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New York Giants Come Out Flat in Must Win Situation
Published: December 27, 2009
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It was supposed to be a monumental day for the New York Giants. Fighting for their playoff lives coupled with the last regular season home game at Giants Stadium was thought to set the stage for a fevered beat down of the up-and-down Carolina Panthers.
What transpired was not just disappointing, it was disheartening to everyone who believed these Giants were beginning a run similar to what we saw at the end of the 2007 season.
That season ended with a Super Bowl Championship, which ironically will be the only reason head coach Tom Coughlin keeps his job after today’s uninspired performance.
It started out so well, it seemed. The Giants looked as if they were going to score early, except for a holding call by Madison Hedgecock nullifying a touchdown. Hedgecock would also drop a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter when the nearest defender to him was in Manhattan.
Three plays after the holding call, WR Mario Manningham fumbled.
Carolina recovered, and the Giants exited the building.
We knew the Giants had secondary issues. Against the Panthers they also couldn’t stop the run in general, let alone when it counted.
Carolina, playing without RB DeAngelo Williams, converted eight of its first nine third down conversions. When the Giants stopped the Panthers on its tenth attempt, the crowd cheered sarcastically.
All this before Giants’ QB Eli Manning’s pathetic fumble to end the half.
Panthers’ RB Jonathan Stewart made up for Williams’ absence in the first half by rushing for 74 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers ran away to stake a 24-0 lead—not to mention a 92-17 advantage in rushing yards.
Things didn’t get much better as Carolina took the second half kickoff and promptly drove 71 yards in four plays to push their advantage to 31-0.
Throughout the game, the Panthers gashed the middle of the Giants defense, even making RB Brad Hoover look like a stud at times.
The offense was just as absent until the outcome was a forgone conclusion. Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride looked like he needed another punch from Buddy Ryan to wake up.
And when they did score a touchdown on a Manning pass to WR Steve Smith, the extra point attempt was botched.
Stewart alone showed more resiliency than the entire Giants team, which showed the world it didn’t belong in the playoffs. Stewart rushed for 206 yards, the most yards against the Giants since 1978
Were the hopes and optimism ill advised based on an apparition of momentum?
Or maybe it was just that the Carolina Panthers are a lot closer to what some believed they could be now that QB Jake Delhomme is effectively finished?
Regardless of what the answer is, there is no excuse for the complete lack of emotion and urgency the Giants played with on this four-phase failure of a day—no offense, no defense, no special teams, no crowd.
If this was any other coach who hadn’t just won a Super Bowl two seasons ago, the fingers would immediately begin pointing Coughlin’s way for how flat this team came out of the locker room.
If teams play hard and lose, blame belongs to the player.
When the effort is lacking—especially when fighting for the playoffs—the blame belongs upstairs.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
Bears Poised For Greatness?
Published: September 7, 2009
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The Chicago Bears ended 2008 on a low note. Despite playing lackluster football for most of the year, they still ended up playing for a spot in the playoffs in Week 17. All they had to do was beat the Houston Texans.
In the end, that proved a daunting task, falling 31-24 to team that finished only .500.
Exiting that season, there were three key areas that needed to improve more than any other: quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive line.
Enter Jay Cutler, Rod Marinelli, and the same group of underwhelming pass catchers that made Bears’ fans nauseous last year.
Cutler is an instant upgrade at quarterback, regardless of whatever maturity issues he may or may not have. Watching him this preseason, I like the fire he brings when he’s not holding the ball. The guy wants to win and has high standards for those around him he has to rely on. You can try, but you can’t really fault the guy for that.
Compare the stats for Cutler and new Denver quarterback Kyle Orton, and it’s easy to get a little excited:
Cutler: 62.3% completed, 4526 Yards, 25 TD’s, 18 INT’s, 7.3 yards per attempt
Orton: 58.5% completed, 2972 Yards, 18 TD’s, 12 INT’s, 6.4 yards per attempt
Cutler threw some picks, for sure, but he did all the other good stuff despite a merry-go-round backfield that was far from intimidating.
On Chicago’s offense, Matt Forte set Bears rookie running back records last year. Can you imagine what Cutler might have been able to do in Denver if he wasn’t the sole focus of the offense?
Orlando Pace was added to solidify the tackle position after the unexpected retirement of John Tait, which immediately upgrades the offensive line if he can stay healthy.
All of this creates the opportunity for some fireworks in Chicago this year.
True, the wide receiver position was not addressed through new blood except for draftees Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox. However, Earl Bennett seems ready to take position as the number one receiver after struggling to digest the playbook last year.
Oh, and Bennett and Cutler were pretty productive when they played together at Vanderbilt too.
Watching the Bears play defense last year, one had to wonder if maybe the window was closing on this group. Upon further review though, it’s easy to see that what the Bears were clearly lacking on that side of the ball was a pass rush.
The Bears were ranked 5th in the NFL against the run last year. Conversely, they were ranked 30th against the pass.
It would be easy to pick on the secondary, but in the NFL, if you can’t get to the quarterback someone’s going to be open on every play.
That’s exactly what new Defensive Line Coach Rod Marinelli was brought in to do. Erase that whole 0-16 Detroit Lions mystique. There’s no doubt as to Marinelli’s credentials as a position coach. If he can live up to his rep and get better consistent production out of a talented group, this defense could be ready to dominate again.
Tommie Harris’ health is an absolute must-have and I didn’t see enough explosion in the preseason to make me believe he’s ready. However, if he can return to his 2006 form, the secondary’s job just got easier.
The safety position vacated by the release of Mike Brown seems to be answered by Danieal Manning, who needs to be more consistent for this defense to return to the upper echelon.
The Chicago Bears are in a very promising position, and if everything goes right, this should be a very successful season. I can honestly predict them going 14-2, barring injuries of course.
The Monsters of the Midway, as they say, have returned.
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