-yardage runner.  You know who is though, size also notwithstanding?  Ahmad.)

 

II. Eli

 

Thanks to the running game, we were able to dominate on offense on a day when our passing game wasn’t clicking on all cylinders.  Eli’s day was not bad, but less than stellar: he went 13 of 23 for 153 yards (6.7 yards per attempt) with a touchdown and one interception that, save for another smart Coughlin challenge, easily could have been two (I’m not counting the one on that tipped ball to Plax that was nullified by the offsides penalty because that wasn’t Eli’s fault).

 

But really, this game was pretty much over at 20-0.  And during the time where we accumulated the lead, Eli was sharp, going 7 for 10 for 82 yards and a touchdown, an integral part of our awesome offense that put the game away early.  (Another mitigating factor yesterday was the wind, which effected at least a couple of his throws.)

 

Still, we can’t get around the fact that Eli hasn’t been great in recent weeks.  I wouldn’t say he has been bad, only that he can be better.  See?  There’s room for improvement on this team after all, and that should be a scary thought for the rest of the league.

 

One very noticeable thing about Eli this year is how comfortable he is in the pocket, which I think owes to both his experience and our improved pass-blocking.  Where he used to back off and throw off his heels, he now displays great presence of mind in the pocket, deftly stepping up into empty areas to buy himself that extra moment to throw.  This ability was most evident on his first completion of the game, that 21-yard out to Plax near the sideline.

 

So even though he’s not putting up such great numbers, you don’t get the sense that Eli’s confidence is the least the least bit shaken.  He is still inconsistent with his throws and still makes some stupid mistakes, but we’re long removed from the whipped-dog days when you could see in his face that he was rattled and would be useless for the whole game.

 

Ok, lots more to talk about, but I have to cut it off for now…  I’ll be back later in the day with more thoughts.

A deeply satisfying win.  Once again, just when you thought you couldn’t be any higher on this team, they manage to impress you.

This game reminded me of the Pittsburgh game in that going into each contest, many people predicted us to lose.  The rationale was that we can’t win ‘em all, and since we have to drop some games, these wouldn’t be such bad losses.

Both performances attest to the hunger of this team to defend its title.  In both games, we showed early that we were the superior team (in the Eagles game, a 244 to 126 advantage in yards in the first half), but were unable to convert this play-by-play dominance into a commensurate advantage on the scoreboard (only a 20-17 lead).

And when both the Steelers and Eagles scored third quarter touchdowns to take the lead, it looked as if we had squandered our best stretch of ball and were positioned to lose a game we should have won.  But in both games, we persevered and resumed our dominance.

This team has heart.

I. Colonel Tom

Maybe today’s game will go down as the moment when we officially embraced Colonel Tom.  We all know what I’m talking about: the challenge on Eli’s pass to Boss that set up Jacobs’ touchdown to put us up 27-24.  That was the biggest play of the game.

Michaels and Madden were all over it: Tom has the best challenge percentage in league history (granted, the challenge rule dates back only to 2004).  But what does this tell you about Tom?  Sure, I have my gripes with him, mostly centered around his under-utilization of Ahmad.  But we have a great coach, and we should be grateful.  A lot of Giants fans, including me, were wrong about him.  Tom Coughlin is a winner.

As opposed to, say, Andy Reid.  Thank you, Andy, for the clock management at the end of the first half that cost your team four points, the senseless challenges that spent the Eagles’ remaining time outs, not running a play before the two-minute warning because McNabb was tired (awwwww), and the consecutive running plays on the last series. 

And you wonder why Eagles fans are so bitter?

II. The O-Line

Brandon Jacobs was NBC’s “Horse Trailer Player of the Game,” or whatever they call it, and Jacobs deserves props.  He ran really well, gaining 117 yards at 5.7 per (although his three fumbles, only one of which counted, detract significantly from his outing).

But we all know where this game was won: In the trenches, with the best offensive line in the league.  The Eagles came into the game with the third best rush defense in the league, with an outstanding -18.6% DVOA.  No problem.  Our boys up front paved the way for the running backs to gain to 217 yards on a cool 4.9 yards per carry.

The running game was the foundation of our attack that put up 36 points and notched 401 total yards on one of the best defenses in the league.  As for pass protection, Eli was only sacked once against a defense known for its ability to bring pressure. 

Nothing new here, but our O-line is the foundation for our success, probably the biggest a reason to be confident against any team in the NFL going forward.

So let’s honor these guys by name: Dave Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O’Hara, Chris Snee, and Kareem McKenzie.  Once again, the game ball goes to you.

III. Fumblitis

Over the past few games, we’ve seen Jacobs be increasingly reckless with the ball, so I can’t say I was all that surprised about tonight’s three fumbles (again, only one of which actually counted, but still).  Add in the rare Ward fumble at the most inopportune time, along with another unconscionable fumble by Ahmad, and we have something to worry about here.

If Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb weren’t Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, we might be blaming the fumbles for costing us a game in which we were clearly the better team.

Fortunately, we got away with it, but this is worrisome and has to stop.  Maybe we can bring back Tiki Barber as a guest lecturer on recovering from fumblitis.

IV. Special Teams

Save for the Quinton Demps fumble, we got killed in this area during the first half.  To our credit, we responded in the second half, but this still has to be considered an area of concern.

I can’t figure out why kickoff coverage has been a sporadic vulnerability for us over the past couple of years.  If the Jerry Reese Giants are characterized by anything, it is their athleticism on the roster from top to bottom.  This would seem to be a team ideally suited to field good special teams.

By the way, Tynes has to be the worst kickoff specialist in league history.  His kickoffs are probably better than Carney’s, but really, what’s the point or carrying him and not an actual kickoff specialist.  Are there any of these guys out there?  Because when it comes for field goals, I think Carney’s proven enough.  He has to be our guy going forward.)

Also, it was nice to see Hixon break one today – that call on Johnson was bullshit.  After the Seahawks game, that guy has been somewhat slept on, but he reminded us again what an asset he is.

Big ups on special teams also go to Ahmad, who made two great sticks on kickoffs.  Speaking of special teams…

V. Chase Blackburn

A crucial fumble recovery in the first quarter and then the game-clinching stop of Westbrook, along with a nice tackle on a kickoff.  He started at weakside linebacker today and should stay there for the rest of the season.  As I said last week, this guy needs to be on the field.

VI. Corey Webster

Yes, he got beaten by DeSean Jackson on that last scoring drive, but aside from that, I’m pretty sure this was a blemishless performance.  People talk about how much this guy has improved, but that’s a backhanded way getting at how good he is.  Sure, Corey Webster is the 2008 Most Improved Player.  But he’s also one of the best cornerbacks in the game.  In the NFL, it always takes time for a guy’s reputation to catch up to his production.  In the postseason, look for announcers to be making this point: Corey Webster is a Pro Bowl caliber corner.

VII. Odds and Ends

–What happened to the end zone fade to Plax?  Surely it’s worth one play on a goal-to-go series.  If the Eagles can do it with Hank Basket on Aaron Ross, surely we can do it with Plax on Asante Samuel or Sheldon Brown.

–Antonio Pierce was getting abused in pass coverage by LJ Smith over the middle.  This seam pattern has been a consistent vulnerability for this defense.

–Madison Hedgecock needs to re-learn how to catch.  What is that, four passes in a row he has dropped?  I don’t get it: Last year he had pretty good hands.  It was a drop by Madison, along with an uncharacteristic drop by Ward (who’s a great receiver), which kept us from converting those two Eagles turnovers into 14 points.  This effectively allowed Philly to stay in the game.

–Mathias Kiwanuka made a nice play “setting the edge” on a Westbrook run, but lost contain on two other plays.  I’ve said this before: ‘Nuke needs to be more disciplined out there.

–Kevin Boss, the end zone drop notwithstanding, can play.

For this post, check out the NY Times Fifth Down Blog.

Big game tonight…

First, I’d like to thank all the people who have been commenting on this blog.  There are around a million-and-a-half things to address after any football game, and I have no illusions about being able to cover everything.  It’s up to you guys to pick up the slack, and you guys are doing a great job – your on-point observations are sincerely appreciated.

For my part, I plan on responding more to your comments.  I also encourage you guys to respond to each other.  That’s the great thing about the democratic nature of blogs: they’re not just about the quality of the posts, but also the quality of discussion between the readers.  Keep up the good work, fellas.

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This is very encouraging news: It appears that Osi is well ahead of schedule with his rehab and his knee should be “stronger than ever,” in his words, when he returns to practice next spring.

According to this Ralph Vacchiano blog post, Osi thinks he initially tore the knee last year, but he played through it while the Giants called it an “irritation.”  If his knee really was torn it would explain his sub-par (by his standards) year: Yes, the 13 sacks were impressive, but remember that 6 of them came in that one Eagles game against the slow, overmatched Winston Justice.

Osi actually thinks he might have been able to come back for the postseason, but I’m sure most Giants fans aren’t too disappointed that’s not an option because he’s stashed on IR.  He would have been a shell of his real self anyway, and this way, we’ll have something to look forward to next year as we try to three-peat.

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Kevin Dockery will miss at least two weeks with a back injury, probably more.  This leaves the nickel corner job between Madison, Terrell Thomas, and R-Dubs.  Thomas stepped in for Dockery Sunday and did a good job, but that was because Madison and Dubs didn’t dress.  (Thomas dressed because he has become a valued special-teamer, which speaks well for him.)

I’d love to see Thomas take this job and run with it for the next four years, but you’d have to think it’s more likely that Madison gets the nod because of his experience.  For as many steps as he has lost, Madison still has a knack for making picks, which fits will with our reborn pass-rush. 

If anything, replacing Dockery for Madison is probably a good thing.  Remember, it was Dockery who was largely responsible for Mewelde Moore’s first touchdown run.  He utterly whiffed on the tackle coming off the corner, and Moore had the entire side of the field to outrun Johnson.

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Brian Kehl has a toe injury, and Fred Robbins is “nicked up,” according to the latest reports.  We don’t know any more about these injuries as of now, but hopefully these guys won’t miss the Cowboys game.  We especially need the encouraging Kehl, because Gerris Wilkinson will miss yet another week.  What a disappointing, injury-marred career for that guy – you get the feeling his Giants career might be over before it has even begun.  And you also get the feeling that he’ll catch on with the team like the Redskins and become a valued contributor down the line.

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Here’s something I didn’t talk about in my game recap: Matthias Kiwanuka, who was having a mildly disappointing year to this point as he recovered from that week 1 leg injury, responded in a big way by posting three sacks.

This is obviously encouraging, as ‘Nuke has the potential to be a pass-rushing weapon.  I read something interesting in Mike Garafolo’s game recap about a conversation he had with a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer, who said that Max Starks, the Steelers’ right tackle last week, has slow feet.  With his pure speed, ‘Nuke can be a force against slower tackles.

One thing that concerns me about ‘Nuke, however, is that he plays so high.  This really saps his power and, I fear, might make him rather one-dimensional.  I don’t know, just something to look out for…

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There seems to be a disconnect between what the fans think of James Butler and what people associated with the team think.  To us, he’s slow and always seems to be late getting over to help on deep receivers.  Yet the Giants tendered his contract during the offseason have given him close to 100% of the snaps at one safety spot, while Phillips and Johnson split the snaps at the other spot 50/50.

But for Sunday, give Butler credit where credit is due.  Yes, he got burnt by Nate Washington and then peeled ran away from him like he was trying to let the other guy score in Madden.  But overall, Butler had an awesome game.

His interception showed athleticism I didn’t know he had, and he caused another interception by tipping a pass to Kehl with another heretofore unseen athletic maneuver.  He also made 6 tackles, 3 of them solo.

I’ll say this about Butler: It does seem that he’s good at stepping up, taking angles at ball-carriers, and making tackles.  That’s something that goes unnoticed but is very important just the same, and therefore might help explain the disconnect.  There have been two long touchdown runs broken on us this year: the Chris Perry run and the Moore run.  On the Perry run, Kenny Phillips was playing safety on that side, with Johnson at linebacker in the dime package.  On the Moore run, Johnson was the deep safety on that side.

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Allow me to address the Plax situation again, as I fear it is threatening to escalate into a threat to team morale.  What if we had lost this game?  Wouldn’t the fact that Plax wasn’t in the game on the unsuccessful goal line series – when we definitely would have thrown a fade to him – been blown up into a huge deal, as it probably should have been regardless?

After the suspension in the Seahawks game, I cautioned against people coming down too hard on him because for all his bullshit, the situation was always manageable.  But he’s pushing this too far.  I don’t know if it has turned into a battle of wills with Coughlin or if there’s something wrong in his personal life, but this has reached a critical point.  I said it Monday and I’ll say it again: Plax, cut the shit.

Fortunately, the good example set by the rest of the veterans allows us to overcome Plax’s bad example.  Check out this quote from Amani, who although he’s not about to take a shot at Plax, clearly takes Tom side.

“It’s just a bad situation all around.  We want him out there, but we do have team rules.  Everything that’s happened was how it had to happen.  It’s not a good situation for the whole team.”

Ralph Vacchiano, in his interview with the New York Times Fifth Down Blog about his book on Eli, puts it very well about Plax.  (He’s far less forgiving of Shockey.  It’s a great interview, you should check it out.)

“Burress is a strange guy.  He doesn’t respect authority and doesn’t seem to care about rules or punishment or anything like that, but he’s a hard worker and he definitely respects his teammates.  Eli seems to like him because he gives a huge effort on the field, is extremely smart, and they seem to have a chemistry.”

From this, it’s clear that the image of Plax the typical selfish diva of a receiver is off the mark.  I think it’s true that Plax respects his teammates, and that’s a big distinction.  But if he wants to show them respect and he’s that smart, he’ll start respecting authority just a little bit more so he can stop getting suspended.  That’s all we ask, Plax – you don’t have to turn into Darryl Strawberry on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant Company Softball Team.  Just don’t be an outright dick.  It shouldn’t be too hard.