I.  Gilbride

After last night, the blogosphere is alight with angry Giants fans wondering what has happened to our vaunted offense over the past two weeks.

Andrew Furman, the proprietor of the excellent Giants blog UltimateNYG.com, points the finger squarely at Gilbride, who has long been the target of his wrath.  I think Furman has been a little tough on Gilbride in the past, but in this case, I agree with everything he says.

To appreciate the argument in its full indignant force, definitely check out his post.  In a nutshell, Furman’s argument goes thusly: Gilbride continued to call for deep drops and patterns that took way too long to develop, essentially letting Eli take the beating he did.   Instead, Furman says we should have gone with a diet “quick slants, 3 step drops, slip screens, draws, TE dumpoff checkdowns above the line of scrimmage.  Instead, we got long 7-step drops, and… shocking… 8 sacks.”

In his general takedown of Gilbride, he makes the point that the Giants have been outcoached for two straight weeks.  In the Philly game, both teams had to adjust to the wind.  Philly did, the G-Men didn’t.  In the Cowboys game, both teams had to adjust to their opponent’s ferocious pass rush.  The Cowboys did, the Giants didn’t.

So good job as always, Andy!

II. Lack of Plax

The problems with the game plan notwithstanding, it’s becoming pretty clear how much we will miss Plax – we’re really not the same team without him.  Plax is so talented that he can bail us out of a misbegotten play or gameplan with his long arms, strength, and ability to catch balls in traffic. 

The thing about Plax is that even if he’s covered, he’s still a viable option.  But if, say, Hixon is covered, Eli has to go to his next progression.  This takes time, and this becomes a significant problem if he’s under pressure, as evidenced by last night.

So I posit that beyond the offensive line’s brutal performance and Gilbride’s poor play-calling, the lack of Plax played a big role in the beating Eli took.  Going forward, this is something we have to adjust to. 

But can we?  Is it that easy?  Or was losing Plax a bigger blow than we even realized?  Yes, the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Redskins games went fine without him, but at this point, those games seem less instructive about what will happen going forward than the past two games.

So I’m worried, and I’m also very pissed.  If our offense doesn’t recover from this, we are likely in for a very disappointing ending to what had been our most promising season in ages.  And we’ll have Plaxico Burress and his stupidity to blame.

III.  Lack of Jacobs/Free Ahmad (Again)

The running game struggled yesterday, but I frankly don’t think things would have been any different if Jacobs was getting the carries that went to Ward.  Simply put, there weren’t any holes, and while Jacobs is great at charging through holes with a head of steam and running downhill for big gains, he’s not so good at creating for himself.  With the penetration the Cowboys defenders got last night, Jacobs wouldn’t have done any better.

But you know who might have?  Ahmad Bradshaw, who continues to be stashed on the bench and criminally underutilized.  When we were running for 200 yards and blowing teams out, Coughlin and Gilbride apologists offered the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rationale for why Bradshaw was on the bench.  But after two pathetic offensive showings, it’s safe to say that this shit is broke, and it’s time to deviate from what we’ve been doing.

I’ve made this point before, but if your offense is struggling to score points, you need playmakers.  Ahmad is a game-breaker – maybe he could have broken off a 40-yard play last night that would have jump-started our offense.  But no.  For some reason, we stayed with Ward and continued to bang our heads against the wall while our offense repeatedly failed.

IV.  Hixon Needs to Return Kicks and Punts (Again)

This is related to the point I made above: If you’re struggling to score points, the need for big plays is more acute.  Having Moss (who is a terrible return-man) and ‘Dubs returning kicks and punts, respectively, takes away one of our best opportunities for big plays in Hixon’s returns.

It almost as if Coughlin doesn’t see the return game as a chance to do something positive, but rather as a liability where things can go wrong, whether fumbles or injuries.  Ever since he chose the sure-handed but slow Chad Morton over Willie Ponder in 2005, it seems like we’ve never gotten as much out of the return game as we can.

Hixon is clearly our best returner.  It’s a shame the small chance of his getting hurt has to cost us so much in the return game.  The situation is symptomatic of the philosophy that keeps Ahmad buried on the bench: It seems like there’s this assumption that everything is fine, that all parts of the Giants machine are exactly where they need to be.  But things aren’t fine; it’s time for Tom to start maximizing the roster’s resources.

That said, there’s a chance that Hixon hasn’t been returning kicks/punts because of his foot/ankle injury.  If that’s the case, fine, that’s very reasonable.  But come playoff time, he better be back there.  We can’t afford to have him not be.

V. Eli

I know there have been mitigating circumstances the past two games, and I know he hasn’t played terribly.  But look: After we lost Plax and teams officially started ganging up to stop the run, we knew our fate would hinge on Eli.  At this point, you’d have to say things aren’t going too well in that regard.

Forget the play-calling and the pass rush for a second.  Haven’t Eli’s throws been off?  A little high, maybe?  I think his mechanics are a little out of whack.  He needs to play better.

VI.  Problems on Third Down

Just came across this statistic via Trent Dilfer on ESPN (he is an excellent analyst, in my opinion): Before the last two games, we were converting at a 45 percent clip on third down.  Against the Cowboys and Eagles, we were 6 for 26, or 23 percent.

This is bad, but it’s actually encouraging going forward.  Basically, it means our offense will improve because that low conversion rate has to be considered something of an aberration.  Granted, we’ve been bad on first and second downs the past two games, but I’m pretty sure we haven’t been that bad.  Our poor performance on third down, therefore, is a bit of an outlier and one that will even out in the future.  So while our offense has been very bad over the past two games, it hasn’t been as bad as it’s looked.

VII. Tackling

Two big and inexcusable plays from last night: 1) Michael Johnson letting Witten slip out of his arms on the game-clinching first down; and 2) Antonio Pierce going high on Witten, catching a stiff-arm, and letting Witten rumble down to the 1 on the Cowboys’ second touchdown drive.

A big play in the Eagles game: Kenny Phillips taking a horrific angle and missing LJ Smith on a third-and-long, which eventually led to a touchdown.

We need to tighten things up.

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.

Well, they got Gibril Wilson’s replacement and for a fraction of the cost.

From Newsday:

Adding him takes some of the sting out of losing safety Gibril Wilson, who signed a $39-million deal over six years with the Raiders. Knight will compete with James Butler and Michael Johnson for one of the Giants’ safety spots.

“We were attracted to how smart he plays and how productive and physical he plays,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “We think he will thrive in our defensive schemes. He brings a lot of leadership to the team, especially to the secondary, and he is a real pro.”

Said coach Tom Coughlin: “Sammy Knight is a durable, physical player with 42 career interceptions. He comes to the line of scrimmage extremely well. He’s a smart player who gets everybody lined up. He played in Kansas City for [secondary coach] Peter Giunta, so we know all about the quality of the man. We feel like with his love of the game and his attitude about the idea of team that he’ll be a real nice fit for us.”

In the Star Ledger today, Mike Garafolo says the Giants will go to the draft looking for a corner if DeAngelo Hall slips away.

If they don’t get Hall (because another team offers a better deal to Atlanta or they can’t negotiate a new contract with Hall’s agent), the Giants will likely go to the draft to find their corner. And while it’s still extremely early in the process, there’s a chance they could wind up with their second consecutive winner of the Thorpe Award (for best defensive back in college football) after drafting Aaron Ross last year.

Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason is projected by many draft gurus to be selected late in the first round or early in the second. A few scouts, who requested anonymity because they don’t want to publicly reveal their team’s draft boards, agreed Cason is currently a late-first to early-second selection. The Giants, at No. 31 overall, are likely taking a long, hard look at Cason.

There are a few other cornerbacks who might be available late in the first round: Troy’s Leodis McKelvin (5-11, 190 pounds), Tennessee State’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (6-2, 183) and Kansas corner Aqib Talib (6-1, 202), who grew up in Trenton before moving to Texas.

At 6-0, 191 pounds, Cason has a similar build to Ross’. And like Ross, Cason played a lot of zone coverage in college but has a long build — something the Giants knew would help Ross play tough on receivers at the line of scrimmage. Cason has also shown the ability to play man-to-man coverage.

Good plan, since they need help in the secondary.