BEATING OURSELVES

  The Giants continued their current trend last night of beating themselves.  Four more turnovers and some missed opportunities beat the G-Men last night.  They will need to figure out how to play smarter, hold onto the ball, stop some stupid penalties, and hopefully teach the punter how to kick a ball.

     The Defense was spectacular except for two plays last night.  They executed their plan, keeping Mike Vick in check, and keeping the team in the game after another sloppy slow start by the offense.  Two turnovers by the offense were converted into only 6 points.  They admittedly made two huge mistakes on Defense, but all in all they kept the game alive and gave the offense a chance to win the game.

     The Offense is still looking to replace some missing parts, but they did get a one point lead after trailing by 13 points.  The Eli fumble, the missed pass to Nicks, and the Bradshaw fumble were killers.  I know JPP jumped offside on a very critical play, but it's how you get in a situation that counts.  This offense will need to get back to solid execution and stop turning the ball over to give this team a chance in the last 6 games.  They can easily win 5 of the next 6, they have the talent, they need to execute.

     The special teams again disappointed last night.  The kickoff coverage was very much improved and was the strongest piece of the unit.  The punter again had trouble with taking a snap, and kicking the ball.  Pretty much the only two things he needs to perfect.  The biggest disappointment for me was the poor effort after making a great play.  Terrell Thomas makes a great play to block a field goal with no time left in the first half.  Corey Webster recovers the block and has pretty much just the holder to beat, and he allows himself to be herded out of bounds pretty much without being touched.  That could have been a huge turnaround in the game.

     The Jaguars are in town next week....but we need to see if these Giants can avoid beating themselves before we worry about the opponent.

INJURY UPDATE:  HAKEEM NICKS WILL BE OUT 3 WEEKS ACCORDING TO PAT HANLON OF THE NYG.....

MICHAEL CLAYTON WILL SIGN A CONTRACT TUESDAY AFTERNOON.  Michael Clayton was the 15th overall pick in the 2004 draft.  He played 5 years with the Tampa Bay Bucs.  He recently was playing for the UFL in Omaha for the Nighthawks.  Clayton is listed at 6'4" and 215 lbs.