I don't remember a time when Giants fans have been so pumped up about a regular season victory, and in week 3 of the season no less. I think the reason is obvious: Giants fans had a dim view of the team's prospects and were fearful of the dream team in Philadelphia. A 1-2 start which included two losses within the division could have wrecked the season before it really got started. So the win was more than a win against a hated division opponent, it was deemed as a season saver.
Before we get too pumped up about this win and start making Super Bowl travel plans, we need to take a breath and figure out where this team is going. They probably weren't as bad as we thought they were going into that Philly game and they're probably not as good as they looked coming out of that game. Truth is, victory is determined by relative strength of the two teams; winning a game doesn't mean you're good, it just means that you're better than your opponent. So early in the year, it's often difficult to assess the quality of a win, because until the season unfolds a little bit, you can't tell if your team's wins or losses came against good teams or weak ones. Giants two wins came against a Rams team that is 0-3 and against the dream team Eagles. I am quite certain that the Eagles are a seriously flawed team, are overrated and will have a disappointing season. I am not saying they will crash and burn - there are enough duds on their schedule that they will run up a decent record - I am just saying that they are not nearly as good as all the prognosticators predicted.
From the big picture there are some good trends to look at: Giants got better in each game they've played. They were awful against the Redskins, mediocre against the Rams and a little better against the Eagles. The OL played well against the Eagles. (Thanks to my friend Ray who always takes a macro look at the product on the field.) While the OL did give up some sacks, they often gave Eli a nice clean pocket to throw from. He had time to hold the ball and complete some throws downfield. Beatty has really been coming along and handled Trent Cole well. Only time Cole made some noise is when the blocking schemes called for him to be blocked by a TE.
The DL play has been strong and the goal line defense was particularly good. Linval Joseph and Canty are playing well at DT and Rocky Bernard seems to be playing with more purpose after he lost a lot of weight in the offseason. Being cut and re-signed may have given him the message that tomorrow is promised to no one in the NFL and he better do his best to succeed now.
Anybody have any idea how good Arizona is?
1 comment:
So far Arizona has not looked that good but you can not count them out because of Larry Fitzgerald. Kevin Kolb is decent but Larry can make any QB look better than he actually is so the G-Men defense can't look passed the Arizona offense.
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