While the Giants failed to impress many in this weeks win over the St. Louis Rams, it was certainly a step in the right direction and showed some progress in key areas.
The Offense: The struggle continues for Eli Manning and the offense. Some key assignments were missed last night, a couple of bad throws, a few drops and bobbles, and a few bad penalties to boot. The offense is going to be a work in progress all year as the communication continues to develop between the line, Eli, the backs, and receivers. Remembering that while the Rams are certainly not a winning organization, this is a very good defense, with very good linebackers, and Steve Spagnuolo playing the part of Defensive Coordinator. You cannot discount the ability of the Rams coach to scheme a defense, especially against a team he knows well, as a factor in last nights performance. The Offense struggled for sure, but with the limited practice time they have had with healthy bodies.....it took a step forward. Having the one nice scoring drive before halftime, and one immediately following was a good sign.
The Defense: The pressure was certainly applied to Sam Bradford at times last night. Six sacks certainly helped win this game last night. While some defensive players have shown a lack of concentration, Michael Boley took advantage of a lapse of judgement by the Rams and returned a backwards pass (fumble) for a touchdown, a key to this game. The pass defense struggled in man coverage in the first half, mainly due to the no huddle offense employed by the Rams. Changes were not able to be made, and the Giants struggled to make the adjustments needed with the personnel they had on the field. In the second half the Giants realized the rotation they usually employ at key spots was going to be impossible, so they went with more zone coverages. The Giants did stop the run completely, and that is always job one in New York. Once again the communication between first year linebackers, and new starters in the secondary was a problem, but it certainly settled down when the Rams reached the red zone, and the Giants were able to re-group. I give the Rams a lot of credit for identifying the communication problems the Giants had last week and trying to exploit them by going no-huddle for most of the first half.
What this team needs to do now is work on execution. Missed blocks, missed reads, dropped balls, and penalties all stop drives. This is why this season is so different. With the Union imposed reduced practice time, reduced meeting time, also coupled with the lockout and key injuries late in training camp, this team needs time to learn communication and each other. They will hopefully start to get players back, not lose anymore key players to injury, and continue to not turn the ball over.
Next week poses a big test......but it might be just what the Giants need. They have been living with a ghost for months now, and they need to face the ghost to see where they stand. FINISH will be the word around the Giants this week. Three phases, communicate, execute, and FINISH
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