Uh, recap anyone?
OK then... Time to go through yesterday's game.
Feels like there are always a few of these pics after each loss, doesn't it?
THE GOOD
-- Hmmm... Ahmad Bradshaw, maybe? He had a couple of nice runs when he finally got into the game on offense. If he can learn his protections better -- and let's be honest, if he'd been in there on passing downs, he would have gotten freight-trained like all the other secondary blockers who were in there -- he may have a shot to play more.
-- Osi. Six tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble that could have changed the game in the first quarter. A good recovery after a so-so day in Detroit.
-- Freddy Robbins. When he plays a lot, he plays really, really well. Had 1 1/2 sacks that should have been 2 1/2.
THE BAD
-- Eli, Eli, Eli, Eli. And to think I forgot to mention in my game story that he had a fifth pick that was correctly overturned on a challenge, and a sixth that went right into Ben Leber's arms but the Minny LB dropped it.
OK folks, the debates will begin anew on Eli and his worth. There's no defending yesterday, of course. He seems to have at least one game every season in which he's confused early by the defensive looks and then he falls apart trying to do too much. In three seasons, yesterday was by far the worst I've seen; the Baltimore game in '04 is a tale often told, but that's the Ravens, a terrific defense all the way around.
This is the Vikings, who have a terrible secondary and a front seven that hadn't been getting to QBs all year. We'll get to the O-line's failures in a moment.
I have defended Eli in the recent past, and I will defend him in the future. For this offense, he's a fine QB because he manages games well and is becoming a more accurate passer and a better defense-reader, yesterday aside. The Giants are not built for a gunslinging QB, as exciting as that sounds; the NFC East has one gunslinger, but that Romo guy has a great O-line, a terrific back in Barber and guys who catch the ball.
So when Eli is his usual, boring self, the Giants aren't bad. It's their defense that wins or loses their games and their seasons, as evidenced in recent seasons.
So... there's still no excuse for what Eli did yesterday. And yes, I put a heaping help of the blame on him, because some of those throws in the first half, when the game was still a game, were hideous. Beyond bad. And the whole offense lost confidence as a result.
-- The O-line. This could be the most worrisome aspect of yesterday going forward. The unit has been very good, and needed to be great yesterday because of the RB situation. It wasn't. Lotta breakdowns, lotta interior blitzes that were well-disguised, lotta Eli running for cover.
-- Reuben Droughns. He is who I thought he was: A very good short-yardage back who doesn't have the acceleration to be an every-down guy. Easy to say in hindsight, but I would have alternated Droughns and Bradshaw each series, especially after it became apparent that Eli couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat.
-- Strahan. Can't let a sack and a tackle-for-loss go, much less on the same series. Ditto for Justin Tuck, who struggled for the first time all season.
-- Aaron Ross. Starting to play more like a rookie, it seems. The coverage on Sidney Rice's long TD catch was just bad, and the Vikes threw at Ross a few more times later.
-- TC. Won't fault him for leaving his starters in deep into the fourth, because he was right to say that meant giving up. I will fault him for some of the play calls and something we've all faulted him (and his offensive coordinators) for in the past 3-plus years: An inability to change the offense mid-game when things are going south. When he does it out of desperation (Philly and Seattle last year), he gets some results; when he thinks they're close enough to keep doing what they do (Jacksonville last year, San Diego two years ago), it just gets worse.
And the Bears are coming up on Sunday. They still play defense too. We'll see what's what out at Soldier Field.
Back with some more after availability in a few hours.
E-mail
Facebook
Digg
Delicious
Comments (23)
Eli Manning is slow and afraid to run and defenses know it , and that is why the giants will never be a real contender in the playoffs.I played touch football till i was 43 and at 58 i bet i could still outrun eli manning!
How could you say that the Giants won't win because the QB can't run? How about the O-Line actually block someone? The last time I checked it's Eli's job to throw the ball not run with it.
There were also a lotta penalties and a lotta dropped balls.
Eli deserves a good portion of blame here - if you're not in sync with receivers do something about it, make the adjustments, and get in sync fast. They came out in the 2nd half exactly the same as the 1st, flat and uncoordinated. That's exactly the kind of situation you need Eli to show leadership in - getting his team back on track.
Half of the blame has got to go to Glibride and Coughlin who just did not have the offense prepared for this game. That was a stinker of a performance in front of a home crowd. Embrassing.
And can we please see fewer penalties? Either we bury ourselves in 2nd or 3rd and longs, or we're erasing something good when it (finally) happens. Coughlin has never fixed this when he said he would.
I don't place all of the blame on Eli. I do think he had a horrible game and that he has to do more. However, did anyone watch the 1st quarter where we had 4-5 miss communications b/t what the recievers were doing and where Eli was throwing? This is week 10? How can this be?
Plaxico cannot cut and isn't explosive. He needs to sit for a couple of weeks b/c he's hurting us more than he's helping.
I place half of the blame on Eli and half on Coughlin. How many season do we have to experience a meltdown midway thru the season? They are digressing. Stupid penalties at home is the sign of an undisciplined team. I was emberassed to be a fan yesterday. Eli had two legitimate picks, the tipped ball down by the goal line was unlucky. But, the defense gives up a big play thru the air to the Vikings on the first possession and can't stop them once we kick a FG in the 3rd to get us the ball back. Instead the Vikings milked the entire 3rd quarter.
I place all of this on Coughlin. That was not a team ready to play. No fire, no heart. Bring in Schottenheimer. I'm sick of this.
Sorry ryan--with a leadlegged eli at q.b. a defense will be able to take chances on his passes because they know he is afraid of contact and will hurry his passes.
Eli was reading 'hot' every play meaning that the receivers r supposed to cut short the routes + get open as an outlet. A great deal of his hot reads were incorrect + he was throwing to the other team. The Vikings confused the heck out of Eli... The fact that Coughlin kept the key starters including Plaxico in the game was entirely stupid... Yes, u should give-up when the game is for sure lost to protect the health of ur players. Kareem Kckenzie was carted off the field after the game was for sure lost...
one more thing... Fassell got his players to play for him in Nov. + Dec (when it's difficult to get up for games as ur beat-up) - with the exception of his final year when everyone was hurt. Coughlin entirely loses his Giants teams when the going gets tough...
ARTHUR!!!!!!,
YOU NEED TO ASK THIS COACHING STAFF WHY ARENT THESE OTHER RECEIVERS GOING DOWNFIELD??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???? WHY IS MOSS JUST RUNNING 10 YARD ROUTES???? WHY DONT THEY JUST RUN BURRESS STRAIGHT DOWNFIELD????????
thats the only route that is effective now. Why does he keep running these stupid slants?? guys on FOX were talking about it on replays how he cant finish routes. Viking fans were calling WFAN last night shocked that the Giants didnt attack the rookie Marcus McCauley and Cedric Griffin more on the outside. they were shocked we kept running up the middle . and i agree . and that coaching and it needs to be answered.
ARTHUR!!!,
IM NOT DONE!! I HAVE ALOT TO SAY!!
Also this Offensive Line is OVERRATED RALPH!!! against big time defensive fronts ( Cowboys. Packers, Lions, Vikings) the O-Line played terrible. Eli in constant pressure. Im really dissapointed in the O-Line because is like the Giants defense this year. They never come up big against real competition yet they school the horrible teams. Ask tom about the O-line???? they have been terrible lately just getting mauled. We need a LG in the offseason or a franchise LT to move Diehl back. But Rich is not cutting it long-term.
I watched Eli all day yesterday throwing to his first receiver. DOES HE KNOW HOW TO CHECK DOWN?!? I was in the upper section and I need to go home and watch the game again to be sure but it does seem that you cant teach a dumb dog new tricks with this guy. Also is it just me or does anyone else think we need to cut Gilbride? He was definately no help as the QB coach, and he STINKS as the offensive coach. If Coughlin was such an offensive guy at Jacksonville why doesn't he cut Gilbride and take the rains? Is he really going to let his last efforts to keep a job crash with someone else making the mistakes??
ARTHUR!!!
we need to know about this. YOU REALLY NEED TO ASK Eli TOM KG WHOEVER THESE observations that havent been answered.
One- it looks like Eli is helping the Defense. What do i mean by that? well watching him he STARES and i mean STARES down a target from the snap and it seems it helps Defense read him better and easily and they jump routes or get in good position to make plays. He needs to STOP that! he locks into a receiver at the snap. when hes lookign around he always plays much more better and efficient. also he finds wide open players because the defense cant read where hes going. when hes locked into someone all the defense has to do is look at his eyes and you know where hes going. Ask him and Tom about that
Two- Most of his INTs come up the middle of the field. Mostly by LBs. He seems to have ALOT of trouble reading LBs. sometimes he throws right to them. which this can be from point 1. Ask Tom and Eli about this too. The playcalling is horrible Ralph. KG is worst than JH!! i mean i dont care how many times we pass but is the type of routes being called. why is Moss still running comeback routes?? where is the deep ball? why is Burress running these dum slants? you saw he cant cut. the only effective play with him is the deep jump ball. where is the creativity?? why arent we ruuning short routes on blitz? why are we always going 3 wides? how about 4 wides?? empty backfield? teams cant blitz on that. Sorry for the long messages but the Giants have issues and they need to be answered by the coaches
ARTHUR!!!
The Giants should just show GUTS and show Toomer the BENCH!! he is washed up in my opinion. i mean hes the so called "security blanket" for Eli yet hes dropping passes every game. i never thought i would say that about him. You should write a colum on that.
Sinorice Moss is finally getting open more . i havent seen a CB play Moss tight yet respecting his speed. Give these young guys a shot. I REALLY think Moss would help open up the field for other more than Toomer. Toomer is slow and im tired of these 3-4 catch games by him. thats a 3rd WR game.
I know hes a Vet and all and he can run routes but hes not creating seperation hes not getting open enough and Defenses are not scared of him!
Is anybody gonna have guts to ask tom about this receiving corps? a change needs to be made people are just gonna keep blitzing us. We have no speed in our starting WR. People have figured out how to play Burress. i dont want to hear that the Giants need a 3rd WR. Moss comes in on 3rd downs. so thats ONE play. Toomer plays every down. we have no 2nd threat. Im tired of everyone talking about a 3rd WR like we have a good 2nd option.
Tom Coughlin and Andy Reid are the 2 WORST IN-GAME ADJUSMENT COACHES EVER!!
im ashamed to have his name. can somebody find out why??
arthur,
i really dont understand Sinorice Moss's role on this team. I like that hes getting more looks now. But i really dont understand why Burress is the only one going deep.
I mean in Week 1 they had Toomer, Burress, and Shockey going deep. Now we dont even go deep and when we do is burress. UNBELIEVEABLE this coaching staff.
Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Hopefully, that's the worst we'll see from Eli this year.
Either way, I think the Giants just proved that they're a pretty mediocre team who can lose to any other bum team on any given week.
Granted, having essentially a one-legged Plax is having a greater effect on the O and Manning than the team is letting on, but that's still no excuse for yesterday's stinker.
I'm not sure what the long term solution is to get to the next level. Jerry Reese is still new so he gets a pass for at least this year and the next, but I think Coughlin needs to be jettisoned. John Fox would make a nice Coach for this team (Bill Cowher will want full control - and the Giants don't do that).
Since I think the Giants will be one and done in the playoffs, they need to look at the draft. I'd love to see them draft another shut-down corner, a safety, a LB or a stud WR or RB who can stay healthy (Jacobs is great, but I think at this point, we can sadly surmise that he's going to be on the week-to-week injury report for the remainder of his career).
I think the O-line is solid (and will continue to improve). Eli is getting steadier (not including yesterday's debacle). Steve Smith will replace Toomer by next season. Shockey is still a top-5 TE and will continue to be for a few more years. The Defensive line is solid and will be so even after Strahan retires.
This team is clearly just talented enough to not regularly suck, but I don't see a Superbowl on the horizon until they upgrade at several key areas mentioned above.
Perhaps they could convince Parcells to help evaluate talent. Look at the team he assembled in Dallas. The Cowgirls are winning with all the players he's drafted over the last 3 or 4 years.
Wow, let's all jump ship shall we? It's only 1 game and yes it was a bad game, but they are still 7-4 and the #1 wild card right now. Eli is the most week to week QB ever. Next week when they beat the Bears they will say how gritty and gutsy he is. That's life in the NFL, sometimes there are upsets and sometimes teams play bad. It happens people, get over it.
Hey, Tom: you got off easy.
The giants-like most teams in the n.f.l. would be better off without all the coaching and play making by people who aren't playing the game.Take a page from the terry bradshaw school of football and calll your own plays!
Eli Manning was obtained at a very high price. There is no management team that is going to admit they missed on this one. Coughlin goes way before ELI, and the new coach will inherit a loser QB.
Should have snagged Tomo Romo in the undrafted free agent market before Parcells did in Dallas.
Anyway, the stage is set for the Cowboys to dominate the Giants for years to come!!
Can't agree with Art's assessment of Eli. I agree that the Giants don't need a swashbuckling gunslinger to win games, but Eli isn't a game-manager, either. A game-manager practices football wei wu wei (sorry, first thing that came to mind) and his impact is minimal, good and bad. He allows the game to be decided by the players around him, and it works if the team has a great defense and/or running game (Dilfer with the 2000 Ravens or David Garrard with the Jags). That's not Eli. He's been top four in interceptions all three years as a starter and is tied for the league lead right now. A lot, if not most of the games are decided or greatly impacted by his play. Even if it's not by choice, that makes him more of a gunslinger. And he brought a pocket knife to the gunfight yesterday.
Here's the thing. The Giants defense is not good enough to go up against any flourishing offense in the league.
They need Eli and the offense to put up at least 21 or more points per game to have a shot at winning. Right now this offense does not have a score every time we take the field mentality. It's more of a will run and see what happens mentality.
These questions need to directed to Gilbride and co.
And Bradshaw is the future. Give him the ball and let him do what you can't. Score.
Well I have been saying it all season (in one way or another =P) give the ball to Bradshaw, the only thing good that came out of the game was that Bradshaw showed everyone what he could do, and it was agianst the top run defense, think his average was around 7 yards/carry
I love to see Fred Robbins in there, just a fun guy to watch
Lets face it Eli had a very bad game, but honestly he is not Bret Favre where he can be a pass only guy. Eli is the best off Play-action, no run, no PA. It goes hand in hand
Giants were tied with Bears for most passes drop, you cant blame that on Eli, that has to be fixed
Recievers-Catch
Kickers-kick
They really need to utilize there recievers more, try throwing a deep ball down to Moss, whats the worse that can happen? He doesnt catch it? Gets picked off? well had 3 out of 4 Picks returned for TDs cant get much worse than that
I want to see better coaching, they were unpreparred for this game and it showed
I think Eli will bounce back, and Giants have a tough task verse a very hungry Bears team
Nothing we can do about last weeks game, lets focus on this weeks game
Arthur, instead of asking if Eli should be benched? (the Giants dont have anyone to replace him thats decent, Eli is there best option) You should really ask if Burress should be benched and rested?
One Game
Two Games
Three Games
or Not at all
My little brother is a bad QB, but fortunately my dad hyped him enough to get him selected #1 in the draft.
Now at least he is a millionaire making his money off of poor NYG fans.
Go Cowboys!!!