Monday, September 27, 2010

FRUSTRATION DEFINED

     The GIANTS played a statistically superior game on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.  Four Hundred Seventy yards of offense, Twenty Six first downs,  No punts, and over Thirty Three minutes of possession. Unfortunately statistics don't win games, but they can lose games.  Stats such as 5 personal foul penalties, 3 turnovers, and opposing teams field position.  Those stats will lose you games.
     Unlike last week when the plan for the game was flawed, this one was right on.  Again it was execution, bad penalties, tipped passes, and poor special teams that led to a frustrating day.  The GIANT defense set out to stop Chris Johnson from running all over them.  They accomplished this for the most part in grand fashion.  I'm not sure CJ had been hit as hard as he was this past Sunday.  He was limited to just 53 yards on his first 20 carries.  The scheme drawn up by Perry Fewell was executed well with Barry Cofield, Justin Tuck, and Antrell rolle leading the charge.  Even first round pick Jason Pierre-Paul got into the act rushing from a linebacker position to make a big stop on third down in the backfield.  Fewell's use of Mathias Kiwanuka continues to be well planned and lets Kiwi use all his skills to be successful.
     The frustration of losing Sunday's game after dominating it statistically has brought up plenty of issues concerning Head Coach Tom Coughlin, Special Teams Coach Tom Quinn, and the state of the leadership on the Giants team.  I personally believe you will see changes, not in this group, but in the plays and players utilized.  The changes suggested and some already made are as follows:

Jacobs has complained about playing time and his role on this team.  On Sunday he gets in the game and makes a nice run, North South, running people over, etc.  He follows it by taking a personal foul penalty, thankfully offset.  However, on the very next play, he misses an assignment and the play leads to Eli being sacked and almost fumbling the ball away. Have a seat Mr. Jacobs.  Pass protection is the most important function of his position.  He can't miss blocks.

The Andrews for Diehl experiment might take a bit longer to develop.  Andrews was consistently late off the ball, in is home stadium, and seems to being thinking more than reacting.  He still needs some work before he can be trusted on the back side.  Moving Diehl inside where he wouldn't have to deal with speed would be a huge improvement, but without Will Beatty, or Andrews ready to step up, it's just not possible at the moment.

Adam Koets can play.  He was very steady on Sunday, consistently made the right reads and blocked well.  If O'Hara is out for a while, Koets will be fine.

Eli leads the league in interceptions...with maybe one being his fault.  The receivers will spend a large part of their days this week catching high balls, and should think about running their routes like Jerry Rice and Fred Biletnikoff used to...with their hands at chest level...not by their sides.

Special teams will have a different look next week.  Look for more and more "regular players" to join the ranks of the return and cover teams.  I think this will help tremendously.  Matt Dodge needs to step up a great deal.  His free kick with a net of 30 yards was embarrassing, and the delay of game penalty on the field goal is entirely on him.  Actually if you watch the tape the G-Men ran the clock out on the missed FG try in the first quarter also, it wasn't called, but the clock clearly read zero.  Actually I wish that had been called, T.C. would have then punted, and changed the field position battle for the remainder of the half.

All in All a very frustrating loss, mainly because it didn't have to happen.  Lack of execution, penalties, and turnovers will always lose you games.  This is exactly what happened on Sunday.

I think it's a turning point.  The game plan was solid. The Offense looked better. Eli was fantastic. The Defense seems to be gelling.  Let's see how they react through the week.

One Team, One Goal will be Tom's message this week.  He is taking the blame, but it is a confidence building exercise by the master.  Personnel changes will be evident Wednesday in practice.

Talk to you all on Friday

Friday, September 24, 2010

TIME FOR REDEMPTION

     The GIANTS need to make a statement this week at home against the Tennessee Titans.  They need to make a statement to the fans, to the league, and most importantly to themselves.  Last week might have been an un-winnable game under any circumstances, you have those in this league, and the circumstances I described last week certainly were stacked against the Giants.
     One change this week will be Adam Koets at center for Shaun O'Hara.  O'Hara has been battling an achilles problem all through training camp and it has now kept him from practicing all week.  Koets has been here a while, and played a lot in pre season.  We will see if he is ready for Sunday.  The other option was to move Seubert to center, move Diehl to guard, and put Andrews in at tackle, but making three moves instead of one is not desirable at this point.
     The offensive line is on the spot this week.  The O-Line, tight ends, and in particular the fullback need to step-up and make some plays.  Eli needs time to hit his very good receivers.  Bradshaw needs a crease to run through.  Jacobs, who has apologized to everyone who would listen, not just for last week but for his attitude the last month is re-dedicated to running strong and straight ahead.  Jacobs and Hedgecock the fullback have had a dis-connect since 2008.  I think Jacobs has taken some unwarranted heat because of the poor play by the FB and Tight ends.  They need to figure this out now.  The return of Kevin Boss should be a big boost this week.  Travis Beckum still seems lost during certain plays.  Last week he was caught numerous times missing blocks, and even looking around at the snap count.  The pass rushers for the Titans are very good and fast, but with the home field advantage, and a week to adjust, the Giants should be able to keep Eli upright.
     The Defense will take a 180 degree turn this week.  The 4-1-6 formation that started last week will be replaced by the 6-3-2 at times.  Chris Johnson of the Titans, as many of you know, is perhaps the best running back in the league.  He was held to 38 yards last week by the Steelers, anyone think that can happen two weeks in a row?  Probably not.  The GIANTS will need to limit the big plays against them, load the line with linebackers and safeties, and hope Vince Young has a bad day (again).  The run must be stopped in this game.

The Giants are favored by three at home, which means the game is dead even.  The only way this game is even is because of the poor performance of the G-Men last week.  Giants cover at home.

Back to 1:00 Est for a week, then another annoying Sunday Night game next week against Chicago.

Graphics by Lady Blue

Monday, September 20, 2010

A TACTICAL ERROR

The GIANTS had a plan Sunday night. A plan that made some sense, but they just couldn't execute it.
     The Defensive plan was to force Peyton Manning into choosing run over pass.  The G-Men thought if they could make Peyton one dimensional, if they could make him choose long drives over quick strikes, if they could force him to be patient, he would make mistakes and he would chew up the clock for them.  It didn't work.  The base defense of 4 down linemen, 1 linebacker, and 6 defensive backs was designed to do all of the above.  It didn't work.  The defensive linemen were manhandled by the O-Line of Indy.  The O-linemen were able to get to the second level and block safeties and corners instead of facing linebackers. The D-Line was supposed to get penetration and force Peyton into long third downs, where he would be throwing into coverage.  It didn't work.
     Our Offense is in trouble, and I think the battle for jobs is about to heat up.  Shawn Andrews will be a starter soon.  The offensive line, the fullback, and the back up tight ends are not working well together.  The amount of guys standing around at the end of a play, having missed a block, blocked someone momentarily, or having been pushed out of the play is amazing.  As was shown last night Eli has less than 3 seconds to make a read and a throw which limits his abilities, and those of the receivers. This group of linemen has sentimental value to us as fans, but it is time for some changes, and a lot better effort.
     We, as GIANTS fans, know it is the offensive and defensive lines that control a football game.  Last night they lost the battle on both sides of the ball and the score reflected that fact.  The GIANTS had a plan....It didn't work!

Tennessee next week at home.....an easier task.  One difficult road game down, and again I think this is the theme for this year.  They must win all games at home and try and steal two victories from a very tough road schedule.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

THE TEST BEGINS

     Well, here we go.....Indianapolis at 0-1, home opener, Sunday Night Football on NBC, and oh yeah, Manning Bowl II.  Just another easy road game on the GIANTS schedule this year.  This is exactly what I was speaking about a few weeks back, the G-Men have a brutal road schedule, and outside circumstances only add to the difficulty.
      The key tomorrow night for the GIANTS is to not get caught up in all the hype, not chase points or try and match Indy's style, and put their collective minds and efforts into winning a game for their star QB.  The GIANTS will try and exploit the porous Indy run defense.  Being successful in the run game will of course serve two purposes.  One is to run the clock and keep the Indy offense off the field, and the other is to keep the Indy defense honest.  If the GIANTS get into a must pass situation because of score, the game will be over.  Keep an eye on the tight end spot as well as Madison Hedgecock this week.  The run blocking by these two spots was awful all preseason and was a huge problem last week.  Hedgecock in particular whiffed on some assignments, and got pushed back into the runners constantly last week.  This area need to improve greatly.
     I am not as worried about the defense as some people are this week.  I believe the scheme, that I was lucky enough to see first hand, is solid.  I think the multi-personnel packages place the best talent on the field at all times.  I think Perry Fewell, the defensive backs and D-Line are up to the task.  Peyton Manning is a lot like Tom Brady was in the Super Bowl of 2007.  Hit him, rush him, pressure him from all sides and he will make mistakes.  The Giants may give up some plays tomorrow, but I believe they will keep the game in reach for the offense to perform normally.
     Also I think this is a huge opportunity for the team to pay Eli back in a nice way.  he has been their unquestioned leader since 2006.  He has never missed a start, despite shoulder injuries, foot injuries and most recently a severe gash to the head.  He is a tough guy. The O-Line loves him.  Coach Coughlin and the rest of the time would love for him to outshine his big brother for at least one night.  Look for these guys to work just a bit harder tomorrow night to try and deliver a win for Easy E as he is known to his teammates.
     The run game gets going, the defense is stout, and once again it comes down to turnovers, and special teams.  My call is it is a field goal game.

Enjoy the game.

Graphics by Lady Blue

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

A ROUGH START....A GOOD ENDING

The opening of the New GIANTS stadium was a little rough yesterday both on the field and off. The weather didn't cooperate and put a damper on the usual jovial mood in the parking lot. Obviously there was more than a little confusion for us first timers, but it all worked out in the end. The National Anthem and pre game speech was interrupted by a very loud radio playing WFAN commercials near the Legacy Club. The F-16 flyover came a little early, and the fireworks for the players entrance was a little late. All forgivable offenses on such a big day.
What did come right on time was the play of the defense. The GIANT fans have waited since game 6 of last season to see if the team would have a defense they could be proud of and call a GIANT defense. They did not disappoint. A good first series gave a glimmer of hope. A good first quarter calmed most nerves. A last minute drive by the PAnthers to close th first half seemed to dash all hopes, but the second half proved that Perry Fewell has them on the right track for success. Gone were the selfish grumblings and fear of losing playing time. Perry Fewell found a way to get all three safeties key playing time, even lining up together in the same backfield at times. Osi and Kiwi not only shared time, but again lined up in the same formations for much of the fourth quarter. The aggressive deployment of 4 linemen, one linebacker, and 6 defensive backs kept the Panthers down once they were forced to abandon the run by the score of the game. The GIANTS defense challenges itself every week to 1. Hold the opponent to 17 points or less. 2. Stop the Run. 3. Create at least 2 turnovers, and 4. Either score points themselves or put the offense in a positive position to score. They over-achieved in all areas.
The offense also had a very rough start to their day. Mis-steps, and mis-timing, along with the Kevin Boss injury, made it seem like the side of the ball we all had confidence in had suddenly become the problem. They too were able to re-group, score some points, and contribute a good ending to a very rough day.
While there is certainly work to be done both on and off the field, this certainly was a good ending on what started out to be a very rough day.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

MY TWO KEYS

While there are many factors to every new season, and many you cannot control, I believe this season will come down to two key elements.

1. Road Play.  The GIANTS have an extremely difficult road schedule this year.  They play prime time games in Dallas and Indianapolis.  They travel to the farthest reaches of the northwest, and they face some all too familiar foes in Green Bay and Minnesota.  They will need to win at least 4 of their 8 road games to have a chance at post season play.  This will be a major test for the new defense, and an offense that can be explosive at times, but is mainly a steady force.  A return of the road warriors would be a welcome sight this season.  While the normal trips to Philly, Washington and Dallas always a challenge the added  pressure of facing Houston, Indy, Seattle, Green Bay and Minny will define this team.

2. Covering the Tight End.  The new defensive scheme has yet to be unveiled. The new defensive coverages, pressures, and blitz packages have yet to be seen.  One thing that did seem to be an issue all preseason, and the past few years in general has been how to cover the tight end.  We have tried line backers, safeties, corners, and even defensive ends dropping into coverage.  The GIANTS defense needs to figure a way to be physical and proactive in covering the tight end position.  This years opponents reads like an all star squad at that position.  Brent Celek, JerMichael Finley, Owen Daniels, Olsen, Shiancoe and of course Jason Witten.  This position alone could cost us games this year.  The pass defense and run defense in general must be good enough to hold the opponents to 17 points or less, this will not happen if the tight end position is allowed to roam the field freely.  Look for this as a key element in the early part of the season.

Game notes and scouting report for Carolina published on Friday.

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