S Phillips out as anticipated. Tyler Sash will get some playing time tomorrow, maybe even play a prominent role. Fewell likes to use a 3 S look and with only 3 safeties on the team, that means he'll take some snaps on defense. Giants have 6 legitimate DBs, which is very thin, Giants will need a big effort from the LBs in pass coverage. If I were the Cowboys, I would do a lot of passing and go to a lot of 3 and 4 WR sets putting pressure on the very thin Giants DB-field.
DeMarcus Ware is hurting, suffering from a neck stinger. Those can be tricky injuries as we saw with Tuck and Bass of the Giants earlier this year. If at all possible, I am sure he will play, but if his productivity is compromised, it could be a big break for the Giants. Remember this is the injury that Tuck had earlier where Strahan and Pierce publicly urged and even scolded Tuck to get back on the field even with the injury. Tuck is the defensive captain, a responsible player and surely would have gotten on the field if he could have. Ware is the most dangerous and disruptive player on the Cowboys defense, if he doesn't play or the quality of his play is limited, it will hurt their entire defense.
Manningham has been practicing and is apparently ready to play. Giants will need to score points and having all the WR weapons is important. Baas is still out, so the Boothe / Petrus / Diehl alignment at C / LG / LT will remain in effect. They played reasonably well against the Packers, thought they did allow a bit of pressure in the passing game.
Enormous pressure on the Giants, but there is probably an equal amount or even more pressure on the Cowboys. They are at home, with the lead in the division that they took from the Giants in the last 4 weeks and certainly do not want to give up. If Giants lose, their season is effectively over. But if Cowboys lose, the Giants take back first place and the fate and destiny of the Cowboys playoff chances are out of their control.
Rob Ryan talked about how he wants to confuse the QB with his defense and how he expects to be successful in doing just that to Eli. Then in another interview, he talks about how much he respects Eli, how good he is, yada, yada, yada. He is obviously angling for a head coaching job next year and wants to play the coach-speak game and show the proper amount of respect for the players. Who knows, maybe he sees coaching the Giants in his future - ticking off the franchise QB might not be such a good idea if that is what he is hoping for.
It's funny that Ryan is coaching against Gilbride - you remember that his father Buddy and Gilbride were on the same staff in Houston years ago. Buddy coached the defense while Gilbride coached the offense. Ryan was closing on on a shutout for his defense and Gilbride threw the ball instead of running it and killing clock. Buddy was so mad that he punched Gilbride. I guess Rob Ryan doesn't love Gilbride too much.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Giants: DB-field
Because of all the injuries that the Giants have sustained in the DB-field this year, the healthy players they have are really being tested. Giants have lost 6 DBs for the season, including 2 that were near the top of the depth chart and the others that would have been decent cover guys and acceptable substitutes. No use complaining - every team has injuries. It's just that when they all come in one unit, it makes it hard to cover up. That's why, when Amukamara was out of the game last week, Will Blackmon, who was signed two weeks before primarily as a ST player was pressed into service as a CB.
The question arises - how will the Giants manage this week against the Cowboys with their wealth of outside receivers and their TE Witten in the middle. Phillips is likely out at S, you can't expect Grant and Rolle to take every snap at the position, they might need a rest at some point in the game. That means that rookie Tyler Sash will have to make his way onto the field and will have to be productive. Grant himself has definitely slowed down and while Sash seems like a tough hitter and a smart player, he did not impress me with his foot speed the few times I saw him in a game this year. Maybe with more confidence and knowledge of the game he will play a little faster and looser, but with Grant and Sash on the field, I would attack the middle of the field if I were the Cowboys. Therefore, for the Giants defense to have a hope, they need a big game from their safeties including Sash and need the LBs to play well on pass defense in the middle. The fastest Giants LBs and the ones best playing in space are Boley and Williams, so Giants will need a big game from them. Of course, there is another approach for the Giants defense and that is, instead of playing safe, trying to cover and giving a cushion so they don't get beat deep, they could instead throw caution to the wind and be very aggressive with pressure and blitz packages. I would do a little of both, especially with what has been said in the papers today. Fewell and S Grant were both quoted as saying that they have to scale back the 3rd down package because of limited coverage capability on the back end. But maybe this was a smoke screen to float misinformation to the Cowboys. Last week against the Packers, Fewell said that he has to come hard after Rodgers, implying that the Giants would blitz a lot. In fact, they did not blitz much and relied on pressure from their front 4 to get it done. Maybe the same is true this week - they said they would scale back the 3rd down package, maybe instead they come out with guns blazing (that was a Cowboy reference).
The mantra is easy this week: efficient offense, no turnovers. On defense limit the big plays so Cowboys have to make lots of successful plays for each score and get to Romo. Corey Webster has to handle Dez Bryant, Ross is a good match up for Austin and the S position has to give good cover on deep balls, especially helping Ross.
The question arises - how will the Giants manage this week against the Cowboys with their wealth of outside receivers and their TE Witten in the middle. Phillips is likely out at S, you can't expect Grant and Rolle to take every snap at the position, they might need a rest at some point in the game. That means that rookie Tyler Sash will have to make his way onto the field and will have to be productive. Grant himself has definitely slowed down and while Sash seems like a tough hitter and a smart player, he did not impress me with his foot speed the few times I saw him in a game this year. Maybe with more confidence and knowledge of the game he will play a little faster and looser, but with Grant and Sash on the field, I would attack the middle of the field if I were the Cowboys. Therefore, for the Giants defense to have a hope, they need a big game from their safeties including Sash and need the LBs to play well on pass defense in the middle. The fastest Giants LBs and the ones best playing in space are Boley and Williams, so Giants will need a big game from them. Of course, there is another approach for the Giants defense and that is, instead of playing safe, trying to cover and giving a cushion so they don't get beat deep, they could instead throw caution to the wind and be very aggressive with pressure and blitz packages. I would do a little of both, especially with what has been said in the papers today. Fewell and S Grant were both quoted as saying that they have to scale back the 3rd down package because of limited coverage capability on the back end. But maybe this was a smoke screen to float misinformation to the Cowboys. Last week against the Packers, Fewell said that he has to come hard after Rodgers, implying that the Giants would blitz a lot. In fact, they did not blitz much and relied on pressure from their front 4 to get it done. Maybe the same is true this week - they said they would scale back the 3rd down package, maybe instead they come out with guns blazing (that was a Cowboy reference).
The mantra is easy this week: efficient offense, no turnovers. On defense limit the big plays so Cowboys have to make lots of successful plays for each score and get to Romo. Corey Webster has to handle Dez Bryant, Ross is a good match up for Austin and the S position has to give good cover on deep balls, especially helping Ross.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Giants: More Cowboys Preview
This is going to be a crazy game. Both teams are really stoked. I understand when Brandon Jacobs gets into the trash talk; he is a very emotional player, has been prone to outbursts and has occasionally let his emotions get the best of him. Can anyone forget the helmet throwing incident or Jacobs scoring a TD in the playoff game down in Dallas in January 2008, in his excitement spiking the football against the play clock behind the goal post and actually breaking a light bulb? Let's just say he is an excitable man known for his trash talking. Justin Tuck on the other hand, a well spoken, soft and considered in his approach, intelligent Notre Dame graduate, captain of the team, certainly should show emotional leadership, but usually does not get into the trash talk nonsense. Not this week - he is going back and forth with DeMarcus Ware about whether he secretly wants to be a Cowboy or some idiocy like that. Sounds like something that eighth graders might argue about in the schoolyard at recess. Or maybe not - the whole "Cowboy envy" thing is a little more Freudian and eighth graders might not completely understand the sexual undertones. Anyway - you get the idea - it is sophomoric, silly and something Tuck usually is not involved in. But that shows how high emotions are running for this game. Of course, Tuck must remember the dirty, cheap shot Flozell Adams took at him, tripping him as he sailed past Flozell on his way to a sack of Romo, causing a fall, a serious shoulder injury that cost Tuck effective play for virtually the rest of the season. I am sure that colors his assessment of the whole darned team. Flozell is no longer on the team, but he and the Cowboys have a (well earned) reputation as being among the dirtiest teams in the league, especially on their home turf, where they think they have a god given right and a manifest destiny to protect their divine stadium.
I am really surprised Antrel Rolle hasn't inserted himself into the fray. It seems right up his alley.
The keys for the Giants in this game is to have the defense play emotionally and really get at the QB. Romo is no Rodgers and the Cowboys WRs, while very talented are not as diverse or deep as the Packers WRs. Giants need a solid game out of their CBs, a great game out of the LBs and DL in stopping the run and getting after the QB. On offense it is even less complex - if you can block them at the line of scrimmage, you can do damage against their DBs. I would not be averse to using max protect routinely, keeping a TE and perhaps a RB in to block, releasing the RB in a safety valve route only if the DL looks blocked. That leaves the Giants running a lot of 3 man routes, which can be a challenge to get open against 6 DBs. Giants do some of that anyway, as does every team, but not routinely on most plays. More likely, the Giants will see if they can handle the pass rush with just their OL at first and then resort to additional protection if needed. If Cowboys use a lot of max protect, Giants should show blitz and do a mixture of blitzing and dropping into coverage.
The interesting match up is Diehl against DeMarcus Ware. Diehl is considered a slightly better than average LT and Ware is considered the top at his position, but somehow Diehl has usually held his own against Ware. It hasn't always been pretty, because Diehl can look awkward at times, but he still get the job done. One of my favorite drives of the entire 2007 playoff run was the two minute drive at the end of the first half in the divisional playoff game against the Cowboys. You remember the situation - Giants scored first on a 50 yard pass to Toomer, but the Cowboys offense, especially Marion Barber and their RBs, completely took over the game after that. Cowboys had two 10 minute 80+ yard drives and put the ball in the end zone both times, the final one with 50 seconds left in the half to give them a 14-7 lead. The game looked over and the Giants defense looked beat. But Eli took the ball with 47 seconds left and moved the Giants down the field for a score to tie the game. The play I remember involving Diehl and Ware was a pass completed to Kevin Boss for about 20 yards that took the ball down to the Cowboys 2 yard line. Ware used a bull rush on Diehl and was dominating him. He pushed Diehl straight back directly towards Eli and it looked like a sack was coming. At the last second, Diehl managed to dig in his heels and stop his backwards motion, so he would not be pushed back into Eli. It looked ugly, because Diehl was back on his heels, but he got the job done and Eli had sufficient protection to get the pass off to Boss.
You can chip block a DE or give some help other ways, so perhaps the mroe crucial match up for the Giants is between 2nd-time-starter G Mitch Petrus and Cowboys interior linemen, particularly Jay Ratliff. Cowboys may try to attack the interior on his side and he had better be ready for it. Petrus was solid last week, certainly not spectacular. He did some good things in the running game, but occasionally let in some pressure in the passing game. It is a key macthup. If things don't go well, Giants could slide Cordell in at C and slide Boothe over to G. Let's get this game going already.
I am really surprised Antrel Rolle hasn't inserted himself into the fray. It seems right up his alley.
The keys for the Giants in this game is to have the defense play emotionally and really get at the QB. Romo is no Rodgers and the Cowboys WRs, while very talented are not as diverse or deep as the Packers WRs. Giants need a solid game out of their CBs, a great game out of the LBs and DL in stopping the run and getting after the QB. On offense it is even less complex - if you can block them at the line of scrimmage, you can do damage against their DBs. I would not be averse to using max protect routinely, keeping a TE and perhaps a RB in to block, releasing the RB in a safety valve route only if the DL looks blocked. That leaves the Giants running a lot of 3 man routes, which can be a challenge to get open against 6 DBs. Giants do some of that anyway, as does every team, but not routinely on most plays. More likely, the Giants will see if they can handle the pass rush with just their OL at first and then resort to additional protection if needed. If Cowboys use a lot of max protect, Giants should show blitz and do a mixture of blitzing and dropping into coverage.
The interesting match up is Diehl against DeMarcus Ware. Diehl is considered a slightly better than average LT and Ware is considered the top at his position, but somehow Diehl has usually held his own against Ware. It hasn't always been pretty, because Diehl can look awkward at times, but he still get the job done. One of my favorite drives of the entire 2007 playoff run was the two minute drive at the end of the first half in the divisional playoff game against the Cowboys. You remember the situation - Giants scored first on a 50 yard pass to Toomer, but the Cowboys offense, especially Marion Barber and their RBs, completely took over the game after that. Cowboys had two 10 minute 80+ yard drives and put the ball in the end zone both times, the final one with 50 seconds left in the half to give them a 14-7 lead. The game looked over and the Giants defense looked beat. But Eli took the ball with 47 seconds left and moved the Giants down the field for a score to tie the game. The play I remember involving Diehl and Ware was a pass completed to Kevin Boss for about 20 yards that took the ball down to the Cowboys 2 yard line. Ware used a bull rush on Diehl and was dominating him. He pushed Diehl straight back directly towards Eli and it looked like a sack was coming. At the last second, Diehl managed to dig in his heels and stop his backwards motion, so he would not be pushed back into Eli. It looked ugly, because Diehl was back on his heels, but he got the job done and Eli had sufficient protection to get the pass off to Boss.
You can chip block a DE or give some help other ways, so perhaps the mroe crucial match up for the Giants is between 2nd-time-starter G Mitch Petrus and Cowboys interior linemen, particularly Jay Ratliff. Cowboys may try to attack the interior on his side and he had better be ready for it. Petrus was solid last week, certainly not spectacular. He did some good things in the running game, but occasionally let in some pressure in the passing game. It is a key macthup. If things don't go well, Giants could slide Cordell in at C and slide Boothe over to G. Let's get this game going already.
Giants: the QB
I am tired of hearing that Eli is a QB that needs the great tools and weapons around him, that he doesn't make the players around him better. Just take a look at the players he has on this team this year. For one thing, the running game, so often the friend of a QB and a tool that can lift up the quality of his play by keeping the defense off balance has been very weak for the Giants this year. They are among the worst in the league in total yards rushing and yards per carry. Then look at Eli's receivers. Jake Ballard was not drafted coming out of college because of his lack of credentials and ridiculously low time at the NFL combine - he ran a flat 5.0 for the 40 and has not increased his time since. And it's not like he escaped the view of scouts because he went to a small, out of the way school like some of the other NFL players. He went to Ohio State. He was on the practice squad for the Giants and would not have played much this year if he was not pressed into emergency service because of the departure of Boss. He doesn't beat anybody with his speed, he doesn't shake and bake or dazzle them with his moves. He runs decent routes, catches the ball most of the time when it is thrown to him, and relies on a great QB who gets him the ball right on time and with perfect ball placement so he can use his big hands and his body to shield the defender and snare the ball. With an average QB, he would be nowhere.
Now let's consider Victor Cruz who is having a wonderful breakout season. He is the leading receiver on the Giants in yards, receptions and TDs. He also has come along slowly, had to develop his moves and develop a chemistry with the QB. He does not run past anyone with his speed; he is fairly elusive, runs good routes and his speed is just good enough to allow him to make plays when it is combined with his quick feet and sharp cuts. As a pure athlete he is not a star; there are probably dozens of WRs in the NFL that are far more gifted than Cruz and he too would be an also ran on another team and with another QB. However, on the Giants, because of the reads Eli makes and the decisions and throws he makes, Cruz, in case you haven't noticed is fourth in the league in total receiving yards. He is up there right behind Wes Welker, Calvin Megatron Johnson, multiple all-pro Steve Smith and right in front of rookie TE sensation Jimmy Graham. Unbelievable. What is the diminutive Cruz doing in that company? Maybe the QB that is throwing him the ball has something to do with it.
Eli had a very good year throwing the ball last year, but it was seriously marred by all the INTs. Of course, that's all anyone focused on - that Eli threw 25 INTs last year. Anybody notice that all world Drew Brees threw 23 picks last year? But when you brought that up, everyone excused it saying that he didn't have a running game and the Saints were just an average team so they had to rely on Brees' passing game, which led to him taking too many chances. How's that compare to Eli this year?
Eli is averaging 308 yads per game for the entire season; that is just a remarkable number. I suspect his average will drop off over the last 4 games, because the weather turns cold in the northeast and the last three games of the year are being played in Met Life Stadium. Still, where Eli has taken this team this year is spectacular and I am happy that he is QB of the team I root for.
Now let's consider Victor Cruz who is having a wonderful breakout season. He is the leading receiver on the Giants in yards, receptions and TDs. He also has come along slowly, had to develop his moves and develop a chemistry with the QB. He does not run past anyone with his speed; he is fairly elusive, runs good routes and his speed is just good enough to allow him to make plays when it is combined with his quick feet and sharp cuts. As a pure athlete he is not a star; there are probably dozens of WRs in the NFL that are far more gifted than Cruz and he too would be an also ran on another team and with another QB. However, on the Giants, because of the reads Eli makes and the decisions and throws he makes, Cruz, in case you haven't noticed is fourth in the league in total receiving yards. He is up there right behind Wes Welker, Calvin Megatron Johnson, multiple all-pro Steve Smith and right in front of rookie TE sensation Jimmy Graham. Unbelievable. What is the diminutive Cruz doing in that company? Maybe the QB that is throwing him the ball has something to do with it.
Eli had a very good year throwing the ball last year, but it was seriously marred by all the INTs. Of course, that's all anyone focused on - that Eli threw 25 INTs last year. Anybody notice that all world Drew Brees threw 23 picks last year? But when you brought that up, everyone excused it saying that he didn't have a running game and the Saints were just an average team so they had to rely on Brees' passing game, which led to him taking too many chances. How's that compare to Eli this year?
Eli is averaging 308 yads per game for the entire season; that is just a remarkable number. I suspect his average will drop off over the last 4 games, because the weather turns cold in the northeast and the last three games of the year are being played in Met Life Stadium. Still, where Eli has taken this team this year is spectacular and I am happy that he is QB of the team I root for.
Giants: Cowboys preview
In a lot of ways, the Cowboys and Giants are similar teams. Both have offenses that have productive QBs and some dangerous skill position players. At the TE position, while Witten is much more accomplished and has a better resume than Ballard, neither TE is a real down field threat, they are both more in the classic mold of throwback TEs, working the short and intermediate routes often in the middle of the field. Both teams have OLs that have undergone major changes coming into the year and have performances that have been somewhat spotty throughout. Cowboys have run the ball much better than the Giants, largely because their FB blocks well. Both offenses have been averaging about the same number of points per game.
The similarities don't end there, because the defenses are comparable as well. Both teams have defenses that are predicated on the pass rush. Both have a very good DL and like to come after the QB. As well, both have holes and weaknesses in the back 7. Cowboys have better LBs, and the Giants probably are slightly better at CB, though Ross of the Giants has certainly been up and down this year.
What does this all mean? It means to me that this is likely to be a fairly high scoring game (take the over) and the team that will win is the one whose OL can protect the QB and neutralize the opposing DL/pass rush best. Turnovers are always crucial in every game (do I sound like Coughlin yet?) but somehow it seems to me that in this game they will be even more important. If points flow easily like water through a faucet, defensive stops will be few and the best way to get that stop will be to take away the ball, giving your offense another possession. The truth is that mathematically, turnovers are probably more important in a low scoring game, because the offense will have less of an opportunity to make up for its own turnover. But if the only way to get a stop is through a turnover, that could be really important.
As much as I love Nicks, Dez Bryant is just a freak of an athlete. With Miles Austin back, who is also a dangerous player, if the Giants pay too much attention to them on the outside and give S help on both, the middle will be open for Witten. Giants will need a big game from the LBs - Blackburn, Boley and especially Williams in defending the TEs and the middle of the field to keep up with the Cowboys offense. Giants don't need to completely shut down the Cowboys running game, but they do need to slow it down so they get Romo in some 3rd and long plays and hope they can beat him with a pass rush. Not easy to do. Giants should go to school on what the Cardinals did to slow down the Cowboys last week.
The similarities don't end there, because the defenses are comparable as well. Both teams have defenses that are predicated on the pass rush. Both have a very good DL and like to come after the QB. As well, both have holes and weaknesses in the back 7. Cowboys have better LBs, and the Giants probably are slightly better at CB, though Ross of the Giants has certainly been up and down this year.
What does this all mean? It means to me that this is likely to be a fairly high scoring game (take the over) and the team that will win is the one whose OL can protect the QB and neutralize the opposing DL/pass rush best. Turnovers are always crucial in every game (do I sound like Coughlin yet?) but somehow it seems to me that in this game they will be even more important. If points flow easily like water through a faucet, defensive stops will be few and the best way to get that stop will be to take away the ball, giving your offense another possession. The truth is that mathematically, turnovers are probably more important in a low scoring game, because the offense will have less of an opportunity to make up for its own turnover. But if the only way to get a stop is through a turnover, that could be really important.
As much as I love Nicks, Dez Bryant is just a freak of an athlete. With Miles Austin back, who is also a dangerous player, if the Giants pay too much attention to them on the outside and give S help on both, the middle will be open for Witten. Giants will need a big game from the LBs - Blackburn, Boley and especially Williams in defending the TEs and the middle of the field to keep up with the Cowboys offense. Giants don't need to completely shut down the Cowboys running game, but they do need to slow it down so they get Romo in some 3rd and long plays and hope they can beat him with a pass rush. Not easy to do. Giants should go to school on what the Cardinals did to slow down the Cowboys last week.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Giants: 6-6
Most of the enthused Giants fans I speak to are very positive about the prospects of the season now. Somehow it has turned around with the effort against the Packers and they are confident that the Giants will beat the Cowboys this Sunday night. I wish I could share their confidence, and I am as much of a fan as the next guy, but let's face facts. Giants are a mediocre team. A wise old Giants coach once said you are what your record says you are, and the Giants at 6-6 define mediocrity.
Here's the thing though - there are many paths to mediocrity. You can be mediocre by having most of your team mediocre - average OL, average skill position players, average QB, average defense.... you get the idea. Overall freakin' average. But there is another way to be swallowed up into mediocrity. You can have some excellence in various parts of your team that is limited by various flaws and weaknesses that bring it down. The games you win are when the weak parts of your team are not exposed by a strength of the opponent, or the weakness steps up a notch and does not kill the team, allowing the excellence on the team to overcome the weakness. I suggest that this latter description is actually the state of affairs with the Giants. The Giants at 6-6 are mediocre, but not mediocre everywhere on this team. They have excellent WRs and a very good RB when he stays on the field. Their OL has been decent. Of course you know what I think of the QB - he is one of the best in the league. On the defensive side, they have superior talent on the DL, some good players in the back 7, but definitely some exposures and weakness back there, without much depth. You could certainly argue that many of the games the Giants won this year were because the weak parts of the team did just enough to keep the Giants in the game and the superior parts, i.e the QB and the passing game, won it at the end.
The hope for the Giants, if you're a glass-is-half-full kind of guy, is that the DB field will get a little better as Amukamara plays better. Further, you would hope that the LBs will be a little better with Boley back, with the addition of Blackburn and with the continued maturation of some of the young LBs, especially Williams. That's the hope, but the reality might bring us down and disappoint us.
Here's the thing though - there are many paths to mediocrity. You can be mediocre by having most of your team mediocre - average OL, average skill position players, average QB, average defense.... you get the idea. Overall freakin' average. But there is another way to be swallowed up into mediocrity. You can have some excellence in various parts of your team that is limited by various flaws and weaknesses that bring it down. The games you win are when the weak parts of your team are not exposed by a strength of the opponent, or the weakness steps up a notch and does not kill the team, allowing the excellence on the team to overcome the weakness. I suggest that this latter description is actually the state of affairs with the Giants. The Giants at 6-6 are mediocre, but not mediocre everywhere on this team. They have excellent WRs and a very good RB when he stays on the field. Their OL has been decent. Of course you know what I think of the QB - he is one of the best in the league. On the defensive side, they have superior talent on the DL, some good players in the back 7, but definitely some exposures and weakness back there, without much depth. You could certainly argue that many of the games the Giants won this year were because the weak parts of the team did just enough to keep the Giants in the game and the superior parts, i.e the QB and the passing game, won it at the end.
The hope for the Giants, if you're a glass-is-half-full kind of guy, is that the DB field will get a little better as Amukamara plays better. Further, you would hope that the LBs will be a little better with Boley back, with the addition of Blackburn and with the continued maturation of some of the young LBs, especially Williams. That's the hope, but the reality might bring us down and disappoint us.
Giants - Packers review III
Some other little notes and observations from the Packers game follow:
It's still disappointing that Amukamara was not on the field at the end and the Giants had to rely on Blackmon, who was signed off the street just two weeks ago, to play man coverage on the outside against Jordy Nelson. They lined up right underneath me, I looked at the matchup and said to my brother, at the game with me, "if I were Rodgers, this is where I would go"; 3 seconds later Packers were in FG range. Can't beat up Blackmon too badly - he said he hadn't played CB in 6 or 7 years and his coverage was really not that bad. It required a perfect throw by Rodgers, a great catch by Nelson and an athletic, acrobatic move by Nelson to twist his body around and keep his feet in bounds. Not sure Amukamara would have done much better, but I would have liked to see him on the field. In today's papers, Amukamara said he was battling some foot injury - the foot he broke earlier was sore and he turned his ankle during the game. But Fewell said after the game that the Prince was fatigued. So - which was it - fatigue or a foot injury? Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like Fewell was ticked that Amukamara got beat a few times and was sitting him.
The Giants offense and Eli had a really great game and kept the Giants in the game with several key plays and clutch drives. Giants were down 21-17 at halftime and the Packers, aided by a bogus PI call against Amukamara, took the ball down the field and scored on the opening possession of the second half, giving them a 28-17 lead. If the Giants don't do something offensively right there and the Packers come back and score, all of a sudden with an 18 point lead, the game looks out of reach and could turn into a rout. Kind of what happened the week before against the Saints - Giants closed to 11, went down 18, made a turnover and instead of competing, they were mentally ready to board the bus to the airport. But Eli comes out and on the first play hits Nicks on a deep post for 50 yards, which immediately lifts the mood of the team and sure pumped up the crowd in the stadium. Then, Eli converts on the drive and takes them in for a score after only 3:20 and 5 plays to get the Giants right back in it, trailing by only 4.
Packers took the next kickoff, got a few first downs but Giants stopped them and forced a punt. Packers punted perfectly and covered it down on the 1. Here was the second impressive, clutch drive by the Giants. If the Giants play it safe, run it a few times and punt, Packers get great field position and are poised to get another score and open up that 11 point lead again. Instead, Giants move the ball impressively down the field from the shadows of their goal post and move into position for a FG, making the score 28-27. There were two great plays on that drive that showed me the quality of the QB and the offense. Giants had a 3rd and 7 from their own 4. Eli looked at Cruz coming across the middle on a short in cut. But the S read the play and moved up to try and pick off the pass. Earlier in the season, Eli probably would have thrown it and it would have been a pick, effectively ending the game. Instead, Cruz and Eli read the S, and adjusted the route. Cruz stopped in his tracks and faded back outside. Eli cocked his arm, but when he saw Cruz double back to the outside (maybe it was an option route where this was one of the reads) he held up, pulled the ball back, reloaded and hit Cruz on a beautiful little 10 yard gain for a first down. After that Giants OL opened some nice holes for Jacobs right up the middle who ran the ball effectively for about 30 yards on 4 or 5 carries, but Giants had another 3rd and 7 at about midfield. Eli was given good time to throw and hit Ballard on a beautiful out route, where he had to get it over the S and LB and drop it down into Ballard's breadbasket just before he went out of bounds. Giants drive stalled after that, but they kicked a FG, moving the ball impressively from their own 1. This FG made the score 28-27 and kept the game as a 1 score game, even if the Packers were to score a TD (which they did).
After an exchange of punts, the Packers scored with a little less than 4 minutes left and the Giants offense responded again with a TD drive to tie the game with a little less than 1 minute left in the game. In total, Giants had 4 possessions in the second half and had 2 TDs, 1 FG and 1 punt, all playing from behind, all critical to tying the game. Impressive stuff.
Blatant Second Guesses (permitted if you're a blogger):
Giants had 1st and goal at the 2 with 1:16 left in the game trailing by 8. Of course they needed a score, but they also did not want to leave time on the clock for Rodgers. I understand that you can't waste plays - because you can't control how many tries you need to get in, but the Giants should have thought of running the ball there once in order to burn some clock. Instead, Eli threw two incomplete passes on 1st and 2nd downs, and hit Nicks for a TD on 3rd down. The scoring drive happened at 1:02 wasting only 14 seconds on the clock for all three plays combined. If they had run once and wasted say 30-35 seconds, they still would have time to score and would have left Rodgers only 25 seconds instead of 58. Then, perhaps the Giants play a more conservative defense, keep the Packers off the board and force OT.
Jacquian Williams probably should not have gone or the ball on the first play after the Giants tied the game. He should have tackled Finley after 10 yards and not given him the extra 15. (Play the man, not the ball works in hockey, but also seems to fit here.) I don't know if Fewell reminded the defense to "keep them in front of you", or if the defense was instructed to play aggressively and go for the ball. Giants were in a man-to-man for that entire possession, so maybe Williams was just going with the flow.
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