TIME FOR REFLECTION

This is the low point of the last 3 seasons.  This team should be better than this.  It is not one area that is not working, it is the team that suddenly seems dysfunctional.  The defense seems lost at times, the offense seems very very slow and of course inconsistent and unproductive.  I still believe that the small bit players that helped in the last 2 years are what is missing.  Think of the guys that have left the defense especially.  Gibril Wilson, Kavika Mitchell, Sam Madison, R.W. McQuarters, Michael Strahan, and of course Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross for most of the year.  The veteran presence in the secondary in particular is missing.  The ability to have coaches on the field has been diminished.  The scheme seems too simple and yet their are times where no one seems to know their responsibility.

I hope Tom Coughlin, who is extremely disappointed in the effort and in the toughness of his team right now, looks at his 2 assistants and makes the necessary adjustments.  Kevin Gilbride is not the offensive coordinator this team needs.  He relies too much in reads and adjustment to the defense.  He likes his team and QB to react to what the defense is showing.  This team needs to line up and play.  A return to Parcells football as it were.....call the play and run it.  We are the GIANTS...Dominate the line of scrimmage and run the play that is called.  He also runs the same plays from the same formations constantly.  I can tell you most of the plays are before they are run simply by looking at the formation.  In game adjustments are good, but to have the QB adjusting constantly and continuously at the line of scrimmage until the play clock forces us to snap the ball is not the way to play the game.
Kevin KillDrive as some of the players call him needs to go, and we need a more uptempo, in your face, offensive coordinator.

10 days to get ready for the Cowboys and then the Eagles at home.  10 days to save a season.  10 days to make the playoffs.  10 days of self exploration and showing some toughness and proving you deserve to wear the NY on your helmet.

Let's see how they respond

A SEASON OF INJURIES

Ahmad Bradhaw is out vs. the Broncos.  The three headed rushing attack is now Brandon Jacobs, Danny Ware, and Gartrelle Johnson.  Ware has proven he can handle the pass protection, and you will see a lot of him in third down situations.  He has good hands and is a strong strong runner.

The Broncos pass the ball a lot.  They run a west coast offense of short outside passes, lots of screens, lots of passes outside the numbers.  There biggest problem right now is their Qb is hurting with an ankle sprain.  He has little mobility an that has hurt their offense tremendously.  they have a rookie running back that has had problems holding on to the ball.  This offense right now is not very good, and should continue to struggle on a short week.

Th Broncos defense has some familiar names for GIANTS fans.  Brian Dawkins came over from the Eagles this year and they have a great cornerback in Champ Bailey.  Steve Smith will be covered well Thursday night and Hakeem Nicks, Mario manningham, and Kevin Boss will have to pick up the slack.  The Broncos are not good against the run being a typical undersized AFC team.  The GIANTS need to get back to basics, block better, and run the ball all night.

Game is on the NFL network or channel 11 in New York.

Giants favored by 6 points.

Happy Thanksgiving...A win here and we put our selves back in position with 11 days off till the beaten-up Cowboys ride into town.

Enjoy!

A WIN IS A WIN IS A WIN!

The GIANTS got a much needed win yesterday.  Was it pretty?  Sometimes,and sometimes not, but it counts.

The Giants responded yesterday to a lot of inspiration, from Michael Strahan and Colonel Gadson, the injured Iraq war veteran they adopted in 2007.  The offense took advantage constantly of a terrible pass defense, with Eli having the best day of his career in Giants Stadium.  With over 400 yards of offense and the accuracy on the deep ball he is known for, Eli won this game along with his young receivers and big tight end.

The defense again showed glimpses of dominance, but then lost their way on the road to a win.  The pressure packages they used to run are of no use when you cannot cover receivers downfield.  Gone are the corner and safety blitzes of the past, there simply is not enough talent in the secondary.  The pressure seems to be a half step late, and that's because there is someone open for the ball to be dumped off to before the Qb is sacked.  Think of the guys that are missing and individually they do not mean much, but as a group the Gibril Wilsons, McQuarters, and Kavika Mitchells are sorely missed.  The speed and coverage in the secondary is missing, along with Kenny Phillips.  Hopefully as Aaron Ross progresses that will tighten up and the pressure can return.  Also Bill Sheridan, the defensive coordinator, seems to have a lack of communication or a lack of ability to make corrections.  Hopefully that is not the case.

Of course as soon as I pointed out the GIANTS were completely healthy....Antonio Pierce goes down with a bulging disk in his neck.  He may miss the rest of the season, or even be forced to retire.  Next years shopping list will surely include 2-3 linebackers if possible.

Preview of Denver on Wednesday.

FINALLY---ALL 53

For the first time this season all 53 players on the roster participated in practice.  That is hard to fathom actually, but these things come in cycles and the GIANTS had their cycle early this year.
Aaron Ross will be back at corner, he might not start, but he will be used in certain coverages and will add some necessary speed to the defense.  Chris Canty and Michael Boley will start and should create a big difference in the speed and pressure of this defense.
Two BIG games in 5 days:  The Atlanta Falcons, who struggle on the road, and will be missing their starting running back along with having an injured second string running back, and an injured number 2 receiver.  The winds of the Meadowlands hopefully will be up this weekend and play a few tricks on the second year QB of the Falcons.  This game will be pass first for Atlanta, and will consist of many short routes and throws to Tony Gonzalez and to the slot receivers.  The speed and pressure will be the difference.
The GIANTS have received many a break in the past 10 days.  Injuries to the teams they will be playing, losses by teams at inopportune times, and the bye week coming at a time to help the health of the team.

The GIANTS owners did send a letter to the NFL suggesting that having a team travel 2 time zones to play a game on Thursday, when the home team was playing at home the previous week, is probably not the fairest way to schedule the Thanksgiving game.  The GIANTS were actually offered a home game on Thanksgiving and declined knowing their fans would hate the idea.

A little visit from #92 today at practice.  Michael Strahan visited practice for the first time since retiring today and even addressed the team afterwards.  His message?  Believe it and it will happen.

Two games, 5 days and then 11 days off till the Cowboys come calling.

Enjoy!  I will do recap on Monday and preview of Thanksgiving game on Wednesday...Looks right now like Chris Simms (son of Phil ) will be the QB for Denver for a few weeks.

Big blow for Carolina and the JETS last night.....root for San Fran, Washington, and Chicago on Sunday

A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS(?)

As a fan of the NFL you can find yourself in strange places during the second half of the season.  It is never quite as clear as who the good guys are and who the bad guys are like in the first few weeks.  Yesterday the GIANTS had a wonderful bye week.  About as good as it gets really:

Atlanta:  The GIANTS main competition for a wild card spot lost to Carolina and looked bad doing it.  They also lost their #1 running back to a high ankle sprain.  These usually take weeks to heal.  We will see what his status is on Friday.  The GIANTS play Atlanta this Sunday at 1:00 Eastern.

San Francisco:  The 9ers won, but they beat the Bears, to put them a little further back in the pack for the wild card spot.

Packers:  The Packers won, however they beat Dallas, which moved the GIANTS right back into the race for the NFC East.  Dallas also lost their starting tackle for the season.  Dallas had some other injuries also which we will keep an eye on as the week progresses.

Eagles:  The Eagles had another losing trip to California, this time it was the Chargers.  The Eagles also lost Westbrook for the foreseeable future.

Broncos:  The Broncos lost to Washington, and may have lost their starting QB for a while also.  Chris Simms will take over for a few weeks until Kyle Orton is healthy again.

The GIANTS next 4 opponents:  Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Philly.  Three of the four are home games, Atlanta Sunday, Denver in Denver Thanksgiving night, then home for Dallas and Philly.

The GIANTS were handed a reprieve yesterday, let's see if the bye week has helped them re-group to become the team they can be.  Aaron Ross practiced last week, along with Canty and Boley.  All hands on deck!

It should be another unassuming week for the Giants in the local media what with the JETS collapse after guaranteeing a trip to the playoffs, and the Patriots meltdown.

Enjoy the week!  Preview of Atlanta on Friday

A GLIMPSE OF GIANT FOOTBALL

Yesterday we were treated to a glimpse back to what GIANTS football looks like.  Great time of possession stats.  Good running game.  Eli accurate and careful.  The opposition held under 50 yards rushing for the game, and when it counted most the defense standing up and making the big sack, the big tackle for a loss, sniffing out the trick play, and then getting the big turnover when needed.

THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE OPENING PARAGRAPH if the game ended with 2:00 remaining.

This team showed all the signs of coming out of their slump until the inexcusable play calling and offensive execution in the final minutes.  The defense showed up and stopped the Chargers 3 times in the final 8 minutes.  Making big play after big play and getting the energy back that the offense is supposed to feed off.  They backed the Chargers up to their own 2 and got the ball back oat the 35 yard line.  They then stopped the Chargers at the 50 with a sack and sniffing out an end around that lost 10 yards.  They then came up with what should have been the game clinching turnover.  Delivering the ball to the offense on the 4 yard line.  A holding call on the first play made it 1st and goal at the 14.  This is where Kevin Gilbride turned into Bill Parcells....."I don't want to throw it" used to be the mantra of the great coach.  Unfortunately, this was not the situation to go into a shell.  Steve Smith had been open all day, Hakeem Nicks has great hands and can jump, Kevin Boss may be the toughest player in the NFL, Ahmad Bradshaw has good hands and runs the screen well.........and what does Gilbride call?  A smoke screen to Nicks with one blocker, that he had called three times already and was obvious it was coming from the formation.  Then two draws to Jacobs......That was it.  Three points, one minute off the clock, and a 6 point lead.

The bye week will be interesting, and a lot of work will be done.  Looking ahead it is going to take a great effort to make the playoffs this year.  The focus has changed, we need to start watching the wild card teams in the NFC now.  Atlanta will be our next test, but teams like G.B., San Fran, Chicago, and Carolina are our new focus.

This team must still win 4 or 5 more games.  It is possible.  And as Justin Tuck stated yesterday, it's the team who plays well at the end that will go a long way on the playoffs.  Let's hope we are in that mix.

No preview Friday, but a few notes next Monday on any changes made and the games of the aforementioned teams.

ADJUSTMENTS MADE

Boley and Canty are back in the line-up.  That will give the defense more speed to cover underneath routes and screens.  This frees the other players to play the mid-range, deep balls better.  Also Aaron Rouse will start at safety.  He is taller and faster than C.C. Brown, and therefore plays the deep ball better.

The Chargers are a very poorly coached team, that doesn't deal with adversity well.  You need to frustrate them in the beginning, and they will be on their way home before the plane leaves the ground.  Their defense is weak, and all for show.  They will lead the league in dances this week win or lose.  Their offensive line is beat-up, especially at center, which hopefully leads to some good pressure up the middle.  The have a good running game that they seem to not know how to use, and a first rate crybaby QB with a big arm.

This could be another embarrassing week for the GIANTS D, if they don't get off to a good start or make the adjustments they need to make.  This Charger team throws it early, often, and deep.......just the challenge we need right now.

Antonio Pierce said this is the week...this is the game they need to win....a one game season heading into the bye week.  Hopefully the team leaders get the players in the correct frame of mind and they do their jobs.  Coach Coughlin was having a leadership council meeting this afternoon.....you know they will know what is expected of them coming out of that meeting.  Let's see how they perform.

4:15 eastern start

GIANTS still favorites

ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED

Football is a very odd game sometimes.  It is in it's essence very simple, block ,tackle, 11 on 11, man on man, but when it breaks down it sure can look complex and in this case ugly.  The GIANTS defense is not playing like a team, which means they are not playing like individuals.  The only way a defensive scheme works is if everyone is in the proper location and doing their specific job.  If one person decides to take a different route to the qb, a different angle covering the receiver, or worse decides to break off his coverage to make a play, that can lead to disaster.  When I was first being taught to officiate football, the common phrase I heard was to not watch the game.  Not watch the runner.  I needed to do my job, watch my responsibility, not worry about what else was happening elsewhere.  This is very similar to how you need to play the game, do your job, worry about your responsibility.

The book is out on the Giants, spread them out, go shotgun formation, and see if you can out-speed them.  They can put all the pressure they want, but if the QB is already 7 yards deep and in his motion as the snap comes, it does you no good.

Canty and Boley are practicing this week....hallelujah!

Preview on Friday